Crates and Babygates for Puppies?

Question

Maybe this is a dumb question and honestly, I don't care if it is, but why do people put their dogs in crates as opposed to a small room with a baby gate when they are not home. My husband and I have a new puppy joining the home in less than a week and both find crates cruel (not the owners, just the idea of it. A personal view I guess) so we decided to get a gate and have the perfect place for her to roam safely where she won't get into anything while we're not home.

Is the reason people use crates because they don't have a space to border off for the dog or are there other benefits that I'm completely oblivious about? Please, friendly people only as this isn't meant to be a debate.

Answer 1

Because no room is ever fully safe. Who's to say that the pup won't push over the baby gate, chew through it, etc? Those are the 'dangers' I see for just using baby gates, but you can puppy proof the room as much as possible and it could work for you. What works Depends on the individual dog and owners.



I did use baby gates when my dog was a pup-I still do use them. But not for the same reason I use a crate. (which I did use for her when she was a pup and she still uses now). My use for baby gates was from restricting my pup from entering certain rooms when I could not be with her. To keep her out of certain places. But when I used the baby gates- I will still home.



I would use the crate when I was not home at all or would not be able to keep her in my sight. Even if it was only for five minutes. This was done to keep her safe. A crate is not cruel at all. It should never be used as a tool for punishment and pups should not be left in a crate for longer then two hour periods(adults four hour periods). My dog loves her crate, it's her safe place, her den. Even if you don't crate train you will notice that the dog will go under a table, coffee table or bed. Because they're looking for a 'comfortable' spot-which is what the crate provides. Aside from comfort and security for the dog, it also provides safety. Puppies can get into a lot, chew a lot, consume a lot-we can't watch them 24/7 and a crate can keep them safe.



The other bonus of crate training is-It helps the dog gain bladder control and helps with the process of house-training.



Good luck with your new pup!

Answer 2

I use crates because it's impossible to confine a Great Dane or Rottweiler with a baby gate. Even the 6ft tall ones they can clear if they wanted. I wouldn't just shut them in a room, either, since that defeats the purpose of the safety.



Although they do learn to respect the boundary with a gate, and I will use gates as training tools for puppies so they learn certain rooms they are not allowed and then I will remove the gate. But I would never have enough faith in my dogs to think they wouldn't enter certain rooms when no one is home. Dogs are unpredictable and you have to prepare for the worst, unfortunately.



@Marci-

No need to be rude. Why do you assume anyone using a crate will keep their dogs 'living' in there? Crates have saved my dogs from getting out (then potentially being hit by a car), stopped dog fights, kept them safe when traveling in the car, allowed me to take them for dog shows, hotels, etc instead of being kenneled and many more. Just because I use a crate doesn't mean they spend 10 hours a day in there.

Answer 3

FYI, when you say things like "friendly people only," you're inviting people to make nasty comments.



People use crates instead of gates because a dog (even a puppy) can do a LOT of damage to carpets, curtains, furniture or anything else in the room. If a person happens to live in an apartment or if they're renting a house, they can be responsible for all damages their dogs do to the property. I've known people who were taken to court by landlords when their dog damaged carpets and some of them had to pay for not only replacing the carpets, but also the wooden floor beneath the carpets because urine and soaked through and this can run up into the thousands of dollars.



You and your husband probably should postpone getting a puppy until you both rethink your positions when it comes to dogs. Dogs aren't human, putting a dog in a crate is NOT the same as putting a child in a crate. One of the biggest mistakes dog-owners make is attempting to "humanize" their dogs and make them a "part of the family," etc. Dogs are animals and they are much better adjusted and easy to train when their owners allow them to be animals and when they have easy access to a fenced yard.

Answer 4

I have used crates for puppies and non potty trained dogs...because it is so easy to potty train that way and puppies do like a small place to sleep..it helps them feel secure. I use x-pens to contain puppies during the day...both indoors and outdoors and do not allow them full access to the house..as they grow up they become more comfortable with the entire house. They also learn where to potty and will never use other areas of the house to potty in. I know some people crate their adult dogs and I also think it is cruel. Rescues use crates because they have so many dogs and they can contain them better in a crate than a fenced yard....I have seen rescues, Back Yard Breeders, hoarders and even show dog breeders have crates stacked 3 and 4 high to contain their dogs. I know people who have destructive dogs and crate them to keep their house from being eaten. Back in the day we attended obedience classes and trained our dogs to live in the house There is nothing sadder to see than a high strung active dog crammed in a small crate...for hours and hours. It should be against the law!!

Answer 5

Crates are used to confine the pup to his bed so he learns to "hold it" -- which is not something animals normally do. He won't want to sleep in his own waste, so he'll try to hold it until you let him out.



Put the crate in the busiest part of the house and talk to him all day. People should walk up to him, put fingers into the crate to be licked, then tell him, "I gotta go, you be good," and walk away. Sometimes they should leave the room, sometimes they should just occupy themselves elsewhere in the room. Sometimes someone could sit right by the crate and ignore him except to talk. Use his name often; drop him treats whenever he looks up at the sound of his name.



At his age, he needs to go outside to potty every hour, plus after every meal, drink, and play session. Keep a collar on him and put a leash on him when you take him out of the crate. Carry him outside and don't put him down until you're at the potty spot outside; if you cradle him in your arms on his back, he'll hold it as long as he can -- he won't want to pee on himself! :) Put him down, hold the end of the 6-ft leash, and just stand there. Be boring. Let him sniff around; when he squats, say, "Good boy! Hurry up, good boy!" The idea is to condition him to potty at the command "hurry up" -- which is easy to remember. Give him a yummy if tiny treat when he's done, and continue the praise. Walk around a little, letting him explore. He may pee again; more praise! Then, back into the house, back into the crate.



Nothing about this routine changes at bedtime except that you move his crate into your bedroom, next to your bed, so you can dangle a hand into the cage to reassure a lonely scared pup that he's not alone, you're still there. Puppies who cry through the night are either cold or lonely and scared; all three are easily addressed.



Obviously, "confining" a dog to part of a room does not address housetraining issues at all; it gives the pup the freedom to run over there and pee, over there to eat and drink, and over there to sleep. Not a helpful arrangement.



If you have to work and the pup will have to be left home alone, try this, or an arrangement like it:



www.modernpuppies.com

Answer 6

Couple of issues. a million) Ditch the pads. this is by no potential a good option to allow a puppy to do away with interior the living house. maximum doggies do no longer learn the version between the pads and the different merchandise on the floor, and maximum learn that this is okay to potty everywhere interior the living house. they only won't manage to tell the version between one room or yet another (same factors of interest and scents, the place as this is totally distinctive between indoors and out of doors.) particularly, supply bathing room breaks each a million/2 an hour to start. deliver puppy out after ingesting, ingesting, enjoying, and sleeping besides. gradually upload time between outings in step with how she does "conserving it". additionally, the thank you to crate right - she will't be predicted to hold it for extra advantageous than one hour according to month of age! As for cleansing stuff, make certain this is made to do away with puppy odors. If it is not geared to freshen up puppy urine, it won't paintings precise. 2) Poms have a thick sufficient coat that they do no longer want "jackets" or "outfits" for iciness. lots of the time, those products make the canine TOO warm and can pull on the fur. At maximum, i might advise a rain jacket so she does not get soaked interior the moist. If it receives rather chilly and he or she is obviously having difficulty, positioned funds right into a horse blanket type jacket (clips or velcroes interior the front and below the tummy). 3) do no longer positioned funds right into a "puppy mattress" until eventually the canine is definitely living house experienced. Use towels or cut back up blankets to line the crate, through fact there'll be injuries. A mattress will purely probably be ruined. 4) Collar and leash - no retractable leashes. Six foot maximum, no longer something that stretches. you like finished administration of her on a similar time as she is being leash experienced. i do no longer oftentimes advise a harness through fact they make it extra mushy for the canine to tug. A collar won't harm the trachea in case you paintings on suited leash education from day one.

Answer 7

My dogs were show dogs, they were crate for their own protection at dog show so they were crate trained early. They love their crates, it's like a security blanket to them. I don;t have to close the doors at all, they just go there when they are tired, or if they want to be alone. Nothing wrong with crates, it keeps the dogs safe.

Answer 8

crates, like doghouses, offer a "safe" area for the pup. it's a zone where they're safe.



i, like you, think that a dog should be able to roam the house, but you have to be able to trust the animal. if you have one that chews, pees, destroys, when you're gone, a crate is best.



baby gates are also effective, but you still may have that one pup who wants to chew your molding. just don't overwater the pup before you crate it, so you will not have a grand cleanup waiting for you when you get home.

Answer 9

i think it can be about space, it could potentially be that the gates just wont do. My dogs still a puppy and he was 20 pounds when we got him but he could push things around already. He could have easily found a way out and gotten into things(he figured out how to open drawers early.) so I think its just to be sure.



To be honest I agree with you as well, I dont like the idea of sticking my dog in a crate. But Im soppy with him so Im not going to judge anyone who does.

Answer 10

I've never used crates, I don't like them the idea of caging my babies makes me feel sick. I used baby gates though and my pups where able to get through them and never got contained after that lol but it doesn't bother me, if you train them properly they don't need them :-)

Answer 11

Crates are a fairly recent thing for people too lazy to properly care for a dog, IMHO. According to studies done in Europe, prolonged crating causes mental and physical illness.



Good for you and your lucky puppy. Crates are for airlines not for living in.