Bye, Bye Crate

Ever since Mardi passed I've been trying to get Archie to be comfortable not sleeping in his crate. This thing is big enough for a small pony and takes up so much space in the bedroom. First I tried to get him to sleep on a bed next to the crate, no go. Took up that bed. He wanted to sleep in his crate, door open, beside me. The last month or so he has been going to bed when I do then sometime after I fall asleep he goes to the living room and sleeps on the couch. Last couple of weeks he has been going in his crate, immediately coming out, nosing me for a pat and then heads to the couch. That's fine with me, he can go wherever he is most comfortable.

This morning I've removed the crate and put down a new bed where the crate was. We'll see how this goes tonight. He's already christened it with some scratching, circling and laying down so maybe he'll be OK. Also, if he continues to want to sleep on the couch, that's OK too. Might be a long night, he's not big on change.

We haven't had need to use the crate for Dan in years. He used to go in once in a while after we didn't need to crate him anymore but then just ignored it. I kept it, though, in case either pup ever needs confinement for some health related issue. Mine goes back to when we had two Akita puppies...it's pony-sized, too. Sunnie came to us freaked out at the thought of being crated (shelter experience no doubt...and she's pretty much a free spirit anyhow) and I never forced the issue with her. I can get her in it and she doesn't make any noise, but you can tell she thinks she's being punished. I hope I never have to use it with her.

how did it go?

Good luck! We have two crates set up in our family room that we leave up because both Chloe and Sass like to retire to a crate when they are tired. Cookie rarely uses it. They’re both on the smaller side though as we have never needed to crate our adults for more than 10 minutes (like when we are doing someone else’s nails and don’t need help). Plus, we use the tops like a sideboard - it’s where I keep all my dog-training stuff, so if we got rid of the crates, I wouldn’t know where to put all of that!

What fantastic last night. He nosed me a couple of times while I was reading and then settled down on the new bed. I'm pretty sure he stayed there all night.

I've always crated new furkins for at least a night or two just to get used to a routine. With older dogs, potty training is pretty easy especially if they are crated at night. A day or two of discovering where they are supposed to go and the crates are put up. Archie is the only one who wanted his crate and we obliged. Again, only the first few nights with the door closed, it was just his safe spot. He's definitely decided now that he does not need it. Another step in his loosening up. I don't think he will ever be the loosie goosie a lot of dogs are, sprawling out upside down, etc., but he sure is relaxing more.

Annette47, have that problem now. Always setting one thing or another on the crate. Now where does that stuff go? Room sure looks bigger.

That went well, good boy Archie.

The crate served as a setting down spot in our kitchen too, same as Annette. It took the space my little kitchen table did, same height, width and length, and took all the same things on the top but I lost the space under the table, for my chair and some other things. Oban was allowed out of his kitchen and crate at 5.5 months but the crate, with door open stayed in the kitchen till after he was a year old. The kitchen still has gates, handy for shutting in a wet dog till he dries or out till cats finish eating.

Snowshoe, still have a baby gate for the kitchen for the same reason, wet doggy feet. Easier to clean the tile floor than it is the carpet.

Hah...Dan's crate was one of the things blocking off one of the wide entrances to the cat room before we lost Charlie. We then moved it downstairs where it was used to support some of the doggy sherpas that didn't fit into the dog linen closet. There was no way something that big wasn't going to be multi-tasking.