Is it wrong to leave a dog alone?

[Buddy'sParents]

I think that some people like to convice themselves that the dog doesn't mind being caged up for 1/3 of the day in an area that is 1. barely large enough for it to stand and turn around in, but I bet none of us 2. would volunteer to take the dog's place. My dog likes to walk around the house, look out the window, be able to run to the door when I come home or it hears a noise outside, which is exactly what Smokey is doing as I type this.

My personal feeling is that justifying crating a dog is just like people defending their pratice of keeping a dog outside chained to a stake all day long. They would say 3. " Oh it's a just a dog, they don't mind that at all"....

I realize some people do it, 4. but I never would or could.

1. My dogs have the biggest crates available (below the dane-sized ones). They are able to walk back and forth, turn around, sleep is all sorts of different directions/angles/positions. They also have room for their water bowls and their fleece blankets.

2. When Buddy was a puppy, I would lay in his crate with him. Silly me.

3. Just a dog? Besides my husband of course, Buddy and Banzai are my heart and soul. They are two of the greatest and biggest loves of my life. I would NEVER intentionally harm them, nor do anything to jeapordize their life, happiness, success. SO pardon me while I do MY BEST to keep my dogs safe at ALL TIMES. When I am home and when I am NOT home.

4. Exactly. It is not required of all pet owners to crate their dogs. But some of us most do so in order to better serve them-protect them. I WILL NOT apologize for keeping my dogs safe!

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

See, this is the thing - if you don't know anything about the topic, how can you base a detailed opinion on it? You can't.
It amazes me how mayn people will assume things about crates...they don't take the time to learn about them and their use, they just think, "Well, it looks like a small box, so it must be cruel".
And another thing - WHY does my dog NEED to see out the window, or sleep on the rug, or bark at people, or whatever when I'm gone? They can do all of that when I'm there, and they do. It is not REQUIREMENT.

 

[blue]

Bluedawg and Verde have seperate rooms, and before Bailey went home he had the run of the rest of the house. The 3 and now the 2 stay in their rooms 8 to 9 hours during the week and run freely all weekend unless Im gonna be gone more than 4 hours. If I go camping/floating the dogs go with me.

Bluedawg does great during the workweek. I thought Verde was doing good for the first week and a half until last thurs and fri, where she did her evil business in her room. I came home tonight expecting the same but was rewarded with a clean room and a happy Verde.

 

[RD]

IMO, dogs are not children. They do not behave, think, or resemble human children in any way, and treating them as such is one of my biggest pet peeves. The only thing they share with human children is the amount of love they recieve and deserve.

When humans anthropomorphize their pets, it can cause heaps of trouble. Dogs do not see crates as "cages", and they have no concept of "jail" or "prison". Dogs have different needs and desires than humans - their thought processes are different.

The dog that thinks of a crate as a "jail cell" is the same dog that is "ashamed" for pooping on the floor, pees on the bed for "revenge" purposes, and understands what it did wrong when punished for it hours later.

Dogs don't feel ashamed, they don't seek revenge, and they have no concept of deferred punishment. These are three instances of anthropormorphism, and yet you hear people accuse their dogs of shame, revenge, and the ability to understand what it did wrong when it is punished for soemthing it did 6 hours ago. This is all anthropomorphism.

Agreed, agreed, agreed!

My dog spends a good portion of the day in his crate . . . while it's OPEN. He doesn't view it as jail - he goes in there about 25 times a day, sleeps in there voluntarily (in fact he whines if I have his crate folded up) and hides in there if my friends are bothering him. If he has nothing better to do, he goes in his crate for a nap.

What it is to us and what it is to our dogs are two very different things. Applying our feelings on confinement to our dogs isn't doing them any favors. But, okay, I can anthropomorphize too. When nobody else is home, if my dogs are gone, the only thing I can do is play with a couple of midly amusing toys, and pace around in my bedroom . . . I'm going to go lay on my bed and sleep. How is a crate any different? People assume there are thousands of acceptable things for a dog to do while we're gone, but there aren't. My dog sleeps, he moves around, licks himself, chews his toys when he gets bored, watches TV if I turn on sports or animal planet, and then goes back to sleep in, you guessed it, his crate.

Edit: Didn't read this last page . . . Wonderfully said, Nicole. I couldn't agree more.

 

[krisykris]

I agree with that ^^ I do in some ways treat my pups like children, but I also understand that they are not human and they have different needs than I do. I figure as long as we're both getting what we want out of the relationship-- it's okay to be "momma" to my puppies

 

[RD]

I treat my dogs like my kids, but I am not blind to the fact that they are dogs. They are intelligent, understanding and perceptive creatures, but most of the time they are not on the same wavelength as we humans are.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

I treat my dogs like my kids, but I am not blind to the fact that they are dogs. They are intelligent, understanding and perceptive creatures, but most of the time they are not on the same wavelength as we humans are.

Could not agree more. ^

My dogs are my children, but you don't seem them walking down the street with doggie boots and parkas and jackets and the whole nine yards!

They are loved and given the best life possible, with occassional (ok, lots) of spoiling!

 

[thewhitewitchone]

My two cents...
I never used crates until I got Chyna. The dog I used to have was gated in a hallway when he was a puppy while I was gone until he achieved bladder and bowel control. He was fine.
Chyna was crated as a puppy when I was gone and I had my daughter come over to let her out once a day. She was crated at night for quite a while too. You would think she would have grown accustomed to her crate like some of your dogs did, but actually as time went by, it got harder to get her to go in it. She just didn't like it. So I started letting her out in the house for short periods of time and now she is never crated. I finally got the ugly bulky thing out of my kitchen! When I am gone, all she does is sleep. Even when she was crated and left with a bullystick to chew on, she would never chew it. She will not chew one now when I'm not here.
I am so glad that I don't have to put her in a crate anymore. I don't think there is anything wrong with using a crate as long as it isn't excessive time wise and as long as your dog is ok with it. It was a great tool for Chyna when it was needed during her puppy phase but I was never happy putting her in it. Thank God she is such a wonderful good girl.
I work weird hours and sometimes have to leave her alone for 5 hour stretches, come home for an hour or so and leave again for a couple of hours and she is ok with it. I am just glad that my job enables me to be able to come home a few times a day inbetween work.
And of course she sleeps on my bed...right between my husband and I.
Bottom line...crating your dog is not a bad thing if there is a reason for doing it, such as safety reasons...either for your dog or your house.

Pam

 

[MyIrishWolfie]

Gempress.. I dont see anything wrong with what your doing. You have 2 big dogs that seem happy to be outdoors doing dog things and you said you come home for lunch and check on them... thats good

 

[Zoom]

I think that so long as the dog gets enough mental and physical stimulation, then it's fine for them to stay alone. My old dog never had an issue staying by herself and would sleep in the sun patch in the dining room and then get on the couch (which she wasn't supposed to do) until us kids got home at 3:30 and all that.

I am a firm believer that if at all possible, the owners should look into daycare or a dog walker, unless they have a dog like my old one who didn't much care for other dogs and wouldn't have gone walking with a strange person. But it all goes back to "what are the dogs doing when people are home?".

 

[krisykris]

Could not agree more. ^

My dogs are my children, but you don't seem them walking down the street with doggie boots and parkas and jackets and the whole nine yards!

They are loved and given the best life possible, with occassional (ok, lots) of spoiling!

I'm guilty of that My dogs might be dressed better than me most days lately! They have a bunch of different coats, tee shirts, tank tops, party dresses, hair accessories and I just recently bought some boots for Em, so in winter her little feet won't get cold. She hates them though, so I doubt they'll do much but sit in their doggie closet! Yes, that's right -- they have their own closet

 

[Buddy'sParents]

ROFLOL^^

To each their own for sure!

 

[krisykris]

Yeah they're quite a sight, lol

 

[frenchboxer]

I have never - and would never - crate my dogs when I am out. I would cordon off a space for them, e.g. hallway and kitchen, and make sure that there was nothing that could harm them.

I only did this while they were still puppies, but when they were a bit older they had free run of the whole house.

Never even owned a crate till I had to fly my dog from Europe to Africa, and was able to get her used to one for the flight a couple of months prior to flying. Now the crate is in storage and will never be used again.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

LOL, I think I spoil my Pit Bull more than most Chihuahua's around here..HAHAHAHA

I paint her nails, use whitening shampoo to make her as BRIGHT as she can be, she has like, 8 fancy pink collars, and a couple sweaters, jackets, three really nice beds, has a butt load of toys..etc..gets fancy treats..lol this is rediculous..:lol-sign: somebody stop me:yikes:

 

[Dizzy]

Well - you can tell me I know nothing of crating, and i am on my high horse - but I do know a thing or 2 - for the record. I considered crating, read up about it, BOUGHT a crate.

Then I actually THOUGHT about it, and thought what a miserable existance it must be.

I'm sorry, but I bet 99% of the dog owning population who crate do not actually need to do it - it's just so the dog fits into their life easier.

It's like owning a toy - a TV - a convinent bit of fun....

If you aren't capable of removing dangerous items from your home, or locking cupboards - I worry for when you have kids.... Seriously.

Dogs might be happy sleeping in a crate - I don't dispute that fact - what I am concerned about it forcing a dog to sleep in a box, that it can't get out of, whether it has a kong/chew in or not, for 8 hours a day PLUS.

You can justify it all you like - but it's black and white - cruel.

Once again I see something that people do to satisfy themselves. If you're dog is destroying your house, you should look at those issues - not BOX it to solve the problem and save your house.

 

[Babyblue5290]

I think I'll answer the original question and not go off on the ranting about crating.

No, it's not wrong as long as you still fulfill all the responsibilities that come with responsible dog ownership.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

For me, I HAVE to crate my dog.

Although she is an adult, I still need to crate her. I have experimented with letting her have "free roam" of the house, and it didn't turn out well...

She had urinated ALL OVER my BED, from top to bottom, soiling EVERYTHING.
She ripped apart all the fish food, all over the floor (at the time, I did not have a vacuum cleaner, so the white carpet turned red) as well as the dechlorinator (which is probably poisonous)

So I tried it again, but put her in my fairly large sized bathroom. Covered the entire floor with a big satin blanket, food and water, and took out and covered EVERYTHING she could get to. She still ripped things apart, and took CHUNKS out of the door and door frame.

Needless to say...I rent...:yikes:

So, since then, I have crated her. It has kept HER safe, as well as my refundable pet deposit. :lol-sign:

She now loves her crate, and goes in there by herself. She has a top of the line bed, and is large enough for her to stretch out, stand up, and turn around.

Like I said before, I never go anywhere without her. I take her to work, and when I run errands, I take her with me, and leave her in the car. (I have a buckle harness, a fan, a bed, and toys in the car)

On the RARE occassion that I go out with a friend (Which never happens because I'm a loser and have no friends) I crate her.

I live in a studio, so I don't have an extra room to keep the dog in. But, for those of you who do, that's great! To those of you who DO have an extra room, or a hallway, and still crate their dogs, I guess I can't say much except that if you've got it-use it. I would be so grateful if I had the extra room.

Crating for more than 5 hours daily, is cruel IMO. Occassionally crating for 5 or more hours, is ok. I mean ocassionally like once a month, or week or whatever (LOL! Like me)
I don't think it's fair to the dog (and is un natural) to crate any more than 5 hours, 5 days a week..IMO

Sorry for the long post guys

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

Once again I see something that people do to satisfy themselves. If you're dog is destroying your house, you should look at those issues - not BOX it to solve the problem and save your house.

I cringed as you said this. I don't want to be seen as a bad dog owner. I am doing everything I can for my dog with what little I have. She means the world to me, and I know what's best for her.

I have looked at her issues, and I do know that seperation anxiety is her issue. I, of course, have read up on crating, and decided this was the best choice for us. I don't feel I am being selfish by doing so. I now have a vacuum cleaner, so that isn't my issue. It's her urinating everywhere that's the problem.

But like I said, I never crate her. She sleeps with me at night, goes to work with me, and everywhere else I can take her. I hope that doesn't sound cruel..??

 

[tessa_s212]

You can justify it all you like - but it's black and white - cruel.

Something that I have learned and wish more people would learn is that life is not black and white. It's not, and to say it is inconsiderate, and irrational.

If I am cruel for using a crate that my dogs LIKE to be in then so be it. Then slap a label with the big fat letters CRUEL on it.