I don't want to offend any one by this post but I am confused as crating is not big in NZ but I see a lot of people in the states use this method! I would never consider sticking my dog in a crate(yes I do understand it isn't like a wooden horrible crate thing) but it's his house he is allowed to wonder freely and during the day he is outside(which I also know is not always possible for overseas owners) but what is positives for this method?!

Crating is awesome when you have multiple dogs (as I do). All of my dogs are in the house & I do not live somewhere that I can tie them out when I'm not home. So I crate them when I'm gone to keep them from getting into things & possibly fighting. Also, for my dogs, they use it as a get-away. When they've had enough of each other & we don't want them cuddling with us, they go to their crates & wntertain themselves with their bones.

Crating is also a good way to keep from having dogs that whine when they can't be with you, as they learn that this is not acceptable while they're in the crate. It makes it easier to train to stay in a certain room if you have to leave to go to another (such as the bathroom).

There are many positive aspects to crating. I'm sure I'm not thinking of them all right now. But these are just a couple examples.

I have used dog crates in the past, but only when my staffies needed to be confined because, believe it or not, they started to fight at the age of 7!

Never a cross word between them before that.

Other than that, I would only use a crate to allow a dog to use it as his bed. Leaving the door open, but sending him in when needs must.

I do know dog breeders that have multiple crates that dogs stay in quite a lot of the time, but I can't say I'm comfortable with it.

I definetly dont think that dogs shoul dbe crated for long amounts of time as I dont think that is fair on the dog, but like PitbullLvr said some dogs can find it a nice retreat to go and get some piece of quite from the other dogs.

I agree that dogs should not be left in a crate all day, I don't agree with people who go to work for 4-8 hrs a day and lock there poor dog up, they need space and exercise. A bathroom or laundry room would be much better that way they can play and move around, but I also do not agree with leaving a dog outside either its too hot here in Florida for them, and theres to many bugs its not fair. I use to do animal fostering and they taught us to crate train them to teach them to not potty in the house. I fostered around 25 dogs in 4 years and NOT ONCE did this teach them anything about potty training, I did everything they said to do I thought it was just cruel to only give them enough space to turn and lay down and 90% of my dogs would potty on themselves anyway and lay in it. Well we stopped fostering in 2003 and 2 weeks ago we got our forever pup and she is doing great, we DO NOT have a crate for her, if we have to go somewhere we put out baby in the laundry room, its huge and she has not had an accident in the house or laundry room at all. We just make sure she eats and drinks before we go and that she pottys, then we put her in there with her toys and bed and she does great! We of course don't leave her for more then 3 hrs at a time, becuase she is still a pup and needs to potty often. But I just think for me crates don't work, however I have met lots of people who swear by them and think there great so to each his own!

I only crated my dog to assist with the housetraining. It worked well!

Interesting thanks everyone funnily enough I found out after placing this post that my neighbour uses a crate as their pup can be a bit naughty but I babysat him this weekend and treated him just the same as my dog and we had no problems but each to their own but I would imagine my dog would be worse with a crate as he was a SPCA rescue(pound) and has major issues with being tied up or enclosed in anywhere.

The right way to use crates is to approach it in the manner that the crate is a homey place for the dog and somewhere the dog can go to have its own space. They need to learn that the crate is their space, not a place to be punished.

I too used crates to assist in housebreaking my dog. He also used to sleep in it at night, although he has not done this for a few years.

I would not leave him in it all day but that is not the purpose of a crate.

I must admit that I agree with that statement, about being a homely place, I mean, but I would like to know just how the people who used their crate to toilet train their dog, went about it?

Originally Posted by Dopeydawg

I must admit that I agree with that statement, about being a homely place, I mean, but I would like to know just how the people who used their crate to toilet train their dog, went about it?

Whenever he started circling to use the bathroom, I would direct him to the crate. As time went along I would move the crate closer and closer outdoors. After a few weeks I would leave the crate outside, and whenever he had to go, he would go in the crate. At that point, I locked the crate and he would go on the grass near the crate. I moved the crate and finally he went out in the yard on his own.

Crates can be nice because of the safety aspects... If you have strangers over, and your dog hasn't had any contact with them, as a precaution you could have him in the crate and let them get to know each other through the crate before letting your dog out. Plus its nice to have when you have a hyperactive dog that needs to go to the vet or somewhere. That's how my best friend's dog was, always hyperactive but she calmed down as soon as she went in the crate.
The potty training described by RockysMom is very similar to how we trained our puppy. But we used newspaper instead of the crate. He now goes outside on his own.

I have a crate for my dog for another reason.. Lucky for me, I get to be here with him all day everyday, but sometimes I just have to go out without him.

The crate decision was made after he was left alone in a room for a while when something came up. He completely ripped apart and destroyed the carpet, and the bottom of the door... And HOWLED, getting me many complaints from the neighbors. In an apartment, this is not acceptable.

I work at home, so don't have to leave him alone often, or for long periods.. His crate keeps him safe, and keeps him from destroying the apartment and everything I own.

That is definitely a good reason to have one. That reminds me of another reason, similar in fact... it would be a good idea to have one when you have a small puppy and have to leave for whatever reason. This way, he can be in the crate and not outside where he may be able to squeeze out of the fence. I can't tell you how many times our boxer puppy managed to get out of our fence when we first got him.