Hello, all. I'm new to the forum (but not new to dogs at all). Both my husband and I have always lived with dogs all our lives, but neither of us has ever crated dogs. Since we got married 18 years ago, we raised 3 dogs (all 80+ pounds), and we now have a 16-week puppy who is our 4th dog.

When our last dog (put down in May, a male Rottweiler) was a baby 12 years ago, there wasn't much of www, but of course now we can find just about anything---found this site very recently after we got this puppy 6 weeks ago. I'm a bit puzzled that most all "dog sites" I've visited suggest crating which we've never done. I can understand the benefits of crate training, but I don't think we'll use a crate with our "very possibly last puppy" because we never have.

I'm reading around as fast as I can, and Ed says "never leave the house without crating the dog (or puppy)". My questions is, is this kind of a prerequisite for this forum to crate dogs?

The pup is confined in the kitchen (dining area) which is a good size, with full access to a fenced yard. I work out of home, so I'm watching her all the time. That's pretty much what I've done with my past pups, except this one will live in the kitchen much longer without access to the house since she is what Ed calls a "hard puppy". She is house-trained, and she uses the dog door (without training) to go potty, nap in the sun, play on the patio, run around, etc. I watch her closely by moving the computer to the kitchen outside her gated area. I'm not trying to have anybody talk me into crate-training her, but I don't want to intrude here if crating is required to join this community.

ETA: Sorry, I'm not familiar with the forum setting yet, and apparently I posted under a wrong thread. Hope somebody can notice my post.

hey if your happy with it, pull what you want from here, disregard what you don't. imho crate training is essential if you travel with your dog or just need the pupper out from underfoot for a few minutes. Some of our dogs will destroy a house if left alone too long.

Thank you, Dennis. Maybe we've been lucky that none of our dogs in the past tried to destroy the house (left loose in the house) or cats, although they all could have very easily. I understand crates can make certain things much easier, and maybe I'm putting in some unnecessary labor. But I'm pretty okay with a constant watch in the first year, and we don't travel to speak of . I donated a bottom half of my closet for the Rottweiler, and that was his "den". "GO TO YOUR ROOM" for timeout worked out with him well without crating him, after he turned 2 or so. Hopefully the current pup will be as obedient without complicating and confusing myself too much with new info .

There are a few protocols common to most forum members, but our individual needs vary. To my knowledge, no one has ever been excluded for doing things a little differently. I think it's safe to say that would exclude us all on some level.

Re: crate training: I always have because I travel with my dog(s) and have never had a puppy that wouldn't happily eat the sofa if given the opportunity. I've also found the crate to be quite a helpful tool when establishing rules and boundaries, and it provides my dog a quiet place he can call his very own.

But if it's not for you, that is entirely your decision, of course. Welcome

Welcome Cherlee!
I don't think anyone here will berate you for not using a crate, although if you have behavioral problems down the road you may find a common response will be 'why isn't your pup crate trained'!

Best wishes to you and the new pup; we love pictures! There is a Bio section where you can introduce yourself and your pup and post a pic...

"Sorry, I'm not familiar with the forum setting yet, and apparently I posted under a wrong thread. Hope somebody can notice my post."

I moved your thread to the puppy-training forum.


Just a quick terminology recap for you: The entire discussion board is "the board," a section with a title for the type of topics in it is a "forum" (we are now in the Puppy Training forum), and a topic, like this one called "crate training absolutely necessary" is a "thread."

I didn't used to use crates either. No one did when I had my first dogs. (And now we all know that I am a person of "mature years." )

I sure wouldn't consider training a puppy or traveling by car with any age dog without one now, though.

But no, of course no one requires it. We will all point at you and whisper behind your back, but that's all.

JKY.

My parents never crate trained any of the dogs we had when I was little. The last dog they had, I basically trained and I trained her to "go to her bed", which was close enough to a crate (no bars of course). Not one person in my family knew about crate training, until my husband found this website and the forum.

When my husband and I moved out of state, I said there was no way that I'd stay at home by myself in a strange place without a big dog (something to intimidate unwelcome visitors) while he worked 7 nights in a row. The breeder we got our GSD from actually suggested using a crate for potty training. IMO, I could never get another puppy and not crate train it.

If what you've done in the past with your dogs has worked, then keep doing what you've done-crate or not. Everybody's got their own training methods that work for them and their dogs, not every technique works for every dog, or owner.

Welcome to the board!

Thank you and Thank you, Kristel. I've lost pillows and comforter when I didn't know better and learned to use doors and gates rather quickly! Once the dog understood the boundaries wherever I placed the gate, they were all well behaved (such as having a visitor in the living room). Of course all took 2 years to really mature and calm down for it, but we're both fine with it. Having expensive furniture isn't part of our life style.

I was treated not very nicely on a different board about "correcting a PUPPY", such as grabbing by the cheeks as Ed suggests. So I kind of had to tip-toe into this forum because of not crating. Thank you for your warm welcome!

You don't NEED a crate, but it sure makes life easier. When you post a behavioral problem on the forum in future, don't be surprised that most responses will be telling you to use a crate.

 Quote: mike j schoonbrood

You don't NEED a crate, but it sure makes life easier. When you post a behavioral problem on the forum in future, don't be surprised that most responses will be telling you to use a crate.

Yes, Sir, I'm warned. Past luck doesn't guarantee this pup will be a well behaving dog for us, so we are considering keeping a section of the kitchen gated (enclosed) and use it as her "room" once we start introducing her to the house. Functionally our use of the kitchen is partially like using a crate, to keep her away from us and the house. Obviously I'm not against confining at all .