Woof.

[mischiefmydear]

It never ceases to surprise me how prevalent crates & crate training is for dogs in Indiana. I don't feel that my life is an exception: I grew up with somewhere between 5-8 dogs in my life; I worked at a pet supply shop for almost 2 years. From Mississippi to Maryland, I don't think I new many people who bought & used crates for their dogs

Comments

[miss_next]

This is the first I've heard of this practice in my life. I can understand what it is from the context of your post, but if you talked about "crating dogs" in the UK without giving the context, you'd get blank stares.

[mischiefmydear]

Mostly it seems to be used as a potty-training/chewing tool for puppies. Like when you leave the house, so they don't chew everything up or pee all over, you put them in their crate so that the damage is limited to a certain space.

[miss_next]

I can see how that would be a good idea for puppies. But doing it to an adult dog looks like an admission of failure to train the dog properly.

[mischiefmydear]

It's weird though, because I see them using it on adult dogs even when they are housebroken. That part kind of baffles me too.

[princessjennyjo]

Our dogs love their crates. They are like their little dens. They often lay in them when we ARE home. So, I don't find it at all baffling that you know so many people who use crates for their dogs.

If the dogs like the crate....and the dogs are happy and healthy and BELOVED by their owners and constantly cuddled and showered with love and affection...who are we to judge that????

[mischiefmydear]

I'm not judging that (or you, I had no idea your pups were crate trained). But when the dogs get in them and start acting riled up because they don't want to go in it, and they're well behaved, I just don't understand it.

It's not a judgement I'm passing, it's more a matter of this isn't how I grew up, and it's something I don't understand. If the dogs love it and want to be in them, that's fine. But I just grew up in a house where they were never used in the first place, so the idea of continually using them when the dogs are past the training post is something I don't understand.

[princessjennyjo]

ok well...it really offended me to read that. i know this is your blog and your place to write whatever you want....but i am VERY protective of my dogs and will be very sensitive to what i sense as someone attacking how i treat them.

[mischiefmydear]

That's the thing-- I wasn't attacking you or how you treat your dogs (or anyone). I wasn't attacking anyone, simply expressing something I overhear a LOT of over here. It's something I hadn't encountered until I moved to Indiana, so I'm not sure if it's something specific to the region or not. If anything, I was hoping people would get on and say "well, we did it & here's why.." because again, it's not what I grew up with.

You should know that I know your dogs are very well loved. And considering how young Sawyer is & how many emotional issues he had when you got them, I COMPLETELY understand why you would have used them for him while you're gone.

[mischiefmydear]

Thank you for the thoughtful answer, dear. I appreciate it. These are things I hadn't thought of, because again, in my experience... well, I haven't had those experiences (which is why I put up the post-- so those who have had the opposite experience could tell me so & why).

I typically grew up with 1 dog at a time (at one point we had two very sweet female goldens, but that's always been it), and so the idea of them fighting wasn't something we had to deal with. In that regard, I grew up very lucky because our dogs were quite happy on their own for 8-10 hours so long as they had the house to roam.

I also grew up with dogs that always weighted 75-100 pounds, so it's wasn't easy or comfortable to crate them for 8-10 hour stretches, so house training was kind of necessary.

[mischiefmydear]

That could be possible. But then again, my parents totally raised me 70s style, because I remember always running around the neighborhood like a little hoodlum ;) That's a really good theory though...

I love that you bring in foster dogs. If I had a bigger place, I seriously consider fostering.

Ugh, I hated that about the South. Not the idea of having a dog outside, but I had some friends who really treated their dogs badly. Like that whole leave them tethered up in all weather.... makes me sad.

[micahra]

THe deal on crates is, that it's a dogs den, and the natural feeling sort of place to hang out. when a dog is left alone in a whole house, it instinctively feels it has to defend the entire house... it's den is as big as the house.. that's when anxiety problems come up. It's much easier for a dog to feel in control of a small den then a huge one.

That is why you find people who say their dogs hang out in the crate even when they are home. It's their room, and they are comfy there.

Now, that being said, it has to be a proper size for the breed of dog. :-)

[mischiefmydear]

That's interesting. I never thought about the protectiveness of a dog in relation to guarding its domain. I wonder how much of that is also reliant on the dog knowing whether they're the Alpha in the household or not, too? Like if you let your dogs walk all over you (a friend of G's for example), then they don't view their owners as the Alpha & feel the need more to protect? Whereas if a dog isn't the Alpha, that instinct may not be as strong? (This is based on our dogs... my parents always said any dog we'd have is a horrible defense because they'd lick any intruder to death

[mischiefmydear]

Poor puppy. I wonder if it's an attention thing? Like she knows you're home and wants attention, but can't have it since you're sleeping? That's weird though, since it's only the one dog. (I know Lo plots similar things at night, though less destructive... but no less annoying...)