smart dog!

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

Mines not crated when I am not home and I dont have any problems except Ruby who will "sort" through the empty bags we have in the kitchen which is fine no harm done. Im thankful Lincoln does not need to be crated anymore because when I leave him alone I have to put the cone of shame on him because he always digs in his ears and eyes (allergies) and I am nervous he will damage his eyes and cause another hematoma. Im not gone often though.

I only used the metal crate when Chance very young (not yet housetrained) and had to be left alone. Even with the door left open, he never opted to sleep in it once he had other options

For travel, Chance has a seat-belt. We bring the metal crate along in case it is necessary. It's safest for a dog to travel in the crate. I also set up a soft-crate at agility and rally-o events but that's pretty much the extent of my crate use.

Here are some links to the guidelines for the proper use of a crate that might be helpful:

http://www.grca-nrc.org/crate_training.html

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/weekend-crate-training

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..... have a Golden day

I still crate Vinnie at 7 1/2 months while we're at work and at night. I plan to stop crating him at night after Christmas and I will probably gate him in the kitchen after 1 year. A 18 months I hope to give him free reign and start all over with another puppy.


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Jodi

I doubt Cooper counts as full grown but I'll chime in anyway! We still use the crate for him, although I think he would be fine left out (he has never chewed on anything and hasn't had an accident since he was 3 or 4 months old). It makes me feel better while I'm at work to be 100% sure that he is safe and happy in his crate. He has been sleeping outside of his crate since he got neutered about a week and a half ago but the past two nights he has chosen to sleep in his crate with the door open anyway. I think he likes it in there!!

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--Briana--

Winter was the 1st dog I've ever "crate trained"- I didn't know about it when our last dog (who died this year, age 16) was a puppy. That said, I only crated her until about 7-8 months of age. After that, I would keep her in just one room when we would go out (or go to bed at night). Now that she's a year old, she is permitted in three rooms when we're not here. She'll never really have completely "free roam", as I don't allow her on the 2nd (bedroom) level. However, she's the first dog that I've given in & let on the sofas, so when we're not here, she's very happy with just the three rooms, because it appears she just sleeps on a sofa the entire time. She has never chewed furniture & I trust her in the house.

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No, I've never used a crate for any of my adult dogs. Crates were usually put away somewhere between 9 & 12 mos.

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**Fraulein "Maggie" Louise 8/2/95 - 7/20/09**
*At Rainbow Bridge but Forever in Our Hearts*

Amber and I take a nap most days after [my] lunch. When I head for the bedroom, she goes ahead of me and lays in her crate -- which is right beside my bed. She is two. When she gets tired or bored, she will go lay in it. We do close her in it if we are going out for a few hours.

We've crate trained our last 4 dogs. They were all crated as pups and when traveling. They sleep in our room at night and free run of the house when we are at home.

Banker crates himself at night when we are at the lake. I have no idea why, but it is his choice.
He does have to be crated when we are gone during the day, however. We put him and the girls in the dog room, but he found a nice spot to chew the drywall. <sigh> He doesn't chew anything else.

My pup Lucky who is 18 months still sleeps in his crate at night, but he prefers to sleep there. I just leave the door open. Its funny because after we go out for the last time at night, he will just settle down but if he is really tired he puts himself to bed. lol. I'll find him sleeping in his crate already when I go to bed.

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