Hi we have a Patterdale x jack russell spayed bitch whose now nearly two.  We got her when she was six months old and she been fine with house training, puppy training etc.  Recently though, we dismantled her cage from in the kitchen as we were retiling the floor.  We decided not to put it back up and see how she got on just having her basket, toys and water in the same place. 
We take her out in our garden for wees etc before we all go to bed but nearly every morning we are coming down to a kitchen floor covered in poos!! I dont tell her off at all, just let her outside, clear it up and forget about it.  We've now decided to put the cage back up.
She does bark at night if she hears a noise but if we tell her to go to bed she quiet again.  Shes fine during the day with or without cage.  Do you think that she might be frightened of the dark as during the daytime if shes left on her own we leave the radio on?
Do some breeds of dog prefer a cage to feel secure?
Any advsie thanks
Noel :)

I think that most dogs who have a cage feel very safe in them :) My younger dog has had a cage since we got her as a pup (she's 4) and despite having a 'nice, soft' bed, she prefers to sleep in her rather small cage that only has a plastic tray at the bottom :D We daren't remove the cage (which is what we were planning to do when we got her the other bed) as she would be most upset :D :D

I suspect that your dog is very upset at the loss of her cage :)

Daisy

my dog messes out of her cage if I do not put her in there, but is clean if I put her in there. I think its a security thing as well as a dog not liking to mess in their bed, and therefore confining them to a crate means that they would mess in their bed, whereas allowing them a room, means they can mess away from their bed.

This is what our pup does, if we put her in her cage she is dry, but if we let her have the utility with a bed she messes before we come down.

I think a dog should be toilet trained with and without a crate, ours usually sleeps in crate at night, but there is the occasional night that we leave her out, and she is fine, i just think its not wise to totally rely on the crate method alone, basic training in the home needs to be used, and the crate cant be thought of as the easy route if you know what i mean?

So i would suggest that you need to train the dog as though you cant use a crate, take it out of the equation and leave it unlocked, i wouldnt take it away as she is probably attached to her own space. good luck and just be patient, it can be frustrating :)

Thats interesting to know.  We have a 1 year old girl now and we have had her in a cage (locked at night) since she was 5 months or so.  During the day she has free use of the kitchen and never wees/poos inside.  Im not planning on using the cage forever and would like her just to have a bed/blanket etc...... will have to see how she goes on