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Originally Posted by IsabelleOllie  I don't care for crates. I've failed miserably at crate training  I worked full time when my shih tzu was a puppy and tried crating him. Boyfriends sister would come over and play with him for an hour on days when no one was home, but it didn't last long (maybe a month?).... especially couldn't take it at night as I just wanted him to sleep in bed.
I tried again with Belle (now am a stay at home Mom) and first night she slept quietly in crate. The second night she whined and cried a bit. The third night she found her voice and barked like crazy.... she has slept in my bed ever since  I used a plastic travel crate for both of them. |
Not all of us that use crates with our pups, use them for "crate training". I've always potty trained my yorkies to pads and have always used a play pen set up during the first month of training. Mine have always slept in my bed at night.
The idea of a crate is that it is a safe den for the pup...a get away where they can't be bothered. With my last yorkie I had kids at home and the rule was if she went to her crate she wasn't to be bothered. My new pup, ZoE will take her self off to her crate to sleep at times, even though she has free run of the house. The only times I lock her in there are when to have her running free, would be a danger to her, i.e.: when the plumber was in & out of the house running lines to a new washer/dryer location or when I dropped a glass correlware bowl and it shards were scattered across the floor. The first thing I do is lock ZoE in her crate so she is safe.
I agree with Teresa that having a pup used to a crate is crucial for emergency situations. A good wire crate is an investment that will last the life of your pup.