I personally find crate training beneficial but it has to be used responsibly. For the first two weeks I had Chewy in the crate. He came out and was taken to where he has to potty and then had supervised play and eating and then back in the crate. He was very small so he just slept while he was there. After a certain time they know the house and where to go to eat or to potty and then they can have relatively free reign. I have a small travel crate and will be upgrading to an Xpen soon, he deserves and has earned the space!!! It is important to not use the crate as a place to put the dog when you don't want to deal with it. It is very easy to say "oh he's biting or oh he's being a brat" and put him in the cage. Chewy only gets crated now when it is a safety issue or I know he's exhausted and needs to nap. Gates can be used to confine them to a space, i.e., the kitchen or bathroom if you are, say, doing housework or something. The only problem you may have is that your pup is older and I'm not sure how hard/easy he will be to potty train. Sorry for the long post and good luck! |