The dog that we have now is the only one that has been crate trained “properly” and she loves her crate. She goes in when she gets treats and at bedtime (just to have the treats in her kong, then she goes to bed with one of us).
We’ve never felt a need to keep dogs in crates when we leave except when they are in their chewing, puppy stage. But that’s just us.
I’m with Romani. I use the crate for house training a puppy and for getting through the chewing stage. I do have a gate across the kitchen door, and gate dogs into the kitchen in some cases. It depends on how trustworthy they are in terms of chewing, house breaking, and getting up on the furniture. As soon as the dog is trustworthy in the house alone, no crating or gating.
The gate is handy when the dog is wet, dirty, or eating the raw part of her diet. 
It is handy to be able to crate a dog without them going nuts when one is travelling, staying with other people, and so forth. And at the vet’s sometimes.
My dogs sleep on their bed in my room, generally. Rudy the Pointer slept on the bed with me, but he was a special case.
When rescues ask “Do you crate train?” I just say yes.
We have only ever had rescues and never a puppy. Ususlly 2-3 years old so house broken. We just adopted our newest, a Cav King Charles mix after losing our big dog at 15 1/2. He’s the perfect size - about 20 pounds and stocky so H doesn’t feel silly walking him (our other is the one in my pic - a wee 10 pounder and very dainty and ladylike.) Henry, OTOH, is all boy, very rambunctious but in a good way.
We haven’t had to crate any of our dogs because we got them when they were older. I would def crate train a puppy.
We always had neighbors take care of our dogs when we went away because big dog would get very stressed when boarded. Now that she is gone I’ve gone back to boarding. The place I take them is owned by the women we got our newest from (she has an animal sanctuary on 22 acres.) Her pet spa has boarding, day care and a grooming salon. Her profit from the business goes towards supporting her sanctuary, and I like knowing by boarding them there my cost is going towards a good cause. There are several video cams so I can see them playing during the day when we are away, too.
My dogs hated their crates so not at all helpful. They just whine and bark when put inside. When my grandson was younger I put up a baby gate between kitchen and living area in preparation for his visit… and I realized that the baby gate was a better option for dog confinement as well - so baby gate stayed- and that’s all I use now if I need to confine movement. (Generally only if there is a dog-averse visitor to the house).
I had a little bit if difficulty housetraining dog #1 – mostly because she was only about 8 months old and I was new to the task – but when I adopted her little buddy I just used the leash/tether method and I had him fully trained in a matter of hours. That’s where you simply keep the dog leashed to you at all times and at the first sign that the dog needs to go, hustle to the designated outside area. I think that works out better actually because the dog never has a chance to make a mistake.
I’ve got nothing against the idea of using a crate - it’s just that if you bring in an older dog who isn’t comfortable with a crate, it’s not all that easy to sell the dog on that idea.
My husband and I have had dogs our entire lives and we only crate them when we go on car trips. If we were in an accident, I think the crate would help protect them. We never use one at home though. When we have puppies we use a baby gate to contain them until they’re old enough to go to the bathroom outside. Animals don’t like to mess their homes, so we’ve never had a problem once they were housebroken.
It’s important that you can give them proper exercise, so choose a dog whose energy matches your own. We’ve had mostly large dogs, but the last dog we got (about 5 years ago) is roughly the size of a beagle. Smaller dogs are much easier to control when you’re teaching them to walk on a leash. Check the local SPCA, and Craig’s List, but also put the word out to friends that you’re looking. We’ve gotten a couple dogs that way. You never know whose parent may no longer be anle to care for a pet, or who knows somebody who’s moving and can’t take their pet with them.
Yep, don’t get a dog unless you can exercise it properly. If you get a big dog, you need a big fenced yard at least. Too, just get the word out to friends that you are considering getting a dog…you’ll find a nice dog.
I like dogs but our family does not have one as we do not spend enough time at home to give one the attention it would deserve. I understand families that have dogs as they are great fun.
I really wish all families that had dogs would not let them bark all the time outside, it has become ridiculous where we live. Also, there is a current trend that everyone needs a “comfort dog” and it seems these dogs get the same privileges as dogs for the blind…crazy I think…sorry for the rant.
Our new next door neighbor has a bunch of cats that they let walk loose outside and the cats are always in our yard at night causing our Westie dog to go nutso all night barking at the neighbor’s cats in our backyard. I told the neighbor politely that lots of coyotes are in the neighborhood and she shouldn’t let her cats out at night or the coyotes will get them. We’re counting the days until…
Another vote for going to a dog rescue group. We lost our golden last fall to cancer. On New Years Eve we went to our local rescue to adopt 1 dog and came home with 2 goldens, one 2 years old and one 6 years old. Great dogs. (Yes that is them in the picture.) Since rescues foster and work hard ro rehome a dog with a good match, it can work out really well. Some dogs are strays but some come from loving homes that had to give them up (finances, move to place that does not allow pets, moving abroad, illness or death of owner, family member turns out to be allergic, etc.)
When asked about crate training, we always say it depends on the dog. Happy to do it if the dog needs it. None of our goldens have ever needed it. But I agree with the other posters. Only get a dog if you have time for one and pick one that is good with your life style. Ours always stay in the house when we are not home. But since my h works from home full time, they are only occasionally left alone.
This is one of the reasons that I disagree with the idea that everyone needs a fenced yard to have a dog.
If the dog is left outside in that fenced yard for long, they are more likely to turn in a nuisance barker. It is even worse with electric fences. And electric fences don’t prevent other animals or people from coming in. Both are fine if you are going to be outside with the dog most of the time it is out.
Another thing is that dogs outside in a fenced yard usually just lie around. They aren’t exercising themselves. Near me, there is a golden retriever who is often outside alone behind an electric fence. I’ve never seen her on a walk, or anyone outside throwing a ball for her or playing with her. I think that the only exercise she gets is rushing to the fence line to bark at the rare dog walkers. She is fat, naturally, and they clip her coat in the summer, which destroys it. That coat keeps the dog cool in summer and warm in winter. They probably get it cut off because she is full of mats and they don’t want to bother to brush her once a week, just like they don’t bother to walk her. I’m sure they think they are great dog owners. >:P
I have a fenced in yard and it is wonderful. I can get up in the morning, let the dogs out to do their business without watching them and worrying they will get out, into the street and run over. We also walk our dogs at least once a day but usually twice a day - depending on the weather. My dogs love to lay down on the deck or in the yard and sunbath, too. However, I never leave them outside if we leave the house. Do they bark when the mailman comes or someone is walking a dog on our street. Yes. But the bark even if they are in the house and that occurs. They love to sit in my big bay window in the front of the house when inside. Since practically everyone on my street and in my neighborhood has dogs - it sometimes sounds like we are living in a kennel - especially when the mailman comes (ours walk & drop mail at front people’s front doors.)
The people across the street from me have an electronic fence and leave their three dogs out constantly that yodel. They do not bark, they yodel. It is so freaking obnoxious and of course they go berserk any time a dog walks by. The fence goes all the way up to the street so they just sit at the end of the driveway and yodel.
We have a tall fence and keep our doors open in the summer so the dog can come and go from the backyard as she pleases. I will never, ever understand people that get a dog just to leave him/her outside all the time. What is the point? Dogs are social. They want to be with you. Yes, there are some that truly love being outside but not all the time.
I hope I won’t derail this thread by asking what is the best pet medical insurance? We used to have VPI for many years, but only used it during the last year of my dog’s life when he became severely ill. At that time I found out that the insurance only pays a small fraction of medical bills, even in a VPI certified animal hospital.
We are down to one 14-yr old dog. He was a failed hunting dog (gun shy) and has the sweetest personality ever. He was at our Humane Society but was still a puppy (around 10 months old). He had an older “brother” who loved his crate and would hang out there all the time, but this one didn’t love his crate as much. We have not had a fenced yard most of his life, and when we did have a fenced yard, he was like spiderman and climbed up and over. We walk him on a leash. While he sheds, he’s pretty much perfect otherwise. Very gentle, not aggressive, very loving, not a barker.
We don’t have a fenced yard, but I wish we did for our two dogs…a Chihuahua and a Westie terrier. The dogs don’t go outside unless they are on a leash. The Chihuahua is good about walking around without a leash in yard, but the terrier will take off in a heartbeat if it sees or hears anything moving. I don’t like to see people leave their dogs unattended outside in a fenced yard running in circles all day digging paths…that’s not right to animals. I would like a fenced yard where I could feel comfortable supervising them and not worrying about them dashing out into road out front or chasing golfers on fairway that borders rear of our property.
For pet insurance – I have PetPlan – but looking at this site, I might reconsider – http://www.consumersadvocate.org/pet-insurance/best-pet-insurance -
I’ve never actually used the PetPlan - but it covers 100% after deductible up to the policy limits, and will cover for hereditary conditions. One of my dogs has luxating patellas – so far, no problem – but a high likelihood of needing knee surgery at some point down the line. The policy I have does not cover routine preventive care-- I’m fine paying that out of pocket. I just want something to fall back on if either dog needs surgery or some other high cost treatment down the line.
I also have a fenced yard and consider it an absolute necessity. I have a pet flap in the door the back yard and they go in an out as they please, except that I will keep them in at night if they go out and bark. (That varies – some nights they are happy to stay indoors, sometimes there are other critters out and about that get them excited – so if the run outside I call them in and block off the pet flap until morning)
They certainly are not barking constantly through the day and they don’t tend to hang out in the yard all that much when I go out. Their preferred spot is to hang out by the front window to watch various comings and goings.
Thank you, @calmom !
What about an older dog who has been dumped? That happens all the time and I think they need adoption the most because they had families and lost them.
My D has been volunteering at a couple rescues and we’ve fostered several dogs for them. I would definitely recommend fostering if you can, as living with a dog for a few weeks is the best way to get to know their personalities. We’ve had a few puppies pass through and omg they’re a lot of work. But every puppy also has its own distinct personality too, so my recommendation on fostering applies to both adults and puppies.
Another thing to note is that if a shelter has a dog in foster that you’re interested in, you can get great info on the dog from the foster family so don’t be afraid to ask to meet the foster family when you meet the dog. We fell in love with one of the adult dogs we fostered and let his new owners know that we’d happily dogsit when they need to travel, and they’re taking us up on it for a couple weeks while they go on vacation. Just throwing that out as something to ask if you adopt a dog that’s in foster.
FYI something I didn’t know before we started fostering is that some small dog breeds are not great at house training so do a little research if you decide to go with a small dog.
So true re toy breeds not being great with house training! Lots of misconceptions out there, such as large breeds necessarily needing more exercise.