New Puppies & Cages

[TheDoctor]

I run a dog boarding business, and a few of the dogs are crate trained.
They'll happily go to bed in the crate, but usually wake me up at some point climbing onto my bed to sleep there...

 

[Dave 123]

Dilys had one, especially when she broke her leg at 12 weeks. There were towels draped over it, it was more like a den than a crate.
I don’t 100% approve of them but they are a useful tool if you have to leave a pup unattended.

 

[simongt]

Had dogs for forty years, not one of them was caged. They had the run of the houses and generally settled at night wherever their main bed was, usually in or near the kitchen. Of the dogs I had, only one chewed a shoe of mine which was duly repaired. chewing or other destructive stuff tends to mean the dog is bored or feels left out. A dog is part of a family and being a pack animal, must be treated as such.
Never understand dog walkers who have earphones etc. when out with the dog. Surely part of walking a dog is engaging with it during the walk.

 

[Drago]

Never had a cage for any of my labs. Bruce's safe space is on my bed with his head on my chest, just the way I like it.

 

[mpemburn]

We used a pen when our dog was young. Not for our sake, but for hers. It was a safe place to go. Eventually the space under my wife’s night stand served the same purpose. It was the “doggie den”.

It’s important to realize that the “cage = jail” notion is a strictly human construct. For a dog, a small, enclosed space can be seen as a place of protection. I won’t say that this is true for all dogs, but I certainly saw it borne out with ours.

 

[Milkfloat]

We still have a crate for our lab, it very rarely get closed though. It is her safe space where she chooses to sleep, despite other beds in the house. We also used a pen when she was small to protect her and the house as well as visitors as her teeth were like razor blades. If I could only pick one to have during young puppy stage, it would be the pen.

 

[Time Waster]

Good choice of breed. A border terrierist makes a wonderful family dog. Not biased but ours turned 4 in November.

We started with a cage at night in the kitchen. It cried so much we moved into the dining room. Then cried more. So we put a stair gate in the dining room door. It cried. So we put the gate blocking off the two bedrooms used by us and our son. It settled.

We regret completely not keeping her in the cage at night. The number of experienced dog people I know who use a cage as part of early training make me believe there's merit. Our BT started well with puppy training but had various issues that the cage would have helped with. If you don't cage train at night puppy pads won't work with night time wee and poo events. Ours was great with puppy training when caged but not when loose at night.

We got a bed on the landing. Later on a cage on the landing and she often retreated into it despite not using one for a long time. She liked it and often retreated into the back of it to sleep. They do not see a cage as a kind of prison but they see it as a safe and secure place they can sleep alone.

Enjoy the pin teeth Learn to yelp like a dog. That's a dog trainer piece of advice to stop puppy hand biting when teething. They associate that with hurting you and the louder and higher the yelp the quicker they stop biting. My son and partner were great at yelping and it took only a few for our BT to stop biting them. Took me another 3 or 4 weeks because I've got a deep voice and can't get high enough to sound like a yelp to her. So she never associated my pain with the pain yelp I was trying to make. My hands were shredded with tiny pinholes for about a month or two.

BTs are very intelligent breed and quick to learn new skills. Get it on a vet's puppy socialisation and later training course. The socialisation ones are generally a free service. It helps. Ours was late to vaccination because the breeder hadn't started them. So when we were able to get out on a walk she was very calm on the lead. Interested in everything but very good. We let her off the lead and she just followed us. That's how it's been since. Virtually no training needed! They stick with you with a little running back and fro exploring. Just watch out for cats and small ferries. They'll chase a small animal or scent. Ours never ran far and would always come back except for maybe once or twice a month she'd run off for 15 minutes or so. Very frantic time for us long for her. She always came back all innocent looking after her fun.

They do calm down. Eventually. About 3 to 4 years. Ours will run alongside bikes on safe offroad routes quite happily. 9 miles is our limit. She runs a little behind next to the last rear wheel in most rides but occasionally she'll pick someone she wants to run alongside. Never gets in the way and is good around other cyclists too. Pedestrians she has no time for and will get their way.

I can honestly say the border terrier is the best terrier breed for people new to terriers. So easily trained due to intelligence and calm nature once puppydom is over. Enjoy your dog it's a good choice!

 

[derrick]

We are going to be getting a puppy in the New Year and me and other have a difference of opinion in respect of cages. My other half wants us to have a cage so the dog can go and feel safe. My view is that as there are only two of us who live in the house and kids are only likely to come round once every Preston guilds I don't see the point. As long as the dog has a bed and knows that that's its safe space, that should be ok. We never needed them when we had dogs when I was a kid. I'm not a fan.

What are thoughts of the dog owners on here?

Cheers

Put the other half in the cage, let the puppy run free, sorted.

 

[gbb]

Its a very emotive subject, my wife is a member of a Lab forum and it does get widely differing (and strong) opinions.
Thinking back, the only dogs we never crated (it never occured to us to crate them back then) a Jack Russel and a Beagle..the Beagle was an awful chewer and destroyed door frames, stair treads, table legs etc etc.
All our labs (4 of them) have been crated from pups and show no signs whatsoever of disliking it, i believe they see it as their den, their place to sleep at night, personally i wont have dogs upstairs at night, let alone sleep on a bed , just my preference, not knocking anyone that does...and a crate keeps them safe and secure....as we get to know they dont chew, we dont even close the door for the most part.
One lab was a terrific chewer, the other 3 including our latest 9 month old, have an abundance of toys and never really set about anything they shouldnt, but the lab forum is full of photos and stories of pups that do, very destructively.
Its a useful tool until you know what your pets really like...£50 ?, a damn sight cheaper than a £1000 sofa

Bedding ?, none of our dogs liked bedding, first thing they always did was paw it up into the corner, even simple flat carpet gets rejected.
I always tell my wife, stop thinking a dog thinks like you...it probably isnt bothered if it has a cushion or not, it probably gets too hot. Ours have nearly always just laid on the plastic base to the crate.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Dogs are no different to all animals including humans. Like humans who want a house of their own, dogs appreciate an enclosed place of their own. A sense of security and possession.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My long depated Weimeraner had a cage.

It was a large one and we bought it when he first arrived.

We only bought it to pop in him whilst we were doing something that whilst doing we would not be able to keep an eye on him.

However, he loved the thing. It was by a radiator, had a whole heap of comfy stuffed bedding in it and it was his spot when he felt like some peace and quiet and overnight. It was never closed, as above, after his early puppy months.

And as for dogs on beds - jeez; I think we did that in another thread though.

 

[slowmotion]

Our Lucas terrier had a big cage in the kitchen at night when he was tiny. He still managed to do a fair imitation of a beaver when it came to gnawing the chair legs. They save a bit on carpet shampoo.

 

[pawl]

Our working Cocker is the same. He's had a crate since he was a pup and it's his safe space if he gets stressed. We usually put him in there at night for the same reason (he will happily chew anything), but the rest of the time it's left open and he can come and go as he chooses.

We had one for our cocker she soon got used to it It was never locked
She would open the cage with her paw.Always used it in the car We on.y had to say Sally cage in she got

A cage should not be used as a punishment

 

[Bazzer]

My sister has a Tibetan Terrier and she uses one with a bed in it.
Her dog, Reba, is lively and the cage is convenient for when visitors who don't like dogs come to her house. - Which were regular as up to the last month or so, Mum also lived with my sister and Mum had carers visiting 5 times a day. My sister also uses it for her dog sleeping at night. The cage is open during the day and Reba quite often goes in it to sleep on the bed. There is also separate bed away from the cage she can sleep in during the day, if she wishes
I must admit I have mixed feelings about it. From my early teens there were up to 5 Old English Sheepdogs in the house and none were caged.

 

[simongt]

It is her safe space where she chooses to sleep,
[/QUOTE
That's the thing about cats; in our house, they sleep where they please - !