Hi Should we have decrated hollie by now , she's 9 months old ? She is getting speyed April 13th so I was thinking after her recovery but reading other posts younger pups are no longer crated. Thanks
Re: decrating We decrated Rolo a few weeks ago he's 7 months old. We have guarding issues tho, that was our main reason for decrating. I must say he has taken to it so so well. I also feel more confident/happier leaving him for those very rare longer periods knowing he has the whole kitchen to walk around in. I'm not sure what I will do when we visit the in laws because the crate worked so well as their houses aren't lab proofed. Maybe a play pen. There is no right or wrong time to de crate some people never de crate!
Re: decrating Decrate her when and if you want to. Some dogs spend their whole lives enjoying their crate. There's no rule that says they have to be decrated. I decrated mine about a month or so ago - they're seven months now. But that was because when I was out for a couple of hours, I didn't think it was fair to leave both of them in the crate - it was big enough to sleep in, but not really big enough for two to be awake in, and a) it was the biggest crate I could find and b) we didn't have the room for a bigger one, even if we could find one. We've moved the crate now from being bang in our social space to being tucked away in a corner. They still go in on occasion and I still use it as a calming tool sometimes - Willow got over-tired and needed to chill out yesterday evening so I popped her in for five minutes. If it feels right, do it. If not, don't
Re: decrating I don't quite get the whole "decrating" thing. I have a crate inside a pen for Charlie - I didn't get it until he was 10 months old - and he spends time in it when appropriate. Mainly if I'm out of the house (otherwise he'd set off the alarm and it's better he is safely in a crate even though he doesn't chew things much now, it's still better so he is completely safe), or if there are people in the house I don't want him to bother, or if he is poorly and so on. I don't intend to change this ever....
Re: decrating I had been planning to decrate Juno at around the 1 year old, she's 9 months old today! Unfortunately due to stomach bug and huge amounts of vomit she decided she didn't like her crate and wouldn't go back in it after I had cleaned it up and washed all her bedding. Rather than stress her when she was feeling poorly we just left her on the mattress from the crate on the floor in the kitchen and she's been fine. I've been lucky in that she hasn't chewed anything other than her toys, but it would be useful to have the crate now as she recovers from her dysplasia surgery but as the French say, c'est la vie! I would say just go with what feels right for your pup, there is no hard and fast rule only general advice which seems to be largely based upon chewing. Good luck
Re: decrating Crates can be used throughout a dogs life with no issues. It's just personal preference. One of the big factors for me was that I work all day, and although I don't like leaving her that long alone, I know she has the whole kitchen now instead of being cooped up all day. Penny was speyed at about 18 months old and whilst recovering she couldn't fit in her crate with the cone of shame on, so I pinned back the door and put a bed outside of it. She slept on that whilst recovering and then after that I just never shut her back in. After a couple of months like this I put the crate away completely and she now has a plastic bed in the kitchen with a babygate. We still get the crate out if she has to stay away from home - my parents had her when I was on my honeymoon, and if we go on holiday with her. I just bring the crate back out for a week or so before we go so she gets used to it again. When at my mums for my honeymoon she had to be shut in again for most of the day while mum was at work as they have another dog. This was after she had been fully decrated for several months, but she took to it without a problem.
Re: decrating [quote author=Holliesmum link=topic=10234.msg150352#msg150352 date=1426681154] Thanks all, think we will just see how she goes as she loves it. [/quote] That was actually another thing for us - Penny never seemed that happy in the crate. She would never voluntarily put herself in there, although she was happy enough to go in at bedtime or if we were going out. She would also cry in the mornings to be let out. Once we had taken the crate away the crying stopped completely, and she will now actually put herself in her bed.
Re: decrating It's entirely up to you Gypsy was de-crated before she was 5 months old. Tatze is two in April and still crated.
Re: decrating Has anyone had any experience moving from a crate to a crate and playpen set up? Maisie isn't a huge fan of the playpen, I think because she can still see everything/me moving around if she's in there, so doesn't quite understand why she's locked up. In the crate, I cover the whole thing with a light blanket so it's completely dark. She's fine in there, sometimes she's so conked out she doesn't move until I open the crate even though I have to open and close two doors to get there and usually talk to her! I want to move to a playpen and crate set up as when I start work in the fall, she will be crated for much longer periods - 4-5 hrs in the am, then lunch break, then 2-3 hours and a dog walker, then another 1-3 hrs for me to get home... So you can see why I want her out and about in a playpen at least. I was thinking of training the playpen as I did the crate (small amounts of time in there with kongs, etc), and building up, then trying her while I'm gone for very short periods and filming her to see what she does. Any suggestions?
Re: decrating Dex is 2.5 and we still have our crate up behind the gate that separates him off from the kitchen and the rest of the house...sometimes he goes in there himself for a relax,occasionally I put him in his crate with a kong if we've had maintenance being done downstairs.We probably started leaving the crate door open at night at 7/8 months but the child gate closed ( he could jump it easy if he had a mind to ???) sometimes he would sleep in it sometimes not...it doesn't impact on our living space so I guess we will probably always leave it set up....it's handy to keep all his paraphernalia and our walking shoes on the top too! ;D
Re: decrating I can't see my boy Brodick being decrated for some time...he's 3 and should know better but he is still a serious chewer of soft stuff, but NOT in his crate - he doesn't touch his bed while he's in there, the minute I let him out though he greets me, then rushes back in to his crate, pulls his vet bed into the lounge, and settles down for a good chew. He's an Eat First Ask Questions Later kind of boy, will chew up and swallow soft toys if left to his own devices, so I just feel he's safer where he is while I'm out. He is only in it when I'm out of the house, sleeps with me overnight. Big sis Cuillin is in the process of being 'decrated' at 3.5, but not convinced she is happy about it, so it may be staying up...about to install a cheap camera for when I'm out to check out how she is doing...I've got a spare room where I keep the crates so its not an issue with space...
