Hi

I haven't used a crate with a dog before but all the books and websites I have been reading really advocate crating. I was going to ask my breeder about it but kept forgetting when she actually raised it with me in an email saying that as we have a young child it would be best to crate our new puppy when we get her to give her a break if my son gets a little excited.

So I am looking for advice on best places to get a crate (I have found them on ebay and in the local pet stores - ebay being cheaper but no idea on quality). They obviously come in different sizes and as our little girl is going to grow into a not so little girl I am trying to work out the best size cage to get. She is a bullmastiff so do I go for XL or XXL.

I also need advice on how you go about crating - do you put them in at specific times or do they go in when they want etc?

Thanks in advance

Kath x

What annoys me about this forum is when someone asks a genuine question they get little reply, but when a slagging match starts everyones quick to post.

Hi Kesmai

I crate my pup and have since i brought him home and i have with previous pups in the past (also with an older dog thats a thief). The pups are crated during periods where they cannot be supervised, night time and when were all out. The dogs sleep in my kitchen, others free and him crated. I believe that this is for his own benefit and mine. 1 toilet training, i have to clean his crate out in the morning if he has an accident i dont want to clean 4 dogs, floors and walls. 2 dont want him to chew anything, also for his and my benefit (blockages something harmful, although i have childlocks on cupboards) 3 used to being away from me reduces separation anxiety as hes happy to be left for several hours 4. 3 large breeds and him or even 3 adults and a puppy, rough play could lead to him being hurt. So for his safety things dont get too rough when there not supervised. 4 multi sex household.

first 2 weeks at night will be very noisy but i dont go down to them just ignore. Get up early with a routine so she can relieve herself. Dont feed too close to bedtime and let them do a wee and poo beforehand. I have a XXL crate thats perminantly up in my kitchen with a blanket and they prefer to sleep in here, doors never shut. Other beds are strewn about the downstairs but 2 of them will try to squeeze in.

Never put in the crate for punishment, gradually increase time in the crate in the daytime whilst doing chores etc and put in without fuss and let out without fuss. They can be accompanied with chew/kong/pigs ears to keep them occuppied. Either lined with vetbed, newspapers or his bed. 5min then 10 etc etc

Hope you get the jist of this as its quite rushed. Louise

Just wanted to add I bought my crates on ebay and found them to be good quality and yes, far cheaper than anywhere else !

Crates are fab for training and will give your pup it's own little space.
Even if your pup is making lots of noise you can be sure of it's safety,as long as when you go out you leave plenty
to keep pup occupied,she will soon go in on her own when tired from playing.

Louise  has explained everything for you I think I bought my 4 crates off ebay the best value being 99p a small savic crate and I only had to drive 3miles to pick it up. Got an xl one for £5.00 all 4 good quality 

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to give me the replies. I really want to do the crate thing I was just a little unsure as my previous dog didn't do it - she just went to rainbow bridge I had her 13 years and when I first got her I had never heard of crates for dogs (I was young she was an impulse buy but the best impulse I ever had).

What you have said makes sense and will give me a good start once I get her (I am trying to sort out as many things before she arrives as I can).

All I have to do now is work out where to put it - this may mean a furniture rearranging session (fun for me not so much for hubby!)

love

Kath x

I always use crates with young pups, keeps them safe and gives the other dogs a break. do they like them? yes, so long as they are used well and not used as punishment. I have a almost 13 yrs old bitch and any oportunity she would go into the smallest of crates, she loves them!

>What annoys me about this forum is when someone asks a genuine question they get little reply, but when a slagging match starts everyones quick to post.

Oh cheers Louise!  Actually you tend to find that a whole bunch of us, me included, are showing or doing family things at the weekend and the forum is busier during the week :)

Hi Kath

I'll come back with more info when I get a bit more time but in the meantime have a look at Savic crates

They are a pretty good example of a robust crate and you can generally get them secondhand on eBay if you start looking soon enough.  The problem I found with some of the cheaper crates is that the doorways are smaller and in particular the lip over which your dog has to step is quite high.  Mine have caught toes on the cheaper versions.

Savic also have the type of slide bolt/lock that prevents a canny dog from sliding it open again - not a problem I've ever had but I know that some dogs are born escape artists :)

I've not been on since this has been posted so my first opportunity! What do you want the crate for? if it is to be static in the home then it's fine to maybe not pay top price but if you want one for the car then it's worth paying top money. One of my owners had one for both occasions (rather than buying 2 as I had suggested) and then realised that I was right to say don't keep putting one up and moving it to the car as it's too much fuss so she bought another crate.

I like Croft crates, we also have Rosewood. I prefer the spring loaded catches.

Like others have said, make it the pups den, drape a blanket or something over it. Make sure that everyone knows that when the pup is in the crate that is the time it is left alone and given peace.

Good Luck.

Kath. Everyone is different but I haven't and wouldn't crate a pup alone for the night, I sleep down stairs  so he wasn't distressed or as others do have the pup upstairs with them. It also means that I can let the pup out when he needs to go, or hope to. Crates are great for separating pups and older, heavier, larger dogs, travelling, illness, time out, rest, many things but IMO not for leaving a young pup over night how ever early you get up. Best wishes.

I use Doghealth crates, slightly cheaper on ebay,don't get the plastic coated ones, mine are zinc coated and galvanised. You can get 3 door crates which the 3rd door is an up and over and lies on the top when open instead of sticking out into the room.

When it comes to size then buy a divider which allows the crate to grow with the pup otherwise the pup will sleep one end and toilet the other end which won't help with toilet training.

I bought a 2 ft crate for an adult I had got so she had her own space, the other 2 piled in too which didn't bother her, I have seen 5 in that same crate, no way would you opt to put that many in such a small crate but they like togetherness.

>but IMO not for leaving a young pup over night how ever early you get up.

I always crated mine as pups at night, when I was around so able to let them out if they cried to go to the toilet.  The time I never crated them was if I was going out for a few hours, just in case they needed to go to the toilet and I wasnt there to let them out, so those times they would have the run of the kitchen with a baby gate.

I found crating made toilet training easier.

Something to think about is the doors on the crate.

some have just one door usually in the short end.

Others have two doors in long and shorty end, giving more scope for siting.

Then there are ones that have 3 doors and I can highly recommend.

they have the two normal swing doors in one short end and the long end and also an up and over door on the other short end which means it can be lifted up and onto the top of the crate creating a den without a door that gets in the way.

Also there is travel in the car to consider where a crate is a good idea, but one big enough for your girl is rarely going to fit if you go for a straight oblong one (modern car styling means lots of curves even with big boots.

For example I can fit a 42 x 28 x 30 high standard crate in the boot are of our Discovery, but would be hard pushed to get anything larger than the 36 x 24 x 27 high in a standard estate, and that would not fit in a Hatchback.

You can get folding crates that have tapering sides, the largest would be fine for your breed, they are more expensive but gives you one you can use both in the house and in the car.

Then you have various light canvas crates, only to be used by dogs well used to crating that can be supervised or contained in a secure area (hotel rooms for example).  These are great for staying away with family or hotels as they are light.

As for standard crate size you would need at least the 42 x 28 x 30 inch high one for a Bullmastiff.

We crated our two from day 1 and the CS never made a squeak from day 1. What we did was everytime they fell asleep we crated them so they always woke in the crate. Then we let them out at once, this continued 24/7 we even have crates in the office.

When adult they would only be crated at night and the words are "bed time" out for a pee and straight in their crates.

We also made it clear to all grandchildren that in the crate was in thier "bedroom" and they were to be left alone. This has only caused 1 problem, Whistler will only sleep in his crate and one on a narrow boat is hilarious. Jake (BC) doesn't care a jot and will sleep anywhere, but unless Whistler is in his crate he has to sleep on the bed or he cries and howls all night!! (he is 4 now).

We didn't feed in the crate but we did put in water and a toy, get the biggest crate you can, we did start with a small one but it made its way into the truck, both dogs have crates large enough to lay out nose to extended tail so we need a lot of room. I did get ours from ebay, black metal collapsable with a tray in the bottom.

Good luck! we found it very easy and always knew they were safe at night.
Oh as pups they were crated when we went to the supermarket during the day but when we realsied they didnt chew they stayed in the kitchen instead.

I tried a crate for my little pup but she managed to open her mouth to bite the bars and get the bars hooked behind her teeth with her mouth wide open, she ended up hanging by her jaws with feet off the ground. Luckily I was there and by bending the bars I managed to unhook her. I hate to think what would have happened if I had not been there, she would probably have broken her jaw or worse.
I have never used the crate again, in fact it is now used for taking the occasional chicken to the vets or recently for giving a bed to an exhausted carrier pigeon to rest in complete safety.

we crate train our pups before they leave us(next to the welping box) and advise strongly that all puppy buyers have one at home and tell them the safety reasons why, friend new pup home for an hour chewed her lamp power cord while she answered the phone and the pup was thrown across the the only reason pup lived said friend is a vet and issued mouth to nose and heart compressions how many normal people can do that

I have just been on the phone to the breeder and she is going to start crate training tomorrow for me.

So I will be crate shopping tomorrow as puppy is goingto come home with me on Sunday -  eek I haven't had a puppy for 13 years I think I have forgotten all I learned about puppies its going to be so different to my laid back elderly dog!

I found that the Savic ones to be very good to start with, very sturdy and also very very good in prices, even brand new.
I have purchased a few brand new, mainly the puppy one and also the giant one(£100) and the rest were out of the friday-ad.

I personally found them to be a god send in relation to toilet training. Good luck

PAH sell Savic and their own brand is quie similar from what I can remember

I like crates and used correctly they can be very helpful for you and the pup.  I have 3 dogs from 7 months to 7 years who all still use their crates - mine are fitted under the worksurface in the utility room and it's a great way to preserve them a spacious sleep area without feeling as if I'm being overtaken by wire mesh!!  The crates are just using what would otherwise be cupboard space.  I have 2 x 42" and a 30" one and this is the area they use at night, whilst I'm out, and after walks.

Admittedly I'm over prepared with crates as I cannot be bothered lugging them about so for my most recent pup (gundog) I had one 24" in the car and another upstairs so he could sleep with us for the first few weeks.  At that time he also had a 30" one in the utilty room.  After a while we shuffled things about a bit and got him a 42" crate with a divider.  Having several size crates they can grow into means that they never have too much room to toilet in there.

Some of the companies that sell crates have some very helpful advice that is worth a read but my no 1 tip is never to put a puppy, or indeed any dog, in his crate until his needs have been met and he is sleepy (after training, or play), has toiletted, and or needs a break (from each other, to sleep, to digest food etc).  Also never allow a puppy to get distressed.  If you've got your timings right he is going in for a kip and if you hang around awhile you can wait for him to fall asleep before leaving.  As they get a bit older, and you are better able to read the signs you'll need to be less cautious but slowly slowly is the key to early success and comfort in there :)

I agree thats why we tried to always crate them as tiny pups when asleep, so they always opened their eyes in their own crate. At one time we had two at home, two in the office and 1 in the truck - 5 crate family now!!

We are moving home friday to a dog friendly designed house, they have their own crate area, their own wet room shower facility, and the washing machine & drier are in there. For HUmins!! we have a small rad over a bench to dry all wet coats, a butler sink to wash muddy boots and cockers in, plus the skylight opens so they dont get too hot in the summer, it has a rain sensor to shut if it rains so their bed's stay dry!!

The rest of the house is normal but we have gone overboard on the dogs!!

Hi Whistler

You must be so excited about your move!  I have to have a good dog room too and can quite see why it is a feature of your design.  I often watch Location, Location etc and wonder why people with dogs aren't more fussy about their accomodation! :)

We look forward to pictures of satisfied dogs please...

Mind you I watched location location and this older couple were looking forward a room for their dogs!!
Im really excited, we have underfloor heating hence the opening sky light and no underfloor under the crate area. I woke up in a panic woundering where I could put their water that would not warm! but OH had the area over the floor drain that will do.
We also had a commercial floor drain with a catch pit that collects hair ect (Yuckk) so we do not clog up the floor drain. Its decorated in blue and white tiles with a paler blue screed floor, not that they are spolit of course!

trhe funny bit is we designed a fish pool with a long "rill" the dogs run up and down the rill, running water in the garden!! fantastic. Whilst we have been away the local fox deposited in the garden and Jake BC walked in with a green ruff!! short shift out the door for him he sat on the patio in stinking isolation ignoring us until we took him home for a shower last week. All windows open gagging!