Crates/Kennels/Cages, whichever you prefer to call them can be a controversial tool. Yet when used correctly they have so many benefits!
Let’s start with that – why use a crate at all?
- Easy to travel with your pet
- Easy to keep your pet on rest after surgery or a medical concern
- Great help with house training
- Keeps your dog out of trouble when you can’t watch him/her
- Prevents resource guarding
- Can help with managing dog and human aggression
- Keeps your dog safe when workers/visitors are coming to and from your home
- Can significantly reduce your pet’s anxiety during moves/travel/evacuations
So now we know a lot of the why’s we can look at how to safely use a crate so that is effective and most importantly humane.
Here are some guidelines for humane crate use:
- Your dog can only stay in a crate for short periods of time during the day. For puppies it’s their age +1 (for example a 2-month old puppy can spend 3 hours in a crate, a 3-month old puppy can spend 4 hours). It’s recommended that a dog of any age not spend more than 4 continuous hours in a crate during the day but can sleep in one overnight (8-10 hours depending on the age/medical history of the dog).
- The crate size is important! Your dog must be able to fully stand up, turn around and stretch out. Too small of a crate is cruel.
- Your dog must view their crate as a safe place. It’s inhumane to trap a dog in a crate that is panicking and trying to escape. If your dog isn’t comfortable you need to start with a very slow gradual introduction that begins with an open door.
- Feeding your dog their meals in the crate can help them become more accustomed quicker. It’s also a great way to maintain a positive association with the crate.
If you’re struggling with a dog who is extremely anxious and displays the following behaviour in their crate please get in touch with us and we can help:
- Panting continuously
- Drooling
- Attempting to dig/escape
- Barking for more than 10 min
- Urinating or defecating in the crate
- Refusal of food when inside
