Crates

[Shalista]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Baxter was claustrophobic. I don’t know if I ever tried a crate with him and it was a disaster or if I just knew it was a bad idea and never tried. He hated tight spaces. Elevators. Cars. Blankets over him. Clothes. Hated them.

Freddie however is a different beast. The rescue said he had a crate and liked to eat his chews in it. He has a couple of “spots” with blankets that he likes to snooze on. He burrows himself under blankets and sleeps there.

All this is telling me he might like having a crate.

Joel has been working from home since we got Freddie to help him acclimate to the house and it’s been going great but we have had to leave the house together once since Freddie has been here and I’m pretty sure the poor boy got very stressed by our absence and barked the entire time we were gone.

My thought is that if Freddie can associate the crate as a super special safe space he may feel better about us leaving him when Joel ultimately goes back to work in the office? Im not worried about Freddie being destructive or partying in the house while Joel’s at work the crate would purely be for Freddie’s comfort and peace of mind. A safe space for him. I’d even be tempted to leave the door open.

I’m just worried because I’ve heard such horror stories of dogs being abused with their crates and it’s hard for me to beleive that a crate can be a source of safety and comfort for a dog.

Does anyone have any positive crating stories?

 

[Tinytom]

I always had a large covered crate up with the door taken off it was covered with a blanket and my lot always took turns in going inside ...its when people leave their dogs locked inside overnight and then most of the day when its abused...used correctly they can be very useful...
My deerhound boys hate them with a passion ....

 

[JoanneF]

It used to be hard to get Timber to come out of his crate for his before-bedtime toileting.

I do think all dogs benefit from crate training, for those times when they are really necessary, like after a procedure at the vet. We have a great guide if that would help, although you may not need it if Freddie already likes the crate. Let us know if you do.

 

[Hemlock]

As long as there is no history of bad experiences from crating, I find dogs in general like their own secure private space, and a blanket over the top and door left open might be just the den he wants. Can you borrow one to find out, as the outlay is rather high if he doesn't like it?

 

[Shalista]

I was able to pick up one for fairly cheap and I’m hopeful he’ll like it. I want him to feel like he has a safe space all his own. It’s good to hear that y’all don’t think crates are evil lol.

 

[RGC]

Crates aren’t evil as long as the door allows voluntary access both in and out. I’m puzzled at the frequent use of ‘lol’ - it presumes that amusement has been created. Why? Surely it’s up to the receiver to find what has been delivered as amusing?

 

[JudyN]

I’m puzzled at the frequent use of ‘lol’ - it presumes that amusement has been created. Why? Surely it’s up to the receiver to find what has been delivered as amusing?

It replaces intonation, a wink, or whatever, clarifying the 'tone' of the voice, so I think it's a useful way of conveying nuances of meaning - it's so easy for the written word to be misinterpreted (imagine the difference if I followed that with a or a or a ).

 

[RGC]

It replaces intonation, a wink, or whatever, clarifying the 'tone' of the voice, so I think it's a useful way of conveying nuances of meaning - it's so easy for the written word to be misinterpreted (imagine the difference if I followed that with a or a or a ).

I would either smile with you, buy you a bouquet of fresias or put it another way if time were (imp. subj ) not so short. Many thanks, JudyN, I’ll now venture forth and obliterate more apostrophes. Yours in pedantry.

 

[Shalista]

Just saw this. Thanks JudyN that’s my intent exactly.

 

[JudyN]

Ooh I do like freesias, RGC

 

[Shalista]

Crate seems to be a win! He went in and out a few times exploring it and then I tossed one of his favorite chews waaayyy in the back and sat down next to the door on the floor with my dinner. He finished his chew. Came to the door and poked his nose out. And then turned right back around and curled up for a snooze.

I ended up using half the blankets from his favorite floor pile to line the bottom of the cage and the other half of the blankets to cover the top and make a den for him.

He seems to love it! I’m very well pleased.

Tomorrow I’m only working a couple hours so I’m thinking I’ll give Joel a break from being a stay at home dad and let him go into work and give Freddie a chance to adjust to being alone for a bit. He’s had an hour or two by himself before and he handled it well so this will be a little bit of a longer trial run.