Crates are a brilliant way to toilet train a pup, they also prove a nice safe haven for them when they get distressed, such as with fireworks and other loud noises.

They shouldn't be seen as a negative thing, initially your puppy won't want to be stuck in there, separated from you, but they soon learn that it's a good thing and spend a lot of time in there, sleeping etc.

Crate training a dog also helps a lot when toilet training them, they learn to wait before the defecate, as a dog won't poo where it sleeps and so they'll wait until they've been let out to go and so won't toilet overnight.

I think it is fine for puppy training but beyond that its not fair on the dog. If a dog is to be crated overnight PLUS all day too while you are out working or whatever, why have a dog?? The girl I live with has a Staffy x Boxer and does exactly that and the poor dog is a nervous wreck! But no matter how much I talk to her about it she won't listen. I could never do this to my dog!!

I know somene whose dog spends 23 hrs a day crated - it makes em sick!

my pup (7months) is crated at night when i work i come home on my break and let him out and take him for a walk and play before he goes back in for a while..... he is only just being crated for his safety as he has been chewing parts of my bed and walls (has plenty of toys food and water) but he was still doing it and it was starting to cost and i didnt want him being injured in any way ether..

when we are home he doesn't get crated unless i am brushing the floors as he likes to play with the brush and he sleeps in bed with us as he settles perfectly when we are here.... just a wee menace when we leave for work.

My dog Peggy, aged four months, sleeps in her cage at night. During the day I am at home all day. If I have to go out I put her in her cage. She is a very happy little dog, but I'm with her most of the time. It's a bit cruel to have a dog and then leave it alone a lot of the time.

We didn't crate Roxie because we thought them cruel, she ate my house pretty much. Unfortunately she never settled with a bed so when we had kids we found she would be sat/layed somewhere and the kids would shove her out of the way to play. She'd move away for a bit of peace but still end up being shoved away when the kids moved again.

Woody was crated and still is. He loves it, he will wander in when he wants some peace and it's his space. He is only shut in if we are out or on a night just before we go to bed and is let out as soon we are out of bed.

He has never shown any distress in there and if he was to we would take it away. He knows our routine for bed and wanders in of his own accord. Roxie likes to stay downstairs on a night with Woody and sleep on the sofa but she still doesn't have her own place as such to get away from the kids or just have a good uninterrupted sleep like Woody does.

The aim when we first got the cage was to just use it for the first year which mean it will probably be going away soon.

agree with most of the posts on here, we have a nine month old lab and he is only crated overnight and uses it as his bed during the day when he wants to

I have to say I am not a fan of crates. I got a big one when I got my pup (over 5 years ago now) as I was advised it was the right thing to do. I put everything in there for his first night. Blankets, water, a clock, toy etc etc. However he broke his little heart all night long! I know this is common for pups for the first few days. I put him in for about 30 minutes throughout the next day when I had a shower and he cried and cried. So that was that. No more crate. All his stuff went into the kitchen, so it was easier to clean up in case of accidents in the night and I can honestly say from then on he did not cry at all throughout the night and was wonderful. Yes we had the odd chewing and whatever but that is the joys of owning a pup! I just could not bear looking at him in there caged up!

I can understand how it works for some, only if used properly and the dogs are not in for silly amounts of time, which is cruel.

i wasnt a fan of crates, and alot ppl say you arent helping the dog learn right from wrong.
but i have got a crate they use it as a dog bed and i find they love it i always have door open, but i dont think they would mine if i did shut it.

I think it's a very good idea even if you are able to pay attention to the pup 24/7 (very unlikely). It helps with potty training LOADS. And while it may be unbearable for both you and the pup early on, if down right the crate will become your and your dog'd second best friend (each other being #1 of course.)

It took Dante about 6 weeks to really grow accustomed to it. He doesn't 'like' it but at night he will go in by himself because he knows it's bedtime (and because he wants a treat for going in without being told.)

It's also really useful if your dog ever needs to stay in at the hospital or travel. I know mine will be flying once I finish my degree and move and it's absolultely essential that he's ok with being crated before he travels on a plane.

It might seem a bit harsh, I know some people feel like it is a 'cage' but it's the best thing you can do for you and your dog early on IMO.

Dante's 14 weeks old and has yet to have an accident in his crate.