Crates

Amanda33 · Puppy Joined: 08 Jun 2008 Posts: 32 Fur Kids: Mia

The longest period of time Mia has been in her cage is about 4 hours and this is not often, however she is in all night and is fine.

Whats the longest period of time you leave your weim in the crate.

Also, I am wanting to stop using the crate, but I feel she would damage the house, at what age should I wait, before I could trust her, or maybe this day will never happen.

Bunker · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:58 am Post subject:

I think it depends on the weim. We started letting Bunker home alone outside of the crate at 5 months. We limit him to one room filled with plenty of his toys. We have left him home along for up to an hour with access to the whole house without issues. But I've seen in other posts people that couldn't leave them alone until 2- 5 years.
My advice if you want to try, pick a room with the least amount that can be destroyed...

Aces-Wild · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:58 am Post subject:

Ace is 2 1/2 and he can stay in his crate for about 8 hours and be fine.
He seems fine with hanging out in there, I almost think he likes it.

It's my personal opinion that when you're not home, a crate is the best place for a Weim. There is a lot of temptation and he could get into something that could be unsafe for him and/or damaging/expensive for you.
I would not trust Ace alone loose in the house at any age. There is too much potential for him to get into something and get sick.

Again, just my opinion, but a dog should feel like his crate is his den and he's not being punished by being in there. Sometimes even when I'm home, Ace goes in his crate for 'chill out time'.

Welches · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:21 am Post subject:

We believe in crate training for the safety of the dog and our house Smile

I even have the fear that they could swallow a toy or have a bone get stuck while we're not at home, so I don't leave them out and I never leave anything in their crates with them.

However, the crate HAS to be their happy place. NEVER use it for punishment. For both our pups we would keep the crate in the living room in the evenings and then in the bedroom while we slept. This was a pain having to move the crate every day (no problem if you have 2) but it helped to establish it as their safe/happy place. While we would watch tv, they would lay in their crate. We put a bed in there, blankets and if we're home, toys. At night, and when we're not home, the bed and toys come out and we just keep a blanket in it.

Lexi will go in her crate all the time. If Yukon hurts her feelings, she goes in her crate, if she wants to take a nap, she goes in her crate, if she's scared, she goes in her crate. She loves it.

We kept Yukon in his crate while we were gone up until he was about 3 years old. Then, for the next year, we kept him and Spike in their own room with their crates, but the crates were not closed. We tried to let him have the run of the house before this and ended up losing a couch, among other items. Once he was around 4 or 5, I let him and Spike have the run of the house. However, there were days when I would work late and they didn't get a walk, and if that happened twice in a row, you could bet that on the third day Yukon would chew up a toy or a pillow or his bed. Nothing major, but it still can happen, even with older dogs. I also had a pet sitter in my neighborhood who would check on them every once in a while. I lived alone, so this was the reason I let them have the run of the house, to discourage people from coming near my house.

Now, while we're gone, all 3 dogs are in our bedroom with Lexi in her crate. When we first moved to this house, we let the boys have the run of the house (they are 8 and 6) and put Lexi in her crate, but if the boys went into a room and she couldn't see them, she would howl her head off. So that's why they are all in the same room now.

Some people think it's cruel, but I completely disagree. I think it's for their own safety. The longest we left Yukon in his crate was for about 9 hours and he was fine, when he was older. Younger pups can't wait that long to go to the bathroom, so the longest Lexi has been in her crate is 4 hours.

As for when you can let your dog have the run of the house is up to you and your dog. You'll know when he's ready. Yukon absolutely could not until after he was at least 3. Lexi is the complete opposite and hasn't chewed anything since we got her at 10 weeks, but we're not willing to take the chance and leave her out. However, keep in mind, at no matter what age, they can have 10 good days in a row being home alone, then decide on the 11th day they are too bored and they eat a cushion.

JacksMommy · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:02 am Post subject:

Jack is fine with his crate as long as the door is off (which we now have no choice as he broke that Rolling Eyes

)

He's a little over a year now and we let him choose. We had some minor problems with him chewing and eating things, however a little training can go a long way, and now Jack has learned that if he minds his manners, he can have free run of the house while we're gone.

So we leave him out when we're gone and sometimes he'll lye in his crate, but more often than not he's sleeping on our couch (lol we bought a set that matched him so you cant see the hair) - But we haven't had problems thus far since making the decision to leave him out.

We started off small with 10 minutes here and there, and gradually built our way up to the point where we can be gone a few hours and he'll be fine.

weim2mom · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:53 am Post subject:

The longest they have been in there is eight hours, but it has only been a handful of times. Usually it's four hours, and most days, it's an hour or two, In between me leaving and my husband coming home.

colkid22 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:19 pm Post subject:

My Weims have stayed in the crate for 8 hours and it doesn't bother them. I would never leave them alone roaming around the house because they would definitely get into something and I really don't want my house destroyed. They actually like their crates and one of my Weims will go in her crate when she feels like it to take a nap. Considering Weims are known for their chewing, I would keep them in a crate when you aren't home. That way they won't hurt themselves or get into something they shouldn't. That is just my opinion though.

Weimwayz · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject:

Our dogs have been crated for 8 hours before and they do just fine. Most of the time they are in it for 4-6 hours. Ours LOVE their crate and often at night when we are sitting watching TV I will notice that no weims are in the room. I can go upstairs and they are out cold curled up in their crates. It's their place to go when they want some quiet time. They also sleep in them at night. We have all 3 crates in the bedroom. But we also keep another one in the livingroom too. They certainly get their use. What i Love the most is when we travel we can go anywhere and just set up the crate and the dog swill go to sleep. Our weims are 4,6 and 8 and they all use their crates. I don't trust them to be left alone in the house all day. They have had a few close calls with chewing things and we don't want to risk our house or their health/safety