Crate Training
Miles is crate trained and has been put in his crate whenever we leave the house for the entire year and a half we’ve had him. He doesn’t cry or a make a peep when he’s in his crate, but lately he’s been a bit more resistant to staying in there (he used to lay down when I put him in, now he tries to make a run for it when I close the door).
If Chris leaves him out, he curls up in the only chair he can jump into and is fine. If I leave him out, he wails at the back door.
I can’t decide if I should work on eliminating the crate all together or not. Chris hates it being in our living room (it IS ugly) and he feels “cruel” putting him in there for hours at a time (he is FINE… he has a dogwalker EVERY SINGLE DAY at noon and he’s never in there on the weekends).
I can’t have him wailing, ever, because my downstairs neighbors are both nurses that work PM shifts (aka they sleep during the day).
He also has a submissive peeing issue (he tinkles a little when he get stressed) so having him in the crate means no surprises when I get home. He is housetrained, however, so I feel like the crate isn’t really solving the submissive issue.
I’m not sure what the best option is. He’s so small and quiet (and loves the car) that I bring him everywhere when we travel. If it’s overnight, it’s such a pain to bring the crate.
Have any of you ever weened your dog off the crate? Is it worth it?
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jaclynday answered:
I never weaned Milo off the crate because I worry about what he’d get into if he was loose. But, we leave him out on short errands.
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holyshirtsandpants answered:
Yes! We absolutely weened Bubbles off the crate, and I recommend it. I’ll shoot you an email in a little bit!
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noevidenceofintelligence answered:
I slowly weened Todo out of the crate during the day, but since he doesn’t sleep in my bed the crate is his “bed.”
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mavieenrose liked this
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mavieenrose said:
we weaned hampton off the crate. it was totally worth it. email me and i can fill you in.
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the-house-of-oz said:
We got rid of crates for both dogs as couldn’t be happier! We almost never have tinkle incidents.
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dressesandcurls answered:
If he gets enough exercise or time out of it before he is put back in it shouldn’t be a problem for him to go in there. Give him toys/bones.
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babs-the-red liked this
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danielleisdizzy said:
I think it’s worth it. Green spent six months in a crate. I started by leaving her out during small trips (target, errands, etc) and worked up to full days.
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yaboutthat liked this
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yaboutthat answered:
I only leave Moose out if we are gone for 30 minutes or less, I would keep him in a crate, it keeps him safe!
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littlelaur liked this
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useyourindoorvoice answered:
I would keep him in the crate. It keeps your dog safe while you’re not there to make sure he doesn’t get himself into something he shouldn’t.
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tamsgot answered:
I started slow by leaving him out when i was gone 30 min. and working up to all day. I still have to close bathroom and bedroom doors
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pinkseersucker said:
not a helpful comment - but I can’t believe you have had Mr. Miles for a year and a half already! Amazing!
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callmerobin answered:
I would leave mine in the crate. We still have to leave ours closed in a room b/c they’ll be ALL over the furniture.
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herblondness liked this
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kimbaland answered:
I would keep him in the crate…but maybe I’m biased because my 2 would destroy the house.
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megburns posted this
