TO CRATE OR NOT TO CRATE

Dear Jubilee:
I have been struggling with the "to crate or not to crate" issue and would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on crating and not crating.
What Should I Do?

Dear What,
Years ago, I thought crating was cruel and unusual punishment. Now I know better. Each of our dogs, no matter how many are in residence at any one time, has its own crate. And they know which crate is theirs. We leave the doors open, and they go into the crates whenever they want.

Crates are useful for; for times when there are workers coming and going with doors opening and closing and fence gates open; for times when friends or relatives who don't like dogs or who are either small or frail and cannot withstand an Airedale or two jumping on them unexpectedly; for times when they have a health issue (like recovering from surgery or have hurt a leg and cannot have much exercise); and more.
I have two dogs, and they prefer sleeping in their crates; we do not leave their doors open during the night. In addition, in the afternoon, if they have become hyperactive, the crate is a great time-out place with a femur bone full of marrow to gnaw on.

Dogs are cave animals: they love small places that are all their own. When we got Holly and Hannah, they each had their own crate, and both started with a half-sized crate as their puppy crate. We had a seven year old Shi'tzu at the time (she lived to be almost 20), and she made it very clear that she wanted a crate as well. So we got the crate we used to take her to the vet out and placed it beside the other two crates in my husband's office. Well, came the day that Hannah moved up to a full-sized crate (Holly had already done that earlier). Chelsea Shi'tzu walked over to her little tiny blue crate and stood there. She looked up and down the row of crates. Then she looked at her tiny crate. Then she looked at me and proceeded to scan the large crates again. So I went and got the half size puppy crate which was much larger than her little blue one, and put it next to the Airedale crates. She wiggled and wagged and walked in and looked out. Then she looked at her tiny crate as though to say, get rid of it! I put it away and only used it to take her to the vets! She was placated. She had chosen her own new home. This was a dog that had not used a crate at any time except as a travel carrier for the first seven years of her life!

That incident told me volumes about how dogs view crates. Crates are their own bedrooms, their own place to go and relax. They are not jails; they are not punishments. They are their havens. And to make sure that they are happy in them, I feed them in their crates.

I believe that giving all kinds of good things in the crate will help an older dog get used to it very quickly, especially if you feed the dog in the crate. You don't have to close the door, but I have never had a problem with closing the door. And all of my dogs understand the command, Go Crate, and they do it. Some people use Go Kennel. It’s like having a room of their own.

Good luck,
Jubilee