I am not sure if I should have put this in member discussions or not, but it is doggy related.

I notice that you have mentioned that you only crate your dogs at night and not during the day while you are gone. Is there any reason for this? Why don't you crate while you are away? Why bother crating at night when you guys are home? :confused:

*I am not writing this to sound confromtationalor argumentitve in any way! :) I really just want to know! :D

Thanks
Bella

One of the reasons we crate at night is because it tells them it is time to rest and sleep. It gives them a clear indication of when they should 'chill out'.

OK, if they were left out, and the lights were out, would they not "chill"? I know with Lady and Max they were never crated at night, but always slept in the bedroom, and when lights were out, they usually setteled down nicley.

ok, if they were left out, and the lights were out, would they not "chill"? I know with Lady and Max they were never crated at night, but always slept in the bedroom, and when lights were out, they usually setteled down nicley.

The cat wouldn't allow it. :rolleyes:

Hahah! Ok thanks for your reply!
:)

I am not sure if I should have put this in memeber discussions or not, but it is doggy related.

I notice that you have mentioned that you only crate your dogs at night and not durring the day while you are gone. Is there any reason for this? Why don't you crate while you are away? Why bother crating at night when you guys are home? :confused:

*I am not writing this to sound confromtationalor argumentitve in any way!! I really just want to know!!

Thanks
Bella

No problem :)

I do it for several reasons.

Both Prada and Brody used to sleep on the bed with us, but since Prada developed her incontinence, sleeping on the bed was no longer an option.
She has her medication which helps but she still has accidents, and it's not fun waking up with a wet, stinky pillow :rolleyes:

Prada actually loves the crate, every night when we go to bed I sit on the edge of our bed, give both dogs a treat and then she just hops straight into her crate. I give her another treat, shut the door and cover it over with a blanket.
Brody isn't as much of a fan. He will sleep in there but he usually cries for 5 minutes to start with before he settles down, that's why we caved in and let him up on the bed.

As for Cyrus, he isn't actually allowed to sleep on the bed because of his skin... they have very sensitive skin and if they get too hot in the bed with you and rub against pretty much anything but cotton it can irritate them.
We tried keeping him in a puppy pen but he managed to climb out of it :rolleyes:
He also knows that once he is in his crate next to our bed and the light goes off, it is bed time and he just goes to sleep. We tried to leave him in the living room (when we tried to puppy pen) and he howled all night long.

Next part... I don't leave mine crated during the day just because they have already been crated for 8-9 hours of a night, so I don't want to restrict them any more.
Whenever we go out I always leave toys out for them and when we get home the toys are strewn all over the floor so I know they do play with them.

That's what/why I do things anyway. Crating is just opinion as to when/how/why you do it. ;)

Thank you! :)

I really did just want to know if it were for traning issues, maybe you had some secret that I didn't know ;) :) :)

Lady's been doing really good with out being crated during the day. But she is such a mellow dog, as soon as the lights go out, she pretty much curls up on one of her pillows and crashed until I wake up in the morning.

For the first few months I had to crate while she was away because she was destructive. But she seems to be chilling out a bit more during the day.

Thanks for ansewring, I really just wanted to know.

If my dogs were destructive (chewing walls, curtains etc) Then I probably would crate them during the day, but mine are pretty laid back. I can even leave food on the coffee table and come back home and it will still be sitting there.
The pup on the other hand will chew anything he can get his paws on at the moment so he either comes with us everywhere for socializing or goes in his crate when we go out.
He's too little to have running with the poodles yet anyway.

I just prefer free running over crates where possible, but with some dogs its more beneficial for training or just generally to stop them destroying things to put them away when you leave.

I'm a mishmash of everything. I really think it depends on the dog.

Indy was crated at night from the very beginning, because he was going to live with my parents for the first year, and they refused to have two dogs in bed with them (they had Silver, our tiny poodle). So we crate trained before he went to live with them.

It worked really well, then he grew and became too big for the crate, so my mom made him a bed. It was huge! Memory foam mattress topper and she made around 5 different covers so she could change them every few days. He had a pillow and a blanket. He was spoiled.

Because he was crate trained it was really easy to train him to sleep on the bed. My parents would tell him it was night time, he'd go to his bed and that was that. He didn't leave the bed until my mom would get him in the morning.

We screwed that all up when he came to live with us. R (hubby) let him on the bed once and that was the end of that.

We had a crate for Jasper and he did sleep in it the first few weeks, then he too came onto the bed.

With Chewy we were determined not to end up with another dog on the bed, so we brought out the old crate. We did everything we were supposed to and then some, he just wouldn't accept it. We'd crate him when we went out because, like Shazzy said, he was too little to be left out with Indy and Jasper. It didn't matter though, the little bugger is an escape artist.

After a few times of leaving him in the crate only to come home to an empty crate, door still closed (I don't know how) and him sleeping with Indy and Jasper on the dog bed, we gave up.

Now Jasper and Chewy sleep with us. Indy would too but he can't get up on the bed, so he sleeps on the dog bed that's right beside me. I trip on him if I have to pee in the middle of the night.

If we go out they have free reign of the house. I only close off the basement because that's where the bunnies are. Not that I think they'd hurt the bunnies, but I don't need them tormenting them either. I can just see Chewy dancing around the bunny cages singing "I'm free, you're not, na, na, na, na, boo boo!" ;)

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Thanks guys! Max only had to be crated for about a month when he was a pup, he learned fast, and so is Lady, but I also think the deference and relaxation is a BIG help, along with some other behaviour mod techniques.

I have a different approach to crate training which I don't post as advice for people.
The advice I post does work for the majority of people but my fear of reddies forbids me from posting what I really do.

Well if you post it here I promis not to reddie!

Haha, I'll risk it then.

Usually I recommend the standard get your dog used to having the crate in the same room as it, then gradually get them closer to it by giving treats and coaxing it over... once they are comfortable put them in the crate for a short amount of time, then increase it etc etc etc.
I do this if a dog has never been in a crate before but for the ones who have and are just naughty well...

Mine just go in the crate and if they cry they get one warning "quiet" then if they cry again a very angry yelling "SHUT UP!" then if they keep going they get a firm *THWACK* on top of the crate to make a bang.
None of my dogs are scared of their crates, but I would never suggest it to anyone in case it does make their dog fearful of it.

I do a few things that I wouldn't like to mention on here... nothing mean or cruel, just things that aren't the best ideas to suggest to people.

Oh Max got told to Shut up more then a few times. And the treat idea is exactly what I do too. There is this one dog at the shelter right now, ugliest thing you ever did see. It's supposed to be a 'pure bred' Labradoodle, but it looks like, I don't even know how to explain it...
Anyway, I feel so bad for this dog, but all iut does it whine. You are petting it, he is whining, you are walking it, he is whining, even while he is eating he is whining. He used to have really bad mats in his hair when he came in, but has been to the vet and groomers numerous times because of this whining. We keep thinking he is in pain, but blood tests, x rays, urine samples, feces samples, all came back that this is a perfectly healthy dog. We thought maybe he was hard of hearing or losing his sight, all seems well. I know he can smell a soup marrow bone a mile away. He just is a chronic complainer. I try not to tell him to shut up too many times, I know he has had a rocky past, but some days he just gets under my skin (I hope I don't get reddied for this!) I look at him and as soon as he starts, I cut him off with a SHHH! And we do this for about a 1/2hour, until I start getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. Now when I walk him I just talk really loud over top of the whining, some times it works, sometimes he will do a low howl. It's got to be strange seeing me walking him down the street with me talking about random things abnormally loud, and him howling beside me.
Everyone has their own techniques, but I definitely know what you mean... some people take one method to the extrem. And there is so many opinions on proper training, there is always that one person who takes things way out of context, and a simple "shut up" turns into full blown fear tactics. I hope I explained that right, I'm having a hard time comprehending English today. My brain is in la-la land!

Hehe, no I know exactly what you mean.

I also know what you mean about the chronic whingers. At dog shows there are that many dogs that just will not shut up... usually the small terriers. I feel like just going up to the owners (who are just chatting away ignoring their dogs) and telling them to control their darn dogs!
It gets rather irritating listening to a dog scream and cry for hours on end at a show.

It would be a little different for a rescue, but even with them, after they have been rehomed and settled in there is no harm in the new owner letting the dog know that the crying all the time is not on!

Hehe, no I know exactly what you mean.

I also know what you mean about the chronic whingers. At dog shows there are that many dogs that just will not shut up... usually the small terriers. I feel like just going up to the owners (who are just chatting away ignoring their dogs) and telling them to control their darn dogs!
It gets rather irritating listening to a dog scream and cry for hours on end at a show.

It would be a little different for a rescue, but even with them, after they have been rehomed and settled in there is no harm in the new owner letting the dog know that the crying all the time is not on!

And then there's the never-ending attempt to convince the Dobe that you're supposed to talk only when it's time to go out to potty. Once in a while a little progress gives you hope, y'know?

As for crating at night, you have no idea how huge these "medium" dogs get when they're sprawled across a mattress. They will snuggle you right out of the bed. When I was smaller than the Dobermans, I had to sleep on the floor. I'm bigger now, and the crate's more comfortable.

Haha for you or the Dobbies??

Haha for you or the Dobbies???

The dog.

Yes, it's amazing how much room one dog can take up :rolleyes:
Brody is only 15 inches tall and he manages to push ME out of bed!

We need more pics of Chloe by the way :D

Yes, it's amazing how much room one dog can take up :rolleyes:
Brody is only 15 inches tall and he manages to push ME out of bed!

We need more pics of Chloe by the way :D


Coming soon to a monitor near you!!