# Newbie Crate Questions



## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

First time dog owner here with questions about crate training.

We've had our 7 month old puppy for about 4-5 months. Husband and I both work 8 hour days. When we first got him we would crate him at night but baby-gated him in our bathroom with the crate as well. For the past 2 months he's been baby gated in our spare bedroom, as well as in there at night. Today we came home and he had ripped up a corner of carpeting and needed our assistance pooping because the carpet would not pass. 

Husband demanded that he should now be in a crate while we are gone and at night as he no longer wants to put Rosco in danger to himself from himself and to prevent further damage to our house.

I'm wondering what size crate we should get because I thought small crates were only used for potty training the dog and I'm wondering if we should start slowly or jump right in?

We can both come home for a 1/2 hr to 45 min a day at work. 

I just want to know what you would do in our situation?


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

You could always set up an X-pen. They come in different heights and number of panels so you can make it pretty big.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Is there a reason he couldn't go back to being gated in the bathroom? If he is potty trained and this is just to prevent chewing, I'd get a large crate or a puppy pen if there is no safe room he can be kept in. If he is not potty trained then he'd need a small crate, just enough for him to lie and turn around comfortably. 

Be sure to provide him with things to chew while you are gone. Kongs stuffed with yogurt, wet dog food, peanut butter, cottage cheese, etc. and then frozen are good so long as you know your dog is not sensitive to any of those things. Plus regular toys that you rotate and edible chews like bully sticks, antlers, or Himalayans (so long as you know how he does with these, I'm sure some dogs destroy bully sticks and Himalayans quickly and they can become a choking hazard when small). It's important you are not only preventing bad habits from forming, but building good habits in their place.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 16, 2012)

I crate trained both my dogs. When I first got them, I bought a crate that would be the right size for them full grown. Both of the crates I bought were wire and came with an extra piece to block off a portion of the crate. I think this is mostly for potty training purposes, so if your dog is potty trained you probably don't need that. I would just jump right into using the crate again. Unfortunately he might complain about it the first few times - I know my doxie, Titan, barked for 8 hours straight the first day I crated him, to the point where he lost his voice! He stopped barking after that, at least when he's in there and I'm not home. If I'm home, he's pissed that he's not with me and will start barking again (he is also extremely spoiled).

I rarely crate Titan anymore because he is a good boy and I can trust him to not destroy the house. I didn't start letting him run the house until he was 2 years old, though. Orion on the other hand, I can't trust to not chase the cats and destroy things, and he is crated at night and when I am not there and has been since he was a pup. I used to give him a stuffed Kong when he was little, mostly to keep him from crying in his kennel, but I no longer give him anything other than a treat right when he goes in. He used to chew his dog beds that I would put in there for him, but a few weeks without one stopped that behavior - I think he realized that it was more comfy in the kennel with a bed than without, haha!

Good luck!


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## zontee (Oct 12, 2012)

all my dogs are crated when i leave because i know they are safe in their crates.


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