Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo  I do not believe it is necessary to crate or confine a dog when you need to do your thing, like work or take care of your needs -- unless it is a safety issue for your dog.
I trained my 2 Yorkies by establishing a daily routine. They are with me almost 24 hours a day, and they know when to expect meals, outings, and so on. They also know when I need to work or do my things.
We have brief play sessions or together time during the day, but then I say, "Time to work." Although I have 2, they do not self-entertain. 
I take them to a park to walk after dinner and that usually tires them out for the rest of the evening. They also come along with me on car errands during the day because they love car rides. The rest of the time, they usually chill in their beds or watch things out the windows.
Having a daily routine helps establish expectations and has a calming effect. |
I couldn't agree with you more that dogs should live out and about at all times with us and participating in our lives and shouldn't be crated except for safety. But safety is paramount with our tiny Yorkies, many of whom are door-darters and they all need to be able to stand being crated for the times, especially if one lives alone, when strangers are in and out the doors working about the home or need to be safe in their happy little den at times in their lives when life's events are unusual, the routine suddenly changes or there is an emergency, they are recuperating or rest-confined and most dogs learn to really take advantage of their den time by zoning out and sleeping.
When workmen are in and out of the house, Tibbe is usually crated for safety or on his leash in my lap, though if I'm very involved myself in the project and men or going in and out of the doors, he's crated in his airline carrier or shut in one of the bedrooms. Still, one never knows when a worker may open a bedroom door and out he could dart.
When the power was out at home for 3 days during an ice storm a few years back, we stayed at my sister's house and Tibbe often took to his airline crate when her larger terrier got too rambunctious or he just needed to feel secure, a little bit of home. At night I feared Tavi, her 20 lb. terrier, might come into the bedroom and bother Tibbe; or, not being used to being in Tavi's territory, he might try to pee in her house as some sort of marking behavior or get into something unsafe there so he slept in the bed with me in his carrier most nights.
Crating in a regular-sized, wire crate is invaluable during housebreaking training as it trains the dog to hold himself while in his den/crate. Tibbe hasn't been in his wire crate for years now and it's been stored away but he's been well trained to accept staying in any crate quietly any time he's asked. At home, that is - at the vets' - I often hear him barking for attention the moment I walk into the door - lol. Poor vets.
Any time I tell him to "crate-up" and go into his little airline carrier that sits at one end of the couch, tucked in the corner between the back and side den walls at the end of the couch, and he happily runs into it and lies himself down, allowing me to close and lock the door and walk out of the room or briefly leave the house if I want, accepting that it's his crate time, that I'll return soon and release him and that he'll be amply rewarded once I do. Of course, I never leave him in that tiny airline carrier but for brief training periods or sometimes when workmen are in and out the doors while working on the plumbing, furnace, etc.
When I leave the house for a while, he's free to live out and about in his home. He's totally clean in the house when I'm away and never chews on electric wires, drapery hems or eats furniture. Usually, he goes into his little den/crate on his own almost every day and sometimes several times a day, especially if he's feeling independent or unhappy with me, where he then naps. He even sleeps part of the night there if we fall asleep in the den or he's bedded himself down while I'm still watching TV, cleaning the kitchen or move him off my lap after a while. This sometimes seemingly can offend him and he makes straight for his little crate, apparently to sulk for a time. I think he sees it as his own little space that is all his own and feels quite comfortable in it.