hi all.....im considering the best way for my pup when i bring him home...to crate or not to crate train!!!...his a bullmastiff so will grow huge...is crate training something that is highly recommended?..the only time he will be alone is at night when we all in bed...as i work at home....i will be with him all through the day too, and 1/2 the week i stay at my partners, and he will join me there too!!! any advice before i go and invest in a crate?

I say crate train! I too own bigger dogs, not too huge, though. My breed is Siberian huskies and my little boy sleeps in a crate at night. He is almost full grown at 8 months old and still fits comfortably inside. I recommend crate training because it helps a great amount with house training the young pup. I own little Houdini's mother, Kieron, and so also needed to crate to keep them from rough housing during the night and shaking us all awake every five minutes. Houdini was house trained in about two weeks with the help of his crate. It helped him understand that he didn't want to soil his bed and den, so he held on as long as he could, which eventually was all night. When I let him out at night, I would excite him, making him forget about peeing right as he stepped out of the crate and rushed him outside to have a potty break. As stated about, Houdini was dry in a matter of two weeks, which was great for me. He has also learned that if he wants a break from his hyper mother he can go inside his crate where she is unable to get to him. She can stick her head in with him, but that's no fun, so she ends up walking away, leaving him with peace and quiet. These are just some of my experiences with crates and so back me up with my opinion that puppies should be crate trained. =)

-Tara

There are many plus points for a crate if used properly :)

The crate MUST be introduced carefully and so that the pup sees it as his den and not as his prison!

Once the pup goes in there of his own accord, you know you have got it right ;)

Lindsay
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Run a search using the facility in the top right hand corner of the forum page. You will find many past views on this subject.

Definitely crate train - it makes life so much easier when house training - gives your pup a 'safe' place to go to when he needs some peace and quiet and will be a real god send if you need to keep him out of mischief while you get on with other things ( but never for hours at a time !!)

thnx everyone...i think its thumbs up for the crate!!!....will go and invest in one...thnx again

I have had to use a crate with one of my boys. Please read my message on Behaviour Board, page 2, Crates/cages, not so bad. I would now recomend them to anyone and everyone.

Another thumbs up for crates.  Didn't use one on my first dog but am using one on new pup and will never go back again!

what happened on your first night with pup?......how did get around her being in the crate and wanting to reieve herself?..did u just go down during the night?

I tend to keep pup in bedroom and take it down maybe twice in the night and gradually extend the times, so that eventually the pup can last through  the night once it's muscles have strengthened. Just my way but it's easy and only broken nights for a few weeks.... avoids mess and cleaning and pup learns to not think of the house as an option for the loo. Of course we had the odd accident but expected it really.

Lindsay
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