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Dog crating or play pen?

2K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  JohnW 
#1 ·
i was thinking about getting a dog playpen and making that my dogs "place to sleep" insted of using the crate or is that a bad idea?
Update: true, but i would rather him pee and poop through out a large space in in his crate
Update 2: @luke i'm with you man, but everyone is giving me **** about crating my puppy. they all say it makes the dog safer. why can't a dog be safe throughout the whole house
 
#2 ·
why can't a dog be safe throughout the whole house
Remember, we are creating an environment for a dog, not a human. The dog feels safer, particularly in the early days by knowing no "enemy" can creep up on him. Dogs tend to like small snug places.

I'm rather old and set in my ways, and for the first 40 years of dog ownership I never used a crate, considering them cruel. Then I had a puppy who ate the kitchen floor. OK, these things happen, so when she grew up I replaced the flooring. That was my first mistake because a month later I brought another puppy and she ate my nice new floor! That was when for domestic harmony I finally brought a crate.

My big surprise was that once my pups got to know it they went in on their own through choice when they felt like a sleep. I always feed my pups in the crate and do everything to make it a "nice" place. Also I find it helps with house training at night. In all the pups since I started using a crate I have never had a pup take more than a week to be clean all night. I use a small crate initially, a 24 inch. It does not last the pup long, but crates are cheap these days and the object of the small crate is to not allow the pup to have a toilet area well away from where it sleeps. When it outgrows the small crate I find a 36 inch crate suits my bitches, but males, being larger, would be better in a 42 inch crate.

John :)
 
#3 ·
I’m still a massive fan of crates but my latest pup didn’t take to it at all. She soiled in the smallest crate and never made a fuss and just lay in it. Awful it was. She now isn’t crated at night and is clean but does go in the crate when needed during the day.
 
#4 ·
I feed Ruby in her crate and we can eat our dinner then. She goes in there of her own accord when she is particularly tired and we shut her in there when we go out. She no longer sleeps in there at night as she like to sleep on the landing. I wouldn’t trust her to roam the house when not there. She would get hold of something and chew it, so I would recommend a crate
 
#6 ·
I never used a crate for our last lab as it wasn’t really a thing all those years ago. I did use a crate for my two labs now from bringing them home to about 7/8 months old. They both loved it and always chose to go and sleep in it during the day.

My youngest is recovering from a soft tissue injury at the moment and on crate rest for quite a chunk of the day. She is absolutely fine with that and also chooses to just go in and lie down in it.

Far easier as she had been used to it as a small pup. I think she will be quite disappointed when it gets packed up again ��
 
#7 ·
I also got Ruby a dog bed to have in the living room, she destroyed it at 3/4 months, after her first season we decided to try another new dog bed thinking she might of calmed down a little, she hasn’t! She tried ripping it immediately, she has never done this with her bedding in the crate, which is in my dining room. So she just lies on the floor when we are all in the living room instead of a nice soft bed 🛏 🤪
 
#8 ·
If this thread has the vote section, I will vote for dog crate. My personal opinion is whenever I'm not home for a while, I need to provide the dog with the proper space for him to relax and sleep, and of course to avoid something terrible happen. And I think most of dog crate product right now has the slide-out removable tray for easiness to clean (in case pee and poop). But I think it's okay to use dog playpen if the situation under control (the dog is not alone at home). The best is to introduce the dog crate since the puppy and the dog will know his routine, what I mean when it's time to go inside crate.
 
#9 ·
My own feelings, the crates in the link above may well be fine if you are an overpaid football player, but at £450 for a crate, however good, will only perform exactly the same job as a £30 crate off eBay! There is absolutely no reason to pay best part of £500 for a crate, that's silly money.
 
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