Dog crates/cages

I am pretty sure that having dogs restrained in cars is now a legal requirement. We have a crate in the back and a seat belt harness for the other hound on the back seat. I think that there is a pretty hefty fine if you are caught with an unrestrained dog.

As someone previously said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with crate training a dog, as long as it is used correctly. More often than not, it is for their own safety, not for the convenience of the owner.

When left on his own, my Flat Coat was a wrecking ball. Chewing through electric cables and getting hold of bottles of toxic household products was not good for his health, oddly enough. I would prefer that my dogs were able to be left in safety. I think that anyone who leaves a puppy to its own devices is, frankly irresponsible. What happens when you go to the supermarket, for example? Give it the run of the house?

Both my Retrievers now take themselves to the crate as and when they choose. One of them takes their night-time Bonio in there - it is a safe space.

Don't knock the crate's usefulness.

Casdon
Thanks for your reply. I don't have any issue with dog crates, just never really understood the purpose of them. My dogs have always had a bed. I do however totally approve of them for travelling in the backs of cars. Anything to keep the dog safe has got to be a good idea.

They did wander with the result many good natured ordinary mongrel puppies arrived.
They can’t wander now any more than our children can. Cars

I remember in the 1950's dogs ran the streets freely.

I grew up in a village and it was quite common to see a dog mooching about on its own, having been turfed out to exercise themselves. No-one thought anything of it.

icanhandthemback

I agree. My DC didn't go in the playpen for long, just an hour or so whilst I cleaned and tidied up. They would play happily and weren't just dumped in there for hours with no-one chatting to them. In fact, they chatted to their toys. I also used it in the garden sometimes as our garden back then was steep and terraced.
I wish crates had been invented for dogs then, too.

escaped
😂😂😂

Lathyrus3

It’s a bit off beam but I have to ask. People who didn’t use play pens, did you take the toddler into the toilet with you? Even if it was a poo?

The loo was so small he would have to sit between my knees😱

My DD took her daughter into the toilet when she was visiting us. My beautiful grandaughter crawled around but managed to put her leg on the hot pipe leading to the radiator valve. In her panic, she jerked the leg away and back on to it again. Mum was unable to move to her quickly enough. Cue social services. One burn is acceptable, two is not. How a playpen would have assisted.
Can anybody tell me the difference between a cot and a playpen? Just like crates, a playpen can be used sympathetically. If you put a dog or child in a restricted area for hours on end, it is damaging. Used properly, it is no worse than putting a child in a cot.

Lathyrus3

It’s a bit off beam but I have to ask. People who didn’t use play pens, did you take the toddler into the toilet with you? Even if it was a poo?

The loo was so small he would have to sit between my knees😱

We did have a playpen, a large wooden one with a floor. DGC went in there for a while each morning while I vacuumed up dog hairs from our hairy dog.
Perhaps I should have put the dog in the playpen!

I have a friend who used to put her Christmas tree in the playpen so the small children and dog couldn't get to it.

PS no luggage goes in the boot with dog, that would be dangerous.

Mollygo I didn’t have a playpen either and put them in the cot for safety too.

I agree that the boot may not be an ideal space for the dog foxie48. But like you say, we all do our best in different situations. We travelled to France by ferry last month and the dog had to exit via the boot because you physically can't open the passenger doors wide onto the vehicle parked up next to you on the car deck, especially with a large dog jumping out at passengers! 😲
Our DD2 and family have now arrived here in Normandy, and because we have all the children with us on the back seats, there is no option but for the dogs to go in the boot, behind their grill, when we travel to beaches.

The downside is that the dog in the boot takes up valuable space coming home with all our wine, and foods! Plus a sunlounger I've just bought! Maybe leave the dog in France? 😆

Lathyrus3

It’s a bit off beam but I have to ask. People who didn’t use play pens, did you take the toddler into the toilet with you? Even if it was a poo?

The loo was so small he would have to sit between my knees😱

We didn’t have a playpen.
My bladder was trained only to go at nap time.
As toddlers, they were in the cot when small, or they played in the bath (empty) if I was desperate.
Much the same with our dog, when a puppy.

It’s a bit off beam but I have to ask. People who didn’t use play pens, did you take the toddler into the toilet with you? Even if it was a poo?

The loo was so small he would have to sit between my knees😱

fwiw The safest way to travel dogs according to vets etc is on the back seat in a crate. The issue with dog guards is in the event of an accident the dog will hit the dog guard, is in an area that is designed to crumple and can escape on to a busy road or motorway. However, I wouldn't dream of criticising anyone who uses a different method. Their dog, their choice!

I dont think crates are a problem but closing a door on one is what bothers people.

I also didn't like playpens and never had one. Those are cages, too, but for humans.

My little dog just loves her crate . I’ve put it under the kitchen table with a blanket over the top to make it like a den . I never shut the gate and it’s never used to scold her . It’s where she goes to tuck in last thing at night and sometimes use's it in daytime to sleep . She has the run of the house but she’s more than happy to rest in her den when she feels the need to . Just like us humans have our own space in our bedrooms to rest , sleep and chill out then our pet companions have their own “ bedroom “ for theirselves. Can’t fault them .

It’s surely a given in the comments from posters who have crate trained, that locking a dog in for any length of time is cruel
I fostered a dog aged 9 months for 4 months. She was placed with the rescue group because of severe separation anxiety. She’d broken out of 3 crates and chewed furniture and skirting boards. I crate trained her easily, she slept happily in her crate. She never chewed or destroyed and slept overnight with none of the howling I’d expected. A sweet girl who’d been left long periods shut in 🐶

I have never used a crate, but like most things used with common sense they are fine, obviously don't think a dog should be shut up in them for hours, that's just cruel. But most animals need their own safe place, my dogs always had their own beds.

AuntieE

escaped

Here

When I was a child I had a dog and cat that shared the dog kennel.

I just don't get this crate idea - to me it seems like cruelty to animals.

If a dog, or for that matter a cat, cannot be trusted not to wreck things while you are out, surely an outdoor dog run with a warm kennel would be better.

Or perhaps reconsider the animal's training, or whether you work to many hours daily to keep a pet?

When I still worked my last dog slept in the kitchen but had access to a run in the garden. It was only when she was stung by a wasp one day; had an allergic reaction and had to be rushed to the vets that I realised that it could have happened while I wasn’t with her. I don’t allow my current dog to go outside if I’m not at home.

I’ve always lived with dogs. Never crate trained till 5 dogs back and now would always crate train. It’s a safe sanctuary for the puppy. Never used as a punishment. It does help with toilet training and in preventing separation anxiety. My pups have all chosen to go into their cosy bed in the crate.
It’s invaluable if your dog has to stay at the vet,or needs rest after surgery or when suffering illness
My 16 year old rescue mongrel wasn’t crate trained but 3 foster dogs and my next 2 pups were. The old boy took to taking over the crate where he slept peacefully
Used properly they’re a boon, used cruelly or for ‘time out’ ie punishment, of course that’s wrong

We swear by crates too - use for holidays where they're not allowed on bed (we let them on the sofas at home). Decreases guilt & stress for dog & us. My 3 yr old dog sleeps in a crate. He goes in happily last thing, & in the morning he sits there looking at us in bed until we get up. It meant we never had a night of whimpering in the 3 years since an 11 week pup, They are as big as kennels & allow the dog to see out - why is a crate seen as any different to a kennel?
I think the issue is that people see dogs as furry human beings - but they're not & they seem to like crates. Forcing a dog in a crate would be difficult - anyone tried to get cats to go in a basket for a vet visit? - it's not like that, crates seem acceptable to a dog's nature.

ViceVersa

So is putting a toddler in a play pen cruel then?

A friend of mine, mother of four children under six at one time, used to sit in the playpen to do her mending while children played in the same room!

Regarding dog crates:
Our dogs liked having a safe refuge, so we had a crate for them. Children were never allowed to go into the crate no matter how much they pleaded; it was the dogs’ personal space.
We took it with us when on holiday so the dogs settled in to new surroundings without fuss.

Family member has a dog that is a real scrounger. When a puppy he was placed in a crate when family eating meals. He eventually learned that was his place at meal times, don't need to close the door, he just runs in when he sees the chairs coming out at the table.

I've home boarded and a number of my boarders come with a crate These dogs choose to go into their crates voluntarily and stay in them until they choose to come out (door unlatched)It's their safe space their relaxing place