Crating your dog  is one thing we never used where i am coming from. Europe.  I do understand that the crate can be a good tool for housetraining, and some learning. Especially in the early stage of a young pups.  But when we think of our pets as family members, we spend so much money on healthy pet food, Alpaca sweaters,  orthopedic beds, clever toys and metal cage.

I am not a trainer, and i don’t want to sound like one, or give any advise from training point of view. I only talk about the crate itself.

Pet owners should understand that you can’t just put the pup in a crate and throw away the key.  As it stated on pedfinder.com “The rule of thumb for crating is no longer than one hour per each month of age, up to nine to ten hours maximum … Each session should be preceded and succeeded by an hour of aerobic exercise. If this is too long for your dog, hire a dog walker to exercise him midday.” That sounds nice, but i am sure not many people come home after a work day and take the dog, that was caged all this time, for an hour of aerobic exercise. Nay.

I was working as a Realtor for a while, and i can’t forget this one house, they had a beautiful big German shepherd, in a crate. The only thing he could do comfortably is laying down. He couldn’t fully seat not to say standing. And i am asking you, would you like to be caged  for nine hours like that? Nay.

So, if you feel the crating your dog is a must, be generous with the size and space you give your pet. Weather it’s a cat or a dog, Give them enough space to sleep, seat, stand.

Have the wires covered, put a nice mat, if it is winter, you can even have a blanket. Cover the the crate with nice designer crate cover collection to keep the space warmer and to give privacy and secure feeling. It is beneficial for your pet and will look wonderful in your home.

The other option instead of crating your dog, is having a pet gate and preventing them from going places you don’t want them to go in the house. Choose a room (if you have a sun room or den with lots of windows that will be the best choice) and have water , toys and his mat /bed. Use the gate to prevent him from roaming the house. He will be so much happier having the option to look out, bark on squirrels, sleep and play. Would you prefer to be treated that way, if you were a dog? Yap

Again, no training recommendation been intended in this article.