[mydogfred]

:wave: Hello! I have a slight problem! Our pup is three and a half months old. He has been sleeping in a crate by our bed since we got him at 8 weeks old. Once he is tired and ready for bed though, he goes to sleep in one of three places...our bathroom, the laundry room or under our kitchen table...those are his favorite places to sleep. When we are ready for bed I have to coax him to his crate or carry him because he wont move,(that wont last much longer thats for sure, lol). Once in, he sleeps all night. So my question is this...he has gotten too big for his current crate. He will still crawl in but he can no longer stretch out all the way or sit up quite all the way either. I am going to buy him a new one but due to ALOT of sudden expenses this month I cant get it until about a week and a half. Do you think if I put his pet bed in our bathroom and just let him sleep there it would be okay? Should I put it right by my bed? I just dont want him to be uncomfortable but I dont know if he is too young to not be crated at night...I THINK he would do okay.Any suggestions? Thank you so much!

 

[Megora]

Is he potty trained completely?

That's my only concern if you are using the crate to keep your puppy contained at night so he won't have accidents.

The other thing is that if you are using the crate to keep him contained during the day rather than puppy proofing a room for him during the day when you aren't home... you need to figure out a game plan that keeps him out of trouble.

^ I've never crated any of our dogs, but we had a puppy proofed house and I was a very light sleeper at night.

 

[Bentley's Mom]

If you put him in your bathroom can you block the door way (gate,etc.) I would just be worried that he might wander and get into something he shouldn't.

 

[MikaTallulah]

If would not risk it myself at this age. I don't like staying in a crate slightly too small for a week and a half will do damage.

Ultimately you know your guy best.

 

[Rainheart]

I would just buy a large enough crate for when he is full grown when you upgrade. As for sleeping outside of his crate... It is a hard decision at 3 months, but not unheard of. I stopped crating Beamer at 4 months at night and he has done fine with it. He still sleeps in his crate if he wants to, though.

 

[mydogfred]

Im a stay at home mom so Im home with him and the kids all day, he is not crated during the day unless I have to run an errand. He is pretty much potty trained. I just put him in the crate because thats what weve always done! lol, it started out as a way to make sure he doesnt pee at night inside but it just turned into his night night spot

 

[MikaTallulah]

I stop crating/play penning mine at 6 months because they sleep with me.

I presently sleep with a leash ties to my wrist because I can't trust my rescue, 2.5 year old golden, not to find trouble. Crating is not an option previously abused and I think crate was used as punishment because he completely shut down at the sight. He refused to even enter the room once he saw it.

My Golden, Lucky, loved his playpen but once he was 70 pounds it was difficult to lift him in.

 

[mrmooseman]

we never crated.. we just baby gated. when we were home all the bedroom and bathroom doors were closed and he has run of the livingroom and kitchen (open concept) at night we would keep our bedroom door opened and the bathroom and other rooms closed and gated off the kitchen so he only had access to the bedroom and the hallway..now (at 7 months) he's got run of everything lol but he will only sleep next to us on his bed at night, or he sleeps with us..his food and water are in the hall so if he needs it, its there. the only thing we keep his out of is the basement.. we're in the middle of renos and we dont need him down there..

 

[Wyatt's mommy]

We never crated. We used a portable dog pen inside and baby gates as he got older. We found it does help to take his water away after 8:00 p.m. to elminate any accidents.

 

[Nyahsmommy]

We never crated at night. We have the dog bed next to our bed and she sleeps on it all night. I would say put the dog bed in your bedroom and close the door.

 

[aerolor]

I don't think you have to crate your puppy at night, but I wouldn't wan't him to be wandering about at night, so his bed in a puppy-proof room like a bathroom could be a fine solution. He may not be completely housetrained if he has more space, so might still wee if he wakes up and moves away from his bed. Have you thought about a large high-sided cardboard box with a blanket by the side of your bed (just for sleeping in). He probably would be quite happy with that. My pup didn't use a crate after 4.5 months and if you think it may be a similar thing for your pup, the expense of another crate might not be worthwhile unless he is going to stay in it when older.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Penny had the run of the house at 4 months. At night she slept on her bed in our room and we closed the door.

It depends on your dog, you know him best. You can always try it for a few nights and see how it goes. If he isn't the type to get into mischief during the day, he probably won't turn into devil dog at night.

 

[lgnutah]

Brooks was never crated. We had him sleep in a bare mudroom until he could go all night without being taken out, then he started sleeping in our bedroom. No problems.

 

[BajaOklahoma]

Banker started out in a crate at night - that lasted about two weeks. He has been sleeping in the same room with since then, without problems. He would wake us up when he needed to go out (rarely) and wasn't destructive.

We do crate him during the day, when we are gone. He is absolutely great at retrieving objects around the house and bringing them to me - without me even asking for them. He has also figured out how to open the Simple Human trashcans in our bathrooms and at the lake house. Though he willingly gives me his treasures, I can't be sure what he would do with them if I wasn't around.

 

[lyssa]

My pup is crated every night, and just turned 5 months. For the first 4 weeks after we got him, he was in a smaller crate in our bedroom so I could take him out during the night more easily. After the 4 weeks he never needed to go out during the night, so he moved out to his 'main' adult sized crate in our living room.

He has just been going through his teething period and has been quite chewy and I certainly wouldn't have trusted him free all night on his own. Has your pup started losing his teeth? Might be worth while keeping him contained until the teething is over (5 months for my guy), but up to you of course!

Personally, I like the security of a crate, knowing there is absolutely no possibility he could get into something he shouldn't (currently someone in the house is moving out so stuff is *everywhere*), you never quite know when they are pups. I chose my boy because of his service dog potential in that he liked picking things up and had a great retrieve even at 7 weeks old - it has been one of my ongoing puppy raising headaches!!! :doh::doh:

Either way, you know your dog best. Make sure he is safe, whichever you chose, but there's certainly no rule you have to crate him!

 

[Candyjanney]

We only recently stopped crating at night. He is a surprisingly good dog when it comes to getting into anything and just sleeps by our bed all night. I guess it depends on the dog. =)

 

[Wimbles]

We never crated day or night. I slept downstairs on the sofa for the first 2 nights our pup was home at 8 weeks old, mainly for company but apart from a few accidents we never had any problems with him getting into stuff. We'd already puppy proofed the family room/kitchen where he slept and we've never had any problems. He's 18 months old now and it's him sleeping on the settee now!!

 

[maggiesmommy]

I can tell you that Maggie was never crated, and we got her the day she turned 8 wks...that said, at night, until she was trustworthy, she was gated in the bathroom over night with a piddle pad just in case.

 

[OutWest]

It sounds like the crate is too small for him now. Nobody HAS to crate their dog, but I sure find it a great thing. Both my dogs like them and sleep very well in them. They both go in readily--they really WANT to get in--because they each get a Kong with the rest of the day's kibble plus a plug of peanut butter. It's just about their favorite treat. People have to get out of the way as they make their mad dash to their crates... Tucker (puppy, 9 months) especially, once he's in the crate with his Kong, and the sheet is dropped over it, knows that he's in for the night and goes to sleep pretty quickly.

If you can't afford a new crate right now, you might look on Craigs List. If you can't get the crate at all right now, you could put his bed inside an ex-pen in your bedroom. Like another poster said, crates are good for keeping puppies out of trouble and danger.

 

[Aislinn]

My puppies are always crated at night. I worry what they will get into. You could always try one night with him out in a safe place and see how it goes. If he's been using the crate that he's outgrowing up until now and it's worked, I think it would work for another week or so. If you find he has an accident or leaving him out didn't work for whatever reason, then the smaller crate will continue to work in a pinch for a short time.