What do experienced dog owners think about putting a puppy in a cage at night?

i wouldnt have it any other way, all of mine as youngsters are caged at night, when theyre pAst the chewy stage ans settled into a routine theyre left out at nights ,but not until i think i can trust them ,not to damage either the house or themselves

Like Dizzy - wouldn't do any different - I find they settle much better in the crate - let them out of it and they pad around all night!!

Pam n the boys

Our 12wk old cocker spaniel puppy is keep in her crate at night. She goes in there at 9pm and comes out at 6am. She absolutely loves it in there and sleeps in there during the day. Our lounge if full of electrical cables, childrens toys and other dangers. Holly is kept perfectly safe in her crate and I get to sleep without worrying about what Holly is chewing, or indeed where she's leaving little presents :D

I would fully reccomend getting a crate - for your peace of mind if nothing else.

Fiona

My dogs sleep in crates and they love it. When I say bedtime they go and get in their crates and I just go around and close the doors. I have a 19 month old lab who I decided could be trusted to sleep in a proper dog bed instead of the crate and she was having none of it. Her crate was to be used for another dog and so for 2 nights and days she sulked. In the end she was rushing to get to bed before the other dog so that she could have her crate.
Ended up going and buying yet another crate!!!

All mine also are crated at night. That is their den and they love it.

Don't know if I'm classed as an experience dog owner - just learning as I go along!!:) Tally also sleeps in his crate at night and is perfectly happy in there. He just pootles in when it's time for a rest and sleep.

My 2 dogs are crated and I wouldn't have it any other way they love their crates and run straight to them when told or whenever they choose. I also found the crate aided in house training too. I do know of people who don't crate their dogs and both dog and human are just as happy. It's down to personal preference. :-)

The only time I used a crate before was in the car to go to a dog show, and the dog was crated while at the show, but, I got another dog who is now 13months old and decided to crate her at night, she loves her crate, I dont need to close the door now as she is trained, but, if I am going out she runs to her crate for her Kong, and lies there till I give the kong, she loves it , im getting a new puppy in April and this one will be trained the same way, I can see me having to buy another crate as I dont think Midget will let a new puppy into hers.

My dogs don't have crates as such - but they do have their beds which are sacrosanct - I don't really see there is much difference. They have a room which they spend the night in, it's small, heated, but not much room for anything more than a couple of dogs beds, which makes it not much bigger than a crate really..... During the day they can usually be found on one bed or another - two of which are in enclosed on 5 of 6 sides (one being under my desk, the other being under kitchen worktop). Admitedly I can't shut them in there - but they are part of my family, and responsible enough to be allowed to interact with most visitors. If I ever have another puppy (I tend to favour rescue dogs) I wouldn't have any qualms about using a crate -it's a safe and reliable way to accustom a puppy to a variety of strange situations while they can feel safe and unthreatend, and of course the use for toilet training is well documented.......

Fran