When I was growing up, we had dogs that lived in the backyard. They had a dog house where they spent the evenings and which provided protection from the weather. It was for this reason that I never really had much experience with dog crates. However we knew when we got our Chocolate Labrador puppy that we wanted him to live inside with us. We heard from different people that a dog crate can be very helpful in keeping your dog out of trouble when you’re not home or sleeping. However I must admit that the thought of putting my dog in one of those crates reminded me of seeing dogs in cages at a pet store. Instead of the crate being a place where the dog wanted to be, they always seemed more like a prison.
Since I didn’t understand the benefits of a dog crate, I decided I wanted to talk to some of my friends at work that had dogs. These friends had a much different idea as to what a dog crate really was. After talking with them, I decided it was worth further research and picked up some books on the subject at our local library.
What I learned was truly amazing. I had never thought about the fact that wild dogs live in small, enclosed areas called dens. It is a natural instinct of a dog to want to find a den to provide some security and privacy from other animals. This is their own space where no other animal will invade or they can sleep at night and be able to rest.
After thinking about it, I realized that our current day domesticated dogs could be in a dog crate and it would be very similar to their den.
It’s important to remember that a dog crate should never be used as a form of punishment. In our case, our dog is generally allowed to come and go from his crate whenever he wants. As long as we’re home and not sleeping, the door is always left open and he can come and go as he pleases.
We have made the crate a positive experience. We initially started by luring him into the crate with treats, but as our puppy is older we can simply tell him “go to bed” and he will get in his crate.
We made sure that he had a nice comfy bed and used an orthopedic dog mattress for him to sleep on. This is a lot softer than our floor or the ground outside and he certainly seems to enjoy it. Now that I think about it, he must really like it because he’s slept on that mattress for almost 2 years and has never chewed it up. (That’s saying something for our dog. : )
Summary
Dog crates can be very helpful for training your dog. In our case, we picked a large dog crate with a metal divider and as our dog grew enlarged his sleeping area. Dog crates are good for house training as well as keeping your dog out of trouble when you can’t watch them. I would recommend one for any dog owner.
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