Dog Kennel Debate

[puppylove94376]

I don't think putting your dog in a kennel at night is bad... however the animal cannot be kept in for too long. Animals need excersise and should not be cramped in a kennel all day and all night. My dogs (I have five) do not sleep in crates except for my puppy who is not fully housetrained yet. A crate is also good for a shy dog... it is a good hideaway. If you find your dog (that you don't know very well yet or you don't know if he/she bites) huddled in your crate with hair raised, shaking, or tail tucked between legs, it is best to NOT go near them. This behavior means they are uncomphortable. All in all kennels are not bad so long as your pet can be out of it for most of the day.

[Bad Habit]

My dog has a crate, he's had one since the day I brought him home. He's two now, and he loves his cage. I put him in it when I go out, to keep him out of trouble (he'll eat the kitty food, and he has been known to steal the bunny food as well). Also, he gets sent to his cage when he's been naughty, if you tell him he needs a time out, he'll go lay in his cage. He has no fear of his cage, and loves it, will willingly sleep in it, because it's his space, and when he's in his cage, he's left alone. He knows the difference between going to his cage because he's been naughty, and going to his cage because I'm going out, and he's never ever locked in his cage when he's in trouble. I wouldn't go so far as to say his cage is his favourite place, but he definitely likes it. I actually have the exact cage pictured in the original post - in medium size. It's large enough for him to turn around, stretch out all the way, and have a chew on a chew toy.

[Paro]

My two dogs (A Newfie and Saint Bernard) don't sleep in kennels at all. We used kennels to house train them, but that's all really. They out grew them so quickly, it was a major waste of money to go out and buy another larger one every month or two. That, and we have the room to let them out at night when it's not too chilly out, or let them in at night in the basement. But for others who don't have the room, or time, to keep their dogs out of kennels, they're rather convenient to have. The dogs can't mess or chew anything up, and they aren't free to roam about and 'do their business' inside. So, kennels are great if you can't have your dogs outside, or the dogs are smaller, but with larger dogs, not all. The larger dogs mostly whine, and are cramped inside the crates... That's my opinion.

[puppylove94376]

I agree! I have five large dogs and crates are fairly expensive... especially if you need to replace them every few months. I only have one for my puppy, and I will stop using it once she is house trained. Her name is May and she is hyper, so she doesn't like being cooped up. She only is in it during the night and if I will be gone for a while. Her crate is a little big for her, but with crates, it is DEFFINITELY better for it to be too big than too small.

[MaineiacJay]

i dont see a problem with them and i dont understand what kind of problem people would have with them unless someone is keeping a dog in a kennel all day or the kennel is the wrong size (too small) for the dog. i used to keep my rottie in a metal kennel like the one pictured in the first post, but when she became too large for it (and Tala kinda ate his way out of it when i needed to use it for him), i got a 4ft tall metal playpen setup and just gave her a place in my room using.

when i get my new house next year, she will not be kenneled any more since she will be used as a sort of deterrent for anyone wanting to break into my house (yeah, im paranoid. dont judge =P), and i wont have to worry about her getting into everything

[Imzadi83]

If crates are used properly I don't have a problem with them but a lot of people think it's ok to leave the dog in their the entire day. A friend of my moms kept her dog like that. Not only the eight hour work day but she would go out after work and not come home till late. She said the dog didn't drink much water, I wonder why? /end scarscam.

Personally I don't like it if I don't need it. If I travel the dog gets seat belted in the car so I wouldn't need it. If I was going to take the dog over night at a hotel or do something of that sort yeah I'd consider a crate. But if I'm not doing any of those things I wouldn't bother. I def don't like the sleeping in it with the door closed as personally I feel it's a safety hazzard if a fire should break out or I should need the dog to come to me or bring me something like a phone but that's me.

Again as long as they are used properly I don't have a problem with them. Personally I think locking them in for a whole day (like for school/work) is far to long and cruel since it would be like a human being left in a closet all day without even a seperate bathroom and I know I wouldn't like that.

[puppylove94376]

I agree! I only use crates when they are NEEDED like traveling or potty training. Housing five dogs and three cats in crates would NOT be easy. That's why I start them off with crates and then I don't use them anymore.

[bloodthinker]

I want to point out those arent known as kennels but as crates.
Personally they are one of the best methods of training. How are you suppose to train a dog not to potty in the house, when not being there?You have to leave the dog at some point in time. My dog have started in the crate but slowly graduated to being able to roam freely. First few weeks its crate, crate, crate when we are not around, then we will allow her to come out onces and see how she does. If there is a mess when we return its back in the crate once while we are gone. Slowly she got onto 'hey if I dont mess the house, I wont have to spend a amount of time when they are gone in the crate'

[puppylove94376]

That is exactly what I did! And I think kennel is a synonym for crate so it doesn't really matter.

[bearcups]

My personal belief is that using a crate as punishment is setting your dog up to be a claustrophobic dog. Using a small space with a closing door will more than likely give the dog the idea that any small, enclosed space with a door is a bad place. So I don't use them. Ever. I prefer to never shut my dog away and give her freedom around the house, because I trust her.