How do I Decide – Should I Crate Train My Dog?

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There is still a lot of debate among pet owners as to whether crate training dogs is a good idea. Crating, if you're unfamiliar with the term, is the practice of placing your dog in a cage for a period of time during the day or night. The cage is generally made from metal or plastic and is very small " barely large enough for the dog to turn around in.

The proponents of crate training maintain that a dog which has been crate trained is easier to housebreak, since crating a dog teaches them to hold off on elimination until they are allowed outside. Since animals instinctively are reluctant to do this in the place where they lie down, the thinking goes, this helps to speed along housebreaking. They also point to crates as a place which a dog can consider as its own private space where it can escape from the antics of children in the household and be comforted by its familiar smell.

One criticism leveled against crate training is that it is unnatural for a dog to spend any length of time in a confined space where it can't engage in its natural habits of exploring and roaming. It prevents dogs from being as active as they naturally are and is an unpleasant experience for the animal, they argue.

Those against argue with the position held by crate proponents that crating makes housebreaking a dog easier and that despite a dog's abhorrence of soiling its own space, puppies are especially prone to doing so; which makes it more difficult, not easier to housebreak them.

Both sides want only the best for their pets and the arguments made by both sides have merit. There has been some research into crate training, but there is no hard and fast answer, other than that if done with care and common sense crate training can be beneficial to some dogs and has no ill effect.

You'll want to avoid keeping your dog in such a small place for an extended period of time. You shouldn't keep your pet in the crate for more than four hours at the most. A longer time than this is uncomfortable for your dog and is also an unreasonably long time to expect most dogs to resist nature's call.

There is also the concern that a caged dog can accidentally injure itself. It's important to make sure that the dog's collar will not snag on the cage and that the cage is free of sharp edges, as well as that the cage is sturdy enough not to tip over or break when pushed by your dog.

Pets which are accustomed to the crate do however tend to travel better than do others. Since they are already accustomed to spending time in close quarters, they'll be far calmer when traveling.

Another school of thought holds that pets should be left at home while their owners travel anyway. However, if it is necessary to travel with your pet, use a well built crate which prevents any foreign objects getting in, as well as falling out.

While this is an argument which is unlikely to be settled anytime soon, both sides make good points. Pet owners should decide for themselves " but why not let your dog have a vote too? Try crating them for a few weeks, then leaving the crate open. Your dog will let you know how they feel about things by avoiding the crate or actively seeking it out.

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