We have two crates with Jack (8 months). One smaller one for our room upstairs that he sleeps in. I cover it with a towel at night to keep any light out. We have a second, larger crate that we keep on the main floor of our house. I use that one if we have to go out somewhere during the day. A friend of mine lent me that crate, and it is fine for now, but was too big when we were potty training him. He could pee in one end and then just sleep in the other so we ended up buying the second crate.
Before he was housebroken we would just let him sleep on dog beds (and a couple of old bath mats) that we have scattered around the house. We kept him on a leash and we watched him CONSTANTLY! I very rarely put him in the downstairs crate if I'm home. AT night he goes out to potty and then to his upstairs crate when the last person up is ready for bed.
He seems to like the small crate he uses at night but will bark if we put him in the larger crate. I was considering only using the small crate but, since he's never gotten up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to ruin a good thing. I think he just doesn't like the larger crate because he knows we are going out.
Not sure if this really answers your question or not! |