The Great Crate Debate

To crate or not to crate, that is the question. When I get a new dog, whether it’s a new member of my family, or a foster dog, the first thing I do is to crate train them. Dogs are naturally “den” animals. They typically enjoy the safety and security of a crate. It is similar to a child’s room. Just as kids like to have their own room – a space to call their own, dogs are just the same. The crate is where they sleep and eat. Providing a dog this luxury solves a myriad of problems too. For younger dogs and puppies, the crate is an essential tool for house training. A dog will not soil their eating and sleeping space.

We have started crate training puppies as young as four weeks old. At that age, I will simply place a crate, with the door open at all times, in the pen with the mama dog and the litter. It’s amazing to watch the puppies naturally gravitate to the crate. They will actually pile up in the crate, stuffing as many of themselves in as will fit in there, all on their own. Crate training puppies is just that simple. It’s in their nature. We recently crate trained a litter of four puppies, placing two in one crate, and two in another. At eight weeks of age, from the very first night, those puppies slept through the night without having an accident in the crates. They were also able to spend my entire work day in their crates without having an accident. Providing a crate also keeps the house safe from teething little puppies chewing up everything in sight. 

There are those who feel that putting a dog in a “cage” is cruel. I can’t count the number of people who have expressed this to me at various adoption events. I’ve met folks of all types at these events, including a lot of inexperienced dog owners. I do my best to educate them, but it always seems that the dogs who get returned to the rescue are usually the ones who weren’t crated in their new home. People have returned them due to chewing, soiling in the house, or incessant barking when the new owner is away. These are all symptoms of boredom and separation anxiety. Simply providing a crate would solve this. Dogs need a “job”, or to know what they are supposed to be doing at a given time. If left home alone with nothing to do, and free reign of the house, a dog will find something to do and it’s usually something destructive. Dogs learn that “crate time” is sleeping time, or chewing time, if provided with something to chew on.

I have three dogs and a revolving door of foster dogs. Of my three dogs, two of them are a little over a year old. The other one, Brenna, is six years old. Brenna is a Black Lab/Great Dane mix and the most well-balanced dog I know. She is a perfect example for every new foster dog we bring into our home. She is always the first dog we introduce the new dogs to, since she is neither dominant nor submissive. She brings a sense of calm to each new rescued dog and welcomes them into her space. She’s the perfect dog.

Brenna has not had any issues with chewing or barking. She is perfectly housetrained. For these reasons, Brenna has been the only dog in the house that has never had a crate. When we’re away, Brenna has always been free to roam the house and usually spends her days lying on the couch. That was until last November when we had to put Kirby, our fourteen year-old Dachshund, to sleep. After that, Brenna started being destructive when left home alone. She also began to use the bathroom in the house while we were away.

Five months later, Brenna is still bothered by the absence of Kirby. What she’s done about it has absolutely amazed me. Usually at feeding time, when we let the dogs inside, after some playtime in the backyard, each dog goes into their crate, while Brenna is supposed to go the couch. Once everyone is calm, they get their meal. Lately, Brenna has decided that she is going to get in a crate. She will actually jump in whichever crate a dog doesn’t beat her to. She doesn’t go in the same one every time – just whichever one happens to be available. If they are all full, she will get in one WITH the other dog! She’ll hop in it and wait for her meal. She’s actually shown me that she wants a crate of her own.

So, we had to get her one. Automatically, from day one, at mealtime, Brenna hops right in her crate and waits patiently for her meal. When she is loose in the house, Brenna actually wanders into her crate and lies down. She has her very own couch in our family room, but she prefers to lie in her crate instead. For the first time ever, a dog has crate-trained US!

The guilt I feel is indescribable. For six years, I have never seen a need to provide Brenna with a crate. I knew all the benefits of a crate. I’ve educated many people on this issue. Yet my own, well-balanced, perfect dog was missing all those benefits. To all those people who feel that a crate is punishment, just ask my Brenna how she feels about it. NOT providing a crate is actually punishment. My Brenna is a happy girl now with her very own crate.