We have one of the large Savic crates. It's lined with soft stuff and it's where Nelson sleeps during the night. We know he is safe there and won't damage himself. We sleep better because of that, rested puppy parents are better than tired and grouchy parents. Multiple times during the day, I will send him in there and ask him to sit, then I throw a few kibbles in and give him the cue that he can take them. About every 20th time, usually when he is tired after running around outside, I will close the door and he soon falls asleep. It's actually proved very useful as a place to get him to nap during the day. He will sometimes sleep on his bed in the parlour, but when something more interesting is happening there, he won't sleep and then gets tired and irritable. Sometimes if he has the choice of sleeping in the parlour or his crate, he takes himself to his crate, often carrying a chew along with him. He's usually outside with us, when we are outside, however sometimes that's just not possible (e.g. when cleaning the wheelie bin with bleach, chainsawing firewood, strimming, mowing the lawn, etc), so we use it for up to 60-90 minutes at these times. Even when we return and open the door, he's often still so sleepy that he doesn't want to come out anyway. Could we survive without it? Yes, sure. Would our family run so smoothly without it? I'm not so sure. Originally I thought the idea of putting a dog in jail was cruel. Then I told myself that I was wrong to "humanise" the meaning of a cage. In the dog's eyes, it is a cosy, secure place that he likes to be.
I didn't use a crate for Lucky - because he had separation anxiety so we couldn't leave him home alone. I do understand that they can be useful, and had a couple of chewed rugs and a damaged sofa to prove it! I do feel a bit uncomfortable about shutting an adult dog in a small space. When they are puppies, you can get a big crate or a pen for them, so there's room to move around. But for a large adult dog, I'd prefer to have a safe room if possible. For Lucky, we shut him in the kitchen behind a baby gate when we are out. The only thing I don't understand is why use them at night? Do your dogs/puppies get up at night and chew things? My experiences in Germany have been similar. Most people I know don't take their dogs to training classes, or teach them much. And if they do something the owner doesn't like they get a stern "Nein". I have seen a few people alpha rolling their dogs and lots of people yanking on the lead if they pull - but not sure how it compares to the UK.
Oh, then I understand! I got Lucky when he was 7 months old, and since then he just sleeps all night, and most of the morning if I let him!
Gosh! If we hadn't crate-trained Benson, we would be living in a house with four stones walls, a sink and a dodgy staircase...
My boy only sleeps in his at night (unless he is stressed) he has the run of the house during the day, with it bring hot recently we have left the door open so he can sleep where he wants, but I have been woken up many times during the night with Buster standing right over me, then I have trouble getting back to sleep and all I can hear is his tail wagging against the floor.
Rory would do things like eat the washing machines at night. We didn't decrate him till he was about 2 1/2 as he would get very creative. All of a sudden I just knew he was fine I left it open at night and then during the day. The crates been put into storage for the next pup.
That happened to my other friend who didn't crate her German Shepherd. Freya chewed to death the lounge walls and fireplace. She only ever left her for a couple of hours at a time too, so you couldn't even put it down to a lonely puppy she just liked to chew and chew.
Especially for a foster who can't see, i think slowly introducing him to the crate is a great idea! All of my dogs are crate trained. My German shepherd loved her crate, id leave the door open and shed go in there to chew her bone or take a nap - she's now 5 and is never in a crate except if we are flying someplace. My shih tzu is 2, and he is crated at night and when we leave the house because he is not really trustworthy to be left out un attended. It's also his safe place and somewhere I don't have to worry about him getting into something and potentially making him sick. Deik is also crate trained and also, likes his crate. The door stays open and he likes to take naps In there. He is also un trustworthy left alone in the house so we put him In there when we leave. My goal is to not have to put my dogs in the crate when we leave the house and I do test them when i think they may be ready to have full roam of the upstairs when we're gone. And yes, i do leave them out 1 at a time but they like to get into mischief. My sister on the other hand, has never crate trained her dogs because she thinks it's "mean" and it can be if you leave them locked away all the time. But the crate to me - should be a safe place where they can go and know. And if they do have to stay the night at the vets office, or they are flying I think it helps them not to get to stressed out.
Just a little update 10 days after I first posted this - Tibor now spends his days while I'm working either laying right near my feet (I work at home) or going into the crate on his own and having a nap. It's definitely his happy place now, especially since all the stuffed Kong magic happens in there.
I've only used Kongs as toys before, not for stuffing, but after reading how many people stuff them, I tried it. Honey thinks she has landed in heaven. (And so do we when she needs something to do to wind down ) It sounds like you and Tibor are doing well!
