# Removing the crate



## YorkshireDeano (Oct 2, 2013)

Hi all,

Norman is coming up 5 months old and has, to some extent, begrudgingly, got used to being in his crate overnight.

I've been reading a few threads and people are saying they are moving the crate away. So, my questions are:-

1 - Does everyone remove the crate (We have a 3 year old daughter too so it's come kind of refuge until the learn to tolerate each other a bit more
2 - If the crate is to go, at what age is a good time?

Thanks
Dean


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## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

Hi, 
I don't have an answer for you, as I'm guessing each dog is different. We have a 18 month old who had 2 crates, one downstairs in the main living area and one upstairs in our bedroom. At around 14 months we removed the crate in the bedroom because of space issues, and the dog sleeps on his bed, in the same spot. We have kept the crate downstairs in the living area and he loves it. Every nap, every time he wants to get away is still in his crate. We feed him in there as well, and when we are away for long periods of time, he stays in there as well. 

that is just what we have done.


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

Crating is a matter of preference (for the most part). My dog is just over 2 yrs of age and is still crated for most of the night and during the day when we aren't around. There is no hard fast rule for it. If your dog won't destroy your house or be at risk for getting into stuff you don't want him/her to get into that may or may not be dangerous, then you can let him out of the crate. 

My personal preference, is to leave mine crated...... I doubt my dog will do anything in our absence....so if my dog is only going to sleep on the couch until I get home, then its really no different than sleeping in a comfy crate..besides they naturally want a small cozy home anyway...only humans feel a big house is necessary......in my opinion anyway... 

The biggest reason though for me is that, if I go to a friends house, or a hotel , or something and even though I am 90% sure the dog will be fine left alone, I am 100% more at ease leaving my dog in a crate where I know it won't get into trouble. Or have the hotel staff open the door and have the dog accidently run out..... No dog is 100% perfect 100% of the time, and sometimes i would rather not have to deal with the "my dog accidental pulled up your carpet, or chewed your family heirloom"

If its your pups refuge to your daughter...i would leave it...

just my 2 cents - opinions will vary...

Nate


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

Dharma is 8 months old almost. She can be destructive if left loose and not super tired. Doors need to be closed everywhere. She is quite an active chewer. However, that being said she has crate anxiety that we have tried unsuccessfully to control. We still have to use it and are hoping that she will outgrow it. Mostly someone is home or we take her with us or we get the dog walker to come and take her if we need to be away for any stretch of time. It is a matter of what works for you and your dog I guess.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Hello, 

I had stopped crating our dog around 10 months. After she chewed up my brand new furniture, I really regretted that decision. She is back in her crate when she isn't supervised. She has never done a destructive thing when she thinks someone could be watching her, but she did chew the furniture within about 30 minutes of being left alone. Lesson learned for me.


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## JohnO (Oct 25, 2013)

I never understood the need to crate a dog at night. With my Vizsla Odi, I made a spot for him on the floor next to my bed and blocked off his escape route beyond the bed to the rest of the room with a baby gate. He basically had a three by eight comfy area to sleep in at night which he was fine with. I slept close to that side of the bed and if I heard him get up and start pacing around, I'de make him walk to the back door or I would pick him up if it was a more urgent situation. I don't even like the fact that he has to be crated during the day ( which I'm going to post about soon to get opinions on), why would you crate all night long also?


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## YorkshireDeano (Oct 2, 2013)

Useful insight everyone. Thanks very much. I think the crate is staying!!!!!!!!

JohnO - We crate at night as he doesn't toilet then. If he's out of the crate on occasions he's simply refusing to go in, he often urinates in the house. Hope that helps.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Everybody's situation is different. If my post was the one you were referring to for leaving Chase out of the crate, we got him to be a companion for Miles so we want them to play and be together during the day. 

Neither of our dogs destroys our items or has accidents, so we feel good about leaving them out. 

We have had to crate Miles on vacation intermittently, or during crowded social events we crate him for the dinner then let him go afterward, but he is fine. The crate training is ingrained in him and with a Kong, he goes to sleep.


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

JohnO said:


> I never understood the need to crate a dog at night. With my Vizsla Odi, I made a spot for him on the floor next to my bed and blocked off his escape route beyond the bed to the rest of the room with a baby gate. He basically had a three by eight comfy area to sleep in at night which he was fine with. I slept close to that side of the bed and if I heard him get up and start pacing around, I'de make him walk to the back door or I would pick him up if it was a more urgent situation. I don't even like the fact that he has to be crated during the day ( which I'm going to post about soon to get opinions on), why would you crate all night long also?


You are still basically crating him in a sense.., but its a 3 x 8 crate instead of a smaller crate ;D ;D ;D ;D. Wild dogs sleep in a small den on dirt, its only us humans who feel better about providing spacious and plush accommodations to our pets. (I include myself in this comment as well - lol....just this morning i thought I should buy a nice cozy crate mat for her) The biggest reason I crate my dog at night is between the dog and cat messing with each other, i would get zero sleep. The dog would just sleep in a spot at the foot of the bed anyway and wouldn't move...

Also i like the idea having the dog crate trained at night, should we have to go out of town or take her on the road where sleeping in a crate would be desired...

Nate


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## Melissa_DT (Jan 9, 2013)

I never crated Bentley at night. He would either sleep at the foot of my bed or on his dog bed beside me. When he was really young, I would set an alarm for potty breaks in the night. I'm also a really light sleeper so I usually always wake up when I heard him walking about. 

Bentley is now 14 months old and is still crated during the day while I'm at work. I have started leaving him out of the crate though when I pop out somewhere for an hour or so and he's been doing fine with that. Bentley never really took much of a liking to his crate though and seems more at lease and calm when I leave him out. Since he has proven to be ok for the short amounts of time, I will be increasing the length slowly unless he gives me a reason not to.

That being said, as others have mentioned, every situation and every dog is different. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to rush him out of the crate. 5 months is still quite young and he may get himself into some trouble if he gets bored. If you want to start to try it out, I would recommend little chunks at a time to see how he does.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Thought I'd chime in about crating and young kids.

We got Wilson last winter when my son was 3.5 years old. Wilson was crated when we were away during the day and also all night long. We kept the crate in the living room which was on the second floor of the house -- we sleep on the third floor. He never had a problem with being crated at night - no whining, no crying, etc.

When Wilson turned one and I was fully comfortable that he was potty trained, we decided to let him sleep with us. He sleeps in our bed and is supposed to stay on the foot of the bed (he's recently started moving up the pillows for snuggles). He's a doll and I love having him in bed with us. We left the crate in the living room with the door open for the first 2-3 months so that he could go into it if needed. He never did, prefers instead to stay out. We finally moved the crate downstairs to the den. We continued to crate him while we were gone for extended periods (like, more than 1.5 hours). We did experiment with leaving him out for 30 mins to 1 hour or so while we ran to the grocery store or to dinner and he did fine.

About two months ago, we decided to leave him out in the house in the mornings (for about 2-3 hours before the walker came). He was a dream - never any problems or mischief. After 2-3 months of this, we finally have stopped crating him altogether. So, Wilson's out full time. Yesterday, I left the house for about 3.5 hours and when I came back - he was right where I left him. I think he eventually fell asleep on the rug near our entry way, no sign that he had gone anywhere else in the house. Sometimes, I wonder if he'd be happier crated - would he be less anxious? rest more? Dunno. He seems happy, though, and since he hasn't gotten into any trouble, I don't see a need to crate him. 

FWIW, I haven't found that Wilson craves any personal time away from my son (who is now 4.5). If my son is bugging him (like, insisting on sitting on the very chair that Wilson is sitting on that isn't big enough for both of them), Wilson will just get off and lay at the floor of the chair. He's very chill and mellow that way, for which I am very thankful


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## YorkshireDeano (Oct 2, 2013)

Some great stories here people; thank you!

Would you believe this morning while I dropped my daughter at nursery (and while the wife was in another room DOWNSTAIRS!!!!) Norman has started chewing a wall!

Is this karma I ask you??? I'm not a happy bunny.


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

I have just removed Darcy's crate after 2 and a half years I have been on leave all week so I don't know how she will feel when I return to work, and the safety blanket of her crate has gone...
Darcy sleeps IN our bed on a night under the blanket, a common Vizsla/owner fault I believe,but I don't really mind and my wife thinks it's great as it makes up for the headache excuse...LOL....


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## Hunter.IT (Nov 20, 2013)

Hey there, 
Guess you've had enough stories, but it's funny cause last night for the 1st time we decided to leave the crate door open, to see what Hunter does, he is 6 month and half, surprisingly he slept the entire night, and in the morning he wouldn't come out unless we ask him to, as every other day. 
Like it's already said, depends on your dog, but I wouldn't personally remove it, he loves his crate and we wouldn't be worried about him when we are out or sleep.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I still use crates. Mine haven't been in the destructive stage for sometime, but I still use them.
My husbands grandmother died in a house fire last year. She had ample opportunity to get out of the house, but didn't. She was overcome from smoke looking for her dog.
The dog was found by firefighters. He had passed away under the couch hiding. Dogs get scared in natural disasters and fires, then hide.


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## MadhusMommy (Aug 9, 2013)

My pup Madhu is 18 months now and we crate him every time we leave the house and we utilize both options at night. If we want alone time, he is crated. If we want him with us, we let him sleep at the foot of the bed. It might be wrong to go back and forth at night, but who is to tell. He doesn't mind his crate and we have crated him at night literally since he came home at 7 weeks. We just started letting him sleep with us in October. At night he is an angel, as long as he pees no earlier than 11pm. He won't make a sound until 8am.
I know my dog and I know he will rip things up if left alone during the day, but when I work full-time he'll be getting an extra extra large cage he can walk in so he can stretch.
I just do what I think is good for him, it's worked out so far


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Sounds like you answered your own question!! 

Hobbsy


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## riley455 (Aug 27, 2011)

I removed the crate when Riley turned 4 months and let her loose in the kitchen since then (she's 2.5 years old now). Everything in the kitchen is dog proof (cabinets and stove). At night she sleeps in my bedroom at a spot at the foot of the bed.


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