# Where to keep the crate



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I think it's really up to you. Some people here will say stick to it and just leave the crate where it is; others will say move the crate to the bedroom. I had horrible luck with the crate and eventually ditched the idea, but I think maybe things would have gone a little more smoothly if I had put the crate in my bedroom as opposed to downstairs.

I don't see the harm in moving it to your bedroom. It's not going to make your dog dependent on sleeping with you or anything silly like that. Good luck!


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## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

I vote you put the crate in the bedroom. It's easy to hear if your pup is crying and I think it makes them feel more secure if they can hear/smell you.


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## Ambesi (Jul 16, 2009)

Winchester's crate is at the foot of my bed. It works really well having him in our bedroom. I'm able to hear him if he needs to go out and shoosh him easily if it's not time to get up yet. You might try putting something that smells like you in the crate with Emma. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. It's just whatever you prefer.


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

I would put the crate in your bedroom - I have mine in there and it actually acts as my bedside table  Sometimes the pup just needs to hear your voice to be comforted...


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

OH - also wanted to add that it's a good idea to wear an oversized t-shirt for a couple of nights and then wrap it around a pillow and the pup has an "instant mommy" to cuddle up with at night


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

We have Hank's crate in our bedroom and it has worked out really well. I can hear him if he needs to go out and other than a little bit his first night, he doesn't cry or whine.


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## GoldenJoy (Jul 30, 2009)

I know this will sound really weird.... but when our pup would get fussed at night when we first got her, I would sort of breathe loudly, like a sigh, or turn over noisily in bed, and she would stop! My husband and I would laugh about it, but it seemed to reassure her without my having to get out of bed! I love hearing her sleepy noises when I'm going to sleep, and I feel very secure that if she gets ill or anything, we'll hear her right away.

I love having her crate in our room!


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## beauindie (Aug 20, 2009)

I have to say that I am not convinced that these crates are a good idea. I am not judging the people who use them but I cannot help think that it seem a little traumatic to a puppy who has recently been seperated from its mother and litter, and is finding itself in new surroundings, to then be isolated at night. The way I have always looked after my puppies in the first few weeks before they are housetrained is to sleep in a room with them. This way the puppy can be monitored throughout the night. You may think this is not practical but I have always managed. Goldens are so clever they are normally housetrained in a couple of weeks. 

After all in a pack they would not seperate the pup and leave it all alone, and if you consider every mammal and the way they care for their babies most keep them by their side for the first year.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

We kept Tucker's crate in our bedroom when he was a puppy. That way we heard every peep he made and knew when he needed to be taken out. For about the first month or so, he would always wake us up between 5 and 6 AM to go out and then came back in and went back to sleep. He started sleeping later and later as he got older and now he sleeps until we wake up.


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## EmmaDube (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks guys! 

I moved the crate into my room and on the first night she yapped for a minute, I said "NO!" and she was quiet. She has slept through 2 straight nights and I'm so thankful (and rested)!

Now, if she would only stop biting everything...


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom (Jul 16, 2008)

We always start a puppy in a crate in our bedroom (with one little one, our whole family ended up camped out around the crate on her first two nights!!) I have found that the puppies settle in more quickly if they are with you at night, not in the kitchen or the basement...but I suppose it is a personal choice. Plus, you do know if they need to go out or are sick. Our puppies have always ended up out of the crate and in a dog bed beside us very quickly. Dogs are pack animals, and they want to be with their pack members. If you are at work all day, having them spend their nights with you is especially important.


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## iamswiss (Aug 6, 2009)

We have a crate downstairs in the kitchen/living room area and another crate upstairs in our bedroom. It was just too big to move every night upstairs.
She's doing fine although she sleeps most of the day on our kitchen tile and not in her crate. At night she's whining a little bit for a few minutes and then sleeps just fine until 5.30-6.30am.


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## little dakota (Oct 12, 2009)

I keep Dakota's cage beside my bed, it works wonderfully when im home or no one is home. The only bad part is he is very attached too me, and if i am not home and people are trying too sleep he acts like a little baby and will randomly start crying at night and barking. 
Also at first i hated the idea of the cage, but i grew too like it once i started seeing Dakota randomly wandering in there and sitting down and relaxing. He also seems too try too find little confined areas when is going too sleep such as under the bed, or a table.
The idea of using the crate as a counter is awesome especially if its one of the very open crates. I keep a blanket on the top of Dakota's cage because i think it makes him feel more secure. Usually when i put him in there ill give him a little treat too like a bone filled with peanut butter or something. sorry for the long read =)


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