dog tarining

Gary: How long should you crate train a dog? I have 10 month old Morkie. My wife and I leave him in the crate whenever we can't supervise him. We both feel that he will destroy the place unattended. I asked my vet and trainers at petsmart the same question and they told me that you can leave him in the crate as long as you want because the dog will associate the crate as his "home". On the other hand I have people who tell me that leaving a dog crated can cause mental issues. Not sure what to do. Photo Credit: Jemimus/Flickr CC Answers and Views: Answer by Dogs Are My Favourite People i have a 13 month old labrador who has a crate for her bed. she loves it and takes herself to bed at 10pm every night. To do that during the day aswel would be too intense/ unfair. i would personally creat a morkie room or at least a section of room. space where she can sleep, play etc. just make sure that within that space/ room she has there isnt anything to destroy. i feel i have to say though that this should have been thought about before you had puppy Answer by esmerelda You aren`t saying how long you crate this pup. If you`re gone 10 hours a day and then put him in the crate at night as well, how well-adjusted do you expect him to be? Dogs are social animals. Your dog – regardless of breed — will not learn how to behave well if he's sitting in a crate 20 hours out of 24. Puppies, like children, learn by interacting with you. If you feel guilty about how much time the pup is spending in the crate… it's probably too much. I`ll give you a hint about Petsmart: They are in business to SELL PET SUPPLIES. I heard one idiot tell a mother with two toddlers that a ferret was a good pet with little kids — NOT. Sales people say what they think a customer wants to hear. A trainer who says you can leave a dog in the crate as long as you want is not a trainer I would trust with my dog. Answer by Bel I did not crate train my dogs. I have a gate on the door way of my kitchen. I used that to keep them in the kitchen area when I was not home. They potty trained this way also because they didn't want to use the bathroom on that flooring. Guess it would splatter when peed on. lol I would give them a room to be in when you are gone for long periods of time during the day. You could still use the crate to potty train if you like when you are home like the one person said. I did the same with the kitchen gate, take them out and if they don't use it then put them back in the crate/gate, take them out again till they potty outside. I never put down a puppy pad or anything in the kitchen with them though because I didn't want to teach them that it was ok to use it in there. Honestly I can't see a Morkie, byb btw, being able to destroy a house…. Answer by owl crates are meant as a training tool and not where a dog lives … so for when a pup is a pup and in puppy chew stuff apart stage, and while housebreaking, but when a dog is trained, there is no reason to remove the crate entirely but just remove the door … i crated my dog till her first birthday but by the 8th month i could put her in, close the door but not latch, and she would still be in the crate when i got home … but when she turned 1 the door came off … why do you think your pup would destroy stuff, it is almost full grown ??? if the dog is destructive outside the crate, it requires training outside the crate but by a year old puppies are usually out of their destructive phases and are housebroken … if your dog is both, try closing the door and no latching and see what happens … Know better? Give your own answer to this question!