subject: Pick a Great Dog Crate to Prepare for Your New Puppy [print this page] Pick a Great Dog Crate to Prepare for Your New Puppy
When we were setting up for the new arrival of our puppy, we realized he'd require a safe place to spend the night. We'd found out about crates for dogs, but planned to thoroughly study them and determine whether it was the right choice for us.
For some it may be difficult to imagine, but when I started doing the dog crate research, I was not sure if it would be cruel for our brand new puppy. It seemed as if we were putting our dog into a compact box and then locking him away. While I recognized this could keep him out of trouble, I certainly did not want to give him the impression that he was starting life in jail, particularly when he hadn't done anything to deserve being incarcerated.
During our research we learned that, in the wild, dogs stay in dens. These dens give them their own space where no people can invade. This provides them with security as well as privacy and finding a den is a natural instinct for any dog. We decided that we needed to get a crate for our dog. Given that we wanted to have almost everything ready before we got home, we decided to make the purchase beforehand.
We located dog crates of different types and sizes. We could, of course, have bought a small crate and later change it out later on with a bigger one. However, since money was somewhat tight and we had already spent a lot for brand new puppy accessories, we decided the best deal was to buy a wire frame dog crate with a divider. This particular selection gave us an opportunity of keeping the crate small at first and then adding a divider later. The metal crate offered a lot of versatility that we wouldn't have obtained having a plastic dog crate.
Our canine is now more than 1 year old and has adjusted perfectly to his crate. We leave the door open so he can come and go anytime he desires. It is his space and we don't permit the children to go inside. We occassionally discover the cat in the crate, but the dog doesn't appear to care. He curls up close to the cat and appears perplexed as to why they're in his space.
You need to find the appropriate sized crate for your dog. Our dog now spends every night in his "bed" (for us it was a 42 dog crate) and appears pleased to be there. While he sleeps, the door is shut but he's got his toys and may play until he is ready to go to sleep. He has adjusted very well to his new dog crate and will go into it when we tell him to. I would highly recommend dog crates for just about any dog.
