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Do Crates Have A Place In Our World With Dogs?

There is a school of thought that they play no place in our world with dogs. The other school of thought is we can’t do without them!

I believe there is a happy medium, many times we hear the use of crates being abused and resulting in many very sad dogs. Dogs and puppies being subjected to hours at a time of forced solitude in a very small space, in the name of sorting out house training and separation anxiety..it is cruel and unthinking. It solves nothing and generally results in either a dog resigned to confinement and still stressed and unhappy or the more obviously stressed barker, chewer also resulting in stress incontinence.

Many are advised to crate their puppy from day one so it aids in the process of house / potty training and stops them chewing up the house and all too frequently we come across dogs at the age of 4 months and beyond being subjected to long periods of isolation in them for management of undesirable behaviours.

When you get a puppy you know you’ll have to put up with the odd accidents. Dogs do not pee or poop in their bed space and therefore this forces a stressful situation for the puppy when it really needs to go. So ensure you take your puppy out when it wakes and after food and reward with a tit bit when it has performed. Put up with the odd accident and be vigilant but not over the top so you get a stress head of a puppy.
When you get a puppy you know that they will go through teething, give them things they can chew on and if you find they have something you don’t want them to chew gently approach and swap it for something they can chew. When you are out put them in an area that is free from wires and things that they could harm themselves on, providing you have fed and played with and given the puppy time to be a puppy he will sleep. Leave soft music playing and wean your puppy off your undivided presence and attention slowly before you even consider leaving to pop to the shops and leaving him alone. As we do not live in the ideal world there are times we have to leave them alone. This is unfortunately something they will have to get used to.

However we do not live in the ideal world. Many do not have a separate laundry room for the pup to be in where there are no wires or expensive table legs to dig their teeth into. In these instances then a large crate with door shut for a short time is the best solution, BUT this is not to be used with the door closed when you are at home. Manage the situation rather than exclude him from your space. 
People are generally advised to get a small crate, I say get the biggest your home can hold in the space you have. It needs to be seen as a place of refuge not a prison. So if the pup also needs to relieve himself he has one end to do so away from his place of sleep. Bladder control and bowel control happens in time as the pup matures, you cannot force it but you can help it to know where it can go and that is outside in the garden or some living in flats have a litter tray or pad. Then again these come with their own downfalls when the pup begins to eat the pad or the litter it is meant to defecate in or on.

Do not be precious about the area your pup has been assigned to for lone time as you will then end up with a dog that has accidents through stress or fear.

Crates have their place and I believe that the door should always remain open. It is a place the pup should be able to go to where he feels relaxed and can relax, away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. A place he can call his own, where no one encroaches, his special space. Covered to make it cozy and inviting where he cannot be peered in at or feel cornered. How many dogs will sleep under tables or chairs to get away from it all, a place they can truly relax? Isn’t it easier if they have their very own covered area just for them always with the door open so they can chose to go into or not?

When we bring up pups we have to give them choices and not force any behaviour we want or it becomes a fear. So if you don’t force the crate it will not be an issue, it is just a bed.

By having a crate with door open it teaches the pup through adolescence and to adult hood that it’s a good place to be and when you then have to crate in the car or at the groomers or vets then it is no big deal when you have to shut a door on them.
So be a wise owner and DO NOT use a crate as a prison or a correcting and preventing tool. Work with your puppy as he grows showing him how you like things and giving him choices.

Crates should not be used to confine a dog in the home, they should not be used as your solution to separation anxiety issues, sort the problem do not mask it, you still have a sad dog


POSTED BY: CAROLINE SPENCER PURE DOG LISTENERS HUNGERFORD
APRIL 22ND, 2015 @ 13:59:34 UTC

 
 


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