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Crate training is a good thing (imo) but should be done properly. Not just sticking them in a crate overnight in another room and ignoring them. Our dog is cra

Crate training is a good thing (imo) but should be done properly. Not just sticking them in a crate overnight in another room and ignoring them. Our dog is crate trained, which makes travelling with him way easier for example. (He is 1 year old now, so at night he just walks into his crate whenever he feels tired. We don’t have to put him in his crate anymore). You have to make sure they associate positive experiences with it.

jjtheblunt 4y ago
good point. we left her crate set up with door open, which she could use as a "fort", and she did like that for napping. i guessed partly in the sense she doesn't have to stay partially awake worrying about being stepped on.
- Der_Einzige 4y ago
  If only every owner would keep the damn door open.
kgermino 4y ago
Adding to this, we didn’t crate train our dog and while I wouldn’t say I regret that, it makes things harder. She hated the crate when we introduced it. We couldn’t find any way to get her in there without her panicking and trying to dig out after a few minutes. She had a bad history before us and is completely fine outside the crate so we gave up. Day to day it’s fine. She wanders on her own schedule, has a dog bed she claims as her space, and doesn’t really cause any issues. However, when we travel she’s loose in the car without a comfortable space. When some people visit there’s no obvious place to send her, so she has to be locked in a room where she isn’t used to being confined. When kids visit she has a harder time getting away from the chaos. She doesn’t have a consistently dark place during the day to sleep. The list goes on. Crate training isn’t just about giving your dog a small room you can lock them in, it’s giving them a private, safe, emotionally and physically comfortable space they can call their own. The crate travels - so their safe space is always with them, they can escape to it, and they are in a comfortable place if you need to lock them up for some reason (as always happens sometimes). Our dog doesn’t have that.
retrac 4y ago
We picked up a young stray. Too rambunctious to be left out overnight. Well-behaved generally but around 3 am he jumps on top of us and wants to play. Not working. A crate though? Seems barbaric. But we did it gently, in slowly increasing increments. If he became distressed, we let him out. I think that's probably key. Oh, sleepy time? Let's try to get him to do it in the crate for an hour. Then a few hours. Now, around bed time, he goes in on his own, lies down and waits for his treat. He usually prefers to sleep in the crate, and he goes there during thunderstorms too; it's a good safe place. We don't usually have to lock the crate door anymore, but when he's rowdy it's "no! bed!" and he goes and lies down in the crate, and we can cinch him in, for a few more hours of rest. Even that's increasingly rare. I think a major mistake is to use it to separate the dog from people. It's very important that he can hear us nearby, even just sleeping. If he can't hear us, it becomes separation anxiety and he needs to get out because he's trapped in an isolated place. About five minutes out of the bedroom and the whining will start. I'd guess that it's probably also important that it be predictable and associated with daily routines. And it should never be used as punishment.
- jjtheblunt 4y ago
  that last paragraph is exactly what was wrong in our first few nights and which we changed by moving the crate into the main bedroom with us, and then there was no need for the crate door to be closed. everything seemed harmonious (hence my assertion the original distant part of house nonsense was unnatural isolation).
- Insanity 4y ago
  Yes, your final paragraph should be understood by all dog owners. Crates are not for punishment!

jjtheblunt 4y ago

good point. we left her crate set up with door open, which she could use as a "fort", and she did like that for napping. i guessed partly in the sense she doesn't have to stay partially awake worrying about being stepped on.

Der_Einzige 4y ago
If only every owner would keep the damn door open.

kgermino 4y ago

Adding to this, we didn’t crate train our dog and while I wouldn’t say I regret that, it makes things harder. She hated the crate when we introduced it. We couldn’t find any way to get her in there without her panicking and trying to dig out after a few minutes. She had a bad history before us and is completely fine outside the crate so we gave up. Day to day it’s fine. She wanders on her own schedule, has a dog bed she claims as her space, and doesn’t really cause any issues. However, when we travel she’s loose in the car without a comfortable space. When some people visit there’s no obvious place to send her, so she has to be locked in a room where she isn’t used to being confined. When kids visit she has a harder time getting away from the chaos. She doesn’t have a consistently dark place during the day to sleep. The list goes on. Crate training isn’t just about giving your dog a small room you can lock them in, it’s giving them a private, safe, emotionally and physically comfortable space they can call their own. The crate travels - so their safe space is always with them, they can escape to it, and they are in a comfortable place if you need to lock them up for some reason (as always happens sometimes). Our dog doesn’t have that.

retrac 4y ago

We picked up a young stray. Too rambunctious to be left out overnight. Well-behaved generally but around 3 am he jumps on top of us and wants to play. Not working. A crate though? Seems barbaric. But we did it gently, in slowly increasing increments. If he became distressed, we let him out. I think that's probably key. Oh, sleepy time? Let's try to get him to do it in the crate for an hour. Then a few hours. Now, around bed time, he goes in on his own, lies down and waits for his treat. He usually prefers to sleep in the crate, and he goes there during thunderstorms too; it's a good safe place. We don't usually have to lock the crate door anymore, but when he's rowdy it's "no! bed!" and he goes and lies down in the crate, and we can cinch him in, for a few more hours of rest. Even that's increasingly rare. I think a major mistake is to use it to separate the dog from people. It's very important that he can hear us nearby, even just sleeping. If he can't hear us, it becomes separation anxiety and he needs to get out because he's trapped in an isolated place. About five minutes out of the bedroom and the whining will start. I'd guess that it's probably also important that it be predictable and associated with daily routines. And it should never be used as punishment.

jjtheblunt 4y ago
that last paragraph is exactly what was wrong in our first few nights and which we changed by moving the crate into the main bedroom with us, and then there was no need for the crate door to be closed. everything seemed harmonious (hence my assertion the original distant part of house nonsense was unnatural isolation).
Insanity 4y ago
Yes, your final paragraph should be understood by all dog owners. Crates are not for punishment!