Question about crates

[jenn D]

Does/do your doodle(s) sleep in crates? If so, where are the crates located? I've always crate trained my dogs and before doodles I had beagles. Having two beagle sized crates in our bedroom was manageable and could be somewhat inconspicuous. Now with a 60 lb labradoodle and probably adding a second large medium or small standard doodle next year I'm not sure what I'm going to do because the crates will be large. I could always not crate at night after puppy hood but I don't know.

Anyone have this issue?

Thanks.
Jenn

[Wendy and Myla]

Hi - we crate trained Myla when we first got her until she was really good about letting us know when she had to go potty.  We have a small bedroom and the crate just took to much room.  We have her dog bed at the foot of our bed but she always falls asleep on my side of the bed and then at some point after I'm asleep, she moves to the dog bed.  As soon as she hears us stir in the morning she sits up and makes her "yawning noise" which she does just to let us know that she wants up on the bed to cuddle.  If we pretend to go back to sleep, she plops down with a huge sigh and waits for us to move again!  It's hilarious!  I know a lot of people here use the crate for time outs etc. but we do the same thing with the bedroom - if she gets too rambunctious with the grandkids, we just put her in the bedroom for a short time out and then let her back out.  It works for us! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I crate when I'm not home. I do have one crate in my BR for when Luca attacks the TV if there is an animal on. Luca usually sleeps on the bed and Calla more often is on the floor but she comes and goes. Luca got out of the crate sooner than Calla at night. She was in til she was about a year. He was only home a short while till he started sleeping out of the crate.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

I took Meg's crate down a couple of months ago because we just didn't need it anymore, she is happy and not destructive loose in the house while we are gone and she does well overnight.  We did keep it just behind a recliner and into the dining room area. 

[a.k.a. Rodney]

DerbyDoodle is 7 mo. Actually I use the crate for sleep only. It is covered under a small desk attached to wall in the kitchen area. It's a perfect fit!!. What is very interesting to me is I put a chenille blanket for pups on the floor of it awhile ago....and she NEVER bunches it up ...it remains perfectly flat in there all the time...she is unbelievable about being quite and will wait till whenever I come to take her out...otherwise she has had her area expanded in this house, but not without restrictions...we have some areas with closed doors & wastebaskets up high. She definitely is a scavenger...Kleenex & wiring are her favorites.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

We've always crated, too. Ironically, with the exception of each dood's first few nights home with us, we've not kept the crates in our bedroom. Instead we have 2 large crates in the kitchen nook. While Lucy sleeps upstairs on our bed, Oscar (still a puppy at 10-1/2 mos.) sleeps downstairs in his crate. Every night he hangs out upstairs with my DH and Lucy, and when I finish my evening chores I come up and bring Oscar down to his crate. He's come to look forward to it, and happily complies (he does get a treat for being such a good boy!). We crate anytime we leave the house, and I think the doods rest easier in their crates (they both often go into their crates during the day on their own for a nap).

I don't like how the large crates take up so much space in our kitchen nook, nor how unattractive they are, and I've often thought about making lightweight covers out of décor fabric to soften the look. Maybe in the colder months. Right now I don't want to put anything over them that might trap warm air. At least in our household, there's no getting around having crates.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I crated my small doodle at night and when we were gone until he was about a year.  We no longer crate.

[Christine & Camus]

Camus is not a puppy, but he is crated when I am not home, otherwise he has total freedom.  He has minor separation anxiety and actually prefers to be in his crate when I go out, so it is a permanent fixture.  And at 48" it is a very Big fixture!

[Adina P]

Rosco was crated until about 2 years old.  At some point after that all our (then) 3 dogs moved into our bedroom for night time (free in the room with doors closed) and they've never left :-)  Bid dog crates do take up a lot of room.

[Deborah Brown]

I have three large crates in my kitchen and it puts a sizeable dent in my floor space.  Two, however, fit under the edge of the kitchen table which helps.  I like my crate for a new puppy right by the back door so that we go out immediately - no detours!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Libby was crate trained when we got her and continued to sleep in her crate until about five mos. ago!  She is two years old. now.  Unfortunately we do not have a large bedroom and her crate was extra large so from the beginning she was in the family room.  She loved it and never cried once or was upset to be put in it.  We also crated her whenever we left the house until about one month ago.  She has grown up and learned some manners!  LOL   She no longer chews everything in site and we are very careful when we leave to make sure anything that might be inviting to her is put away!    

[Lynda Kamrath]

I'm the unusual one and don't like crates.  We had them for puppies when they traveled in the car (for their own protection) but never used them in the house.  Our house is small and I just don't like the look of crates.  We used baby playpens for their beds when they were pups until they were totally house trained.  After that, they are free to sleep wherever they like.  They have pads that are pushed up by the walls during the day and pulled down at night.  Harpo sleeps on his pad, but Groucho Too sleeps on the cool tiles in the bathroom.  Our dogs are so large that crates really don't work well for them anyway.  Groucho Too is 30 inches tall and it would have to be some crate for him to move around in.  The neighbors have a huge Doberman and had a crate made for him when he traveled with them to Hondurus.  Doesn't even fit in the back of their car unless turned on it's side.  Crates?  No thanks, not for me.

[Kyle, Maggie & Jack]

My doodle slept in her crate until she turned two ( this past July). Now she is gated in just my room at night so she doesnt get into my kids room, their stuff, or wake them. I probably could have stopped sooner, but she was happy in there so I didnt want to mess with a good thing. During the day, she has the run of the downstairs, with the exception of closing a few doors so she can't get into thing.