Why Do People Cage Their Dogs When They're Not at Home?

Crate-training is essentially teaching a dog to use a cage to his advantage. The cage or crate serves a variety of purposes. It gives a dog security, for one thing; for another, it keeps a secured dog from trashing the house when you're gone. It's perfectly appropriate to crate a dog when you're away, as long as the dog has been properly acclimated.

  1. Basic Purpose of Crates

    • The point of a crate is not to confine a dog but to train him so that he can, ultimately, roam freely and safely throughout a household when no one is home to oversee him, according to the ASPCA, noting a 2000 paper by Drs. Daniel Q. Estep and Suzanne Hetts, both certified applied animal behaviorists. Crates that are employed for housebreaking purposes are not supposed to be used indefinitely, the ASPCA asserts, but only for a brief era during the key learning process for puppies, young adults or fully mature canines. Crate-training generally only lasts a few weeks, maximum. It sometimes can even be completed in mere days. A variety of factors determine training time, namely a pet's history and age. Afterward, when the dog sees his crate as a security spot, you'll leave the doors open and he'll likely go there to relax, sleep or get away from it all.

    House-Training

    • Many owners use crates to encourage proper and swift house-training. Dogs, like many other types of animals, generally object to soiling their sleeping areas with bodily waste. Confining a dog in a crate for periods of time that grow in duration over a period of weeks teaches a dog to hold his bodily functions until he goes out. The key is to let the dog out at proper intervals -- if he can't hold out and goes, you've slowed your training. Ultimately a properly trained adult dog will be able to go eight hours in a crate between breaks. If you're away longer than that, you'll want a friend or a service walk the dog in your absence.

    Chewing

    • Apart from keeping indoor elimination under control, some people choose to place their dogs in crates in order to minimize the chances of problematic behavior, such as the chewing of electrical cords. Other behaviors crate-training sometimes stops are food-scavenging, digging and chewing on the living room sofa and digging. People frequently opt for crate-training when they're not fully certain how a new dog may behave when left to his own devices.

    Types of Crates

    • Suitable crates for training are available as cages made of metal, plastic and wood; many can be broken down for easy transportation. Some fold into flat parcels easily placed in closets or slid behind furniture. They also often come equipped with features -- think removable trays and window panels, for example. Light, folding fabric ones won't suit training because a dog can knock one around from within without much effort.