This post for someone/s to please tell me why in the world so many people crate or kennel their dogs. I never have, and I'm quite certain I never will crate a dog. Its been bothering me for some time but I've never asked this question... I am NOT TALKING ABOUT FOR MEDICAL REASONS...I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THE DOG HAS TO STAY "UNEXCITED", AND IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE IT CAN RUN OR WALK, ETC. However, I am not talking about medical reasons....there are any number of people that get dogs - all sizes, and then make them "learn" to be crated or kenneled. WHY do people do this? Do any of y'all? If so, WHY? If you have a dog with behavior issues, and it is FINALLY released from it's cage, wouldn't it be even more hyperactive when released? If so, do you make it return back to their little cell? If it has behavior issues, does kenneling actually make the issues go away? If a person can't handle their dog and any basic behavior problems they have, why even get one? So you can look cute, look good to others, or what????
I never got it either, it seems to be a new trend for people who don't know what they're doing so they just put them in a crate out of site out of mind. Okay well I know that's not the case but that is what is seems like especially when you read its how people toilet trained. Pups gonna piss on the floor, get over it.
people ask why i dont crate my dog?? arent you afraid the dog will get into something when youre out? No cause the dog isnt stupid.. it lays under the table til I get back. i know this person that has a GSD and its not trained at all . they spoil it, give it three meals a day, have to lock it up when people come over, it jumps fences. And they ask why dog is so easy to manage.. I took time with the dog. dog knows its parameter and does not leave it, knows one person is its master not the entire house of dummies that dont know shit about dogs.. even my huskies were never escape artists, I burned them out with doll and other running, they were to tired to escape with happy tummies ..
People that do this think they live in some kind of spotless "Better Homes and Gardens" wonderland... They don't, really, but they want that appearance where there is no fur/dirt/piss/shit/smells in their house... but they also want a dog as some kind of "status thing" ... as you said, they look cute. There are some cases where the dog is more comfortable in it's cage and goes there willingly but that's different...
I crated my dog temporarily a few years ago, she was maybe a year old and I moved to a new house. She had always had bad separation anxiety but it got really bad when we moved. I came home one day and she had destroyed my couch. I didnt know what else to do so I bought her a crate to stay in while I was at work. Crates arent meant to be punishment, they're to provide a safe space to keep a dog calm. And it worked. I only crated her for a couple of months until she got used to the house but left the crate there for a long time afterwards and she would go lay in it voluntarily with the door open. She liked it
<3 I know that is right! absolutely....love, kindness, happiness, loyalty. You ARE the man Ori! That makes so much sense, Mel...plus you didn't make her stay there all the time, forever - like these people I read about and even "know" on fb...I've tried asking but am always so bashed etc that I don't even pay attention to what they say. Your girl isn't restricted in there now and she goes there willingly. That's sweet. I've been leaving my cat (transport) cages (they are open and really cages) in the hall and see some of these goofballs wander in and lay down occasionally. However, the only time they are confined to one is when they have to go to a vet. Again, thanks for this response that makes sense, and shows me that even though a dog may be crated for a while, it needn't be something that never ends. That is what the poor animals I read about often have to deal with. People like that shouldn't have a dog, imo.
My big dogs get two 45 minute walks a day, weather permitting, about 8 miles total. They also go to the yard whenever they ask, 3-5 times a day, weather permitting. If the pavement is too hot, the humidity too high, heavy precipitation, extremely high wind, lightning, they don't have their walk. If there is lightening or a wind advisory my backyard is not a safe place to spend time. Otherwise, they have their walks, and they have as much time as they request in the yard. They live indoors with us. When anyone is home, they run free. My dude will play with them. I don't play with them much. I train them. I feed them. I pet them, kiss their snoots, hug them if they'll allow. I talk to them, and invite them up onto the furniture if they'd lile to join me. Sometimes the one likes an armchair in the dining room. The other likes the wingback opposite. There is a small dog who likes the ottoman by the wingback. They all like the sofa. The small dog doesn't like to go out. She is capable of sharing the litterboxes with the cats. When she was younger, she liked longer walks, and would stay out with me 20-30 minutes once daily. Now, if the weather is not absolutely ideal, she sniffs and returns inside. I refuse to force her. When she does take a walk, it's just a few blocks to the park to sniff around, then she wants to be home. She's old. I keep her happy. She is permitted more freedom to make choices, as opposed to when she was young, and she went for a walk every day to keep her energy down and her body lean. All of my dogs are crate trained. The little dog does not get crated when I leave. She is just restricted to the largest bedroom. She is kept in via baby gate. She enjoys nature documentaries, and one is left playing for her until the television times out. She has three chairs, a Cal-king bed, an ottoman and her crate. She has room-temp water (as she prefers, unlike the big dogs who prefer ice water) and a litter box. In her crate are toys and brain games. She is very well behaved, and unlike her wild youth, she no longer breaks into locked garbage cans, chews wires, steals things you never thought she could reach, nor generally courts death. So, while I do recommend her crate to her sometimes (like when she is upset by thunder, or has been irate with the other pets), I almost never close the door. The big dogs are not yet trustworthy. If I'm back within an hour, one will habe waited by the door crying the entire time. That one will begin to seek revenge for having been abandoned if in gone longer than that. The other Will wait a few minutes to be sure I'm really gone, then do everything I do not permit when I'm home. She gets up on the counters to steal sponges, her antihistamines, napkins, and any forgotten dry goods. She will push the button to release ice from the freezer. She will eat cat litter and any leavings. By the time I get back, she has gotten it all done, and sat herself in her favorite wingback chair or corner of the sofa. These dogs are a work in progress. So they are not safe running free in the house, and the house is not safe from them. My house smells like baked goods, spices, clean laundry, and whatever wax is in the warmers. My big dogs smell like grass, earth, and holiday spices. My cats and small dog smell like fabric softener. One bathroom does have a faint whiff of male cat urine. I can't get it out of a particular bath mat, and my husband won't let me toss that mat. Overall, the house does not smell like unwashed pets and dirty litterboxes because I don't have any unwashed pets and dirty litterboxes. My little dog sleeps in a clothes hamper all day and smells like my husband's soap and the fabric softener. The big dogs have lots of environmental allergies, and get wiped down with damp cloths a few times a day, and get a soapy cloth once a day (prescription shampoo), and get rinsed in the front yard the next time they go out. If my house does begin to smell musty, or like wet beast, I clean it. Simple. Anything that can't get washed can get shampooed, steamed, or both. Easy. To get my dogs into their crates, I tell them it is bedtime. They don't mind. They never get crated as punishment or isolation (unless they've been grumpy with another pet and need a time-out). My big dogs share one crate. They do not have to. They have their own. They choose to crate together. Before I leave, they hear, "Bedtime!" They trot right in and sit, tails wagging. I give each a cookie and take their collars. I lock the door, and offer a second cookie. They eat, sniff each other, then curl up snuggled in amd wait for me to come back. If they crate alone, they get a toy. If not, no toy. I used to make the little dog and the older big dog sleep in their crates (door open). But the youngest big dog cries, so I let them all bunk with me now, anytime they'd like. The youner big dog just wants to be rocked to sleep like a baby, and held in my arms all night. I usually oblige her. And no, I do not think it is acceptable to have animal waste strewn all over my home, even when I am training a young puppy. No, I do not want to track haor and dander everywhere I go, nor do I want guests to be covered in hair. Despite my 5 animals having freedom to roam the house when someone is home, I still manage to keep a clean house. Crating was part of the potty training process, but isn't done at my home for any other purpose than to keep unsupervised animals safe from unimagined harm, and keep my possessions safe from curious dogs. You all may do with your animals and your homes as you please.
I have only one who gets crated.... and only when I leave the home. sometimes at night.. She actually likes her crate. Sometimes she goes in to her crate during the night on her own. It's her bedroom. She loves it.
