# How many of you crate your dogs?



## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

I know I'm thinking like a human, but I feel bad locking Louis away all day when we go to work. He's been crated ever since we got him...and he has gotten better about not chewing things when we are not supervising him. I'm wondering if I should eventually move towards not crating him. 

Our schedules are staggered a little so he ends up being crated for 8 hours or less. So do you choose to crate or not crate? And what are your thoughts on crating?


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## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 9, 2010)

Yep, I crate Harleigh every day when I leave for school and whenever I'm going to be gone for longer periods of time. When I'm going for a short amount of time I leave her out and she's fine, but she's definitely not ready for free reign of the house for a whole day! :tongue:

I think crates are one of the best things ever, imo. :biggrin:


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I always have and always will crate train and crate my puppies. Duncan was in a crate whenever we were gone up until he was about 6 months old. Once he was 100% potty trained and I trusted him in the house I didn't crate him anymore. I would start out with letting him have free rein for short times and slowly work up to being away longer. 

Keep in mind that my house is toddler and puppy proof, I don't leave enticing things out when we are gone, make sure kids toys are picked up and I make sure the trash has been taken out. We have a two story house and when no one is home I baby gate the stairs so that the dogs are only allowed down stairs. I always set him up for success (and safety).

And, Lucky....she's like the perfect dog. I think she just sleeps on her bed whenever we are gone.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

We crated Ania when she was a puppy. SHe was crated at night and when we were gone. We probably did it until she was a little more than a year old. 

THen my grandparents came to stay, and I let them have our room while we moved us and Ania's crate into the guest room. Around this time, we also were leaving her out of her crate for short periods of time when we were gone. THose times got longer, and we never got around to moving Ania's giant crate back into the bedroom after the grandparents left. Before we knew it, she was no longer crated.

But I'm really glad we DID do crate training. When we just went to the vet for Ania's tooth, they of course had to crate her. Of course any stay at the vet can be a stressful event in and of itself. You're in pain, the smells are weird, the sounds are weird, everything is unfamiliar, and you don't know why Mom and Dad abandoned you there! Being confined in a crate when you're not used to it just adds tremendously to the stress. Luckily, crate training (at least in Ania's case) is like ridding a bicycle. THey said she crated like a champ on command. 

So I think that it is very useful to do crate training with a puppy. But eventually, after they have proven "responsible", I don't think it is necessary. I don't think that continuing crate training forever is a bad thing either. It just depends on you and your dog. And for me, an excited Ania greeting me at the door is one of the best things ever!


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Every night from 12am-5am.
When we go out for short errands (usually we bring them!)


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Mine are never crated. I crated Finnigan when he was a puppy, only when I couldn't supervise him, and it was always for short periods of time. He doesn't fight the crate, but he doesn't in particular like it either. My other two have never been crated, I adopted them older and they were already potty trained and didn't have chewing problems. I never crate my dogs when I leave, I don't feel the need to anymore.


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## candiceb (Jan 22, 2010)

I crate both my dogs when I'm out of the house. They've been crated since puppyhood, so it's not really a big deal for them. Plus we've done a lot of traveling and dog shows, and there's really no way _not_ to crate at a show. At the shows, the crates become their own little sanctuary away from all the hustle and bustle around them, and plus when we travel, their crates are familiar to them so they don't seem to stress much. And I always crate them during long-distance car rides. It's much safer that way.

I would love to leave them out during the day alone, but I've done some short-term test runs with them, and they get destructive. Even things that they don't normally mess with, they do when I'm gone. My Dachshund (who is 9" tall, mind you) becomes an expert at removing things off of the counter-tops if he's left alone. How, I don't know. I really need to leave him out and set up a video camera sometime. :biggrin:


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Once each of my dogs are reliable, I never crate them. I disassembled the crate 5 1/2 years ago and its in the rafters in the garage where it's been all that time.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

I crate. I notice that Mia is calmer if she spends a few hours each day in the crate. I keep it to under 4-5 hrs at a stretch (usually she's crated for about 2 hrs) and feel fortunate to have this luxury.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Henry is not crated anymore but was as a pup. Millie is 12 months and is still crated when I am at school or teaching. Honestly, I would trust her to be gated into the kitchen but she has been known to jump gates so....

Once she gets a little older I will trust her to be gated into a separate part of the house than Henry. I think it will be quite a while before I'd ever feel comfortable leaving both dogs in the same part of the house.

Also, Millie looooves her crate. I taught her from day 1 that it is a cozy place. As soon as she goes in she gets herself nice and cozy.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

I crated my dog from the time I adopted him -- 7 months -- up until he was about 11 months old. His crate is still assembled, but he rarely goes into it. I keep his toys in there, and he goes in to get a toy out.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Rocky was crate trained as an 8 week old puppy. We still have his crate up in the hallway and he LOVES to sleep in it but we never close the door. He will actually just go into his crate by himself and take naps and he sleeps all night it in with the door open. It probably helps that he has a water cooling bed in the crate and it's located right in the front hall so he can observe everything. We don't lock his crate ever because then he couldn't guard the house. 

Chelsy has a crate for traveling but we only got it a few years ago when she was already 11. She used to get horribly car sick but once we got the crate, she never got sick in the car again. She actually sleeps in a little dog bed in the laundry room.

Shade was rescued at 3 years old and had been raised in a yard. He was VERY destructive when he first came and had to be crated every night and whenever we left the room. He would howl constantly when we first put him in there. Now that he has been taught some manners, he only gets crated at night and if we go out for awhile. He actually runs into his cage at bedtime (for the treats) and sleeps in the laundry room with Chelsy next to him on her doggie bed. 

I would never raise a puppy without a crate. Rocky LOVES his crate and considers it his bedroom. He's almost too big for it now, but he squeezes in it and his tail hangs out the end door! We do have 4 dog beds scattered all over the house but he chooses the crate over any of them.


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## MissusMac (Jan 6, 2011)

I do, but Miko might be a lifer as far as the crate is concerned. I don't feel bad leaving him in the crate, it is his house and he likes it just fine. 

You can start leaving your pup alone in the house for longer periods of time, working up slowly to all day but I hear stories all the time about people who have left their dogs in the house forever, but every now and again they'll come home to the trash ripped open or a pillow unstuffed.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Well, so much for not crating him right now...he wandered out of the room when we were still sleeping this morning and chewed up my husband's cell phone (he didn't destroy it, it just has tiny teeth mark evidence on it now). He's 15 months now, but still has a lot of puppy in him I guess. Honestly he's very well behaved about not chewing things when we are around. I feel like he _knows_ what he isn't supposed to chew because he never does anything like that when we are awake or somewhere in the house. It seems like whenever he knows we are still asleep or not home he will go do naughty things! I definitely 100% agree with crate training puppies. Potty training isn't the issue anymore, it's more for his safety (and my sanity).

My friend's Bichon isn't crated anymore and she came home one day to find he had dislocated his kneecap and was really frightened and in pain. Louis parent's don't have luxation, but it's still a common problem with his breed. Plus we have 3 flights of stairs in the house, 2 of which he uses regularly, and that's not including the 13 steps he goes down at the front door when we walk him (maybe I should start carrying him?). Anyways, I'm always worried about stairs for a dog his size...he's not short-legged like a dachshund but still a small dog. Thanks everyone for the input, I will probably try to cut back on crating a little bit, but he's probably not ready to roam around yet.


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Piper is 5 months and we crate trained her when we got her at 9 weeks. It was troublesome at first, but after tying her leash to her crate she started to go in of her own accord and now loves to sleep in her crate.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Never crated, never will (at least with Uno)


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## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

I never crated my first dog, Bear. I adopted Buddy (the little white dog in the pic) on a whim right before we took a vacation. We bought a crate just because we didn't know how he'd behave in our travel trailer. We used it at home for a very short time when we went away, and then sold it--he was already 1, and very calm and potty trained. I adopted the other 2 dogs about a year ago. They spent almost the first 10 months of their lives locked in a small crate together--unable to stand up or turn around. We were told that they were this way at least 23 hrs. per day. So, I never crated them, and they are pretty good. Sometimes I put up a couple baby gates and close some doors. We traveled with them 4 times last year--they didn't cause any problems not being in a crate in our camper.

Word of advice: Make sure you always put your TV remote controls up if you go away. One of our dogs stepped on one and had the volume all the way up. We could hear it through the closed windows when we got home--I'm glad we weren't gone long.


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## Paws&Tails (Sep 3, 2010)

Spike is crated at night and when noone is home (which really only happens once or twice a week). He likes his crate. I leave the door open all day and he goes in there to take naps. He prefers it over his dog bed. He gets more sleep when he's crated at night too. When he's _not_ crated at night, he thinks he is still on guard mode and is very alert and wakes up at _every little sound_. 

He's not reliable enough yet to leave out of his crate at night or when alone anyways. He would get on the couches and in trash cans and probably chase the cats still.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I only crate the dogs when they are puppies and I was lucky though because even with the crate in the kitchen area I could block off the kitchen with gates so they could actually go in and out of the crate. Then after they were potty trained its free range of the house. I have not crated any since probably after 8 months old would be the oldest. But funny with the kids and puppies well they constantly wanted to be with them and my kids would also at times take them into their bedrooms and sleep with them ! But they were responsible and it did work out because they made it outside if the kids had them in the bedroom on time! But now our crates been away with Gordon being 3 for over 2 1/2 years because like I said I did block off the kitchen for the pups and that did work out rather well. They seemed to want to go in the crate when they needed to rest sleep you know get away from us for a while ha ha!


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Nope.

Jackson was only crated for about 4 weeks after I first got him. Graduated to an expen for about 3 weeks. Then he was locked in my bedroom for a few weeks, but by 6 months he was reliable free roam.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

I think it all depends on the dog. My pup never destroyed a thing when I was gone so I felt it pointless to crate him in a small enclosed area. I always wondered why he didn't chew up anything. If I was a puppy I would try to eat the whole house. My pup never really cared much for the crate. Sometimes at night he will go in there and lay down but other than that he doesn't use it... well unless he stole something from the kitchen table.... then he bee-lines it into his crate.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Um....Shellie is too naughty to be left out unattended......









& Zoey & Ziva can't be trusted potty wise except in the kitchen where there is tile....but I do take all 3 of my dogs to work with me and they play in doggie daycare


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i crated my dog. when we weren't home our neighbor
came over every 2 to 3 hours to let the pup out
foe bathroom time, snacks and whatever was needed
to do for the pup. we also had sitters available.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

MissusMac said:


> I do, but Miko might be a lifer as far as the crate is concerned. I don't feel bad leaving him in the crate, it is his house and he likes it just fine.
> 
> You can start leaving your pup alone in the house for longer periods of time, working up slowly to all day but I hear stories all the time about people who have left their dogs in the house forever, but every now and again they'll come home to the trash ripped open or a pillow unstuffed.


Avery is on the same page. He will probably always be crated, I feel safe knowing he is in a crate when I am at work. This way I never have to worry about what he is getting into when I am gone so no worries of my things getting destroyed nor him getting an obstruction from something he ate. Also I like that he likes his crate, so I can bring it anywhere and he is ok in it when I can't keep an eye on him.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

I think continued crate training depends on a lot of different aspects, including, but not limited to, dog breed, personality, and background. With my dogs, I know I will always crate them when I'm gone, because they're tremendous escape artists and can't be trusted in the yard for long periods of time without me being here to make sure they're still back there. Siberian Huskies are also well known for their separation anxiety–this, coupled with how bored and inquisitive they get, means that you could come home to a spotless, impeccably clean house like you left it, or you could come home to moldings torn off the walls, couches ripped to shreds, etc. It's not limited to breed, either, because there are some Sibes that would never chew anything they're not supposed to, and there are some dogs that are supposed to be perfectly behaved breeds that will tear holes in the siding. Then there are some dogs that have been crated their entire lives against their wills and will develop mental instabilities when crated.

My dogs LOVE their crates, though. They go in when asked of them, whether they know they're getting a treat or not, and even through the day when the doors are open, I find them in all sorts of odd positions in there. It's actually quite comical to see them on their backs, pressed against the side of the crate, feet stuck nearly straight up in the air, back end curled up against the backs of the crates. XD


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## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

Ditto on it depending on the dog. If a dog can't be trusted to not tear up the house and possibly hurt itself in the process, there is nothing wrong with crating. I crated Felix til he was about 2 years old. Now I gate him in the kitchen with Delilah. I think Felix could have the run of the house now, but Delilah can't- she has separation anxiety and pees and tears things up unless she's confined and NOT in a crate- she goes nuts in a crate. Having Felix with her in the kitchen seems to help her anxiety, so he stays there.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Yep, I crate my Boxer and my GSD both when we are sleeping or not home. They both do fine and I've never had a problem with any of the dogs I crate. They typically go into their crates even when they do not have to.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I never crated Mollie, not because I didn't want to, but I caved in to the wishes of my lord here who said putting her in a cage was mean. Anyway, I wish I had stood up to him although I'm not panicking as I know I can train her if I need to.
Firstly, the vet charged me an additional sedative fee because she carried on so much (she was getting spayed) that he had to give her an extra pill so his patients didn't walk out the door.
Secondly, she was being groomed at Petco (the nephew works there so I was getting it for free) when I got a call asking if I could come back and pick her up. In the background there was this awful howling and whining, really really loud and I thought, uh oh. Sure enough, it was my little Mollie screaming, you could hear her throughout the whole shop.
So, I think its probably a good idea to at least get them use to a crate, whether you intend to use it in the house or not.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I crated mine until they were around a year old its safer for my furniture.lol Once they reached that age they seem to have learned what I expected out of them.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

When I first got the hoodlums, I didn't crate because I wasn't expecting to have two hoodlums. I wasn't expecting to have one hoodlum. I did go and get crates the following day but as they were young puppies, I didn't leave them in there all day while I was gone...it was just too long. I did what a lot of trainers say not to do and bought one of this indoor pee places, the ones with the fake grass and all that, so they could use that during the day. They figured that out real quick and were small enough not to do much at all except sleep.

As they got older, it became imperative to the well being of my house and cats that they were crated. I also switched over from using the indoor pee thing to making sure the girl hoodlum got house trained properly. This required crate training. Also by this time, the boy hoodlum decided that the house was a giant chew toy.

I would come home, let them out of the crates to conduct their business and get some exercise, let them stay out while I got their food ready, put them in their crates to eat, (it's better this way), let them out for a bit and then back outside to conduct more negotiations with the lawn, let them have time in the house out of the crate, unless they started acting up and then they went back in their crates for a small amount of time to calm the hell down, and then at night, sometimes crate, sometimes bed. It all depended on how they were acting.

Just recently, the girl hoodlum has been given free reign during the day while I'm gone. She doesn't mess with the cats, doesn't do a whole lot of chewing, although she did recently chew on a corner of the couch....while I was RIGHT there, grrrrrrr!!!!!!! and basically behaves herself well. It was a test, she passed and she's been passing.

The boy, about a week ago I let him stay out while I went to the store. I tried to relax and hoped that I would not come home to carnage, carcasses or total and complete annihilation of my house. He passed. A few days later I let him out the last half of the day, (came home real quick), and let him be out for four hours, with the girl hoodlum. Again I prayed I wouldn't come home to dead cats, dead dog or dead furniture and drapes. He passed again. Sunday, (my Friday), I dared myself and I let him be out the entire day while I was at work. I pulled the tub of toys down off of the top of the washing machine, dumped it all on the floor in front of them, told them that they had every texture known to man to chew on while I was gone, do NOT touch anything else or you will die an agonizingly slow and painful death, I am not kidding, end of story, no ifs ands or buts, no second chances, don't make me remove all of your teeth, I mean it, I'm not kidding, you better not let me down, I swear to ....

(I wouldn't actually remove all of his teeth at once...don't send me hate mail...I'd do it one at a time to make a point...sheesh)

And I came home, they both did brilliantly. It makes me nervous, I don't completely trust them both out in the house so I may do it once or twice a week only....I don't know, we'll see.

But I agree it's important to crate train them because some day they may have to go to the vet and stay overnight or be boarded while you go on vacation or go for a car ride or some other reason and they should know that the crate is not a scary, horrible place.


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

We've always crate trained our sibes and never regretted it. Each dog has been different once tained. With Sandi we ultimately left the door of the crate open because she went in there to sleep at night and when company came if she wanted her space. Thorn and Aurora were trustworthy for 2-3 hours uncrated and alone, but we never got past that, and they were crated overnight for 5-6 hours. Jewel and Ice loved their crates the same as Sandi, but Ice was more trustworthy out for longer periods. Blaze and Silva are each different. Blaze will lie down in all positions in his off and on throughout the day, Silva will stay out all day unless called into her crate. We leave both out up to three hours throughout the day if we go away for short stints. They are both crated at night from midnight till 6AM.

What sticks with me the most was when one of our "mentors" suggested crate training due to the possibility of a car accident. We go away with the dogs a lot, and a crated dog is less likely to be tossed around in an accident like a ping pong ball. The crate may fly around and I'm not saying your dog won't get hurt, but hopefully less damage will be done. Also, this person was an EMT and they reminded me that a loose dog, or loose injured dog may not safely allow emergency responders to assist the people in the car. Plus a loose siberian in a car is a loose siberian if the glass breaks or a door is opened. Don't expect the EMT's to have time to chase my sibe while tending to one of us. Where we live there are too many maniacs on the road, so our dogs learn that their crate is their safe haven, and it is how they will travel too.


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## _Trish (Jan 31, 2011)

All of my dogs are crate trained, and are crated when we aren't home. They get into trouble when left unsupervised. They don't love their crates, but they willingly go in them when they are asked to.


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## dawgdazegrooming (Feb 25, 2011)

I've always crate trained my dogs as puppies, but now they are holding their own as to speak! A suggestion...instead of crating a dog all day, why not get a good baby gate and set boundaries for dogs. This way they can roam around freely, like in a kitchen or laundry room. I think its kinda mean to have a dog locked up for any more than 2 hours per day.


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## Dana (Oct 27, 2009)

Both my dogs are crate trained. Shadow had to be crated a lot when I first got her, if I wasn't home, because I couldn't fully trust her around the cats. By age 2 she earned my full trust and I no longer crate her (unless there's a real need.....as noted in paragraph below....). I can trust her 100% to not get into things or tear things up, too. Krystal is crated only when I'm not home - she's got a little bit of noise phobia and I see her get pretty nervous when it thunders or when the house or furniture makes a loud creaking/popping noise. I've heard stories of dogs going nuts with phobias and tearing things up so I think it's safer to keep her crated just in case. Besides she seems to like it - goes in there on her own. And to those who think it's mean (I know, I used to think that too).....on the days I work from home, all they do is sleep all day! They can do that in or out of a crate. 

And another thing to consider - you never know when you will NEED your dog to accept confinement and not be stressed by it. Several have mentioned boarding or staying at the vet for various reasons, and yes it's great if your dog can accept confinement! In addition.....Shadow blew both her knees 4 years ago. After each of her knee surgeries (TPLO) she had to be strictly confined until she healed. She was not allowed to walk off lead, no running/jumping, can't risk slipping/falling on tile floors, etc. for 8 weeks after each surgery!! I cannot tell you how nice it was to have a dog who could be crated without stressing about the crate. After each surgery, I had to crate her any time I couldn't keep a very close eye on her. She had enough to be stressed about after those surgeries and thank God, being in the crate wasn't an additionl stressor for her during that time. I was on a yahoo group for people whose dogs were going through ortho surgeries, and the people who didn't have crate-trained dogs had a heck of a time with this, and I felt sorry for those dogs that were freaking out about being crated on top of having to cope with having had a major surgery.


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Another thing I have found with crates and that makes me more comfortable is being able to use a larger crate than the dog needs when at home. This is of course after they are fully trained. I have two St. Bernard sized metal/wire crates at home, besides the large plastic vari kennel style. If you are in the school that feels crates are mean you could consider a much larger crate than the dog needs. I can put both my sibes in one of these large crates and find them lying fully stretched side by side or sometimes they will curl up with one at each end. 

So the large plastic vari kennels are for safety while traveling in a vehicle and each of our dogs eats in their own separate giant crate at home. Plus like a few months ago when we had a loose dog show up for a "visit" overnight, I had a place for that big golden lab and my guys happily spent their night from midnight till 6AM in one large crate. If it's done properly a dog can learn to love/like or at the very least tolerate their crate.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

stajbs said:


> Another thing I have found with crates and that makes me more comfortable is being able to use a larger crate than the dog needs when at home. This is of course after they are fully trained. I have two St. Bernard sized metal/wire crates at home, besides the large plastic vari kennel style. If you are in the school that feels crates are mean you could consider a much larger crate than the dog needs. I can put both my sibes in one of these large crates and find them lying fully stretched side by side or sometimes they will curl up with one at each end.
> 
> .


Shade has a giant size crate like that. He is a rescue that grew up left alone in a yard so it took awhile to get him used to going into a crate. You could put at least 2 big dogs his size in his crate and it takes up a lot of space in the laundry room, but he has gotten really used to it and goes in there willingly now (with a treat!). I don't think we could have trained him as well with a smaller crate. He was very destructive when we first got him so he goes in the crate any time we leave the house and he no longer howls and just goes right to sleep. 

Rocky's crate just barely fits him but he grew up in it as a puppy and almost outgrew it. He loves it so much though, that we don't get him a bigger one. When you see him sleeping in it, he is spread out with his tail hanging out the end door and his head squished up against the other side (with his stuffed bunny!). We don't close his doors ever, so it doesnt' really matter that he spills out of his crate. Chows are almost never destructive so he's been loose since he was 6 months old and still chooses to sleep in his crate all night.


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