Hello all, I will be getting a pup in about a month and I am also moving into a Log home which has a back room about 12x9 foot (3.6mx3m) and it has a door in that room that leads out to the back yard which I will put a dog door in. It leads to the kitchen which i would separate by a gate when I go to work. The room is heated and enclosed with a roof and windows. Should I still crate? Is that room too open to be his "Den" space? I know dogs need their "Den" area, so i was thinking I'd build a dog house to match the room so he will be able to chill in there. i just do not like crates. thanks for any help. ~steve
Looks like a lot of thought has gone into your plan! I can't really comment as the two dogs I have had from pups have both had crates. I did try a large play pen with the most recent pup, she howled the place down! she preferred a cosy crate, she was quite shy and a bit nervous when she arrived. Lots of people here have had playpens and they have worked beautifully. I guess playpens are quite similar to your planned set up. In my mind the key is how long will the pup be left in there during the day, and will there be someone with him most of the time in the early weeks and months? Also, in the early days, you might want to keep pup a bit closer to you until they settle in, they may feel a bit isolated otherwise, especially so soon after being removed from her mam and siblings.
Can't comment on puppies, but we've never crated our adult dogs - we've been lucky, I suppose, that they have been no real trouble. When we're out, Belle is left with in the living room with access to the kitchen, while Coco has the hall and spare bedroom - we generally separate them so Belle gets some peace, sometimes though they will both stay in the hall/spare room.
I've had 3 puppies and have never used a crate. You just need to make sure that anything like electrical wires are safely blocked off and resign yourself to the possibility of some chewing. ( I wasn't out at work at all when Molly was a puppy, but she still managed to gnaw the odd chair leg when I wasn't concentrating! Now she's an adult she's fine.) I would also reiterate what Kate has said about your puppy needing company.
I have two large crates, Dexter as always loved them and at a year old still uses them. Over night he's decided he prefers to sleep in the lounge crate with it shut rather than the dining room crate with it open and freedom to roam through to the kitchen. His crates are big enough for him to stretch out full length if he wants to.
I sort of did what you plan but kept the crate, door open, in my gated kitchen. Sometimes they slept in the crate, sometimes they didn't. The biggest advantage was that inevitable time I did not get them out on time, delayed at work or something, they didn't have to stay in a poop, puke or pee filled crate. They chose spots outside away from the crate. There was no damage done to my kitchen but they can ruin walls, furniture and obstruct from swallowing stuff they ripped or chewed off.
The way my summer work schedule works out this year is 8:15 to 1:15pm I'm a few minutes from work. So 5-51/2 hours he would be alone. With lots of Kongs!
We crated both of our pups for the first few months, but once they were housebroken, we did not keep them in the crate. We still have a crate for Cooper in the kitchen, but we never close the door. Both dogs have the run of the house.
I always start mine off in a crate, with the door closed at night. Once they have settled, I just leave the door open for them. I leave a dog bed in the room and they normal take themselves off to it. Around 5 mths if they are happy, I take in down and put it away.
I've seen these crate covers. I concede red making a cover for Homers but by the time I was about to get round to it he decided the crate wasn't for him anymore. http://www.felixchien.com/cratewear-sets/?sort=bestselling A crate would give you somewhere enclosed to keep him safe and your house safe but I don't think it's necessary. As a child our puppies had an old tea chest tipped on its side in the kitchen. Then a wooden kennel on the back porch.
