<p>The Westie was crate trained. Brought her home on 9-10-2001 (!). Anyway, she stayed there at night and when we were at school and work. </p>
<p>A few years later we discovered we had some mice, decided to let her terrier-ness out of the crate during the day, since chasing mice is what they do. It’s worked out well. We left the crate out for her to roam in and out of. She likes to lay on the carpet in the sun. Now we just use the crate for transportation purposes.</p>
<p>She did have two doggie beds, but she dragged them around the house (They were so big and she was so small!!)</p>
<p>After having dogs all my life, she was the 1st one crate trained. I would do it again.</p>
<p>My dogs have a run off the basement. They can go in and out of the basement as the mood strikes. They also have a really nice dog house with a flat roof – so they can hang in the dog house or hang out on top. They seem pretty happy with the arrangement when no one is home. If we’re there tho, they need to be with us (me).</p>
<p>I don’t want to hijack this thread but I have a question for the old dog owners out there.
Our lab is 11 and is just starting to show some bladder control issues. Are there any treatments or suggestions for dealing with this? It’s not a big problem right now…it’s just happened couple of times…but it’s very unusual for him and I’m not sure what to expect now. I think it must be age since there’s really nothing different going on that he would react to…</p>
<p>Belly bands? Wow, a new one for me. Toneranger, have you talked to the vet about this? When this happened to our oldster, it was the onset of diabetes and the insulin shots took care of the problem. There are also a number of urinary tract infections, bladder and kidney problems that can be causing the problem. I have heard that a raw meat diet with certain supplements can help incontinence. You might want to research that. Cornsilk supplements are supposed to help. There are also a number of prescription meds that can help such as proin, tofamil rx, DES rx, and testosterone supplements. There are also doggie diapers out there and…Belly Bands!</p>
<p>The breed of dog that we had unfortunately commonly develops mitral valve disease and congestive heart failure. When this happened to our sweet guy, the veterinary cardiologist placed him on varying and increasing doses of antihypertensives, diuretics, etc (eg lasix, lisinopril) before ultimately being put on a drug called pimobendan that requires a special FDA waiver and is imported form England. Anyway, all the meds necessary to reduce the stress on the heart and on the pulmonary artery unfortunately cause the poor dogs to have to pee all the time. Hence the need for… belly bands!!! You basically put a disposable pad (like depends) inside the band, which is closed with velcro. Easy to replace the pads, and easy to wash the band. And you can select the fabric for your belly band. Other than possible embarassment, the dogs don’t seem to mind at all.</p>