How Long did you continue Crating your Dog?

[Sandy]

Toby is almost 14 months old, and I am at the point where I leave him out (with all the bedroom doors closed) if I am only leaving the house for an hour and a half or so, but anything longer than that and I crate him. I don't think he go potty in the house, but he might get bored and start browsing around, looking for trouble. Just today, for the first time, he got into a bedroom where the door wasn't closed tightly and rummaged through the garbage!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri is crated while we are gone - she is 6 months now. We still crate her at night, but it is her choice. A few weeks ago, I let her stay in our room on her bed on the floor. She started crying to get out of our room and made a beeline into her crate, which is in the office/dog's room next to us. She happens to really like her crate for sleeping....

[cheryl & oliver]

Well Oliver seems very happy to go into his crate at night. It is in our room, and when I say it is nite nite time, he makes a bee line to it...Of course he has toys and his favorite woobby in there, lol, and we do give him 1/2 of a cookie. He lays right down and goes to sleep. Now my other dog, is a 12 1/2 yr old aussie that loves his crate...He comes and goes into his crate whenever he wants to. He sleeps wherever he wants to, and I find him sleeping in front of Olivers crate many mornings. I really only crate him when we are going out, and that is for his safety...He would never do anything bad, he never has, but as soon as he see DH or me going to get keys or my pocketbook, he runs right to his crate..At this time, I am not about to change his routine....I still think that crating when you leave the house is a good idea for the dogs safety, and my piece of mind...Even Oliver seems to be liking his crate now much better...I think they find it their place, and that is fine with me...

[Karen & Lucy]

I think it depends on the dog, but Lucy has not been crated for about 1 1/2 years now and she will be 4 in April.

[Margot]

Ah, Garbage! For Jennings' 1st birthday, I put away his crate (where he had been sleeping at night) and found that he was happy to sleep on his own bed a few feet away from mine. While I was not (and still sometimes am not!) happy with his "noises" in the middle of the night, I like having him nearby. I think the crate for daytime/being along went away when he was about 8-9 months old, but I did leave the door open for him in case he wanted to go into it to hide out, get a toy, etc. When I would leave, I would make a big deal about having a "good stay", and would give him his Kong with Milk Bones stuffed inside, and that kept him busy. When I would return home, I would ask if he "had a good stay?" and he would sit right down for a favorite little treat which was given only when he had a "good stay".

Every dog is different, but don't be disappointed that Toby thought to investigate the garbage! He's just a curious Doodle...

[Mommy2Max]

This may not be too helpful but, my Max is the same way. He is now 10 months old. He isn't a chewer/destroyer...never was but, left alone, he is bound to get into something and my first guess would be a waste basket.

He is crated for bedtime and anytime he is alone in the home. I'm lucky because i work at doggie daycare so, he comes with me to work.