I stopped crating Bentley recently, he's almost 5 months. But if I leave the house he is still put in his room (puppy proof) behind a baby gate for safety reasons. He does just fine sleeping out of a crate at night but every dog is different.

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Mine still sleep in the crate. I don't plan to stop that, although I'd love to get those big things out of the house. I've been crating Tucker a bit during the day lately, since he's on restricted activity. I like to keep them conversant in using the crate because they're going to be in one at some point--at the vet's, etc.

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.

Bryley (almost 2) sleeps in his crate and is crated when we are not home. I do want to stop crating him during the day when we are gone, but that is not yet happening!

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4/1/2000 ~ 1/7/2011

Bailey Missing you Loving you Forever and ever.

Ben will occasionally put himself in the crate for a few hours in the evening. I don't know if it's because he's especially tired and doesn't like the lights in the other rooms or if he's not feeling well or what. We never put him in the crate any more, though I think it might be a good idea for him to remember what it's like. We adopted him as a 3 year old and he was crate trained when we got him,which was good because at first the tested his limits by chewing on anything he could find (shoes, shirts, kleenex, etc.) After a couple of weeks that stopped, so we gave him more freedom. We left him out first during the day, when we left the house for an hour or two, then at night. When we knew he could be trusted, we stopped putting him in the crate. But it's still out, because he does occasionally still use it. And it makes a good table for all the dog paraphenalia we've accumulated.

Abbie who is 6, Cruiser is 5 and Briggs is 7 months are crated while Im gone....I keep testing Abbie and Cruiser every so often, BUT they seem to still get into trouble. I came home the other day to Abbie on my kitchen table playing tug a war with Cruiser- using one of my placemats*SIGH*. Also Abbie has seizures so I dont want her left alone with the other dogs.

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Mary- Mom to the Missouri Crew.
Houdini-7(gone to the rainbow bridge)
Maggie-7
Abbie-6
Cruiser-5
Briggs-8 months

Yukon was never crated. I have one if I needed to use it but since I get him as a baby he slept out and roamed free with no problem other than some accidents during potty training time. I am super lucky to be able to do that with him and I swear he is the smartest dog in the world! ;-) Reason why I didn't crate was one, he came from a shelter where he was in a cage for several weeks without getting out and two, I tried for the first week to crate train him and he would go crazy and hurt himself and slobber and pee everywhere so I let him roam free and he was happy that way with no problems. He is almost 8 months old now.

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There is nothing wrong with crating your dog at adult stages IMHO ..... It is a safe place for them and they learn to respect their home and in turn will respect your home when out. You see and hear all the nightmare stories of damage due to free roam before they are ready. Tuck was crated for a year as an adult when we rescued him and he transitioned to life out of the crate VERY EASILY because he was ready.... Bottom Line: good for the dog, peace of mind for you, and it prevents ALOT of damage.


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">">Beautiful Boy Tucker
My BEST Boy, and " A Rescue"

Chester is two and a half and has always had a crate and likes to go in it for some Chester time, to have a nap or to sulk We noticed a few months ago that he wasn't really using it anymore and as we are planning to have the kitchen refitted I thought it was the perfect time to remove it and gain some space back I was very excited as its a very large crate and my kitchen isn't large! So what happened? Literally the same day I decided that we would move the crate at the weekend..he started using it again! I swear he knew! And now he sleeps in it, naps in it...and yes...yet again..sulks in it Funny boy. So the crate is still there and being well used....and Chester still loves it.

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My darling girl who bravely went to Rainbow Bridge 23/02/2010 aged 14 yrs 4 months and is missed every day

Of my three, one is crated if I am gone for prolonged periods. Tiffany who is nearly 7 is out of a puppy mill and has potty training set backs from time to time, in addition, she has a medical issue that results in episodes of pica where she digests things harmful to her. My other two are baby-gated in the master bedroom while I am at work. My 11 yr old who I adopted in August is the only one that can be trusted with free reign in the house.

I will say the two boys clamor for Tiffany's crate as if it's a fort.

I completely trust Remy to have free roam of the house, but he doesn't want it. The one time I went out for a few hours and left him out - he was practically frothing at the mouth when I got home.

Best I can figure is he doesn't want to be in charge - he prefers to leave that for the cat.

When he knows I'm going out without him, he noses his crate until I open the door for him. If he thinks we are both going out - he is equally fine when I say "Crate" he just goes in there, lays down and takes a nap.