Crating Question

[OLIVER DOODLE]

Hi There, haven't been on for a while now. I have a question about crating. Oliver is just about 2 and a half now (hard to believe). Right now we crate him during the day with someone coming over half way through the day to walk him and then back into the crate he goes. Just wondering how old most dogs are when they no longer need to be in the crate during the day and how to transition them to this stage.

[Jac]

It really depends on the dog...some dogs never outgrow their need to chew things...but most do. So, you might want to take it in stages, leaving him in a room at a time.

I would bet that if you leave his crate door open, he will spend the day in his crate anyway. He is used to that by now and dogs are creatures of habit...so I would be quite surprised if he doesn't just go to his crate on his own. Keep that in mind and do something to remove or disable the door so that he can get inside.

[kirama]

Beck wasn't crated anymore after 5 1/2 months, he's never been a big chewer or mischief maker so I let him have free run of the house when he was reliably house broken. Murphy is not crated at all at 18 weeks, but he is tethered when I can't watch him. Primary reason for that is to give the other 2 dogs a way to escape from him when they don't want to play with him. I would expect that he will not be confined at all in another month or so.

[deepnite10]

the only time we used the crate was for Toby s potty training..

cuz im a stay at home dad..i felt comfortable taking care of 3 dogs
at a time without needing a crate..

since i feel that most of our doodle s go thru a chewing stage i just tried to
keep cheap stuff within reach.. ..but, occasionally he ll get into the shoes
and such..

he learned quickly the use of doggie door and there were very few accidents after
2 weeks..

[ragdoll]

Cooper is 11 months and we are just now starting to leave him out of the crate. I started with short trips to church, grocery, etc. I think my husband left him for 4 hours today. That being said, Cooper is a professional counter surfer so before we leave we have to make sure there are no available napkins, paper towels, socks, shoes, pencils/pens, food, dryer sheets, homework, mail or plastic utensils left in the sink. My house has never looked so clean! All bedroom/bathroom doors must be closed and the filtered water and ice dispenser on the refrigerator must be locked. He has never been fond of the crate and seems to be much calmer when we come home now. He used to bark hysterically from the time he heard the garage door until he was let out of his crate. Good luck!

[LabyLabradoodle]

My doodle lived in the house since she was a baby. What if I crate him now that he is 2 years old would this be a good idea? Is there any disorder that will occur if i crate him now?