“burrows and caves are natural for the whole dog family.”
Actually, IIRC, that’s not true. Wolves (I assume everyone really means) don’t use caves, except at whelping time. Basically they’re in caves as babies, and as whelping/lactating mothers.
Turns out the whole crate thing is a sham. Not that crates don’t work, but the rationalization (as opposed to rationale, eh?) is faulty.
Not that I’m an expert on where wolves live, however I’ve never owned a dog (and I’ve owned plenty) who didn’t “go to ground” (that is find a tight space, under the bed, in a closet, between the wall and the sofa, whatever) when they were afraid or overwhelmed etc. So, for whatever reason dogs seem to like being in a small space to get away from it all and feel safe. This has seemed especially true for the few I’ve had who had anxiety about thunderstorms.
At any rate, since crate training works, and probably keeps a lot of dogs from ending up dumped or in the a shelter or worse, I’m all for it.