Dog crates are becoming increasingly popular. They can have their uses - such as providing a comfy spot at home, a quiet zone away from the kids, making sure your dog is secure in the car or limiting movement for medical reasons such as following an operation.
They are, sadly, also becoming all too frequently used as a means of keeping a dog in one (extremely) limited place, sometimes for extended periods of time, for the convenience of the owner rather than for the benefit of the dog. Let us have a look at the pros and cons of using a crate, then at how to crate train if you do decide to use one.
The pros
Taught properly, crates can be seen by dogs as a place that is theirs, where they can rest or sleep away from it all if they choose to. As they can be set up and moved to any part of the house, or to anywhere else for that matter, they can be a means of providing consistency if you travel with your dog, giving him is familiar ‘home’ wherever you are.
Crates are great ways of ensuring your dog is safe in the car. It is illegal for your dog to not be properly secured in the car – it is also dangerous. A crate will provide your dog with the ability to move a little and get comfortable, without being able to contribute to an accident or get injured in the event of one.
Sadly, some dogs have times when their need their movement restricting for medical reasons. While there are other ways of doing this, a crate does provide the ideal solution. Please, though, do not expect a non-crate trained sick or injured dog to just accept a crate – there are ideas for alternatives here.
The cons
Crates are increasingly being used as an alternative to training, as a means of preventing behaviours such as destructiveness that are due to our lifestyle choices, and as a punishment. All of these are unfair on the dog and forced crating in these situations may well cause more problems than it solves.
Closing a dog in a crate prevents it from acting as it would like – in essence that’s what many are looking for – but dogs need to be able to undertake normal behaviours and also need to express their frustrations. If you can’t say you’re frustrated, how frustrating is that?
Crating instead of training also prevents the interaction, stimulation and mutual learning that takes place during training. Training bonds, crating to solve a problem divides.
How to decide which is right in your situation
Not everyone needs a crate. They are expensive and take up a fair amount of space. Don’t assume you need one because everyone says you do. Ask yourself what you need it for.
Staffies are generally very happy picking their own sleeping places (usually your bed!) and don’t need a special den. If you’re happy letting your dog sleep where he chooses, then you don’t need a crate for that purpose. If, though, you have a busy household with young kids running around, your dog may like his own space, somewhere you can tell the kids ‘leave him alone if he’s in his crate’.
Most dogs are as happy travelling either in the boot of the car or on the back seat with a harness and seatbelt clip. If you have a dog who will chew through a back seat restraint, if you often have stuff you need to transport and need to keep your dog separate or similar situations, a crate can be a the ideal solution.
If you are considering a crate to leave your dog in while you are out, overnight, when you’re busy, to stop him weeing on the floor or chewing your shoes, then please think again. Unless he will go in there happily and stay there of his own free will you will be misusing it (medical and safety reason excepted).
If you think ‘but I have no choice’, then there is a simple exercise you can do. Imagine that crates did not exist, so the solution to your problem cannot include a crate – what would you then do?
Crate training
One school of thought is to put a dog in a crate and let them howl it out. This is unnecessarily stressful and can backfire. Instead of getting used to it, many dogs instead learn that this thing is horrid and want nothing more to do with it. Crate training is not difficult if done with patience and care.
The goal of crate training is to make this small, enclosed and unusual space into somewhere that you dog sees as comfortable, safe and his. Here is one good way of teaching a dog of any age to like his crate – bear in mind that, like most training, it can take time. We suggest you work in very short sessions, just 5 or 10 minutes, with a few sessions a day if needed.
1. Choose a crate that is large enough for your dog, giving him plenty of space to move around and get comfortable. Ensure it has comfortable bedding and is located somewhere he will be able to relax, so avoid very busy or noisy areas, drafty spots near doorways, etc.
2. Near to a meal time, go with your dog to the crate and toss a treat just into the crate, just far enough that he has to put his head in to get it. If he’s reluctant, find a really high value treat such as a piece of cheese. Repeat this until he’s not at all bothered by putting his head in the crate. Reluctant dogs may need to do this over a few very short sessions.
3. Once he’s happy with his head in the crate, toss your treats further in so he has to enter the crate fully to get it. To encourage him to stay in there for a little longer, you can scatter a few treats at a time.
4. Next, feed him in his crate. If you give things like bones, chews or Kongs, you can put these in there for him too. With things he can pick up, you may need to sit with him so he can’t simply take it somewhere else. Eating, especially gnawing and chewing, promotes relaxation and also builds up positive associations.
5. If you intend to use the crate with the door close, for example for travelling, you can then start to close the door for just a second then open it again. He should get used to seeing the door closing without worrying about it being closed. When he pays no attention, then start to build up the time it is closed gradually, avoiding him worrying if you can.
6. Once your dog is happy chewing his bones, etc. in his crate, keep giving them to him there but revert to the normal place for meals. Choose your timing that you are nearby, so he doesn’t need to leave his crate to be with you, but no longer actually sit with him. When he’s absorbed in what he’s doing, or better still asleep, leave the room very briefly and then return. Repeat that until you can leave him happily in his crate (don’t leave him with a treat that you wouldn’t leave him with elsewhere).
This process should be enough to make this your dog’s special place.
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A Staffy-bull-terrier Frequently Asked Questions |
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