# When to stop crating at night?



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe hasn't been gated in the kitchen at night for a month. She is now 4 1/2 months. She sleeps with my parents.


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## jonm (Sep 19, 2014)

Cpc1972 said:


> Chloe hasn't been gated in the kitchen at night for a month. She is now 4 1/2 months. She sleeps with my parents.



Not sure that answers my question


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## Marcus (Aug 24, 2014)

jonm said:


> Our dog is 7 months.
> 
> We have been told between 2 years to 3 years is when you can ATTEMPT to stop crating them at night.
> 
> ...


2-3 years, seems extreme...

I'd say as soon as they consistently hold on all night. 

Having said that Ben has never been created and since 6 months has had free reign of the house at night. Sleeps on my bed though. He stopped chewing on the house at about 5 months, doesn't even touch shoes any more, he only eats stuff that's outside


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

What are your sleeeping arrangement plans for when she was ready to not be crated. Were you going to let the pup sleep in your bed. A bed beside your bed. I think you will find your pup will sleep all night and not get up if they are in the same room. Seven months is old enough not to be crated at night.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Our last dog, we leave her trials out of the crate for an hour during the day at 1 year and no crate at night then either. She "graduated" from her crate at a year and a half full time.


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## lloyddobler (Nov 30, 2014)

My pup has slept in my bed since he was about 5 months old. He still won't jump off the bed, so I know he's not going anywhere. LOL. While he slept like a champ in his crate and didn't seem to mind it, it stressed me out and I think I lost sleep knowing he was in there. I was surprised how easily he settled in my bed on the first attempt!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

lloyddobler said:


> My pup has slept in my bed since he was about 5 months old. He still won't jump off the bed, so I know he's not going anywhere. LOL. While he slept like a champ in his crate and didn't seem to mind it, it stressed me out and I think I lost sleep knowing he was in there. I was surprised how easily he settled in my bed on the first attempt!


They do get really comfy in the big beds. Chloe snuggles right between my parents. My mom says when she is ready to get up she starts biting my dad.


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## Bwilson (Mar 25, 2014)

Really depends on the dog. River was 8 months old had never chewed on anything in our home so had free reign for over 2 months. One day I came home and she had chewed on some wires. So she had remained in her kennel during the night or when I was not at home. This last heat she had at 15 months old she did not want to sleep in her kennel so we gave it a shot because she was driving me nuts. Been a few months and she is doing great not chewing or picking on our older dog. She sleeps in our bed most nights. Free reign of the house and doing great.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Zelda has slept on my bed, outside the crate since six months old BUT she is still crated during the day. She will sleep fantastically all night long, and sleeps in much later now that she isn't crated anymore. But I have tried to leave her out of the crate during the day, and she eats anything that she can find. If she didn't sleep in my room, I probably wouldn't trust her outside her crate at night.


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## golfgal (Dec 31, 2013)

Between 4-5mths old. Had bed in bedroom by my bed. One dog rotated btwn it, the l/r bed and the h/w floors in l/r and wandered back to bedroom about an hour or so before he was ready to get up. The other one 98% of the time stays in the bedroom. He moved onto my bed at 13mths and may jump off onto his bed at night. Will sometimes go sleep on bathroom floor - go figure. 

He usually puts himself to bed sometime around 9ish and gets up around 6:30am. Make sure they know things like bedtime, go lie down, it's early as that's handy when they're not in crate and its too early to get up. Didn't have any chewing issues at night. Only when left alone in daytime but that goes away or at least in my case it did.


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## momo_ (Dec 15, 2014)

I'm gonna regret this, but I recently gave up on the crate. He was constantly waking up in the middle of the night knocking on the crate, not to go potty, just because he suddenly didn't like not having freedom to come and go as he wished. The sound of a rattling crate actually makes me really, really anxious. I hate waking up from a deep sleep with my heart racing. Since the past few weeks, I get him to start off sleeping in the crate, but leave the door open. Sometimes he stays in until morning, sometimes he'll wander around the house for a minute, maybe sleep on the floor for an hour, but returns to the crate until morning. I also gave up crating in the day. I watch him on Skype when he's home alone. For now, he just walks around and sleeps. He's 5 and a half months old. 

In my opinion, the time to stop crating is when you trust them enough not to be destructive when uncrated.


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## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

We stopped crating Shelby around 8 months. She now sleeps either at the end of our bed or on the landing. She doesn't wake up and chew things in the night. She will follow me to the bathroom if I wake up, but then follows me back to bed. She is confined to the kitchen during the day when we are away from home.

Our new puppy (which we get this Saturday) will start off in the crate and hopefully graduate to sleeping at the end of our bed once he can be trusted.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

It totally depends on each individual dog, his training, and environment. But 2-3 years old does sound really extreme to me. 

So - if your dog is solidly housetrained (is asking to go out, has not had an accident in the house for a good 8 weeks), he is probably a good candidate to be out of his crate at night.

If he is not a chewer, not destructive, he's probably a good candidate.

If he will be sleeping in a totally puppy-proofed area (be in your kitchen or your bedroom), he'll probably be a good candidate. Make sure there is nothing around he can chew if he wakes in the night, make sure the door is closed or there is a baby gate up so that he can't roam the whole house. 

Shala hated sleeping in her crate at night. She just wanted to be out on my bed. So once she was really solidly housetrained, I puppyproofed my room, put up a baby gate, and decided to see what happened. She was five months old (I was actually sick with the flu and in bed for 48 hours, so it was actually the best way to keep my eye on her for that first few days). She was great - we never looked back. 

But - she was in her day crate in the living room when I was at work until she was just over a year old.


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

It depends on the developmental stage of the dog.


Summit has been out of the crate since 6-7 months. No problems.

Jet has to be confined to block his adventurous forays. He's still a juvenile.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

It really depends on your dog and your setup. I remember hearing about a young dog that was lost because it chewed off and swallowed the fringe from an oriental type rug that was next to the bed while it's owners were sleeping during the night.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

If your not sure how your dog will do give it a trial one night and see how it goes. We do small things with Chloe. An inch her and there. If she does well we may give her a little more space. But at night she has slept upstairs on the bed for a month now. My mom thought they might have to close the door or put a gate at the door but she doesn't move.


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## jonm (Sep 19, 2014)

Cpc1972 said:


> If your not sure how your dog will do give it a trial one night and see how it goes. We do small things with Chloe. An inch her and there. If she does well we may give her a little more space. But at night she has slept upstairs on the bed for a month now. My mom thought they might have to close the door or put a gate at the door but she doesn't move.


If i had my way the dog would be up with me in my bedroom but the wife is against that lol. Our last dog was in our room for her whole life, but this time around she wanted the dog downstairs. 

It works but eventually i know she's going to want to leave that crate.

My goal is by the time she is 1 and half or two years to have her out of the crate at night on her own bed downstairs. Probably i will sleep down there a few nights to get her used to sleeping out of the crate.

For now she is in her crate and she's fine. 7 months old.


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