We crated both of our pups at night, but typically in the day time they were in a puppy pen in the kitchen. We only crated them at night while we were potty training. Once they were dependable we let them have the run of the bedroom at night. We had a pet gate on the kitchen, so we could keep them in the pen, or give them the run of the kitchen. Cooper has a crate in the kitchen now, but we never close the door on it. She sometimes likes to go into her dog cave. Now both have the run of the house and the back yard though a dog door. We still keep a lot of doors closed, because it is easier than putting everything above 5ft.
I do think of a crate as a cage and even overnight I feel is too long in the typically advised size of only big enough to stand up, turn around and lie down. Since my dogs are not crated (I did have one, the door was open in a pen or gated in the kitchen) I see how they like to move from one spot to another, mostly to find a cooler spot to lie in. If I had to crate it would be as big as I could possibly get it, more like a pen. Just thought I'd add though, Oban is 9 years old now and we are still using the gates on the kitchen. Not to keep him confined but to keep him out of it. Now that one cat is old and needs special food and is even slower to eat little wee bits at a time and likes to have her food on the floor waiting when she gets the urge the gates give Oban the rest of the house and the cat holes in it allow the old girl in to eat when she pleases. Or, the odd time like yesterday when Oban finds a good mud puddle and needs to be hosed off, the gates keep him in the kitchen till he dries a bit. I only wish the OH had made fancier gates but we never thought we'd be using them past puppyhood and they're kind of rough looking. Very sturdy and high though.
Tatze is 3 now and loves her crate. She only uses it at night. At night, if I don't shut the door, she whines until I shut it!
It doesn't matter one little bit to a dog whether it's called a crate or a cage. I do agree it's not good to confine a dog in a small space - it doesn't matter though what the sides of that space are made of. Whether it's a too small pen, a too small crate, or a too small bathroom. Stand up, turn round, lie down is only relevant for house training, nothing else. I now have 3 crates that are 1m 24cm long (48 in). You can get crates up to 1m 82cm (78 in). Betsy's pen is about 2m by 1.5m. She much prefers the crates, because they are closer to the humans - one by the sofa, one by my desk, and one in the bedroom. If I put her in her pen, she is further away from everyone, at the back of the kitchen.
With Rory we used a cage only one of the 3 we ' did. Logistically it was useful and Rory liked it. It also gave the older dogs a bit of peace. He was never left long even at night and when he got to none eating washing machine stage he was left loose first at night and now in the day. Cages seem fine as long as they don't become prisons . They are a good way to keep a pup safe . I would use one again. Gates aren't any use with Rory he jumps them
I was totally against the cage idea when we got Stanley - OH put it as a condition of getting a dog. It took Stanley a while to take to it, but now he loves it. Happily goes in there by his own choice & when he's a bit over excited as soon as I put him in he settles down. Also gives peace of mind that the pup & my home are safe when I'm not in.
I have 2 42" crates for our pups, Jesse is almost 6 month now and Bella is 4 month we adopted her last week. There crates are in the living room side by side, the doors are always open unless we have leave the house without out them or when it is bedtime. Since we adopted Bella we had a few 5-10 min time outs lol for going to nuts with each other. When we leave in the crate due to doctors appointments or other errands, we make sure we home with in 3-4 hrs. If my son is home he watches them, for us. Our pups both love their crates I always add their favorite toy and a stuffed frozen Kong. I feel it keeps the pups safe and out of trouble when we can't supervise them, without a safe place if they chew and destroy things it isn't the pups fault but ours.
We used a crate at night up until about a week ago. Libby is potty trained now and loves to sleep on the bed with us. So far, she hasn't gotten up and wandered around. During they day while we're at work, she is penned off in the laundry room with a dog door to go outside.
We never used a crate. We did use a baby gate tho. Snowie gets so hot - moves in and out the house through the night - to the balcony to cool off. I think he would've been uncomfortable in one spot. He doesn't mind a crate - at the groomers, once at dog school - he made no fuss at all about being in a crate. One thing I wish we'd done tho was put his bed under our stairs out of the way. If you google "dog bed under stairs" you'll see some great ideas!
I was really dubious about a crate, but they are amazing. I have kids and a cat, so was nice to be able to separate them. I think it really aided toilet training. She was also a chewer, and I think would have destroyed our kitchen without one! The breeder used crates, so it wasn't weird for her. We used to put blankets over the top of our's to make it a cosy den at night! We put the crate away a couple of months ago now, but thinking of getting it out again as somewhere safe during firework season!
