halfthewords Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'm a recent crate convert. We have 4 dogs (and 1 cat here) and the oldest is 9. Never used one before now. I bought one from work a week ago thinking it might come in handy. And HOW! I've popped a blanket over it so it's more denlike. Carl has taken to it; the other day he crawled in there when the thunder started (he's a stormphobe). He also has a fear of people so I'll be using it to give him 'time out' while we have guests or when we're in a new place. It's also great for separating one dog from the rest while giving out treats, especially since Mischa is food aggressive. I'm going to try leaving Carl crated tomorrow while I'm at work (5 hours) and have mum let him out after a couple of hours in there. I personally wouldn't crate a dog for longer than 6 hours, though, especially since none of my dogs are destructive or have accidents. It's more for my peace of mind, really. I don't crate at night, either--I'm quite happy to share my bed with them. I do think it's valuable to crate train your dogs. My next dog will be crate trained as a pup and into adulthood so I can't advise re puppies, but there's some great advice in this thread already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBoz Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thanks for your tips guys. My dog's a bit spoilt and gets free run of the house all day so he actually accepts the crate better than he would being locked outside. He wouldn't want to get his tootsies wet now, would he Seems like I just have to persist and make that little crate the best treat haven ever! The Susan Garrett DVD looks great - I may look at investing it that because I really want him to accept the crate. I agree that I think it can be especially good for kids/adults who are scared of dogs. It's much easier to pop the calm dog in the crate than tell a terrified adult to stop sqealing.. heehee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesluvscavs Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) Joey and Renae grew up being crated at shows by their breeder, so its just second nature to them. We have ours in the loungeroom and the gate on it is always kept opened. In fact if it gets shut for some reason (and they are not in it), they get bit upset and will try everything to open it and get inside The only time I have shut them in it was once when we had tradesperson around for a few hours installing an aircon, he made it clear he didn't want to be tripping over small dogs, and if people come over and the Cavs arn't sure about them in the beginning, I will put them in it , but in front of our guests. Once they calm down then they come back out again.. I have used it also for Joey to recuperate in after a leg injury, and it did the job. Other that its just their little safe haven room. Atm our little foster dog, who i seriously doubt has ever seen a crate (but then who knows) is going in it a lot and sleeping since being desexed yesterday. Poor cavs have been turfed out of it ! I wished i had known about crates years ago! Edited December 20, 2011 by Jules♥Cavs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percyk Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 i only started using a crate for my youngest dog...hes going to be turning four initially i had it for him during the night so that he could sleep on the landing outside our bedroom but then we got him an armchair and he was perfect on it when we moved to our new smaller home we had no room for an armchair outside our bedroom so he sleeps on the lounges...theyre leather so i dont think they smell doggy and luckily none of our breeds have that doggy smell but the other dogs are crated and i trained them in one night one yelled til past midnight but we didnt relent and they have all been great after a week they actually made a beeline for the crates they dont mind who they share with either i decided to crate train these older individuals cos we have only doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms/laundry here in this new place so we cant contain the dogs so when we visitors come over we can place the dogs in crates christmas was easy this year they all stayed happily in their crates throughout lunch theyre such creatures of habit...as soon as it is bedtime they just go in of their own accord cant believe how easy a transition it was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Prior to getting into rescue I didn't have crates. Now I swear by them. I have 2 in the kitchen/dining room where I sit alot of the time (one for Codes and one for Princess) then in the bedroom I have another for Buddy. Codes doesn't sleep in hers though, she sleeps with us on the bed at night, but still, I made sure I crate trained her from the time I got her. When I have to leave the house to go to the shops or something I just call Codes and she goes straight in to her crate. I feel safer with her in there when I am out, at least I know she isn't getting into anything she shouldn't be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 i only started using a crate for my youngest dog...hes going to be turning four initially i had it for him during the night so that he could sleep on the landing outside our bedroom but then we got him an armchair and he was perfect on it when we moved to our new smaller home we had no room for an armchair outside our bedroom so he sleeps on the lounges...theyre leather so i dont think they smell doggy and luckily none of our breeds have that doggy smell but the other dogs are crated and i trained them in one night one yelled til past midnight but we didnt relent and they have all been great after a week they actually made a beeline for the crates they dont mind who they share with either i decided to crate train these older individuals cos we have only doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms/laundry here in this new place so we cant contain the dogs so when we visitors come over we can place the dogs in crates christmas was easy this year they all stayed happily in their crates throughout lunch theyre such creatures of habit...as soon as it is bedtime they just go in of their own accord cant believe how easy a transition it was So true. I find that aswell. Even with older pound dogs. Most have adjusted to the crate in next to no time, regardless of their age. I have never had any issues crate training them. And they know when it's bed time here too. After they have been out for their last wee for the night, they know to go straight to their crates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebbles Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I've used crates for years mainly for shows and traveling around a lot of Aussie with both big and small dogs. When I start packing the car the dogs would be in their crates ready before I was. All the above mentioned assets are there too, sickness, tradesman, visitors etc. Know I've said this before but I'll be eternally grateful for crates when my car burst into flame in the middle of nowhere. I just had to grab the crates and put them out of the way. If the dogs had been in harnesses or loose, I would not have got them out or they would have run away if loose. All I saved from the car was the dogs and my handbag before it went whoosh. Dogs even had a ride in the ambulance back to the nearest town. Hopefully no-one else has this happen but crates are also great if you breakdown, easy to put them under a shady tree and know they are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebee Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Ok. As I've started this thread... So we did get a crate. And a puppy He is 9 week old dal and has been living with us for 5 days already. He liked crate from the first minutes in our home. Crate is open and our Charlie goes into the crate by himself whenever he wants to have a nap. Sometimes he lays down somewhere else, but has no issues if we pick him up and put into the crate (or lure him inside with a treat). He usually does not mind if we close the crate door if he is inside. BUT!!! We tried to crate him during the night and it was a nightmare. He was screaming and moaning and wrestling all night long. 10pm till 6am NON STOP. I never imagined that a 9 week puppy can be that intense. By the end of the night I would not be surprised if wire crate would be completely destroyed. We could probably continue with the "be firm" mantra for the following nights, but we live in a duplex and really do not want to bother our neighbours. So the next 2 nights I've taken different strategy. Crate is open and puppy is in crate. If he leaves crate I would gently put him back inside. First night it was a non-stop process, but on a second night I had to put him back in crate just couple of times. Still if I shut the door during the night puppy goes ballistic. Not sure how to overcome this. As I said he loves his crate most of the time, but occasionally hates it with a passion. "Wait till he stops crying, then treat" just does not work because he never stops. And when after many-many-many hours he does stop, there is nothing to treat. He is so exhausted that you can give him the bestest yummiest treat and he ignores it. I've heard of that crate training DVD and going to order it, but in a meantime any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebbles Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Where have you got his crate? If it's in the living area during the day then he can see you and even when you close the door he still knows you are there. I'm just guessing that perhaps you leave it there for the night too? If this is the case I'd suggest you move it into your bedroom for nights. Then just a word from you and he'll know you are nearby and will probably settle easily. This all guess work and probably way of course lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 There is a difference between the crate training you are looking for and what you will find on the Crate Games DVD. The Crate Games DVD is about creating value for the crate, but it is also about using the crate as a basis for performance work and using it to develop drive etc. (Just an FYI in case you hadn't come across it before.) To answer your question - I had a similar problem with our pup when she first came to live with us so, before we managed to work through crate games we adopted plan B to keep the peace. Our dogs need to be crated at night because they 'guard' the house from possums and chase the cats around if the opporutnity arises. (Not to mention their destructive puppy phases.) Wikki was OK sleeping next to our bed in her crate, but would scream if she wasn't right there beside my side of the bed. (From night 2 - she arrived at about 11pm so night one wasn't really a problem.) So I let her sleep there. Then each night we moved the crate little by little (starting with only 15cm to 30cm, but then progressing to bigger increments) until she was out of our room and then finally into the 'dog room' where she still sleeps now. Hope that helps. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebee Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'm just guessing that perhaps you leave it there for the night too? Crate is in living area all the time. I have temporarily relocated to the coach near the crate but still... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebbles Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Pup is only a baby still and would be missing his litter brothers and sisters (and his Mum). I reckon if you put the crate beside your bed for a while then as he settles you can slowly move it out a bit at a time. Once he has the confidence to know you aren't going to leave him he should be happy to sleep where ever you choose. Some of my babies have been like this and I find just building the confidence is the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Oh just put him in your bed. He will snuggle up & sleep like a dream all night through Otherwise crate next to your bed or leave the crate door open & see what happens. I would go for option one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Also, try tiring the puppy out before bed time! Playing games, training, etc. A tired puppy is a sleepy puppy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Our puppies never cried of a night time because they always slept with someone. Either in bed with us, or with my teenage daughter when she was living here. The next one will have to be in with us as she's moved out now. Isaak used to alternate, if she was away for a weekend, he'd come in with us, sometimes he'd still be up playing and she'd go to bed so I'd take him to bed with me. Eventually he decided he wanted to sleep with Dusty and he's never slept back in our bed (although he still comes in for cuddles). None of them sleep on our bed now, but they all sleep in our room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebee Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Oh just put him in your bed. He will snuggle up & sleep like a dream all night through Oh I'm sure he would. But my bed belongs to my BOSS - our cat and he will not tolerate any dogs in his bed. Dogs in bed? What a ridiculous idea! Ever since we've got a puppy he (cat) looks at puppy with utmost contempt, then looks at me as if saying: "Dog? Hey human, surely we all know perfectly well that me, THE CAT, is the best thing ever happen in your life. Why, oh why on Earth have you got that worthless spotty clown of dog then?" Yeah, our Charlie getting better during the night in his crate. Last night he slept through the night with just a single toilet break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Yeah, our Charlie getting better during the night in his crate. Last night he slept through the night with just a single toilet break. Phew!!! Good boy Charlie! That's a relief for you and THE BOSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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