Crate training, yes or no?

It's been a subject of some debate in our home of late: Have a 10-month-old springer spaniel pup who tends to get into things during the workday, even things that have ostensibly been put up. She has a dog door, and also likes to prune the bushes and dig up bulbs and acorns (the squirrels are gonna be real pissed come February), and putting her in a crate is one option put forth. Of course, all the breeders, vets, and trainers tell you it's a-OK, that the dogs actually like it, but others will say that it's isolating a pack-based animal.

Where do DUers come down on the issue?

and I am 53 years old and have had dogs all of my life. Most of my adult life, I have worked full-time. All of my dogs were easily house broken and good in the house.

I don't see the benefit of crate training. Maybe I have been lucky with my dogs.

We put them in a 10x10 outdoor kennel while we're at work. It keeps them out of trouble. During the evenings and weekends they are with us all day. At night we crate them but usually one gets to sleep with us. We have 5 pretty large dogs so only one at a time can sleep with us if we want to sleep in the bed :)

We have one that is getting older (10 years) and she loves her own space. If she's not in the mood to be with us she goes into the bathroom. It's her own little cave.

They do seem to appreciate having a space that is all their own and having a routine.


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I feel that dogs are pack animals and need to be around each other.

it depends on the dog.
I have found that alot of dogs that were not socialized as a pup benefit from the crate training.
Some do not and feel that they are being isolated.
You have to judge for yourself what you think will work. Alot of this sounds like boredom.
Try to work on the boredom. See if there is a behavior change. Also I have found that some dogs benefit from a morning walk and play time, this is hard to do as most of us are already running our butts off in the morning but maybe you could find a neighbor that walks their dog and offer them a little cash. Since she has a door she can just be let back in the yard.
Just my thoughts. Good luck.

trained and is a good time out spot. spaniels are babes. they need a helping hand to get their exuberence in hand. my boys weren't harmed nor were any of my single babies back in the day.

It helps with house training early on, and keeps my house safe from damage when I go out. I have never used the crate much past the adolescent stage with any of my dogs. By then they are usually reliable in the house.

My new rescue dog Sam is 100% reliable in the house, but he still really likes his crate, so I have left it up with the door off. He goes in to snooze during the day. I have two active young children, so I guess the crate gives him a rest from them. He is in it right now watching the kids scream and do stage dives off the couch into a pile of pillows.

My parents have an aussie that is occasionally unreliable in the house. She chews and pees a little. Because she does it while my folks are out, they can't correct the behavior, therefore she will never learn to do better. So now they crate her while they are out. She has a walk and a big play with the other dogs down at the park in the AM, and someone has to come home to let her out at lunch. She gets a short walk at night. She seems content.

My main concern would be how long you plan to leave her in the crate. I think shorter periods of time are fine as long as the dog is getting plenty of exercise and attention the rest of the day. But if you are gone for long periods, that might be a problem.

but it's not for long long periods (more than 4 hours I'd say)

it's great if the animal needs to travel and they will enjoy having their private "den"

my DH hasn't let me crate train any of the three we have now, but I notice they all compete for the doggy "bed" that's tucked under the night stand next to the bed platform (basically a covered area closed on two sides)

I think dogs like having their own safe enclosed area

edit to add my mom is a world recognized breeder/trainer and what I know I learned from her

He really loved his little den and preferred to be in there, even when he didn't have to be. He was very spooked by thunder storms and the crate helped SO much. If he didn't go in there, he would be pacing around the house and crying. He calmed right down in the crate. It was the right thing for him.

At night, our 6 month old pup asks to be in his crate when he is ready for bed. He knows the routine and is happy with it. My husband wanted him in his crate at night because he was too little when we first brought him home and we were afraid he would fall off our bed and hurt himself. It helped with potty training at night, too. We have the crate safely up on a big chair right next to our bed. So, he really isn't isolated and alone. He is a small guy, so it works for us.
During the day, when I'm gone, usually no more than 2-3 hours, he is in there napping. I know he can't hurt himself and get into anything and he knows it's naptime. Win/win situation.
He gets plenty of play time, training and cuddling from all of us. I think he enjoys his crate, which is nicely padded and very warm. Looking at his crate, it looks like a great warm bed with a gate on it. That's all.
I would say crate train for your own piece of mind. You know she is safe from chewing electrical cords, etc. I suppose all day for your dog might be too hard, though. I guess it all depends on your schedule.

My adorable 8-month-old lab puppy behaved beautifully while I was home with him for the first few days -- all the toys were new and he had a new buddy - my Golden...

The first time I left him alone in the house with the Golden, I was gone for two hours and arrived home to find:
> two pillows gutted, polyester down strewn over the entire house
> kitchen trash can knocked over, some contents missing
> cord to lamp chewed clean through - plug gone - haven't seen that plug since
> at least 4 magazines (Utne & Mother Jones) chewed up - shreds of paper everywhere
> blanket on bed balled up on the floor
> socks that had been on the dresser (waiting to be put away) strewn across house, all with holes
> two very happy, tired dogs

It has been 16-months and the lab goes in his crate before I leave. Period. This policy will remain in effect until long after the boy demonstrates that he no longer has any trashcan, sock, recycling bin, bathroom, pillow, magazine/book, appliance urges. He eats breakfast and dinner in his crate (5-minutes) and he gets treats when he goes in when I have to leave for work. Since food is his #1 excitement in life he likes his crate.

Wolves spend 18 hours a day in their burrows - many of them solitary.

By giving pet dogs 'responsibility' for guarding a large area all day it can actually increase anxiety...

Make sure puppy has lots of activity in the morning and evening, plenty of playtime with other dogs and people in the evenings and crate during the day.

And 'official' recommendations about length of time: Dogs can go as many hours without peeing as they are months old, up to 8 hours. Over 8 hours is unacceptable for any dog. I am lucky that I don't have to crate for that long, but lots of people have to work 8+ hour days and I don't think it is any worse to leave the dog in a crate for that length of time than it is to leave them loose inside the house.

((My Golden, on the other hand, does not do crates because of the abuse he experienced before rescued that he associates with crates. In his puppyhood, he ripped up installed carpeting, pulled down curtains, and peed all over the basement carpet. I threatened him daily with "Golden Retriever Reform School" - I don't think he ever took me seriously. He knows I love him to pieces - :loveya: ))

Gabe tore up a bean bag chair (we're still picking 'beans' up even though Gabe died in 1994), ate a couch, the rockers off a rocking chair, a coffee table, half a recliner, a door, carried a 6 ft. (decorated) christmas tree through the house and learned how to open the refrigerator and share goodies with the cats.

All subsequent dogs have been crated.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cry: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

...learned how to open the refrigerator and share goodies with the cats.

Awwwwwwww! How could you not love a dog like that...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cry: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Gabe was about 16 weeks old in this picture, Blue was about 6 weeks. Blue grew up to be a dog killer.

his little paw? Blue could get dogs to do anything he wanted them to?

The Dobe took off part of Blue's tail...Blue took off the Dobe's face. Did so much damage the dog had to be put down.

I've never heard of such a thing. Whoa. Poor Dobe. Poor Blue's tail, but poor Dobe, too.

with a conga line of kitties behind. :rofl:

I will crate train from now on because they love their beds (crates) and they feel secure in them. They don't crate much any more, but if I have to crate them, they are very comfortable.

if nothing else, will keep you from having to yell at the dog constantly. Allow you to say yes instead of no.

Yes, crates isolate a pack-based animal IF YOU KEEP THE DOG IN IT WHEN THE REST OF THE PACK IS OUT. Otherwise, dogs really do like a space of their own and will even use it to nap, hide, or time out if the door is left open for them to use as wanted. But the main thing is that it will keep your baby SAFE when you cannot supervise.

She likes to get into things? Dig up bulbs? Daffodil and tulip bulbs are super poisonous. She's probably getting her adult teeth and chewing on things. Put everything up but there's still electical cords that are going to feel good on gums. Crate training can save your sanity...and her life.

I crate trained my last two dogs and have had such good results compared to dogs I've had before using a crate. My last dog did not have one single accident in the house. Both dogs love the crate and treat it like a little den. Not that they've always been excited about being locked up but they must get used to it and start to feel comfortable and secure there.

I would not leave your dog in the crate all day while you're at work, though. That's a bit too long.

I rescued a small dog from a puppy mill. The dog was about nine months old and had an open bloody gash in one of his eyeballs where he had been attacked by another dog. At the time I adopted him he had never been inside a building much less a home. I took him home with me that evening and to the vet the first thing next morning. Three days later we moved out of state. Everything in that dog's life was new - as were many things in my own. The dog quickly developed separation anxiety. When I would leave to go to work in the mornings I would walk down the sidewalk in front of my neighbor's townhouses, across the courtyard and out to the street where my car was parked. Even then I could hear the poor dog crying because he was left alone for the day. Everything was new to him and he had no sense of what was and was not appropriate to nose around in or chew on. I got some doggie gates and tried to confine him to a single room. The dog was part billy goat and it didn't work. So reluctantly I got him a crate. It took some time but the crate became his special space. Eventually, I took the door off the crate because it simply wasn't necessary - he would choose to spend time in the crate when left alone. I never made being crated a punishment and I positioned the crate in a spot where he would feel protected and I always made sure he had food, water a cushion and some toys in the crate. And I only used the crate when I was gone. Dogs are pack animals but you are their pack so your absence isolates them more than a crate. And wild dogs tend to bed down in a safe secure place. I would definitely crate a dog again.