Does Your Dog Need A Crate?

A dog crate is basically used to restrict or confine the movement of a dog but there is more to it than that. If you trained your dog especially when it is still a puppy, the crate is going to be its own home or den where it will go to when it needs to rest or sleep or even to have some sense of security.

So what is a dog crate?

A dog crate can be a foldable metallic fence, plastic dog house, collapsible plastic or foldable portable nylon mesh crate. You will need to choose one that is appropriate for your dog depending on where you intend to put the crate.

There are different sizes of crates to suit the different breeds of dogs. Your dog must be able to sit upright inside the crate and lie down comfortably across the crate. It must be able to turn around inside the crate.

I have two crates for my Corgi dog; a collapsible metallic fence where I put her in the car porch if I have visitors or when she has her meals, and a heavy duty plastic crate when I have to move her indoors at night. My other Beagle dog just uses another heavy duty plastic crate and he is outdoors throughout the day and night.

When I first have my puppy Beagle, I bought a large size crate that allows the top to be removed and have a gate too. I have the puppy sleeping inside the crate and put a towel there for its comfort. I removed the top and played with the puppy inside the crate so as to get the puppy used to it. The puppy only slept inside the crate at night and was allow moving about the garden during the day. The puppy learned that the crate is its home or den and would not soil it.

Importantly, I do not believe in putting the puppy inside the crate for too long other than his sleeping hours at night. The crate should not be used for confinement as a punishment for some wrongdoing. For example, it should not be use to punish your dog when it does not listen to your commands during training.

Unfortunately, there are owners that are putting their dog inside the crate when they leave for work as they fear that the dog may destroy the home furnishings and soil the carpet, especially if they are living in an apartment. If you do not have a choice, then I hope you can get a reasonably big crate so that the dog have sufficient room to move around and one that have enough ventilation holes ( I actually drilled more holes in my dog crate so that it is better ventilated as the weather is sunny throughout the year ). Hopefully, you do not work late most of the time so that its confinement is limited to no more that six to eight hours. Upon your return home, let the dog out immediately and walk the dog so that it can stretch and ease itself.

My beagle grew up with the same large size crate that I bought together with it. The crate can last for years as long as you take good care of it and clean it regularly too. My beagle is so used to this crate that it still likes to go inside it for a nap even though I have gotten a much bigger crate for him recently. My two dogs love their crates placed in the car porch, and use them as their own dens, whether for resting or to hide from the thunder and lighting when there are any thunderstorms.

Videos of My Dogs & Their Crates

Hi,


The first one is a video of Ruby coming indoor to sleep in her crate placed at the back of the house. I used to leave her in the car porch too with her crate but she barks when it rains and when there are cats etc at night and my neighbours complained about her.



If you are not able to see the video, pls go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eMQ6NG7L6Y




The second video show the crates I have in the car porch that both Jack and Ruby share during the day. Jack may or may not sleep in them at night, it is his choice. He does not bark that much so no problem with the neighbours.




If you are not able to see the video, pls go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pH_-xOi0xE

I hope these videos have given you an insight on the use of the crates for your dog.

David

Type of Crates

Hi,

There are a few types of crates available in the market and it depends on what are your intentions when you buy a crate for your puppy or dog.

I have used a few crates for my 2 dogs and I, currently, have 3 plastic crates and one foldable metallic crate.

This is a plastic crate that can be open into 2 halves and has a gate to keep the dog inside, if necessary. This is the most common and highly recommended crate that I would recommend you to buy.

This is the most recent crate I bought for Ruby to replace an old one but both Jack and Ruby share it during the day.








Though it may looks a bit small for Jack but he likes it.....more cosy....?



This is the crate that I first bought when Jack was a puppy and it has worn out a bit but I used some strong tape to keep it together. It is used by Ruby to sleep at the back of the house at night. Jack used to share it too during the day.




























It is important that the dog can sit up inside the crate though they usually lie down or sleep in it most of the time. I am surprised to see that Jack can go inside this crate and then make a u-turn to position himself for a cosy curl up.


I saw a huge used dog house in a pet shop ( brought in by an expatriate but leaving the country then ) and bought it for Jack, thinking that he would like the more space.





This dog house does not have a gate to keep the dog in but I would turn it around such that the opening face the wall to keep Jack in , if necessary. There are ventilation holes at the sides. Surprisingly, Jack feels that it is a bit too spacious and not cosy enough so it is under utilised!

While big or giving them sufficient space is good but too much of it does not make it a cosy den for the dog.

Lastly, I found this open and foldable metallic crate very useful for Ruby. She goes in there for her meals so that she can eat in comfort and not worry about Jack eyeing her food.


When I have visitors and they are not comfortable with my dogs, I also put Ruby inside this metallic crate. Somehow Ruby loves it and goes in happily, see my video on it in my coming posting.




Ruby just has her bathe and was put inside the crate under the sun to dry her up. This very flexible as it can be folded and easily carried around the house. It is airy and you can see each other very well. This is also a good option for indoors but you will have to make sure it does not move too much when the dog gets excited and jump up on to the metallic rails as it can collapse and injure it.

David

Benefits Of Crate Training

Hi,

New dog owners are usually not sure how to crate train your puppy and what could be the benefits.

I came across their concern in forums and dog communities.

So what are the benefits?

Importantly, giving your puppy a crate is like presenting it his own den or personal sleeping quarters. It is like their home or bedroom where it would go to to rest and sleep or seek comfort or security ( eg. when it rain with thunder and lighting ).

Because the puppy will treat it like its own personal space, it will not soil it unless it really cannot help it. Therefore, crate training is also good for potty training.

What do I mean by that?

After his evening meal, let your puppy out and let it pee. Then when it is ready to sleep, put it into the crate until next morning.

When you let it out in the early morning for his meal, it will go for his pee. Over time, the puppy will learn to control his bladder and pee after his meals.

Depending on where you live, you may not want to let your puppy or dog out in the yard all day so you would keep it indoor most of the time.

So either your home is readily open to your dog or you can confine it to his own space otherwise it may mess up your home. This is where a crate may come in handy. This is especially true for those living in apartments in the city area.

The other occasion that you may want to crate your dog is when you have to leave it alone in the house or apartment; eg. you have to go to do some shopping or run some errand or even going to your 9 to 5 office job.

So another question is how long can you put your dog in its crate?

Well, based on my own experiences with my 2 dogs, I have put Ruby in her crate every night for about 8 hours at one go and she is so used to it that she look forward to it every night. You can see a video of it later in my posting.

Of course, I would not recommend you putting your dog in a crate for unnecessary long hours unless you have trained your dog accordingly.

In theory, you should NOT put your dog inside the crate as some form of punishment though.

The other important factor is to buy the appropriate crate for your dog, which I will touch on in my next posting.

David

Why You Should Get A Crate For Your Puppy?

Hi,

When I first bought Jack, my beagle puppy, for my son 11 years ago, one of the things that I bought besides puppy food, a toy, leach, drinking bowl and food bowl was a plastic crate.

Why a Crate?

Well, where would you put the puppy to sleep at night?

A paper box or cut-board, on top of a towel, your bed.....?

It so happened that my puppy was brought in from Australia into Singapore, so it flew in on a special dog crate meant for it.

I bought a similar dog crate and Jack has been sleeping in one since then.

Here is a photo of Jack's first night at home :

You would notice that the plastic crate can be separated into top and bottom half and there is also a metallic door or gate.

I bought the biggest size crate as the puppy would grow bigger in size so I need not have to upgrade or buy another one when the time came.

Having a crate will also see to it that the puppy can sleep in comfort and security and will not move around unnecessary during the night.

You are not advised to crate it the whole day though as the puppy need to exercise and explore his new home.

During the day, Jack was allowed to roam around the garden but under our watchful eyes as he was young and have no fear for danger; just like our own young kids or babies. Once Jack has enough of exercise, it was safe to put him back into his crate as he does sleep a lot too.

This is a quick introduction to the need for a crate.

I will share with you more benefits of crate training your puppy dog in my next postings.

Jack chewing on his cloth bone.

David