Crate Training ....what Next?

[becpeters]

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We have been crate training Harley and Joshy since the first day we brought them home, but were just wondering what we do next in respect of getting away from using the crates and letting them have more freedom around the house when we are out???

Does anyone know the best method of doing this all ideas will be appreciated as we haven't really got a clue where to start..... :blink:

 

[goodasgold]

All i can say is be very careful!!

We let ours out the other evening thinking she would be fine in the living room and when we got home we thought we'd been ransacked :rant: .

But then at least we now know she's not quite ready to be left outside her crate.

she was soon forgiven when we were given that look(yes you all must know that look thay give).

Best of :luck: what ever you do.

 

[Paula Roberts]

I think its safer to keep them in the crate when your not in. You wouldn"t believe the damage a pup can do in 1/2 hour.

 

[goodasgold]

I think its safer to keep them in the crate when your not in. You wouldn"t believe the damage a pup can do in 1/2 hour.

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Thats true paula (w00t) think it may have been less then that teya decided to lay on the sofa and was pretending to be -_- then it was :wub: .

 

[Paula Roberts]

14 years ago we didn"t believe in crates i thought they where a bit cruel. We went out one day shopping got back 1 hour later to find our lovely 6 month old puppy had dug her way through our brand new sofa to make herself a little den. ! hour later we had a lovely new crate with a lovely 6 month old puppy safely inside. Whenever we sell a litter the first thing i advise new owners to get is a crate, it saves a fortune in the end.

 

[Seraphina]

I also have 2 puppy pens. I place these around my TV and anything else I want to protect, make sure there are no shoes etc and provide heaps of toys . My pens are only 3 ft high so they actually keep in only very young puppies, if I wanted one for older pups i would get one 4", or one with top, as some learn to climb fairly early

Well, that is my way; cage the books and let the pups have freedom..

 

[chelynnah]

We crate till around a year, then we start with a 20 minute outing with them loose, then 45 minutes, then an hour and a bit and so on. Teya we actually started at about 9-10 months when hubby accidentally didn't close her crate and we were greeted at the door by 3 dogs an hour later rather than 2. (Scared the life out of me). Since nothing was out of place we did a few short outings over the next month or so and by a year she's been crate free.

Unfortunately Chelsea (8 years old yesterday) has started getting into trouble again and counter/computer desk surfing, so we've started crating her again for the forseeable future (just when I was about to get rid of the crate all together). The benefit of good training when they're young means if you have a situation like this you CAN actually start crating again. She's not happy about it, but she's good and doesn't cause havoc in the crate. She's waiting quietly and patiently when I get home.

I don't know how young yours are, but if they're not nearing a year old yet I'd leave them in the crate every time you go out.

Wendy

 

[~Helen~]

Good advice here!

Josie is 18 months now, and she's totally trustworthy these days - I would be happy to leave her out of the crate but with limited access, ie one room with her bed and toys and water. For us, that's the dining room with a stairgate over the door.

Lola is 4/5 months and I simply couldn't trust her not to wee :wacko: or chew the rugs :wacko: :wacko: so she stays in the crate. She's also in the dining room, next to Josie's bed so they are together. However, if I'm going to be gone longer than an hour I crate them both together because they just love being snuggled up together (ditto at night).

I do look forward to the day when I can leave them crate-free with a bit more room to move about, but I would only do it if I could continue to close off their access to the rest of the house with my stairgate!

Take care - you could come home and find Harley and Joshy have been having great fun (if you know what I mean!!) :lol: :teehee: :lol: :teehee:

 

[avon]

Sid is now 17 months old and I still crate him when we go out. I do trust him o I think, but he just loves his crate - I can leave it open and he will go in and curl up even though he has the run of the house. Given the choice it seems he would rather be in there - think he feels safe and secure, although I do have a cot bumper all round it and a nice soft quilt, which makes it realy cosy. I have even closed it and he will sit outside and try to get in. :wub:

 

[becpeters]

Sid is now 17 months old and I still crate him when we go out.  I do trust him  o I think, but he just loves his crate - I can leave it open and he will go in and curl up even though he has the run of the house.  Given the choice it seems he would rather be in there - think he feels safe and secure, although I do have a cot bumper all round it and a nice soft quilt, which makes it realy cosy.  I have even closed it and he will sit outside and try to get in. :wub:

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Thank you for all your good advice, :thumbsup: I think I will be waiting for a couple of months or so until we try trusting them for small amounts of time, just to give Harley time to get over his "snip" :wacko: and well joshy could probably do with a couple more months anyway to chill out a bit. 8) I think he's just discovered that if he runs fast enough towards Harley it annoys him so thats our new little bit of entertainment every evening :- "