Crate unhealthy for a dogs for their behavior - Page 4

Simply put after reading this entire thread, I could never stick a pup or dog in a tiny, locked box or cage, (with barely enough room to turn around), for any reason. Sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it.  And, people do this for hours?  Blows my mind. Maybe some owners should experience what it feels like and place themselves in the crate.....same space.....same amount of time......locked in.  WANNA bet they'd rethink this practice.

You want to acclimate a dog to a crate...in small dosages...to facilitate ease when traveling in your car.......fine....no problem.  You want to relentlessly confine your dog all day to protect your persian rug......not acceptable.  Get creative and devise some alternative solution.  I've always managed and so can you.  Gate off your kitchen or room of choice.....foolproofing room as an extra measure..such as wrapping chair and table legs.....whatever.  The 'easy' crate solution is only easy for you.....not the dog.

And.......that BS about dogs loving their crates,(lol), they're USED to them.  One of my guys loves retreating behind a wing chair in the living room.  He also loves retreating to my smaller bathroom, and an upstairs alcove where he can peer out the window for hours.  He's made it his business that none of these dogwalkers are using his lawn.   Put my sweetie-pie in a locked box. Never.....never, in a million years.

Now......all you eyerollers.....I read your opinion and clenched my teeth.  Feel free to reciprocate, lol.  I've said it before-----if you're the type to crate, you will. I won't.  No........I can't.  I'm probably going to run out of space to continue typing, but remembering something.........
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About 15 years ago, I went to see some pups that were advertised in a fairly upscale, residential area.  They were confined to the indoor-outdoor porch.  Seller was elderly..nearing 80...and I was surprised when she said she lived alone in this huge house with this litter.  She was knowlegeable.  No two ways about it, she knew her stuff. The sire was in an airplane crate in the corner.  When I asked about the mother, she said I could go out to the garage and take a look at her.  Well....I did just that. By myself, since she could barely rise. (She even asked if I would go to the grocery store and buy her some 'Ensure'.  I remember being highly amused.)

Huge garage.  Opened the side door and there she was.....smack, dab in the middle...in a wired cage, hardly any bigger than herself.  Friendly as could be.  Looked like she had never been brushed in her life. This day was my first encounter with crates, and I didn't give it the thought I would have today. At the time, passed it off as merely a way to keep the adults out of the way when a buyer appeared........but later.....much later......realized the truth.  Sigh.

Whatever----I hate those crates.

A word to the wise, myret: never listen to dog advice from those inclined to anthropomorphism.

Hmmm........lol......perhaps a word FROM the wise:  Those little guilty feelings will always lurk down deep even when one can spell anthropomorphic.

I find it interesting that the anti-crate brigade cites spots in their homes where their dogs hide/hang out. Anyone care to guess where they'd nap if they had a crate? 

So if dogs only go into crates because they are "use to them" then how to do explain my 7 week old puppy preferring (box not locked) to be in a crate the day I brought him home and he had NEVER been crated previously? The closest he got to being crated was a gated kitchen. He had his choice of places to sleep and he went into the crate. Coincidence? No.


To add:
He is now 3 months and still likes to go into his crate especially when tired. 

Drat....I just came back to the computer wanting to close it down QUICKLY because I'm watching a really good movie....'The Secret in Their Eyes'.....and I see three threads of interest.  This one I have to respond to BECAUSE I've been challenged.......again, Drat. It will be thought out and typed expediently, so please bear with me.

First....oooo...Jen.  I'll take a stab with an answer.  I thought it was a given they'd nap in crates if they had them.

Using my dog as a point of reference, I'll address the backhand inference to a psuedo crate substitute......so let's examine the facts, (supplied by yours truly, lol),.....shall we?  It's all about me, not den behavior.  The bathroom is a favorite hangout WHEN it's occupied by me....showering, etc, etc.  The wing chair is a favorite retreat WHEN I'm sitting in it watching TV.  The window alcove upstairs offers a relaxing refuge where those eagle eyes watch more than dog walkers.  They also keep tabs on mama....painting in her studio.

All about me.....wanting to be with his human.  Joe has access to the whole house.  If crate behavior was so..so necessary, nothing is keeping him from it.  He can pick any spot his heart desires and 'den' himself royally.

Oh......and Echo....lol...Who knows and furthermore, who cares.  He's a baby hiding.  That's your defense of crating?  I'm going to bed now.  I can't believe I responded trying to read the English captions on the tv screen.  As luck would have it, the movie was a foreign film.  Drat. Done.

"Hmmm........lol......perhaps a word FROM the wise: Those little guilty feelings will always lurk down deep even when one can spell anthropomorphic."

Had I been trying to spell anthropomorphic, I would have.

I doubt anyone would disagree that putting a dog in a crate 24/7 is not good for the dog. I just don't see the big deal about using a crate for a dog that is not trustworthy when you're not home for a few hours. Or for a dog that has suffered an injury or had surgery and needs to have it's exercise restricted for its own good.

Goody goody for those who are home 24/7 and who have the time to train their dogs perfectly from day one. Kudos to those who have  found perfect dogs that can be allowed to roam free when you're not home. I've been fortunate enough to have dogs like that too, but my current dog is not one of them, so I put her in a crate when I'm not home and close the door. It's not just a matter of saving granny's Persian rug from being eaten, it's also a matter of keeping the dog safe from ingesting foreign objects and from harming themselves. Not all dogs are perfect and not all dogs can ever be trusted 100% when no one is around. It isn't always about the training or lack of or the pedigree. 

I resent the blanket notion that those who crate their dogs are bad dog owners and those who don't are better or more caring dog owners. There's a lot more to being a responsible dog owner than whether or not one uses a crate to contain a dog.
 

This may surprise a few, but Caleb was never in a crate until he was about 18-24months old. Never once, except for when I had him flown here as an 8week old. He's not exactly the easiest dog, so it's not all about training, the handler, the dog, etc. The thing was, he was never alone. Never. I was single, no kids, only one other dog (Chihuahua), and I was a Realtor. He literally came with me everywhere but the bathroom. He came into my office, and if it was busy enough that I couldn't watch everything going on, I would leave him in my car until it cleared out a bit (there was always one jackass wanting to get into a staring contest with the dog) and then bring him in and position him near my desk. He had constant supervision. He would mind his own business provided the idiot quotient minded theirs.

Anyway...one day the receptionist says to me that she has a free 700 crate if I want it. I said I didn't need it, but it would be nice to have for an emergency. I brought it home and he ran right in it. He acted like he'd been waiting for one and it was Christmas. Weird. I even called my ex to see if he'd ever crated him to explain this reaction and he said to his knowledge, Caleb had never even seen a crate. He loved it. It was like he'd been waiting for his "own" place. I was pretty shocked. He continued to love it and use it to hide things he didn't want the Chihuahua to get, etc. 

Now, I crate dogs to separate them. Caleb and Simon will fight given 1/2 an opportunity. I don't want Pit Bull/GSD crosses, so when the girls are in heat, Simon's crated if he's not with me.  Everyone gets rotated. Right now Caleb's right next to me on the couch but he slept in his crate last night because it was Simon's turn to sleep with me. The old mutt and the little yapper are of course loose 24/7. My point in sharing my trivia is that it's not about what KIND of dog, what KIND of owner, it's about the lifestyle and dropping the fallacious idea that the mere use of a "locked box" is cruelty in and of itself.