[Grumblesnort]

I've read a lot about crates and crate training, and I've come to understand that a crate is supposed to be a dog's home-base, a safe place. I've also seen that there are many different styles and types of crates, all designed with a different purpose. What I'm wondering is, should I have an at-home crate as well as a travel crate/carrier for vet visits? I realize that vet visits can be pretty stressful for a lot of dogs, and having their safe place go with them is great, but some at-home crates don't seem like they'd travel well or be easy to carry.

What about having an at-home crate and a travel crate left out at home for the dog to associate both with safety? What about people who don't have the room for that? And even if you made the room until the dog liked the travel crate, would it still feel like home if you put it away for a few weeks to a year (or three in some areas for older dogs who just need rabies shots) until the next vet visit?

This is purely academic for me, as my dog will end up being very small, but I can't help but wonder.

 

[bfoster]

My dogs are all crate trained. Even though they do not spend much time in them, they all have a crate that they can go into when they want, left out at all times- mine are in the family room. I refer to them as their room. (LOL)
I also have 2 crates secured in my car for travel--since I take 2 my of dogs with me most places that I can.
It is easier to just leave the travel crates in the car instead of taking them in and out and having them secured in the car keeps the dogs from turning into little missles in case of an accident.
I also carry two soft sided crates in my trunk (they fold down to almost nothing- they look like a large briefcase when folded) in case we end up somewhere that I need them. I hardly ever do but they are good to have just in case. (I use Canine Campers,but there are a million different brands out there)
That probably seems crazy and like a lot of crates to have but I travel and my dogs like to go with me so it makes it very easy for me to be prepared for whatever situation I run into.
It might be different with just one dog- but since I take two with me I feel better having the crates with me.. you never know when you will need them...

 

[sheltiemom]

When I just had two dogs I had one each in the house and an extra in the car. I currently have four dogs and four crates, but only one crate set up in the house...only one of my dogs still needs crating and none of mine ever got to the point of liking to go in on their own. The other three are in the garage and can be thrown in the car if need be.

If you want to spend the money, it would be fine to get two. Alot of people have one for home and one for car, or one for upstairs and one for downstairs.

 

[manman]

I have an 4 month old samoyed puppy (got him at a little under 3 months) and we have 2 crates for him- one plastic travel and one larger wire crate. We meant for the wire crate to be his 'den', and only left the plastic one out by accident just cuz we forgot to move it, and he gravitated WAY more toward that one. I guess because he's still small, and it's darker in there? We tried training him to like the bigger crate for a while and he just did NOT like being locked in there, he would bark and whine the whole time. But we noticed that on car rides he didn't whine at all in the travel crate, so we started using that to crate train him and it worked like a charm. Now that he's used to it, he doesn't even whine at all when he's in the wire crated.

He still doesn't seem to think of either as his 'home' though, haha. He has other favorite spots in the house, and only goes in there occasionally on his own.

 

[Grumblesnort]

These are some great points. I was thinking about just the same thing as Manman suggested -- letting the dog choose. I wonder if there's any way I can take the puppy with me to see if there are any crates she prefers. I'll have to call around to check if pet stores even have floor models.

Thanks to everyone for your answers.

 

[wvasko]

These are some great points. I was thinking about just the same thing as Manman suggested -- letting the dog choose. I wonder if there's any way I can take the puppy with me to see if there are any crates she prefers. I'll have to call around to check if pet stores even have floor models.

Thanks to everyone for your answers.

Plastic crates are more cave/den oriented. I would hope that you don't leave children make decisions on what to eat etc. It's up to you to get proper crate. One of the universities put 10 crates in a mall 5 plastic, 5 wire and a pup in each crate. The pups in the plastic crates did much better as the people staring down at the wire crated puppies caused some problems.

 

[Grumblesnort]

Plastic crates are more cave/den oriented. I would hope that you don't leave children make decisions on what to eat etc. It's up to you to get proper crate. One of the universities put 10 crates in a mall 5 plastic, 5 wire and a pup in each crate. The pups in the plastic crates did much better as the people staring down at the wire crated puppies caused some problems.

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't thought about the environment (home vs. possibly busy store) having an impact on the dog's choice, but it seems so obvious so I don't know why it didn't occur to me. Obviously I didn't intend to let the dog make all the decisions. I certainly wouldn't let a child choose what to eat in general (ice cream for dinner, anyone?), but I'd let them decide between broccoli and green beans.