Dog crates. Why you need one, what type and size to get.

People who have never used a dog crate understandably think they are not nice. Or even cruel.

This is very far from the truth. Once you've had a crate (and used it properly) you'll have a hard time understanding how you did without it. And your dog will love his crate.

As I write this it's a warm Saturday afternoon and there are 7 dogs in my house. I have 4 crates in my living room, 3 with their doors open. Each of those three has a dog napping in it. Two dogs are napping on the living room carpet, one on one of my dog beds in the living room, and one on a couch in the back bedroom. They all look happy to me.

Uses:

Housebreaking a puppy
keeping visiting children safe from the dog
Keeping the dog safe from visiting children
Keeping the dog safe when furniture delivery men come and prop the front door open
Giving the dog a place he can retire to when things get too hectic
Giving the dog a place he can call his own.

How big should the crate be?

Assuming you will only have one crate, it should be as big as you can afford and find a comfortable place for.

At a minimum it should be big enough for him to sit in without ducking his head, and lie in on his side without having to curl up. Measure him from nose tip to base of tail and add 5%. That's the minimum length. His shoulder height plus 5% is the minimum width. His height when sitting, including ears, plus 5% is the minimum height.

For a tiny dog it's easy to get one comfortably large for him. Huge dogs require huge crates, but they are well worth it.

The crate should be kept near where the family spends most of its time so he can be in his crate and still be with the family.

If you have more than one crate it's fine to have one quite a bit smaller than the main one. Dogs like to sleep curled up, and if they have a crate they can use as a den they usually love it. They just don't like to have to stay in it for a very long time.

Types of crates:

There are two main types of crate, the wire cage type and the molded plastic enclosure type. Either will do, but they have different advantages and disadvantages.

The wire ones can usually be broken down or folded down for easy storage and travel. Some of them have separate panels and removable rods to hold the panels together. Others have a clever mechanism to allow them to be folded up and carried like a suitcase. They normally come with a plastic or metal pan for the bottom. When a dog's in this type of crate it feels more like it's part of the family, as it can see and be seen.

The molded plastic ones usually come in two pieces, top and bottom, with some simple screws to hold the two parts together. When they are apart the top fits inside the bottom, upside down. These crates are much more confining, with a denlike feel. There are normally windows on the sides and a wire door to look out of. A dog in one of these crates often feels more "alone" which is often good in a busy household.

There are also other specialty crates available, some looking like nice furniture, some very lightweight for traveling.

Crate training:

When a new dog comes to stay with me it usually doesn't want to go into its crate. I can't say I blame him. It looks scary in there. And many of the dogs that come here have been rescued from the dogpound and have a very bad opinion of all sorts of cages. Ecpecially small cages.

I often have to use force to get a dog into a crate the first time. As soon as he's in the crate I give him a nice treat and let him out. I just let him think it over for a moment and I put him back in and give him another treat. And let him out immediately. I'll usually do that 5 or 6 times, then go on to something else and let him think about it. After 10 minutes or so I'll put him in some more times, just like before. By this time he's usually not resisting at all.

When he goes in voluntarily I begin closing the door just long enough to give him the treat. Often they find this alarming the first few times, but when they figure out I let them out immediately they relax after a few tries.

The next stage is to put them in, shut the door, give them a treat, pause a few seconds, give them another treat, then open the door and let them out. As long as they aren't alarmed I extend the time they have to wait for their second treat, and then add a third treat. When they learn that more treats are coming they begin to wait quite a few seconds for their treat without getting nervous.

By having 5 or 6 lessons a day, each lasting no more than 5 minutes, I can have a dog that loves to go into his crate within two or three days.

Once he loves to go in I can gradually increase the amount of time he stays in the crate. I start with just a minute or two, and give a treat when I come to let him out. It's easy to extend the time by getting busy doing something near him, then going back to him and treating and releasing him.

It's quite entertaining here at my house when there are 5 or more dogs here. When they notice me opening a crate door they all pay close attention and listen for whose name I say. That dog runs to me and romps into the crate and I shut the door and go on to the next crate. I have to say the name carefully and also watch out for tresspassers. Sometimes three or four dogs will all crowd into one crate. That's usually not what I want. So I invite them out and put the correct one in. When everyone's in a crate I often go into the kitchen and get a handful of treats. Most of the time I don't. See the sections on rewards and punishments.

I have fun showing people who think crates are cruel how my dogs love them. I'll open a crate door and not mention any dog names. They all decide it must be for them. I let as many dogs as will fit all crowd into the crate. Then I invite them to come out. The person I'm showing this to is usually quite impressed.

At mealtimes I feed all the dogs separately. They have different diets, and frequently I put their medicine in the food so they can't share. I assign everyone a crate, then head to the feed room to fix their meals. They wait eagerly until they are fed. When each dog finishes eating I open his door. They always check out the others' dishes to make sure they are really empty.

At my house going into a crate is a frequent thing. Twice a day for meals, on average probably once a day while I go away shopping or visiting, once a day when someone comes to visit. I normally crate them when my visitors leave, especially if they have their dogs with them, so my dogs won't try to go out the front door with them.

And if there's barking in the night I generally get up just long enough to put the barker into a crate for the rest of the night. We don't call it punishment for barking, we just go back to sleep.

Sister sites:
Auntie Donna's Dog care and training tips

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