What is a crate ?
A crate is an enclosed space, with a door, where the dog is possibly locked up. Most often, it is made of scrap metal. It is also possible to find some made of plastic, wood, or other materials. Some are very affordable for small budgets, others are considered luxury and therefore are more expensive.
A burrow for the dog ?
Boby, the dog I shared my life with when I was a teenager, loved lying under the beds and the furniture in the living room. He also loved lying on the beds, on the couch, under the table in the kitchen when we were eating.
When your dog gets under a piece of furniture, most often, his motivation is to get less light, and also peace and quietness because he has learned that in this place he will not be dislodged.
Dogs choose what is comfortable and safe for them to sleep or rest. Domestication has removed the need for them to shelter in burrows or caves, long ago. Especially since family dogs do not have to shelter their young.
Make the crate a shelter
It is possible to opt for a crate if you realize that your dog has a preference for places with a "roof". It then becomes a place truly just for him, where no other being enters or lies down. What then matters is that your dog has the choice. This implies that he is aware of the different sleeping possibilities, and that he can enter and leave the crate as he feels like it.
Opt for a crate to raise your dog
What I see when this advice is suggested is: leave your dog inside until he exhibits “calm” behavior or until he stops his agitated behaviors.
The dog is a social animal, who likes spending time with the other members of his home. Being isolated against his will, being locked in a small space, for hours, is not education. He is not learning any particular behavior, apart from not showing any behavior. In this case, he is not a calm dog, but an inhibited dog.
A puppy doesn't learn to be clean by being in a crate; he holds it in to avoid urinating where he sleeps. Except that sometimes it's not possible for him to hold it in completely, and he sleeps in his urine.
An agitated dog, who runs around, barks, nips, who is put aside in a crate until he stops those behaviors, can learn to stop them… while he is in the crate. The problem is that then the crate becomes a place for him to stop those behaviors: his freedom is taken away, the constraint of being locked up and isolated is added, without teaching him other behaviors to do instead.
A dog that is anxious and is locked up to avoid destruction and/or urinating and defecating everywhere is a dog whose distress is disregarded.
A dog that is ignored while he cries when in the crate is a dog that is learning: "When I am not well, I have no one to support me." Your dog is not throwing a tantrum, he is expressing discomfort at that moment.
Train your dog to feel serene in a cage
Though I am reluctant to allow the crate to have any other function than an additional open bed for the dog, it is necessary in my eyes that your dog is able to stay in a closed crate while being at least somewhat calm.
When traveling
If you travel by plane with your dog, he will very surely be in a crate depending on his size and weigh.
If you travel by car, you may opt for the crate out of safety.
According to the duration of the trip, every one will feel comfortable if your dog deem his crate as a mere transit.
At the veterinarian
If your dog ever ends up hospitalized, he may be in a crate. The more he has learned to associate it in a neutral or pleasant way, the more the veterinarian and the care teams will be able to treat your dog, to take care of his health, without the bias of the additional stress caused by the crate.
The training
The worst thing for a dog in a crate is the lack of control. He is isolated, in a confined space, without contact with his home, and cannot get out of it on his own if he does not feel well.
I always start training with the door wide open. It is important to me that the dog is comfortable entering the crate. Letting him explore and take his time also allows him to become familiar with the object.
Gradually, it is possible to reinforce, in the crate itself, that your dog stays there at your invitation; then when he goes there on his own. When this stage is acquired, you begin to close the door only a few centimeters at each session. If he wants to leave, you let him do so so as not to create a negative association.
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