# When to ditch crate at nighttime?



## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

How old were your V’s when they stopped sleeping in a crate (if you used a crate at all) for bedtime.
We have two crates, one in the main part of the house while we are working, eating, tv time and a smaller one in our bedroom for nighttime only. Our 6 month old is starting to fit a little snuggly in the bedtime crate. Not sure if he is ready for a regular dog bed yet. Just wondering are their signs to look for when they are ready?


----------



## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

We used a crate with our last dog until she was around 3 years old. After that we kept the crate for her to use as her den, and to use when we went out and she was left alone. Sometime around 5 years old we started leaving her out when we left the house. Every dog is different and really comes down to how much risk you want to take leaving the dog out when you are not home. Look around the internet, plenty of multi-thousand dollar furniture sets destroyed by bored dogs out there! Some people just never really trust their dogs their whole life and will crate when not home. Others never use a crate, so a big wide margin to choose from!

With Ellie , we don't leave her home alone in her crate much these days. I do like her to sleep in it at night even if we think she's ready to not need it as I think it is good practice for her. Plus she really seems to completely relax and just loves being in there at night. When we turn off the TV in the evening, she knows the drill.. potty outside and she automatically gets comfy in her crate ready for bed.


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

We tried leaving the crate open at around 10 months but she had an accident or two at night. We tried again at around 12 months and it went fine, she prefers her cozy cave.

At 13 months we were able to leave her alone for short periods outside the crate during the day as well, we first started at around 10 months by leaving her downstairs and going upstairs to work.

We use a camera to see how she behaves. First time was around 11 months and we saw her jumping around on furniture, panicking so we came back to crate her. time was around 12 months and she just paced at the front door for us to return (and I returned early because I hated seeing her that way). The third time she settled in her cozy cave after 1,5h of pacing.

She is now almost 15 months and she can stay alone for hours outside the crate, even in other places. But we always bring a travel crate (leave it open) her favorite blanket and a chew if we are leaving her alone.

In my experience, after they turn 1 it all went so much easier. But Fred has always been rather relaxed with us leaving. I mean, she doesn’t like it - but she has never destroyed anything.

it’s just a bit of trial and error, and the camera helped us a lot.


----------

