# Getting rid of the crate?



## sarahbalzer (Jul 27, 2015)

Hi Guys,

Our Charlie turned 1 last month and has been crate trained since he was a puppy.
However, the only time he is in the crate these days is at night to sleep.
When we are not home (which is very rarely as I work from home and we take him most places), he has free range of our covered back deck, kitchen and yard and he is perfectly happy. Normally at bed time, we take him to the crate and he happily goes in and then we get him out in the morning - no problems. However the last month maybe he just does not want to go in the crate, as soon as he understands its bed time, he runs to the lounge room and lays down on the lounge, or runs away and hides and for the first 10 mins or so he cries in the crate. So this week we decided to leave him out of the crate when we went to bed and set up a cushion dog bed with blankets outside our bedroom door, he sleeps for a few hours and then wakes at about 1am-2am and cries for ever until I get up and put him in the crate.
We don't know if this is just a "phase" and to keep going with the crate, or to get rid of the crate all together and just keep him in his cushion bed and ignore him when he cries in the middle of the night? 
Any suggestions? Do they eventually grow out of the crate, or do some people here keep their V in the crate to sleep their whole life?
I wish he could talk and tell me where he wants to sleep 

Thanks
Sarah


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Well, the short answer is that you should do whatever works for you and your pooch. There really aren't any "rules". My boy Willie has a nice dog bed in one corner of the living room, where he likes to nap off and on during the day. At night, he sleeps on the people bed. I have never even owned a crate. I just let him sleep where he wants to sleep.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Have you thought about leaving your bedroom door open? You might be able to get him to sleep on a dog bed next to your bed, although he'd likely want to be IN bed with you. ;-)


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## sarahbalzer (Jul 27, 2015)

Thanks guys. Yep when my husband heads off to work at 5.30am I get Charlie out of the crate and he snuggles in bed with me for another hour or so, so anytime the bedroom door is open he is straight in our bed. Our Charlie is a bed and blanket hog so never a good night sleep with him in with us haha. Might try see if he will sleep with us in our room but on his own bed and see how that works, would love to get rid of the crate.
Thanks for the advice


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Unless you hate the crate, I wouldn't eliminate it altogether; Savannah sleeps in her crate when we travel or if I am traveling and she is staying with friends of family.

If you want to keep the crate, I would try a few things. First, check the area around the crate for seasonal changes that may bother her. Does the sunset cast funky shadows? Does the air conditioner blow on her crate? Is there an open window that a neighborhood dog or cat hunts underneath? Are there nightly thunderstorms or has static electricity increased? Next, check the crate itself. Does the hot weather mean it ought to be cleaned more often? Does the bedding need to be shaken out more often to remove barkdust or some other sharp vegetation? After you check the crate and the area, then start experimenting with leaving the crate door open or move the crate into your room. See if you can repair the crate training before you transition to sleeping without it. That way you can use the crate if you have an unexpected or unusual situation.

Just my $0.02. Ultimately though, I agree with mswhipple - "do whatever works for you and your pooch". Good luck!


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Aside from the day to day, there are a number of reasons all dogs should be, and stay, crate trained. 
http://willowyndranch.blogspot.com/2012/07/why-crate.html


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

"all dogs should be, and stay, crated trained" is a fairly sweeping generalization, don't you think? Yes, I agree that a crate trained dog is convenient. Alternatively, you can teach your dog to have good house manners. My dogs have never been allowed to beg for human food at the dinner table, countersurf, or chew on things that don't belong to them. They have been taught to have good manners.
So just because your dog isn't crate trained doesn't mean he isn't trained.  The crate isn't the only way. Just saying...


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Yes, I think all dogs should be and stay crate trained. It is a broad statement and there are far more reasons than begging for food or not at the table. Having a dog that is crate trained is part of training a dog that at some point in virtually any cared for dogs life will come into play. Maybe your dog will never have to be transported safely, stay over at a vets office, be picked up in disaster relief, etc. 

That does not by any means infer they don't have manners or are bad dogs. 

The reasoning of the statement was well documented in the link.
Ken


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Ruby wasn't crate trained, Elvis was. Ruby is very, very wary of strangers coming into our house, Elvis is absolutely fine as long as we welcome them. Ruby came to me at 10 weeks old as a rescue, separated from her mum at 5 weeks old, Elvis came to me at 8 weeks old from a reputable breeder at 8 weeks old. Both are guilty of chewing socks, slippers and underwear during their puppyhood. Both are happy to jump into the crate in the back of the pick-up for transportation to shoots, family day outs etc. Ruby is happy to go in the crate if we have visitors round our house. So, I don't think crate training is *essential* I think familiarity with a crate is *essential*


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Perhaps I'm confused, how does one get one's dog comfortably familiar with a crate without doing some form of crate training with one's dog?


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

WillowyndRanch said:


> Perhaps I'm confused, how does one get one's dog comfortably familiar with a crate without doing some form of crate training with one's dog?


as a pup Ken, she always slept on her bed in the kitchen at nights, it was only the following summer when she was about one year old that she went into a crate in the back of my pick-up when we'd go away for holidays, so not formal crate training as such but she's familiar and comfortable with it.


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