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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:59 am
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:31 pm
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I'm not a big fan of crates... but it depends on the dog, the crate, the owner, and how and why they're crated. I personally think that alternatives to crates should be sought if at all possible, but sometimes, it's not an option. My best friend had to crate her dog for a few weeks after she moved because he has separation anxiety. If she had left him lose in the house (she's renting a room in someone else's house) he would have destroyed something. He has done this before. After a few weeks, once he was used to the new routine, they were able to slowly work up to him being loose in the house by himself during the day.
You need to make sure that the crate is an adequate size for the dog. Preferably, get one bigger than the dog needs. Train them to accept the crate gradually, don't just throw them in it for 8 hours at a time (I'm sure you weren't planning on doing this). Try to make the crate a positive place, if at all possible. I dog-sat for someone who's dog got a treat every time she went in the crate, and it was left open in the house throughout the day. Randomly, she would go into her crate, lie down, and then look at you. It might mean giving them a lot of treats (choose smaller, healthier treats) but it makes the crate a positive place, not somewhere that they get locked when mommy doesn't want them anymore.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:44 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:09 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:32 pm
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I am 1000% for PROPER crate usage. Leaving it open during the day when you're there, yay! Leaving it open at night when you're not there to monitor them, not as much. Crates are not to be used as forms of disipline, but as a place to be safe and happy. All of my dogs will be either room or crate trained. If I can afford a house large enough, and my dog is too large to fit into a crate, I'd have no problem making a crate for him in the corner or something, or giving him a room that he's to retreat to when I leave.
My cousin's dog had SEVERE seperation anxiety. Her and her boyfriend were then renting a condo, and whenever the dog (they owned a cat too) was let loose when no one was there, it would chew EVERYTHNG up, as well as pee all over the house. They had him crate trained. The first time, he chewed the plastic bottom of, and they found it in the kitchen, where the top was in the bathroom, on the other side of their space. He wedged his head in between two bars, and choked himself while my cousin went to go grab some groceries (she got him out in time). The worst was when he bent the bars on the crate back and wedged his head in, but this time when he tried backing into the crate, his eye popped out. he no longer has vision in that eye. They hired... 4? different specialists/trainers to help them conquer Hunter's (dog) anxiety. Nothing worked. They later moved to a huge, 2 level house with like 3 bathrooms and hell knows how many rooms. Since they no longer had a limit, they could get more animals. They got another cat, no change. They got another dog, and the change was monumental. Hunter had no more anxiety, and happily trotted around the house.
The point of the story is, anxiety is NOT cured by a crate. Several methods are needed before the final diagnosis.
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Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:47 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 3:50 pm
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