WOW! Have I been missing out or what? I do not crate my Chester & Gracie. I do close them off in the kitchen at night and during the day while I am at work. I do this because I don't want them messing all over the house. This is also why I no longer have carpet in the house. My dogs are 2 years old and 1 year 2 months. They are old enough to know better.
I am a smoker and when I go outside to smoke, the dogs go too. What frustrates me is like this morning for example. We were outside for 30 minutes and Gracie waited till she got inside to puddle. She knew she was in trouble because as soon as I found the mess, she looked at me, ears went down, and she rolled over.
My friend's 20 year old daughter has a min pin. They let her have the run of the house...she's a couple of years old. Anyway, they live in an older house. They went to run a couple of errands and when they got back, their dog had found some mouse poison from somewhere. They still have NO idea where she found it because they didn't put it down. Off to the vet they go. Their dog is okay. This is the same dog that will run toilet paper all through the house. My friend crates her Yorkies but her daughter doesn't crate her min pin. Final result, over $100 at the vets when they could have just crated her before they left.
I find nothing wrong with crating a dog. People know their dogs and know what's best for them. I do not consider it caging. The people you are talking about do not leave their dogs in the crates for days at a time. When I think of caging, I think of a puppy mill.
Well, here's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth. |