so at the start of the month i had my grandparents come to stay, my gran was being as complicated as could be and one morning i came down to be faced with

"when we got downstairs Bear was locked in that cage thing, utter cruelty why did Aaron do that, poor dog"


now bear is a border collie, a very cute one, he has a crate as big as i could get, the previous own kept his northern innuit in the thing, and i know others use them for giant breeds. so its hardly as if my dog is in a shoe box, infact he's in a 4 bed flat! he loves his crate he sulks off there when he is scared or tired....


i explained that Bear was feeling upset about their presence and that he feels safest in his crate, plus the fact he chews.....

i ran through all the research with them, still to be blanked with your mistreating your dog.....


so i went to the dr's leaving instruction to put bear in his crate, leave its door open but to shut the conservatory door and lock it with the little tab on the door (other wise my eldest dog can open it and let him out) that leaving him out will mean he will chew.

if i leave him out i clear everything out of his way, but he still finds tissues or bottles or paper..... little brat you are Bear

so on the way back from the DR's i call into my neighbours for a cuppa, a chat and so on....

i leave the neighbours to come home and collect my notes for a hospital appointment which i am running a tad late for (red light makes the difference kinda late)

i open the door to find Bear in his crate, laying on his side comatose..... he never even heard me open the door and shout hello........ this is not like him, i look to my feet, stuff every were and doors open.....

so i tidy up quickly in a rush to grab my notes and get to hospital when horror strikes


i find an opened blister pack....... meds missing, my whole world crashes down around my feet, and my heart stops! i check only one missing, i open the laptop and get it off stand by and google the name of the meds, nicorrette 10mg. By this time bear is looking for strokes but has a look of shear guilt about him.... i find all the info on it and call the vet, still nice and calm, pass on the info and am told he is busy but will get a call back, so i leave my number along with mums, incase i am driving. so i call my gran to ask about her medication, she cannot remember if she has opened the pack, or how many she has taken. why she had them with her is beyond me as she's smoking like a train, and why she left them on the floor???


i call my mum to explain the situation and break down totally, sobbing hysterically, give her the number to the key safe as i get into the car, along with the details of his last meal etc

as i hang up the phone rings again and its the vet, the dog will be ok if he has eaten it, just very hyper and with him being a BC this may not be that noticabe.


to this day I still don;t really know if he ingested it or not, but if my gran had followed my instructions and crated him none of this would of happened.

Crates are not used for cruelty they give security to a dog, we were in the process of taking Bears away however this is no longer going to happen as he loves it too much and its also somewere he is secure.

i am incredibly lucky that if he did eat the meds it was a harmless one, i still have nightmares that it was ibprofen, i was out two hours he's of been dead by the time i got home...... or another med could have left him with serious organ damage.

uptil 10 days ago i took his crate for granted, but now its as much or a security for me as it is for him.....

please please do not judge someone for "locking their dog in a cage" they are doing what they believe is best for their dog and their dogs safety

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001432935607- bears on facebook

I'm glad the story had a happy ending - my heart was in my mouth.

I used a crate for Kilo and he still has it, even though I now leave the door open (only from 9 months old though!). It has been invaluable to me and him for safety, security and training.

I will always use a crate for any dogs I may get in the future.

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glad Bear is ok, some people always think they know best.........

I use crates for my 2 working cockers, they love their crates, Jess is a distroyer so she is in it if we go out! Ollie can be trusted!

Our last dog a rescue GSD almost set our house on fire when we first got him. He managed to get into the kitchen, pulled all the coffee, sugar etc off the worktop then tipped the deep fat frier over the halogen hob....which he also managed to switch on. In comes my mum to a glowing kitchen (the hob glowed bright red when on) Oil sizzling away and a guilty dog sitting amongst the caos also covered in oil. His crate was invaluable after that, he used it until he realised there was nothing to worry about and he wasnt going anywhere!

never crated a dog,and wouldnt,i dont agree with it personaly.

I have to admit im not a huge fan but only because I know people at work who do the same hours as me and use the crate as a way of leaving dogs from 9-5 and also as a way of 'coaping' with their dog. (Get it out fo the way!)

We had a crate but chose not to use it as Millie didnt need it for training / not chewing - I tended to leave her confined to the Kitchen as a pose to crating. We were very lucky with Millie and she is now left loose in the house the whole time. There could be a box of dog biscuits ont he floor - She wont touch them unless she is given them lol.

Although if I had a dog who was more likely to get themselves into mischief then I would consider using one for short periods.

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well i hope and pray your dogs never eat anything that could endanger them!!!

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001432935607- bears on facebook

Ive never used crates ..Ive never felt the need , although in another thread I did explain about a dog who could have died getting hold of the wrong thing..


We all make mistakes the point is to learn from them.

A crate is a tool like any other and it depends who uses them and how..
Far too often Ive seen them used as prisons and punishment blocks a place to lock away and isolate a dog when the owner couldnt be bothered with it..

One beagle owner who has crated her beagle every meal time for 6 years because the dog begs ..the owner is just too darn lazy to train the dog not to beg and thats the problem not the dog who is just doing what comes naturally..

With a good owner a crate is a place of safety and comfort. Security and training..


The tools are there its up to us to use them properly.

I think they have their place, (see my post on my last rescue boy)
2 of my 3 have crates, Jess, the one who uses her crate most came to me at 10 months (5 months ago) and had been used to living out in a kennel so had never been in a house much, to me the crate has been invaluable.

But, I can also see the other side as my GSD Skye is a rescue and was kept in a cage for the first year of her life, never walked, never socialised, no musclemass and hugely underweight for an adult GSD at 14.4kg she is now happy and healthy at 32kg but this is the bad sue of crates.

Absolutely agree with this - I hate to see them used as a lazy way of control or just because people can't be bothered with a dog. Used correctly, they are great!

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Use correctly crates are a fantastic addition to a dogs life. Anyone who thinks otherwise probably hasn't taken the time to understand the point of them.

Take this scenario - 6 month old dog breaks leg and needs crate rest.

Who will be more stressed the dog that loves its crate and sees it as a safe haven or the dog that has never been crated and suddenly has to be introduced to one whilst already stressed and in pain.

My dog has a monthly trip to the goomers, he isn't keen but add the stress of having to be crated if he wasn't used to it

Recent trip to vets for grass seed removal would have been significantly more stressful if he couldn't be crated.

There are practical applications for the use of a crate that should not be written off and introduced and used correctly a dog should be happy an relaxed in it's crate.

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"I am not perfect and i don't have to be, before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" - Bob Marley

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