Crate Training a Dog
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Big crate in a small apartment?
Jan 2011I'm getting a new puppy - I've crate trained dogs before but I've always phased out the crates after about 6 months. I'm not sure if that's the best way to do it, but I really don't want to have a big crate in my apartment forever. Has anyone else done this or is it better to keep the crate after the dog is housebroken? Ideally I'd like to crate train her until she can sleep through the night and be housebroken, and then switch her to a dog bed, but will that be too disruptive for her? nervous about puppy
Our dog, a year aftere we adopted him as a puppy, still happily sleeps in his crate. In fact, I think he identifies it as his special, safe space and I can totally respect and appreciate that. We plan on Keeping the crate forever since he seems to like it so much. Crates are the way to go
We crate-trained our puppy from 7 weeks until she was about 10 months. We took her out of the crate because she had an injury that required her to have one of those cones around her head, and she couldn't get into the crate! So we gave her a bed in the same place where her crate had been, and she had no issue with the transition. This was obviously after she was house broken. But bottom line, I think you'll have no problems with the plan as you outlined in your posting. anon
In our situation,we did not have a crate, so this may be an alternative post-crate training. We adopted a 8- mth old from a shelter who turned out to be partially housebroken.It was a spur-of-the-moment adoption, so we did not have a crate. At the suggestion of a shelter volunteer, we tethered her to some furniture in our bedroom close to the bed.We were a little skeptical initially as it seemed very restrictive. Anyway,we heard her whine when she had to relieve herself,so it worked well. We used a heavy-duty galvanized cable type tie-down to secure her.I believe the logic behind this was that she would not want to soil the area where she was sleeping. cheri cheri
I would suggest keeping the crate. Dogs seem to like them as a safe place when they are used to them. Also, you don't know what kind of personality your dog will eventually have, whether it's a chewer. if you buy a collapsible type, you can easily store it. Dog lover
I've recently been through this with our now 6 month old lab. We got him at 8 weeks old and used the crate for about 6 weeks to house train him. Then I removed the crate and bought him a dog bed for the kitchen. I confine him to the kitchen when we're out and at night. Crates are great for house training and I know some people always have a crate for their dog, but I found that he was less whiny at night once I got rid of the crate. Good luck! Laura
Re: Crate Training Puppy I have a puppy just over a yr old now - Gr. Shepherd. We crate trained until he was able to hold it through the night (about 3-4 months) then we transition to bed leash during the night. We still bed leash at night... it is just not good for him to have free reign while we are sleeping... lost some more shoes over this! There have been some times I wished I still had the crate. We bed leashed him while we were out the other night and he got on the bed and chewed up the clock radio, the tv remote and anything else he could reach on the headboard!! Darn, thought we were past that stage! Or maybe he was telling us how mad he was at being left home by himself. So a crate would have been used if we still had it. Good luck and enjoy your new puppy!! Love my Dog, Hate him chewing up my stuff
We adopted an adult dog at a shelter, and did not have a crate when we brought him home. We purchased a crate, mostly for quick housebreaking and found that he loves having it to go to when he's tired, or there are people over.
Recently we took the crate with us to a family retreat at a mountain cabin. Whenever the kids were too much, he would lie there with his chewie, knowing it was his quiet place.
I've never met anyone that regretted crate training, whether they still use the crate, or have phased it out. Loves the ''dog-cave''