Is it OK to crate an adult dog?

DD_838

I own a 10 month old puggle and a 13 month chihuahua. Whenever I go out my puggle damages something. I have no idea why. I was wondering if it would be OK to buy a large crate and keep him in it while I am gone. I usually never leave for more than 6 hours, with an average of 2. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Just a note: He has never been in a crate before so, I am afraid it will traumatize him.
Thanks for all the great answers so far.
I was also wondering, should I put my chihuahua in there with him? It seems odd to have 1 dog in the crate and the other running around the house while I am gone.

Answer
My dogs are crated at night and when we go out. Bindi is 2 and Max 5 or 6. Crating an adult is fine.

Just make make sure that you introduce the dog to the crate. The following was written for puppies, but applies to adults as well.

When looking for a crate you want one that is big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around and lay down. You don't want it so big that he can lay in one end and use the other end as a bathroom. If he can do this trust me he will. There are all kinds of different styles of crates: the two most common are wire and plastic. But they come in mesh, wicker, all sorts of different materials now. I would recommend choosing either a wire or plastic one, especially for puppies that like to chew. Here are some pros and cons of plastic and wire crates.

Plastic: These come in several sizes so can accommodate nearly every size of dog. They also give a more den like feeling to the dog and have less of a cage look. The disadvantage to these crates is that you may need to buy more than one to accommodate a growing puppy, and they take up more room if you want to store them even though they usually will come apart in halves for storage. There are also some newer plastic crates that will fold up similar to a wire crate.

Wire: Like the plastic crate these also come in a variety of sizes. They do look more like cages though, something that can be fixed by purchasing a cover for it. A cover will also help some dogs feel more secure in a wire crate. The advantage of these is that you can buy a size to fit your dog when it is full grown. Wire crates have dividers available for purchase so that you can make the crate fit your puppy. These also have a storage advantage in that most fold up very neatly and can be stored easily.

Next you will need to introduce your puppy to its crate. Just sticking the puppy in there without a positive introduction can be very stressful for the pup. I like to bring a new puppy home on a day off, and try to pick it up as soon as possible in the morning. This way I have all day to introduce the puppy to the crate so that by bedtime the puppy will feel pretty comfortable with its crate and shouldn't fuss to much.

Start by showing the puppy the crate and let him explore it. Next show your puppy a treat and then toss it inside. When your puppy goes in to get the treat praise him excitedly. Repeat this a few times and then end this session. If your pup won't go all the way in the crate to get the treat try throwing it closer to the door, or even outside the door and then gradually toss it farther back, until the pup goes all the way in.

After an hour or two have another session with crate. If your pup went all the way in the last time start there, if not start at the point you left off. After a couple times of going in the crate and coming right back out you can shut the door. But let the pup out after a second or two. Repeat this gradually increasing the amount of time the pup is in the crate. If you do this several times the first day by the time your ready for bed your pup should be pretty comfortable with the crate. I also like to repeat this process for a day or two after the pup comes home.

Also remember that whenever your dog is crated you need to remove any type of collar, even a buckle collar can catch on a crate and strangle a dog.

http://www.tiaspetplace.com/housetraining_your_puppy_or_dog.htm

What Size Crate for Dog?

unvoicedol

What size crate is recommended for a Standard Poodle?
What are the measurements?

Thanks!

Answer
Generally a large size crate would work, I was just looking this up the other day b/c we are considering getting a standard poodle soon as well. If you go to petsmart.com and look at the crates, it will tell you the size of dog they will accomodate, and if you know about how tall and big your dog will be as a full grown dog, you can match up the sizes of the crates with your dog. :)

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Dog House training?

Navraj K

My German shepherd dog is now 6mounfs of age and has up to now done his toilet outside or if has to go during night on puppy pads in the garage but recently has started going only inside and does not poo on the pads but next to them and urinates on the pad,

any help would be greatly aappreciated around crate training method

Answer
Crate Training;
1.Select the correct size crate. The dog must be able to stand up, turn around and lay down again, if they can walk in it, they can eliminate in it. If you have a large breed dog that will outgrow several expensive crates, buy a large one that you fill and make smaller. (You can be creative with cardboard, pillows etc.).
2.Make it smell like you. Put down a soft bed and cover it with your pillow case, a towel or your t-shirt, something that has your smell, not laundry smell. Be sure all the bedding is washable. After the initial introduction to the crate you will want to wash the bedding.
3.Keep the crate open and near you and the new pup at all times: When you are playing on the floor in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bedroom. Keep moving the crate to stay with the pup. Fill the crate with happy times for the pup. Toss in treats once in a while, pet the dog while he runs into the crate to chase a treat or toy. Tie a nice treat to the bars in the back of the crate so the pup must stay in the crate to finish the tasty treat. The door is open always during this first phase. The pup should have been in and out of the crate about 15 timesâ¦maybe within one day if you are creative. Use the word bed or crate, name this special place and consistently use the name.
4.Sometimes the pup can fall asleep on a towel on your lap and you can gently move him into the crate, and keep the door openâ¦but keep on eye on when the pup awakes, you donât want him to go and eliminate. After a while you can close the door when he is familiar with the crate.
5.The next phase begins with getting the pup into the crate with a treat or favorite toy and gently closing the door, then opening it again quickly. This should be repeated many times, leaving the door closed longer and longer. Until he finishes his favorite treat, or finishes his nap etc.
6.The next phase begins by calling the pup into the crate, put in a treat, closing the crate and staying near by, within sight, then coming over to the crate when the pup is settled down and open the crate. This should be done when the pup has just finished an extensive work out and is ready for a nap. Do this often. NEVER LET THE PUP OUT WHILE HE IS WHINING OR DEMANDING.
7.The next phase has you putting the pup into the crate for a much longer period of time, while you are right next to him, watching TV etc. This begins with 10 minutes and works up to an hour. Next you leave the room for short periods of time and extending the time you are out of the room, little by little.
8.During this entire time, you can put the pup in the crate to sleep, next to your bed in the beginning so you can hear the pup whine (not for comfort but for the need to eliminate). Remember, very young pups may need to eliminate every few hours in the beginning, eventually sleeping through the night. (Particularly if you pick up their water bowel early in the evening, and have exercised them so they eliminate just before they go down for the night)
9.Continue to keep the crate open near the dog all the time during the day, you will find the pup often prefers to go into the crate to rest. If you have small children the crate should be off limits to the humans, and the dog should feel totally comfortable in his safe Den.
10.Never use the crate as a punishment or time out â use a laundry room or bath room for that. The crate must always be a positive thing.

What crate size is fine for my dog?

Chusquina

I will be flying with my dog (3 hour flight) and I need to find a suitable crate for him.
My dogs LENGHT is 30in, HEIGHT is 24in, and WIDTH is 7in. He weights 32lbs.
What size would be suitable for him?
Thank you in advance!

Answer
the dogs needs to be able to stand up and turn around ... there should be room to add something soft to lay on ... when i flew my 28 pound dog and my 14 pound dog, they both had medium sized airline-approved crates which were a bit bigger but they were flying a long way ... all crates are pretty much different, just go to the pet store with your dog and pick one out ... call the airline and ask them what crates are acceptable before you buy one because airlines also differ on that ...

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How large should my dogs crate be?

dog crates how to size image

chris

I have a German Shepherd puppy. Videos that I have been watching say that I should get a dog crate wherein my dog can stand sit and turn. I've been thinking that if I do get such a size, my dog's growth will stop because of the crate. Also, German Shepherds are large bred dogs. What will happen when it grows up? I find it too expensive to buy a crate everytime the dog grows bigger.

Answer
It will not restrict his size. He might be uncomfortable in a crate that is too small AND you should never leave him in there for too long. My bullmastiff has the largest crate we could buy (even through special order). He now is too big for it, but still sleeps in it every night with the door open...voluntarily. I would never leave him in it for long, but if I can't put him outside when I leave for short periods of time due to weather, etc, I will close the door. He can still stand up and turn around in it, but I would never leave him in there for more than an hour or two...and he LIKES the cage.

As far as restricting growth...as I said before, it won't. My dog is now over 100 lbs...I do not think his growth has been restricted in the slightest.

Buy the largest one you can buy...german shepherds are not as big as bullmastiffs, but they are still very large. If he seems to like it more cozy, divide off part of the crate so the area is smaller while he is still little. My dog didn't care wither way.

Problem with getting rabbits from cage to crate in garden?

celine

So I have 2 Flemish giant rabbits, they have a pretty big cage, but we bought a large metal dog crate (biggest size) so we can let them in the garden in the summer

*you can skip this part if you want*
First we only had the male (he's castrated), and we had grass and sand in his cage, but when we got the female a year later, she started to dig, not that much of a problem, because we have concrete plates 50cm deep in the ground and around the cage in the ground, so they cant escape (that was for our dwarf rabbits we had before), but we also have chickens in the same cage, but they're seperated by a fence, but whatever

So to give them the chance to also be able to eat fresh grass, we bought the crate, they can't dig through the holes in the bottom but the grass comes through it, they really enjoy it

*start reading again here*

But the problem is that we have a pretty big garden, and in the middle is a tree and we have the crate under it so there's shadow in it
My rabbits love to get petted, but hate it to be carried, the one we had first could go freely in the garden but when we got the 2nd, it wasn't possible since she'll definately run away,
So we have to carry them from their cage to the crate, wish causes them a lot of stress, my hands and arms a lot of scratches and they lose a lot of fur so my clothes are full of fur if I carry them

Can someone give me an idea/advice how I could fix this? I thought of buying a XXL rabbit tunnel (they're 15m) but they're too small for my rabbits (since they're flemish giants)
Is there anything else I could use to get them from the cage to the crate without having to carry them?
(I also can't carry the crate with them in since their paws will stick through it)
@Elizabeth
They're flemish giants, and most harnesses are made for dwarf or normal sized rabbits, so they won't fit
I bought a puppy harness and triedto but it on the female (did it very slowly and patiently) but she hated it :(
The male can easily be free in the garden, he won't run away, but I don't dare it with the female since she a bit euhh.... aggressive? Active? You know what I mean.... She's born the August 15th so her zodiac sign is Leo, I nickname her Pretty Little Lion :p
But if the male is free in the garden, and the female in the crate, she just flips out, so I can't just put her alone in the crate

@Other two
Thank you! Hadn't even thought of that! We have a carrier for if they have to go to the vet, they're scared of it, so maybe in this way I can teach them something fun is gonna happen when they go in it!

Answer
what u could do is buy a large dog carrier and when you want them to move, tempt them into it and carry it across to the crate. When they go in and out the crate give them a treat and praise them, it works, when you carry them in a carrier walk really slowly and try to either get a really dark one or one thats really airy and they can see around them (that one is best), the plastic ones last longest. Hope it helped,

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Has anyone traveled with a cat in a small dog crate?

dog crates how to size image

J

Two cats, want to keep them separated for a long trip. Thinking of putting them each in a dog crate. Anyone try this before? What were the results? What size crate would allow for a small litter pan and lounging room per crate?

Answer
I don't know about them both in the same crate.. that sounds like a nightmare. They might take their frustration out on the other.. the cat might scratch the dog (unintentionally) while trying to get out as they always do, and this could lead to a fight, etc. etc.

I would recommend two separate ones; and I always put a little blanket in side so they can sleep eventually, and I cover the crate with another sheet so it is dark for them (keep in mind the temperature in your area though! Don't want it too get to hot with a sheet over the crate) But it does calm them down after a little while.

how cheap can i get a dog crate and dog bed?

MAYDAY!par

my dog is a fox terrier, a small to medium sized dog, (about 15 pounds?) and he needs a new dog crate and bed because he out grew his old ones. how much could these cost me at my local pet store?

Answer
Have you tried Craigslist.com or Ebay.com? second hand shops might have them..but a small crate can be about $15-20 at walmart about the same for a dog bed too.

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What should I put in the bottom of my dogs crate after surgery?

dog crates how to size image

Q. So my dog is having a hematoma drained tomorrow and surgery is required. The vet said it will be really messy after because they leave a spot open so ot can drain. So we bought a medium sized dog crate. Any ideas on what I should put on the bottom the crate that I can change out. Should I just use towels are do they make stuff for this?

Answer
Put something soft and familiar like his fav blanket or bed and then put a wee wee training pad onto and just change that out. Towels will work as well but may not be as comforting to the dog.

Hope your furry baby feels better soon and heals quickly!

What size dog crate should I get for him?

Ashalena L

My dog is about 40-50 lbs. What size dog crate should I get for him?

Answer
Buy one with several inches to spare so your dog has plenty of room to stand up, turn around, and lie down. You also need one big enough to hold a few chew toys and big enough for your puppy to grow into. Giving your dog enough space inside the crate, and much more time outside it, insures it doesn't become the equivalent of a prison for your dog.

http://lnk.nu/dogtime.com/waz.html

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