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Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  Pens & crates & kennels certainly have their place. I crate-trained Jilly & Tibbe for a year in the crate or a penned in area & finally the utility porch. You had better confine a dog when housebreaking or be the most vigilant person in the world, never leaving home or even sleeping for long! But, that wasn't where they lived the majority of their lives - it was just where they stayed when I couldn't watch them. Rest of the time, they were with me, living the life of an adored pet and nights, they were right beside me. I think a dog should have lots of mental stimulation & daily activities that cause that tail to wag a whole lot. Dogs that don't get to live lives other than largely behind some kind of wire sure don't get in a lot of tail wagging fun as far as I can tell.
Dogs lives aren't that long - the least we can do is make it a rich & fulfilling one. |
Callie sleeps in a really comfy plush soft sided crate at night and that's the only time she is ever in one except when she was a pup at night but she loves her cozy crate at bed time. Play pens are great for certain things too like we go out of town maybe once a year and when we where at my uncles house where they live on a busy rd and the door gets opened every few minutes we used a play pen to keep her safe although we sat outside her on her leash most of the time because everyone wanted to pet and see her. Also I used a baby play pen when Callie was recovering from surgery but kept it in the living room and stayed in there pretty much all the time with her and every one would reach in to pet her so she still had human interaction and didn't feel unloved. They can be very good tools but like most tools they can be wrongly used or over used. Some times all doggies want to do is curl up next to you or on your feet.