My neighbor called me and she was in the emergency room at the hospital and asked if I would take care of her dog for two or three days. She asked me to take him out twice a day to go potty and to feed him at night. No problem . . . but I was shocked to open her front door and find the little guy in a crate in the living room. No water, no food, nothing. just a crate with a pillow . . . I don't understand keeping a dog in a crate . . . someone explain please . . . She did adopt him and he is a big scary-cat, maybe abused, but I don't understand the crate thing . . . She has a very nice grassy backyard, why wouldn't the dog stay in the backyard . . . my dogs always did . . . please explain . . .

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Mommy to three wonderful boys, Justin (11), Nicholas (9) and Scottie (8)

well some people do not want to have the smell or the hair of a dog everywhere ......
doesn;t want their pets on the furniture,or afraid of accidents..... so they put them in a cage....

We have our dogs crate trained.

Both our puppies stay in the crate at night. I don't need them peeing all over my house in the middle of the night! They do not get food in the crate but, the do have a hamster bottle (I don't know the name of it I got it at petsmart and thats what it looks like) full of water. They are only in the crate at night and when we leave the house for an extended amount of time. Although leaving the dog in the crate for two or three days is alot but, but I wouldn't leave my dog outside for two or three days either. We leave our dogs with their grandparents when we have an emergency. Don't know if that answered your question or not but, thats what we do!! You also have to take into account if the dog got out of the backyard, then the owner is responsible for any damage the dog does and if the dog hurt someone thats a major liability!! And taking the chance you also can never find the dog again would be too sad!

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Vicki


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I understand fully about the training part.what a mess!!!!
but isn;t it a bit long for a dog to be left in a crate all day long,and in this case all night ,and have only 2 outings a day?
I do not know if the OP is talking about a puppy in training

Well, I guess I should say that our puppies (2, sisters rescued) are almost 1 years old now. They aren't really in training anymore but, I wake up and have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night too so I just like to know if they have to go they can go on the pads and not my expensive furniture!! And I did say yes two to three days was to long....but two or three days in the backyard is too. It is an emergency and no one knows if OP neighbor does this on a regular basis. If OP is really worried then she should make sure the dog is out and about alot more than twice a day..KWIM?

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

sure,I never used a crate(maybe I should have.... and might use one on my next puppy!!!)
you really have to have a secure back yard,mine is not ,so we never leave our dog outside and one time ,we got stuck out of town for 1 day and prayed that she wouldn;t have done to much damage inside(we were so surprised ,that she had not peed inside) but when we opened the door she peed for a long time in the yard.....

I think I clocked our police dog at like 2 minutes one time!!!

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

No . . . it is not a puppy . . . it's a 5-10 year old medium size dog she adopted a few months ago . . . I was just really surprized to find the dog in a crate . . I have never been inside her house before today . . . she is not a friend, just a nice neighbor, right next door, she is single 40ish lady with no kids and she had a sudden unexpected emergency situation. I just don't understand why the dog wouldn't hang out in the nice backyard instead of inside a crate all day (except potty training puppies) . . .

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Mommy to three wonderful boys, Justin (11), Nicholas (9) and Scottie (8)

with it being a new-to-her doggie maybe she is afraid of the dog getting scared and when dogs get scared or nervous they chew. That can be very bad for the dogs health (stomach and blockages) and it can also be very bad for the house!! Thats a tough situation.......I think that you should just spend as much time with the dog as you can cause if she has been abused and then taken to a nice home and her owner disappears on her she might be extremely stressed and that can effect her health.

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

The trainer told us that dogs are den animals and prefer their "own" place to hide, block out the world, regenerate, chill. They won't wet in their den so it is the perfect place for them to learn to hold their bladder during housebreaking. All they need is room to get up and turn around and lay back down to sleep. Dogs sleep like 14 hours a day anyway. Crate training worked wonders on my little monsters and set them on the path to good family member rather than devils in angel fur.

I can't imagine leaving that poor dog in there for days with just being let out to go and then right back in. I would be tempted to spend a little time with it, let it run around and stretch its little legs a bit.

Yes, I agree . . . I do think she is a very nervous little doggie so thanks for your reply . . . I just have never kept a dog in a crate but I have never had a nervous scared doggie either . . .

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Mommy to three wonderful boys, Justin (11), Nicholas (9) and Scottie (8)

Maybe this ISN'T the norm for the dog to be kept in a crate all day long, Maybe your Neighbor is thinking this will help YOU in caring for her puppy while she's away. Rather than you having to deal with a Strange Puppy running about and YOU having to clean up any potty mess that might happen when let to run lose in the house.

We crate our Puppies at night. Both share the crate.. During the day they are let into the back yard to play and get fresh air.

Our vet told us to crate them ( They well the male mainly was using the bathroom ALL OVER my house even tho, He/ they were taken outside MANY TIMES during the day. He would come back in the house and in Mins Pee or Poop on the floor .. So the vet said to crate them for about or around 6 months and then allow them to come back inside the home a little at a time. So thats what we are doing. I'm going to start allowing them to come back in the house at night next week to see if they will potty outside when taken.

Also, If you left your dog/ cat at the Vets while away they too would ONLY take your baby outside a few times daily to potty and run around, the rest of the time they would be in their crate.

There's many reasons a person crates their fur baby, Many of them needs to be crated for their safety, the safety of couches, floors, wires lamps ect.. It's not mean at all to do this.
Have fun with your neighbors fur baby.

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All of our dogs are crate trained. The sleep in there crates, most of the time, mainly now just because they like them. They are crated when we leave the house. (Very necessary when you have 2 great danes and they decide to play while your not there to supervise. BTDT)

I would bet she crates the dog when she leaves.

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Since we had our first child and he started to "torment" our dog, she really appreciates her crate as she can really get away from him...he can be a monster! She stays in the crate whenever we are gone but sleeps with us in our bed at night. She also eats in her crate. She is dalmation and they are notorious for eating couches so I value my furniture (we don't let her up on it, it's microfiber and she is an all-white albino dalmation those fabrics don't mix with short hair) and don't want it used as a chew toy. We were also told from day one of adoption (she was 2 months at the time) to crate her for an easier transition because she was always in a cage. I am personally in favor of crating as it's really a way for the dog to chill out and stay safe from the "dangers" of the house.

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As another poster said, the dog is probably not usually kept in the crate ALL the time. The lady probably put him in the crate when she left that day. It is a safe place; their den.

He will be fine for the three days. I'd do as she asks... and try not to worry. It is a good place.

I also crate my dogs when I go out, so I'd be in the same situation as this lady. I wouldn't want them roaming the house when no one is home. When we are home, we leave the door open to the crate and they sometimes go in and nap there. When no one is home, they get nervous and will chew and/or pee if left uncrated. When we leave, they know to go in and they are fine - no barking or messes!

Ours is left in the crate when we go out for awhile, not for a huge amount of time, cause she does get into stuff like the garbage can I came home to the other day scattered all over the kitchen and living room the kids didnt close the cage good. she goes in there to get away from the kids too but usually under my desk in her bed to get away dureing the day... like right now.

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Our retriever likes the security of his crate, but we only leave him there for shorter periods of time. If it were all day, I would try to find a small room that I could confine him to.

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We also use crates for our 2 black Labs. I used to be totally against them, but our vet convinced us to try it. We initially used them for potty training purposes and to keep the puppies/dogs safe when we were not at home. They are like babies, they get into everything, chew everything and will eat anything, they will be a year old this week. We don't leave our babies in the backyard unsupervised, there are too many things they could get hurt with, eating sticks, right now they try to eat the peaches off the tree which is not good for them and we have an in-ground pool, we wouldn't want them to fall in and not be able to get out, even when they are outside we check on them constantly. All the dog care/training books say to use the crate for the dogs that they are den animals and need their own "special place" where they feel safe. Our dogs love their dens. Each one has a seperate crate, when they were little they shared one crate, sometimes they still like to get in one together, but we seperate them. I have had dogs most of my life and we never used a crate until now, this is the best way. When I used to have a German Sheppard and a mix retriever/spaniel I would go to work and come home to find pillows, couch cushions torn up with fluff everywhere, the spaniel laying sleeping on the dining room table, or up on the kitchen counter. The spaniel could climb the 6 foot privacy fence so couldn't leave them outside and the Sheppard was allergic to grass, so he couldn't stay outside either. I only work part time 4-5 hours a day, so this works for us. The training books do say they should not be crated for more than 8 hours a day.

I have two dogs. One of which is crate trained, the other isn't. Mazzy, our border collie/black lab mix is NOT crate trained. She (both actually) have been banned to the basement. She pees and poops on the floor whenever she feels like it. She also still gets in the garbage. She's 10 1/1 years old. Si, our springer spaniel/st. bernard mix is 8 1/2 years old and IS crate trained. I can count on my hands the amount of "accidents" he's had in our house since we got him when he was a puppy. He was kept in his kennel whenever we weren't home for years and at night when we first got him. He no longer is put in there because he can be trusted, for the most part. He will get in the garbage if he is left upstairs. Both of them peed on our new carpet when we had the hardwood floors covered and that's why I won't let them up here anymore. The door to his kennel is open for him all the time. He prefers to sleep in there and eat his food in there. He also used to have his water and food in there when we first got him, but he would NEVER go potty in there.

Looking back, our first dog would have been crate trained. If she was, I wouldn't have the problems I do with her now. My vet actually told me to put her in there anytime she couldn't be watched so that she wouldn't keep going on the floor.

Some ppl use crates for potty training issues, like we do. I don't see anything wrong with it. It keeps your house from being torn up and the dogs get used to it.

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Amy
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My two boxers are crate trained. They sleep in their crates at night. They are ready to go in when they get tired. No way would I leave them out in our yard at night even though it is secure and certainly no way would I leave them loose in my house. Let's just say their favorite thing to chew is wood! These are the first dogs I have ever crate trained and the results have been great.

Our Toy poodle who is adopted was crate trained and we pretty much let her roam the house and occasionally sleep with us but I must say when I say go to bed she willingly goes to her crate and snuggles. I have a nice sheepskin pad and her favorite toy. I think they feel safe and protected so don't worry. They will bark or cry if they really want our but this has really only happened once because she wanted my bed

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We were the proud recipients of a Great Dane pup in December. She was used to sharing a crate w/ her brother, but when she got to our house and was all alone in the crate, she was not a happy camper-poop and pee everywhere. It took about 45mins. to clean the big dog and the crate. So...we decided enough of the crate and gave her free roam of the house. We came home to some pretty intense messes. One night, I had enough! I asked DH to put the crate in the garage-that way if she messed, I could pull her and the crate out and just hose everthing off. Well, since then, she has not messed in her crate at all. We recently replaced our carpet ($5000), so we keep her in our sights at ALL times. If it's getting too hectic (dinner time), or I am doing something where I can't keep an eye on her, she goes in the crate. When we leave the house, she goes in the crate. It has been such a godsend for us. She actually likes going in there-she gets a treat and gets a bit of peace and quiet . It's not cruel at all. IMO, it's like putting a baby in a crib.