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To Crate? Or Not To Crate?

by Kate
(Pennsylvania)

I am going to be a first time Aussie owner in 2 weeks! We are a family of 4 (children ages 6, and 15), we live on 4 acres, and I work from home. I have read a TON of articles, blogs, and info from breeders and I feel like I am getting mixed answers on when and if to crate train my puppy. Since I work from home, the ONLY reason that I feel its necessary to crate train our puppy is for the semi rare occasions that we have to leave him—doctors appointments, family outings, etc. Some things that I have read say to let the pup sleep outside of his crate near or with a family member. Is that better? Or is that the answer if you are planning to crate the puppy during normal working hours during the day? And if so, how will the pup be in his crate when I AM home, and he can hear my voice in the house? Or... is it necessary to crate train him at all? Since someone will USUALLY be here with him, is he going to be more prone to separation anxiety when we DO leave him???

Comments for To Crate? Or Not To Crate?

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Save haven
by: Anonymous

We had a crate because it provides her a safe place were she can rest and feels comfortable. The crate is also the place where we feed her, so for her its the best place in the world

Depends
by: Patrick

I live in a small apartment however i have a big back yard. So she is crate when not being supervised. she refused to go when she was 8w to 2 m old now she loves it cause she knows its automatic treat when she runs in plus it makes potty training a breeze

crate!
by: rochelle

it's best to get your pup used to her crate as soon as you bring them home. even if you are home, there will be times when you cannot give her your undivided attention, especially at night when everyone is sleeping and she needs a safe place (our girl loved to try to chew power cords). there will also be times when she needs a break (or you do), i.e. nippy/tired/cranky and it's time for a nap. aussies (and all pups) need a routine and some structure so they know what they should be doing. with proper training, the crate will mean it's time to rest. as for when you are home, start right away and being in the crate while you are home will become the norm. drop some treats in and allow her to go get them and come right out, gradually work your way up to closing the door for a few seconds, minutes, then leaving the room for brief periods and she'll get the picture quickly.

Provides a safe place
by: Lyndsey

I don't know what age your aussie is, but if he's a pup you will want to crate at nights to help with housebreaking. Crating is not cruel and provides a safe place for your pup. Aussies are very active, as I'm sure you know, and when they get bored, they will become destructive and can hurt themselves in the process if you aren't home. Once your aussie is housebroken, I would say he can sleep next to you, but still needs to be crates while you aren't at home. It will give you a piece of mind that he is safe and that your furniture isn't getting chewed up. This is what I did with my 4 month old aussie and it is going great now! Good luck with your new buddy, it'll be a fun time with him!

Crates are Good
by: Johanna

My Aussie is my favorite dog ever! You will love yours. We planned to crate train our dog from the start. He came home at 6 weeks, and we tried teaching him to sleep in the crate. We got up and took him out to potty because he was small, but he hated it in there, and started barking and crying in the middle of the night. I couldn't take it! By the end of the first week, we just bought him a dog bed and let him sleep in our room. As soon as we let him in our room, he just slept on the floor and never barked, he just didn't like being alone when he knew we were in the house! He goes in the crate just fine when we leave the house. During the school year, he is crated for about 6 or 7 hours a day. He runs right in when we tell him to and often goes to sleep in the crate with the door open while we are here too. I do think that dogs like it as a safe place. I would try to put the crate somewhere that you spend time rather than in an isolated spot, like a basement. That way they feel like it is a special place just for them. I would start out with short periods of time, like running an errand, so your dog can get used to the idea that you are coming back to let him out. Good luck!

I think crate training is the best thing
by: Kelly

I have had two Aussie border collie crosses and one pruebred Aussie, all of which have been crate trained. Growing up I never had a dog that was crate trained and now I would not be without that training. It is a very positive place for them to go as no matter what, they get a treat when they go inside the crate. They are never put in there as a punishment. My boy also gets his meals in his crate.
It is a safe place for them to be when I go to work or have to leave the dog alone. I also believe it is the best place for them if a fire was to break out in your home. You know exactly where the dog is so you are better able to get to them quicker.
After one year of sleeping in their crates I let them out at night, now when they are tired or need some down time they go into their crates on their own. It is also great for when you can't give your puppy 100% of your attention. They can't hurt themselves or get into trouble.

Not to Crate
by: Gary & Cody

I didn't crate my Cody, first I puppy proofed my house, take the time to do this! Then we got some baby gates and put them on the kitchen doors, there was a mud room off the kitchen were we put his potty pad he had plenty of room ( a lot) I took time off work, then my wife took time after that. He was only in the kitchen when we were at work, when we were home he was out with us in the house & yard. Aussies are very intelligent I never even had to house train him he did it himself! He was will loved and very well behaved neve had any problems in the house not one. He was only in the kitchen for a short while, when he was younger he slept in his bad in our bad room. Then he slept with us our were ever he chose. After the divorce he had to live in a apartment, and no problem at all. I don't believe in crating never will. You say that you have land and somebody will be home sounds great to me, so I don't see a problem, let your Aussie truly be part of the family that he or she needs to be.

Yes!!
by: Jeanelle

Hi there!
I have a 4.5 month old aussie and I am 100% for crate training! Crate training not only makes potty training a lot easier but it also gives your lil pup a place to call his own. My pup spends a lot of time in his crate voluntarily after long walks and romps at the dog parks. As long as it's introduced properly and never used as a "time out" place or for punishment, crate training is definitely a plus plus. Even if you're not busy now it can prevent separation anxiety!
Good luck with your pup!

Thank You!
by: Anonymous

Thank you all SOOO much for your input! I appreciate the time you ALL took to answer my question!!!

Yes - Crate + Aussie Works !
by: Anonymous

My second aussie is just over a year old. Our first aussie was an outside dog, but we wanted to bring Maisy into the house with us. We were encouraged by our breeder to crate train to make potty trainer easier. Although not without "incidents" the crate training went perfectly. We put her in the crate as a puppy at night in our bedroom and whenever we needed to leave the house. At night she whined the first few nights, but then stopped. She slept comfortably in the crate every night until just recently, when we no longer crate her at night. When we leave the house, we still put her in the crate if we are going to be longer than an hour and she does fine. Of course with Aussies, she needs outside time. We have 6 acres and she gets several hours of run time every day. Yes, Crate + Aussie works !!

crate
by: Anonymous

I have a 3 year old purebred Aussie and 6 children. I noticed him starting to pee in the youngest girls room and so at night when we couldn't keep an eye on him, we started putting him on the kitchen at night with a baby gate up so he couldn't get out. He was fine. No whining. It's his nap area now but no more peeing.

My mini Aussie don’t like the crate
by: Anonymous

My 9-week-old Mini Aussie is getting potty trained. She pees and poops outside. But when I put Sophia in the crate and leave, she poops and pee’s in it. I take her outside before she goes in the crate. She act as if she punish us to put her in the crate.

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