Crate unhealthy for a dogs for their behavior - Page 1

I have heard from different dog behaviorists that puting pups and adults In crates to much Can be very destroying to their naturel behavior and developement, desiré to take intiatives and overall not very good for Them to put them In crates I have never myself used crates indoor because I only had a pup by myself so crates are only used In the car and now because I have to dogs so I Can let them out seperately Does someone here crate their dogs In the hause and Joe much a day ???? Have anyone heard or seen dogs that has been to much In a crate???? Let mé hear your opinion

No crate would be bad for my behaviour

I use crates faithfully.  I only work till noon, so they are not in a crate more than 6 hours, however, I"ve noticed no negative issues from it.  They love their crates and are very happy to go in them. 
What part of their natural behaviour is it supposed to destroy?
With mine, sleep time is in a crate instead of on the deck or where ever.  They are safe, my house is safe and we are both happy.

I crate my dog when I am not home and she cannot come, because otherwise she likes to get into the litterbox. But this crate is huge - really I could probably fit two of her in it if I wanted too, so I don't feel too guilty about it. Seeing as she also comes to work with me every night, it is generally not that long of a time. And when I am home and she is allowed to roam the house, she sometimes will still go in there on her own accord, to take a nap.
My cat seems to like it too though... when we come home in the morning, I am usually pulling out at least one cat toy. The smooth surface must help with her swatting it around and whatnot, LOL!

We have always had crates for our dogs when they were puppies or adults who couldn't be trusted in the house (our old poodle, a chronic marker, comes to mind). But we have never kept them in there more than when we weren't home and there was no one to keep an eye on them. I've never noticed any negative effects.

I crate my puppy and my adult dog. They seem to really like it. I only crate them when I am going to be away from the house (usually no more than 4 hours) and the puppy gets crated at night. The puppy will choose to lay in the crate even when we are at home. When I come home the puppy wants out of the crate but my adult dog barely acknowledges I have walked in the door. They are very calm and relaxed in their crates. Crates are also great for potty training. I love my crates and so do my dogs. I have only seen benefits from them and now, would have no idea how to live without them

 
We crate our 3 month old puppy while at work and at bed time.  She is in there about 7 hours during the day, three times a week.  And about six hours during sleeping time.  Before we leave for work and before bedtime we spend plenty of time outside chasing ball or going for a walk through the woods to help tire her out.  She loves her crate, will go in there on her own when she wants a break from the other dogs or just needs a nap.  The crate is a great tool for housebreaking.  And it keeps her safe while we are away and can not watch her.

Our 3 year old male German Shepherd is loose during the day and night.  He hates any crate and is a genuine Houdini in breaking out of them. Before he came to us he was owned by a older gentleman who kept him in a small aptartment 24/7.  Poor guy had no exercise and was just a pent up mess when we went to see him.   I feel he may have been crated for many hours at his former owners and this was a negative experience for him.  He did not get proper exercise and with ebing in the crate for hours on end he had no social skills either. At the guys house there were 2 broken crates in his backyard, we were told from the dog.  We were also told he barked constantly and the neighbors complained about him.  Here was a beautiful  2 year old male German Shepherd of awesome breeding living his life in crates and a small one bedroom apartment.  His owner was in his 70's and maybe 100 pounds.  How the guy ever was able to talk the breeder into selling him a puppy we will never know. Once we had him in a home enviroment where he can run and play to his hearts content he totally changed.  Settles down nicely in the house. Has great manners and a awesome personality.  We are still working on not chasing the kitty but we are making progress.  I will never crate him again due to his fear of them. 

With proper use crates are wonderful for training and also for providing a safe and secure place for your puppy/dog to retreat to if they should feel the need.  I wouldnt want to train a puppy without one.

Depends on how it's used. 

Crating a dog for the majority of a 24 hour period when it's inside the house--yes, that is detrimental to the dog mentally AND physically, and unacceptable with ONE exception: if the dog is crated on advice of a veterinarian for recuperative purposes after some kind of injury or treatment that requires the dog's activity be severely and strictly limited at all times. 

Crating a dog for the majority of a 24 hour period inside a garage or some other placed that's isolated from the household activity--also detrimental to the dog mentally and physically, and unacceptable with the same exception mentioned above.

Crating a dog for limited periods of time [for an adult dog, 8 hours or less; maximum time for puppies varies with age] to facilitate housebreaking and/or protect dog from injury and/or prevent dog from damaging anything--acceptable as long as dog is provided with an equal amount of time spent unconfined in the same day.

I have 2 big crates.  One for each dog and they know which kennel is theirs!  I don't NEED to put them in them anymore for I trust them in my house now.  But I did use them faithfully as I was raising and training them.  They both go in their crates when they feel like it and my male uses his alot more than the female.  The door is always open now.  Honestly, I would love to put them in the cellar now and create more room but they serve their purpose now and then and my dogs like to go sleep in them every so often so I'll leave 'em where they are.

Let me guess...the se so called "behaviorists" also tout the benefits of the omnipotent "gentle" leader?

JRansom- I'm totally with you!

The main floor of my house is about 650 square feet so I would love to get rid of the giant crate in my living room; however, my female GSD has always loved her crate. When she's in the house, she's in her crate- no where else (the crate door is left open). I took her crate away at Christmas and she ran around the house grumbling about it until my husband set it up again. We're getting a new pup on Saturday so we had to get rid of the tv to fit another crate in our living room. Gah!

I  can guarantee that Behaviourist is hired by Pets mart, Walmart, or some such operation

Every DOG should be crated for his behavioural IMPRINT and in Schutzhund the first thing we do after obedience or trainig is  CRATE THE DOG...PUP .... AND SOMETIMES THE HANDLER...

the REASON??

 FOR the pup or dog to COOL DOWN,,,to THINK about what he/she/it just was a part of and to have

time FOR SELF EVALUATION OF THE DOGS SENSES TO  be calmed and forthe dog to have time for it to come back down into dog world and not be confused with the thought pattern it just was taught.

Crates are safe havens for working line and show line dogs to cool themselves down,,to be safe from harm of kids, house with no supervision and a place of retreat.

THE DEN of a dog is its HEAVEN ON EARTH

A dog let run loose all the time and not crated becomes a nightmare.

SOMEONE has filled  a lot of peoples minds with HOGWASH in dog behaviour and training.

ALSO anyone wanting to chose a dog or pup for Schutzhund or sport venues, should not buy any german shepherd, or such line of breed for sport without  first  reading  Susan Barwig and Stewart Hilliard's book entitled:

Schutzhund  Theory and Training Methods....Then find someone who is in the sport with a reputation and knowledge...and even if you do not want to be in the sport...the same techniques and the same requirements for an intelligent, trainable and companion dog without health and behavioural problems will still be advantageous...AND then people would not be all frustrated and upset with what they got for the BUCK>..

  I did not post on the thread about the  22yr old man who has a pup he just is frenzied over his behaviour because he isn't doing what he thought as  pup he should...???? Well , first of all , this book gives you EVERY clue and tip on how to pick the right kind of GSD, for Schutzhund..you just cannot go buy any pup or dog and it will work..WHY spend months, of money and frustration on TRYING TO put something into a dog that   DOES NOt genetically have iT>

Same with Crates... I would never ever have any dog without a crate for everyone on the premises and use them every day of that dogs life. ANd I could list at least 8 reasons for using a crate every day and most of the life of any pet, trained dog or training applicant or any titled or any pet you have...THE world is so overrun with dogs that have no discipline and a big portion end up in RESCUES because people get so upset and cannot deal with the pups behaviour or grown dog nightmare..ALL could be avoided ....

SOME of the nutcracker theraphists or dog trainer got their degrees out of the Kellogg Rice Krispies box.

YR