# How long is too Long for a Crate?



## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

I think you can begin crating at any age as long as it is introduced in a positive and as a 'happy place' for the dog to be, Im sure most dogs of any age would be accepting of one. 

I would never keep a dog in a crate for over 4 hours...If I was away any longer than that I would make sure someone was able to come in and allow the dog to stretch its legs and have some fuss/interaction/exercise for an hour or so before going back in. Many people, I am sure put their dogs in them for much, much longer which I don't agree with. Yes it does 'keep the puppy safe' but daily use for extended periods is quite cruel in my eyes, dogs (especially puppies) need much more than that.


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## FishinBuddy (Nov 20, 2008)

Hopefully soon the wifey won't have to work anymore and she can be a housewife and/or work part time. Then it will be so much easier...


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## KRayl (Aug 22, 2008)

I was wondering the same sort of thing.....

On the days Avery isn't in daycare, she's in the crate from 8AM to 12PM then we go home to feed her lunch, take her out and interact with her for a bit then she goes back in the crate until i get home around 4:45PM. At that point, she's out of the crate until bedtime. I always wonder if it's too long but she really doesn't seem to mind it all too much. She actually loves her crate and we're realizing that she thinks of it as her "safe place". (When I turn the vacuum on, she runs and hides in her crate until I'm done.) Which.... is a topic for another thread. Haha. :uhoh:


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## FishinBuddy (Nov 20, 2008)

KRayl said:


> I was wondering the same sort of thing.....
> 
> On the days Avery isn't in daycare, she's in the crate from 8AM to 12PM then we go home to feed her lunch, take her out and interact with her for a bit then she goes back in the crate until i get home around 4:45PM. At that point, she's out of the crate until bedtime. I always wonder if it's too long but she really doesn't seem to mind it all too much. She actually loves her crate and we're realizing that she thinks of it as her "safe place". (When I turn the vacuum on, she runs and hides in her crate until I'm done.) Which.... is a topic for another thread. Haha. :uhoh:


I bet your pup is sleeping the whole time almost! When I am home with my pup he sleeps for about 3 hours and then is crazy and want to fetch train or work for about an hour then he sleeps again!

I think your crating schedule is fine. JMO though and I am no pro...


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I think I heard the math once that one hour per month of age, up to seven or eight hours, is OK. This math does not apply at night while the pup is asleep. Even a ten week old who's comfortable in the crate and whose bladder is developed can spend 7-8 hours of sleep time in there. 

I think most of us try to make arrangements so that dogs are never actually left in for that long during the day, but if you had to do it once or twice a month, I doubt the dog would suffer. I would _not_ consider an arrangement where the dog is crated for 8 hours every weekday to be healthy for the dog. Heck, even if the dog wasn't crated, being alone for that long still wouldn't be ideal.

Comet gets so much exercise that at 14 months now, I think he just sleeps the whole time we're gone. We're both out of the house for 8-9 hours for work, but our schedules are different, so he rarely spends more than 4 at a time by himself in the crate. Every once in a while, though, we overlap and he goes longer, but he never seems the worse for wear, just a little more energetic when we do get home. He usually gets a guilt-motivated hike right before or after that happens too, so he wins either way!


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## AcesWild (Nov 29, 2008)

Moxie loves her crate and if I had it set up right now we would never see her. She sleeps in it all day. 

I felt so horrible one night she slept in her crate and we woke went to work and when I came back at 3pm I asked my boyfriend why the dog was in the crate if she had done something wrong. He informed me that he thought I took the dog to work with me and she didn't even make a sound DIDN'T EVEN ASK TO GO OUT. After being in the crate since 11pm the night before! 16 hours she laid there!

I let her out and she sat calmly at the door went out on a perfect heel. Peed for 10 minutes straight, went for a good mile run, then when we got back in the house...went right back into her crate. 

I felt so incredibly horrible that she spent that long in the crate and didn't make a single peep. I am such a horrible Mom. From then on out we left each other notes about the animals before we left for work (because i was on day shift he was on night). She got major treats, and a hamburger for dinner that night, and we let her sleep in bed with us.

Sometimes she hides there or goes there when she thinks she's in trouble, if we lock her out of the crate then she either presses her body up against it or will go to hiding under beds and night stands.

It really is her safe place and i should let her go there whenever she dang well pleases but I don't want her to think it's the only place in the house she can be.

Most people don't notice her at our dinner parties because she'll sometimes rarely gret people then just go back to a cave or a crate like place.










It's a safe place for her, but some dogs do see them as something negative all we have to do is point and Moxie will happily go lay in her bed. we can also tell her to "go to her room" or even "we're eating dinner".

Make it fun, make it a game, add some toys and fun stuff to play with.


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## goldieduo (May 10, 2008)

Emma&Tilly, I TOTALLY agree with you. A dog shouldn't be crated for 6-8 hrs on a daily basis. Yes, they probably sleep all day anyway but thats no justification.
Brandi loves her crate. There are nights when she wants to sleep with us and then nights when we don't even get a chance to ask her. She just goes right into the crate. Most nights we don't latch the door. She's never gone wondering around at night or anything. She's great! Pumba doesn't care for the crate. His safe and happy place is the bathroom. He loves stretching out on the tile. We put a gate up in the doorway because he will go wondering. 
This is a great thread. It'll cause us all to stop and think. I'm home all day so both Brandi and Pumba are out. I do understand that not all people can be home all day and have no other choice. Please just be EXTRA EXTRA hands on when you are home. 
AcesWild, sounds like you have a SUPER good dog.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

I've never crated either of mine. When I brought the new pup home, I got a crate, because I thought they should spend separate time, and I didn't want the older dog hurting the pup if I wasn't there. It soon became apparent the pup hated the crate, and just wanted to be with the older dog, so I let it happen and we haven't looked back. Now if we get the 3rd dog (pup)... I will definietly get another crate and persevere with it, because I gave in too quickly with Izzie.

Personally I prefer that they have a room, which can be gated off, rather than a crate, that's just my personal preference.


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## FishinBuddy (Nov 20, 2008)

I perfer the room also....my wife is kinda crazy though.....she thinks one room is not enough and that tile is too cold...tile is great for accidents though nice easy clean up with the shamwow...you'll say wow everytime you use it. LOL...Im bored at work


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Basically I used the four hour rule, too, but there were times when they had to go a little longer. I just want to point out something else to look forward to, Abby started sleeping by the front door and waiting for anyone to come home at 14 months and Finny did at 18 months. So at two and four years old mine are left in the house uncrated while I work and DH works in his back office and they are fine. I know Fnn goes back and sleeps on our bed because I see the labby body indent in the bedspread when I get home.

And mine started sleeping out of their crates at night at around four months. They learned very quickly that if they wanted the freedom they had to be still.

Mine never loved their crates as much as some of yours, but it was the signal to go into slumber mode and the signal to calm down. That is what I think is the most important part. 

And exercise is the key to burning the energy they accumulate in the crate! Good luck!


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## time4goldens (Mar 13, 2006)

If you have to crate over 5 hours - time to redo part of your home and make that the "crate". Put doors in to block off an area, or secure an area in another way that limits the pups roaming but still gives him the boundaries of a crate.


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