Posted on 07/15/2012 2:58:02 AM PDT by Daffynition
What if, at your local pet-supply store, you could purchase a dog-training tool that would make your dog weaker, klutzier and less intelligent? And what if this tool increased your dog's frustration and fearfulness about the world and made him or her less likely to bond with you? Would you buy it? Of course not! Yet, millions of these "tools" are sold every year to unsuspecting dog lovers who want the absolute best for their dogs. The tool is a "crate," which is just a euphemism for a cage. In fact, dog crates are even smaller than most cages that are used to house dogs in laboratories.
(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...
Every dog I have had LOVES crates. A few used to stand at the closed door and bark to get in. Dogs are small-tunnel-loving animals.
PETA wants to put human motivations on dogs -- when they aren't asking if we should exterminate all the humans, that is.
Interesting discussion, with lots of posts, at the end of the article.
Small? Really? My dog’s is as high as the windowsill, it allows him to perch on top. He’s got a ‘KOng’ featherbed on top and a ‘tempurpdic-like foam and sheepskin inside. He likes watching out the window. I’ve been asked if I’m getting him a ‘sleep-number’bed next? He likes his crate/cave. I leave the door open all the time and he actually prefers it most of the time.
PETA are just another leftie fanatic organization.
I had a dog that liked hers. It was her place and she slept in it at night like a dog house.
PETA leadership cares so much about animals that they’re willing to kill them to save them. Seriously. That’s how f**king crazy they are. Don’t believe me? Look-up “Total Animal Liberation.” That’s the core belief of these nutcases. Thing is, many people who sympathize and donate to them, even volunteer for them, who love their pets, don’t realize that PETA’s ultimate goal is to make pet ownership illegal!
Dupes.
I don’t like the crates. I find them to be little prison cells.
But then I get to thinking. Dog houses. Not much difference between a crate and a dog house.
Maybe I just don’t like the look of a crate. Maybe it’s the plastic. Maybe it’s the metal bars. Maybe it’s because I find them ugly.
A crate is a good thing if you travel and the pet is used to a crate. It would consider it as a mobile home. Less stress all around.
ok, crates are good. they’re just ugly.
After we adopted our dog, we bought a crate/cage in a size according to the guidelines we read on various pet websites (He/she should be able to stand and turn effortlessly). He sat and watched me as I unpacked it and set it up. As soon as I was finished he stood up, walked right in and sat down - before I could put his pad into it!
My dog LOVES his cage/crate. It’s his place of refuge. His “room”. PETA are a bunch of idiots!
I hate PETA and I hate dog crates. What a dilemma!
I’m old enough to have grown up with and around dogs that were never ‘crated’ but adjusted to life just fine. Some had special dog beds, many just had a favorite place or two for snoozing while in the house.
I imagine, if you could take a young dog, give him full sentience for a brief period, and take him aside, and say, “Here’s the deal. You we be fully fed with tasty dog food, fresh water and some table scraps. You will NOT miss a meal. You are not allowed on the furniture, but you will be neither too hot nor too cold.
The little kids may be annoying, and you can’t bother them, but we will make sure that they don’t abuse you. Don’t get any pretensions about rising in the pack, you’ll get nowhere. However, you almost certainly won’t be eaten by a coyote or wolf. If you get hurt, we will take you to the vet. Oh, and one more thing about that vet ... psst psst psst. Deal?
I belioeve the overwhelming majority of dogs will say “Deal.”
He feels secure and comfortable.....nothing wrong with that.
Some years ago we adopted a Rottweiler. He was an adult dog whose owners could not care for him. We already had a pure bred Shepherd (GSD) and a Rott/Husky mutt.
Our dogs had doggie bed cushions they slept on. The former owners of the Rott gave us a large carrier/cage. I thought nothing of it at the time and got the new arrival a cushion just like or other two had.
Long story short - On the first night the Rott would not lie down for sleep and kept nuzzling the cage until I finally got the message and opened it up for him.
In the end the only way I could get him to use his cushion was to put it inside the cage.
We have 2 crates. One from when Winchester was under 50# and a huge one [he can stand in it...used in the back of the pick-up for hunting forays.] The smaller one we still keep our shoes in [for obvious reasons].
Winnie loves to *King-o-the-Hill*/ stand on his crate,like your guy, to see outside...he willing goes in it, on his own. The crate was/is never used as punishment.
Because PETA knows better than ANYONE. That dog has all the HUMAN motivations, you see.
Then why is it when it gets too hot in the house my dog can be found sleeping in her crate in the basement?
Exactly Laz. For dogs, the crate is focal point 0,0,0. The point of safety and security.
I’ve owned more cats over the years than dogs and I actually crate trained several of my cats. I got them used to getting into their crates by making it a fun, comfortable and safe place to go to so that when I had to take them to the vets or on trips or during one of my several moves, they were not at all stressed about going into their crates and voluntarily got into them. Willie the Wonder Cat loved his crate and learned that my brining out his crate meant he was going for a fun car ride or to visit with family and friends; which he loved as he was a very sociable cat. I got Willie used to car rides by me taking him along on short car rides to the store or just around the block and on short trips to my parent’s house and not just putting him into his crate for trips to the vet. This made trips to the vet a lot less stressful for Willie and for me.
IMO, and from my experience, dog or cat crates should never be used as a form of punishment or as a substitute for good training and socialization or someplace to just “store” your dog or cat when you expect to be gone for many hours on end and long after a dog or cat should be expected to “hold it”, i.e. needing to go for a walk or access to a litter box. A properly trained and socialized dog or cat should never have to be confined to a crate for long periods of time but a crate is not necessarily a bad thing either.
I also don’t like crates. Never have. None of my dogs liked them either. Would go hysterical if we tried to put them in. Two of my dogs would poo in them no matter how long they had been in them.
Don’t really know why’d you’d need then when they are past the puppy stage anyway. I used them briefly then so they wouldn’t get harmed if I couldn’t be watching them they were young. If I’m going to have a dog I want one that is allowed to go in any room they want or sleep wherever they want.
Don’t like people who use dog houses and stick their dogs outside all day either.
If you don’t like those who like dog houses or crates, then you don’t like every dog I have ever owned.
We rescued a GSD that had been crated and put in small runs for the first 3 years of its life. We don’t crate our dogs for several reasons. Watching Ika go from a crated dog to one that has the run of the house was amazing.
We make sure that there are places here where they can den up in the house if they need the security feeling. Ika went from hiding and being fearful to becoming part of the pack and very playful in about 2 months. We could tell when he realized his life was better. It was like a light switch went on in his mind. One of the most wonderful moments that I can remember with any dog.
I don’t like crates for a few reasons. First is that if a dog has a medical emergency inside a crate, that crate can inhibit you from getting to the dog if it’s a large dog. Second is why in the world would you lock a dog in a cage at night leaving your home unprotected??? Third is that if there is an emergency where you have to leave the house immediately and cannot take the time to uncrate the dog, such as a fire, you’ve just condemned the dog to death.
Crate training is a lazy method of training a dog. I don’t think crates are what PETA says they are but I don’t like them at all.
It’s the bars. Build one in wood, with louvers so he can see up, and you’ll find it picture-pretty.
A place of one’s own is built into the psyche of dog and man both. Doesn’t matter what it looks like, ultimately. A bath towel rigged like a tent between two chairs makes a getaway that satisfies the requirement.
Our Old English Sheep dog loves her crate. We had used it as a “time out” area for a while, but now she sleeps in it on a regular basis. She even trimmed the limbs on our Japanese boxwood plants to make a den / sleeping area. We thought she had escaped from the back yard and found her sleeping in there.
Unmitigated BULLSHIT, from unknowing, do-gooder A$$HOLES. Had dogs all my life and they loved their crates. It was their dens and they spent a lot of time relaxing in there.
the best technique ever for training, secure, happy canines and keeping the house clean and dry at night....
win win...
PETA(as an organ not as individuals) needs to be DESTROYED....along with greenpeace and those other whale and wildlife dooooooshbags.
Our dachshund has a blanket and when he’s tired or stressed or at the end of the day, he burrows under it and turns and turns until it is tightly wrapped around him.
Had Rotties for 37-years and every one loved their crate. How do I know? When I can’t find them in the house they are usually snoozing in their crate...they go in voluntarily.
Our Rotties know that their crate is a safe place...no discipline in the crate, completely their place.
When I crate, I crate without locking the door. I might shut it but usually I have removed the latch so they can bump it open when needed.
Yes! Your pooch is secure and comfortable, because you leave it open. Pets can’t always communicate their psychological needs, but if you give them reasonable freedom to address their own needs, they are happier.
The problem arises when owners use the locks too much. Then the pet has anxiety about a place where he ought to have contentment; he can’t leave when he needs to, and don’t think he isn’t aware of that.
Would we go to our getaways if we knew we might not be able to “check out” when we desired?
I was just thinking earlier today that perhaps crate training dogs and even cats could be something worth trying for those in disaster prone areas. Critters usually have fine instincts about when things are getting bad, and if a pet could be trained to seek shelter in their crate, particularly if the crate was in “the safe place” for whatever the emergency you most expect to happen is, it lessens the chances of a pet dying, or of a human dying trying to save a pet.
I’d think at the very least tornadoes and earthquakes could be provided for....a lot of animals instinctively fear thunder, and would try to hide from it. Basement for tornadoes being the primary concern, under a structural support for earthquakes I believe?
Just a thought...
For a couple years I lived in an apartment and the dogs spent time in pens whiie I was at work. I still feel bad about it but then we moved to a house and they spent their last years in a big yard.
Now of course my current dogs have the run of the place!
The crates don’t have to be ugly. You can slide one under a table, put a pretty floor-length table-cloth over the table, and it can look nice.
I have one dog who, though allegedly crate-trained when I got him at 9 weeks, would damage himself trying to get out of a crate. It was not a good idea to continue to work on this. Other dogs adored their crates and didn’t have to be trained. Most of them preferred to sleep on my bed or the loveseat in my bedroom, but would go into the crate for a nap.
And when my good girl died a few months ago, her brother mourned by lying in her crate with his eyes staring into nothingness for weeks.
Rush talks about the sine qua non of a liberal:
They aren’t happy telling you what they think is right. They insist they have the right to demand that YOU conform to what THEY think is right.
Canines are denning animals. In the wild, they pick small cozy places. Our dog loves the crate. It is her space and she often chooses it when she has the run of the house. Especially if there is a lot of activity and she wants a little peace and quiet.
I am sure other dogs don’t like it, especially if they were rescue dogs and had been mistreated at some point. Dogs have personalities and no reason all should like the same thing.
PETA: Mind your own business.
I’ve a dog cage, which is only slightly larger than a crate, mine fits a german shepard sized dog, and that was one of the MOST USEFUL tools I’ve ever employed for raising a dog from 6 months old.
And they love their dog house.
Obviously they’ve never had a dog!!! My dog loves his crate. It is his safe place, his refuge. He goes there for his naps most of the time, or when there are too many kids about or an upset in the house. When we travel it gives him a familiar comforting place to stay. If he is in trouble he can go hide out in his crate and be safe. He has a big fenced in yard and is welcome anywhere in the house including our bed, but neither the people nor the dog would trade away the crate.
About a year ago we rescued a 4 month old lab/shepherd/dingo mix who showed obvious signs of abuse from some tall young male. Teenage guys would make her extremely fearful, and the only place she could find instant comfort was her kennel.
With a little love and patience, she’s come out of her shell and learned to be friendly with (almost) everybody. Delivery guys still make her wary, though.
Her kennel is her castle, and she loves going inside to snooze or avoid someone she mistrusts.
PETA can kiss her fuzzy butt.
Coyotes, foxes, and other canine cousins all live in little burrows. I don’t crate my dog but she burrows under the covers and has a favorite hidding place under the headboard that my head won’t even fit through.
Simply put, most dogs like having a den or cave in which to retreat when they're not comfortable, like during a thunderstorm.
Next thing we'll hear is PETA demanding the banning of all "cat trees," since the cats might climb too high, and make the PETA morons nervous.
Mark
Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, cats not at all.
I just researched that for a book. :)
(no, don’t shoot the messenger!)
I’ll bet no crate manufacturer could foresee that some consumer would put his dog in a crate and then strap it to the top of a car.
What kind of weasel would do something like that?
Oh yeah - what about Old Deuteronomy?
There are times and places for crates as well as dogs.
They mentioned a dog left at home for 8 hours a day while their owner is a work. This is probably far worse for a dog’s well being, and if allowed to run free they will make mischief out of utter boredom.
Dogs are intensely social animals and crave companionship and physical contact. Being deprived of this is as bad for them, psychologically, as solitary confinement is for prisoners. And this companionship and contact is not just limited to humans or dogs, but both, so a well behaved and happy dog gets frequent interaction with both, to be well adjusted.
A little known fact of mammalian development is that physical contact when young is essential to brain development. The US Army tried raising its own guard dogs, separating puppies from their mothers as soon as they were weaned, then keeping them isolated from physical contact until they were assigned a handler.
The end result was intellectually and emotionally undeveloped dogs, that eventually were all put down as defective.
A fuzzy blanket is not enough for this. It has to be hands on, and vigorous play as much as possible between eating and sleeping. Dogs also need fixed and reliable rules for their behavior as well, as these give them confidence and order.
Might as well skip buying a crate and make the table the "crate". What you're suggesting is akin to buying an ugly piece of furniture and hiding it under another.
What happens to the crate when people want to use the table? How does Fido lift the tablecloth to get to his ugly crate?
A crate can mean the difference between being able to keep a dog that destroys your house when you are gone and having to surrender it to a shelter.
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