When do you stop using the crate?

Hi, Pebbles is nearly 5 months old and has not had an 'accident' in the house for the past 3 weeks.
We use a crate for her at night and when we go out. This morning when i took the kids to school i simply confined her to the kitchen (without crate) and when i came back 25 minutes later she had been good. No wees/poos and no apparent chewing.  

Her crate at the moment is a 30 inches size one and i suspect that in a couple of months it will become too small for her.
I don't know whether to start leaving her uncrated for small lengths of time regularly to get her used to be without her crate so that in two/three months she can just have a bed. Or whether it would be risky to do this now...(i read dogs should be crated until age 2). Or whether we should buy a bigger crate and keep with the crate indefinitely.

I would love for her to be uncrated at some point if she proves reliable, but when is the best time?

Any suggestions welcome  
Thanks.

My boys are nearly 3 and 4 and i still have their crates set up although they are there for them should they want to get out of the way.

I stopped crating Harvey when he was about 6 months old, however we got Chance when harv was 9 months and we crated them again when we left the house. After nearly a year together they were then left together loose in the house, they also sleep on our bed to anyway

I have never used a crate, my first as a pup, my second 10mnths and a rescue.....

If you trust pebbles just leave the crate door open so she can roam in and out as she pleases Xx

We have always had a crate for Rocky since the very first day we bought him home (in fact the crate came from the rescue centre gift shop) it has always been set up in the hall for him with the door open so he can come and go as he pleases.

When ever hubby and me go out together without Rocky he will take himself off into his crate without us even saying a word to him, this is just a little habit he has got into by himself. He doesn't stay in there though we know he always goes for a snooze on our bed because there is always a very warm patch where he has been lying when we get home.

So by all means replace the small crate for a larger one so Pebbles can have her own special little hide away when she feels like it.

As others say above don't confine them to the crate simply leave it there for a haven for them . I took away the crates at 4-5 months when they were safe and have experienced problems this year that would have been easy if they were still acclimatised to their crate

1) Family visit sis in law houseproud but we wanted to come and stay and not kennel the dogs for a party , would have been so easier if they had still used their crates , we had to prison them nd they weren 't happy = I ain't happy , semi spoiled night

2) Tommy now doing dog shows and a crate is a must but makes us feel like hell when we put him in prison

Around the house the 2 are generally fine and pretty much trusted but knowing they would take to their crates ok if needed would sometimes just make things a little easier

I should add although nearly 4 Chance ADORES his crate, I put crate covers over them so they are warm dark little dens, but the moment he hears it opened he flies into and that's him done for a bit. We couldn't take it away because he loves it so much!

ella wrote:I should add although nearly 4 Chance ADORES his crate, I put crate covers over them so they are warm dark little dens, but the moment he hears it opened he flies into and that's him done for a bit. We couldn't take it away because he loves it so much!

Exact same with Zeus!

Ok thank you for all your input.
I will get her used to have the crate door opened when i go out for short periods.  

Im never getting rid of mine, we lock her in it at night and leave it open when we're out in the day and she's always in it, she actually takes herself off to it at the moment as she has our old sleeping bag in it, we cant get her out of it.

I was away one week and my husband worked a couple of nights. he left the cage open when he went to work and she was in a right state when he got back, really unsettled, the next night he closed it and she was fine. It makes her feel safe