Using A Crate

[~Jilly~]

Hi everyone,

Bella's crate has arrived this morning, very exciting!

But now I've seen it up I'm not sure it will quite work out how we'd imagined

Basically, it is sooooooo heavy and the thoughts I had about moving it from the kitchen to upstairs at night is not going to happen. It's not too heavy to move at all but because it's quite bulky as well trying to carry it upstairs every night I don't think will work?

Those of you that take your puppy upstairs with you at night, what do you do? Do you have alternative sleeping box or something at night? or do you move the crate?

The other question I had was on the toilet training. I've read somewhere that you should have half the crate bedding, half newspaper for toileting but I've also read that the whole thing should be bedding so they'll learn to 'hold' it. How have you done this?

TIA,

Jilly

[tina & trevor]

Hi Jilly

You must be getting really excited now things are arriving. Firstly I would say we felt very apprehensive when Brackens crate arrived. I had very mixed feelings and thought we were being mean even contemplating using a crate for him but now he is 13 weeks and he has taken to it like a fish to water. We purchased a very large crate coz I wanted him to have room to move about. We placed his bed at one end and layered the other end with paper. We leave the door open all the time we are home and leave Bracken to wander in and out as he pleases. At night we pop him in and he goes straight off to sleep till morning. His first night home he did cry for a few minutes. We persevered and didn't make the mistake of going down to him The next night was the same but by the third night he was great. We have not taken him up to bed with us at night. He is now in his routine and is more than happy to snuggle down in his crate for the night. In the morning we go straight down to him. Let him out for a wee and then he races up to the bedroom for some quality cuddles in our bed. He is now at the stage where he will put himself to bed when he is tired. We have had a couple of wees done on the paper in the first couple of weeks and now every morning we go down he is completely dry. He hangs on till morning. We have no regrets about his crate now. That is his own little haven and he loves it. One thing we have stuck to though is NEVER USE HIS CRATE AS A PUNISHMENT.

[~Jilly~]

Thanks for that!

No, I didn't like the idea of a 'cage' at first but everyone has told me how great they are so we've got one.

I put some of her bits in this morning to see how it would all fit etc and it doesn't look that 'bad' (in cage terms) with her bedding/toys etc in.

We are going to leave the door open most of the time and hoping she likes to go in there of her own accord as her little den, it will only really be closed at night or when we're out.

Perhaps we'll try leaving her downstairs then and see how it goes. I've just heard stories about people trying the downstairs/ignoring crying thing for days on end and then taking them to their room in the end anyway and we don't mind her sleeping in our room it's just the moving crate/toilet training bit

[Whistler]

I really wanted to try Ollie on a cage when we got him but I never got round to actually going out and getting one.  No regrets thankfully as he loves his bed, but I have noticed that if he is missing it is a sure thing that you will find him snuggled up in the middle of the laundry basket.  Perhaps that is his little den  

[suki1964]

Hubby was the one who got lumbered into carting the crate up and down to the bedroom Mind if I was at home alone, I just collapsed it, moved it and set it up again - so easy when you think about it

We decided to have Alfie in the room with us as we live in a terrace, thin walls and a "noise sensitve" neighbour meant I couldnt let him howl all night. It worked in that if he woke and whinged I got up, took him down to the garden to do his business and put him straight back. Done with the minimum of fuss (no talking, very few lights etc) he soon learned to go back to sleep and I doubt if taking him out caused him to take longer at staying clean at night. I didnt want him to use the crate as a toilet and he was fully clean in the house night and day within 4 weeks. Now at 10 months he will still come and wake one of us if hes caught short at night which is a rareity

[Curtisio]

When we got ours we moved it around, but in the end were advised and discovered that it worked much better in one place, so it is in the hall perminately.

It took Kyro a few nights to sleep in it and not on the floor near it, but now some months on he loves it, and we will often find him in it at various points in the day

[~Jilly~]

thanks everyone

I did think about hubby taking it up and down rather than me I'll see what he thinks when he comes home ::

I'd rather not keep collapsing and opening it if I can help it, already managed to pinch my fingers in it this morning!

I guess we'll just have to see how it goes....

I think I will do the whole thing with bedding though rather than half paper and hopefully she'll make a fuss when she needs to go so we can take her outside. I'd rather get up in the night and take her out than she 'go' in her den.

[Pammy]

of course you could always get another crate. I did as there was no way I was collapsing and lugging it up and down stairs every day.

I think crates are a gid-send if used correctly and not as an excuse for caring for your dogs. My boys love their crates especially Buddy who has claimed the downstairs one as his.

I recently replaced it with a fabric one from Croft. Excellent value and very highly recommended as they are much better for taking to other peoples houses than the metal ones. Much more portable. Fabric ones are not recommended fpr puppies thugh as they can chew their way out

I have also got rid of the crate in the bedroom now and they have a couple of fleeces/quilts down that they share - until Buddy wants his shoe bed which he makes himself by collecting all the shoes he can find then lying on them nutty mutt!!

[paulb]

we are having the same dilemas, whilst waiting for Barney to come, i think we are plumping for half bed half paper or puppy pad, but who knows it might change in 5 weeks!!!
paul

[PollyKay]

Sidney loves his crate too.  I've never shut him in it as I couldn't bring myself to lock him up.  He sleeps in the dining room in it and is clean at night. (so far all day today too).  He gets a biscuit when I go down to work and when I come back he is lying in his bed, then rolls over onto his back for me to rub his tummy.  Doesn't even get out of his crate until I go into the kitchen.
I don't want him to go upstairs as Cavaliers moult much more than Cockers and I don't like the idea of having to hoover the stairs (2 flights) large landing and 3 bedrooms as regular as I have to downstairs. Anyway, he snores and one male snoring in my bedroom is enough.

[dreamcatcher]

I had a crate for shiloh and when he was really little he loved it, but I had a seperate bed for him upstairs, he does not sleep in his crate at all now just uses it to store all his stolen things kids teddys etc, seems to think because its his little house that once his put the toys in they are automatically his  

[Sue H]

I think that if you have a large crate, it should stay in one place ..  Don't think you have to take him upstairs at night - he will be happy in his own bed ...

Especially in the Summer, in a house where the hot air rises, dogs are much happier downstairs, with windows open if poss.

We all want to feel that they are happy and close-by, but to be honest, they are much more comfy where they can wander round and have a drink and stretch their legs ...

[flossysmum]

Hello,
      I've found that if you put bedding down they dont want to do it in their beds, We do have a crate and we leave it in my room, they have a cushion downstairs which they really like, When we first introduced Sophie to a crate she diddnt like it much because it was downstairs and all the other puppies had gone so i think she felt a bit alone , second night we took the crate upstairs to my room and it was great! not a peep out of her! she likes to be close to her family:D

[~Jilly~]

Hello,
      I've found that if you put bedding down they dont want to do it in their beds, We do have a crate and we leave it in my room, they have a cushion downstairs which they really like, When we first introduced Sophie to a crate she diddnt like it much because it was downstairs and all the other puppies had gone so i think she felt a bit alone , second night we took the crate upstairs to my room and it was great! not a peep out of her! she likes to be close to her family:D

[snapback]114080[/snapback]

Thanks for that reply.

I'll have to have a rethink now you've said that perhaps we could just keep the crate upstairs rather than take it up and down and we can put a nice bed downstairs so she's got somewhere to 'go' if she wants peace and quiet.

[paulb]

can I ask, do people think its ok when left (for a short period)    for a cage to be half bed and half paper or will it just encourage the pup to 'go' in the cage.

i am  naive Barnry has come home yet...........    

paul