Pet Question About Crating

There is nothing wrong with keeping him in a crate. I have 5yo that hasnt been in a crate for almost 4 years. This year for some reason he is getting onto the counters, garbage or even if I do pick everything up we come home to something chewed up. This last time was a box of Kleenex. Needless to say he is back in a crate. I also have a 1yo and we started to slowly let her out of the crate a little at a time. She was fine for awhile but is now again chewing on things. I came home one day to a pillow thrown about the living room.

A crate is no different than a den that they would have in the wild. Some need to be crated their whole life due to a slight separation anxiety. He will ok and will probably welcome the crate back.

For the dogs own safety I would crate him again. Maybe after Christmas is over it will get better..but for now better safe than sorry.

*Updated*
I would leave him in the crate while you are at work. Not only for your sanity but for his safety too (e.g. chewing wires). Dogs like their crates when they are used as a safe place and not punishment. I call my dog's crate his "room" and he goes in there on his own with the door open and just hangs out. I have a light blanket over the back half so it's cozy and a little bed in there with a chew toy and water. I had to crate him while I worked because he barked all the time. I felt bad about it, but made it positive, greated him when I came home, gave him a treat and played with him. You are the alpha (leader), not him.

You're not just protecting your things, you're protecting your dog by crating him during the day.

If he eats something that causes an obstruction in his stomach/intestine, do you have the money and are you willing to pay for the x-rays, medicine, and SURGERY typically required to remove such obstructions?

If the answer is no, then crate him. I've always crated my dogs during the day. They get into the garbage and anything else they can find. Actually, right now, we have one dog crated and the other not. The one crated will eat anything and everything - got up at 2am the other morning to clean up vomit because she had eaten ANOTHER sock. The one left out is so docile and good she wouldn't even consider eating anything she didn't have permission to.

Also - to Toni V. - you're wrong. Flat out. Dogs like their crates. It's security for them. If crates were made large enough for adults to move around the same way as dogs, and we had something to keep us occupied during those hours and we knew that someone we loved would be coming home to greet us at the end of that time, why wouldn't we want to be crated? Oh - wait, it's basically a "room" or, for some of us, an office/cubicle. If crates were such horrible implements for dogs, why on earth would most of them choose to lay in them at times on their own when their owners are home?

I also disagree with Toni 100%, as does my vet. Our 18 year old dog who passed away recently was crated for years. When we stopped crating her, she still voluntarily went into her crate throughout the day and night from time to time. Whenever she wasn't feeling well, she went into her crate. It was her comfort place. We kept it in our son's room.

I also agree that you will be protecting your pet. It would be awful if your dog ate something that made him sick or injured him. Good luck! :)

Well, animals aren't children, so while that analogy pulls at the heart strings it's not really accurate.

I have two dogs. My 7 yo is rarely crated. He is also rarely destructive. My 2 yo is routinely crated. He will eat anything he can get his little mouth on; he has literally eaten logs of firewood in my backyard. For his safety and the safety of my furniture he is crated when we are going to be gone for more than 30 minutes or so. He is getting better as he gets older, but he still needs the crate.

As another poster pointed out crated dogs tend to view the crate as their safe place. My 2 yo voluntarily goes to his crate, he even has special toys he's only allowed in the crate, so he's happy in there.

The bottom line is that he is bored. I suggest that you get him the kinds of chewies that he can destroy and eat. Kongs are great, but he wants to tear things up. A buster-cube (toy with food inside that he has to roll so the kibbles come out) are good. Also, chewies and toys.

So go to Sam's Club or Costco and pick up a big bag of the basted raw-hides. The large sized ones. Toss him one when you go for the day and it'll keep him occupied. For day that you don't have anything for him to tear up, crate him.

Consider leaving the TV or a radio on.

Dogs are social animals. When they don't have buddies to play with, they look for things. And when they find things they like, they tear those things up. So you just have to give him stuff to do.

Hi L.,
I think it's totally fine to go back to crating him. Don't feel guilty because what you've created is a dog "den" and this is very natural for them. Our dog was crate trained and if he started getting into things again, back in the crate he would go w/ no regrets. You are also protecting him from getting into and eating things that could ultimately harm him. Don't worry, he'll be totally fine. Just make sure you give him a nice long walk when you get home or at the very least play catch with him so he can get some exercise. Good luck!

I didn't read ALL the previous responses, but the few I did all say what I think: it is what he seems to NEED and it should be a happy/safe place for him, so it isn't sad to use the crate. He needs it for his own protection. You really don't want to come home and find that he has eaten something that requires a vet visit and emergency surgery. That cute face on the window sill will stay cuter much longer if he doesn't eat what he shouldn't. If he is attracted to and does eat things he shouldn't, eventually he will eat something that will hurt him, not just annoy you.

Even things as "harmless" as an oven mitt can be lethal. My SIL's lab "stole" one from the kitchen counter, shredded and ate it, and the fibers got all tangled in the dog's intestines... surgery was required.

I would rather crate my dog than come home to find him dead because he ate the wrong thing.

Toni, dogs are den animals, they like crates. Mine used to always sleep in theirs even though we never shut the door. Sorry you are so misinformed. :(

If the crate training has been done properly, the crate is a happy place. Our dogs crate themselves when they want to nap or just take a break. He is not safe loose in the house if he is chewing wires and eating Christmas ornaments - he could be electrocuted or choke. He's safe in his crate with his toys.
One of our dogs is like him - she's a terrier mix and will chew up anything she can get her mouth around, so she can't be loose in the house unsupervised. Some dogs just love to chew.
Our other three dogs aren't destructive chewers.

I have a 1 year old Jack Russell. She doesn't get into much but occasionally will get one of my son's small toys. We crated her up until a few weeks ago. I am home during the day, so most of the time she is out. The past couple of weeks, she has been running up to her crate in my son's room to sleep for several hours during the day. She does this on her own. She LIKES her crate.

Also remember that dogs spend a great majority of their day sleeping. Especially when you're not home. So, no, crating the dog is not wrong. I would rather come home to a dog in it's crate than to come home to a dead dog that got electrocuted. If the dog is potty trained now, you can always get a bigger crate so they have more room to manuever during the day.

we crate our dogs while we're at work for the same reason. We have a pit that is almost 10 years old, and she has been crate trained her whole life. Now I don't even have to latch her crate, she just goes in there in the morning. When she hears me grab my car keys, she knows it's "time for bed" and goes straight to her crate. My 1 year old bulldog on the other hand.... he is an eater like yours... he has eaten too many of my 3 year old's toys so he is in the crate whenever we are not home.

I crate my dogs for their protection (much like most people use baby gates and playpens to protect their little ones).

And another suggestion - last year for Christmas, I put a play yard (the one that looks like 8 baby gates put together) around my tree to protect my then 2 year old from pulling the tree over on himself - I would think that would work to keep the dog away from it as well!! :)

You could put him back in the crate, or maybe baby gate him to smaller area. That is what we did with our dog. We baby gated the stairs so he could only stay on our main level of the house and gated the entry to the kitchen. He stayed in the family room so he could sleep on the couch, and look out the window if he wanted. He's a small dog, so he had more than enough room to walk around. The only reason we gated the kitchen was because we had a fireplace with small rocks in it that he liked to eat.

He needs busy bones...something tasty that lasts along time!!!

My dog just turned 1 last week and we still put him in his crate when we leave for work. We leave him out of the crate when we'll only be gone for a maximum of 4 hours. I really don't trust him yet. Maybe try doing what we've been doing and just leave him out for short periods of time. He might be getting bored and that's why he was chewing things up. Or can you lock him a room that he won't cause too much damage? Especially with the tree out you wouldn't want him eating something breakable or breaking something and then stepping on it. Try again after the holidays.

Funny story, we left my dog out for 4 hours the other day and came home and the computer mouse (which we use for the laptop) was chewed up and the cord was laying in his crate. That's the second one he's chewed. My son says "Oh no! What am I going to use now to play Club Penguin!"

I agree with Jennifer. While physically he's fully mature, mentally, he's still a puppy. Keep him safe in his crate, and gradually start letting him out, while under supervision (ie, you're in the next room).

We have 2 dogs, an 11yo & a 10yo (both large mutts), and they both will get into things, even at their age. So we put up baby gates to keep them in the kitchen, which is hazard free (the cupboards are all safety locked). But they didn't graduate to this stage until they were well potty trained and past the "chewing/eating everything" stage. And they will still chew up stuff sometimes, even when we're in the house (usually small kids toys).

Do get the dog a nylabone durable chew, and other appropriate chew toys, as well as maybe one of those "dog puzzles" (usually a box-ish thing that they have to turn over with their nose or paw to release a small treat).

I don't think this is a bad idea to get through the holidays - OR you can put a huge guard thing around the tree. Sometimes it helps deter them from going up to the shiny lights.
I did this after our doggy's tail hit and broke a glass ornament that my sweet little boy's hands were on - I was so mad and sad all at once, but how can you tell a dog to stop wagging their tail?! I just tried to protect the tree best I could.

For safety and security, crate the dog. Just make sure he gets a good romp or walk around for exercise. My dog is a large bread and won't be mentally mature until about 3. She actually goes into her crate when I am at home and she wants to sleep. I just keep the door open for her. Dogs love crates if it isn't associated with a punishment. Putting the dog in the crate while you are at work doesn't make it associate a negative, so don't worry about that. Get some nylabones for her chewing pleasure.

How long would he be in the crate for? What breed of dog is he? Most dogs won't be okay in the crate for 10 hours a day, but would be fine if they got a break or two mid-day to get out and run and potty. If you do crate the dog all or most of the day, most dogs his age would likely need a lot of attention and exercise once you got home.

Wish I could help more with this. I had a boxer and he stayed outside while I was at work. On occasion, when we lived out in the country, I would lock him in his kenel all day while I ran errands. I also put him in his kenel at night.

try bitter bite sprayed on everything he may possibly chew on. if it keeps happening youll just have to crate him. he seems to have separation anxiety.