Quote:
Originally Posted by Leah
Aquattro - just wondering if the dogs sleep in the kennels at night as well?
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One does, the other sleeps on my bed. The new puppy is crated at night for obvious reasons, but my male BC goes to his (open) crate on his own.
and yes, the "bed post incident" is my own fault, it was a busy week at work and they didn't get out as much as usual, hence the bored chewing.
I am certainly not condoning crates as babysitters, simply a way to keep dogs safe. I do know people that overcrate, and the dogs suffer for it, and this to me is not acceptable. Should all dog "owners" have dogs? Absolutely not. But people not familiar with crates often jump in with the cruelty factor (and I used to be one of these people, having had dogs for my entire long life).
But, having used crates for the last couple of years, I'm now a big proponent of crates (when used properly). They aren't for everyone, but they are a huge asset for me in managing 3 dogs. For the most part, my dogs can be left loose in the house for a couple of hours, but with wrestling, running around, etc, it's better to tire them out, then let them nap while I'm out.
Perhaps some of you know people that abuse crating, but within my circle of dog sport enthusiasts, we all put considerable time, effort and thought into managing our dogs and crates are used as a responsible management tool.
Of course, it's one of those topics that you can't argue to win, I'm just stating what works for me, I have healthy happy well adjusted dogs, and that's my end goal.
If something different produces the same goal for others, then by all means use it.