ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

Deirdre Stier
Hi, as a South African I have never read about using a crate for a dog, we in this country don't do that, can someone please explaiin exactly how this works. Regards

DISCUSSION:

ChrisL
The crate works because a dog will not mess up their living area ie the crate. The crate needs to be large enough for the dog to stand up and move around in. It needs to be small enough that the dog can not go to one end and use the bathroom, then get away from the mess by staying in the other in. A dog left in the crate too long will go to the bathroom in the crate. We use our crate when we can not be right with our dog. During the day she is never in her crate more than about an hour if we are at home. Now that she is trained, the crate is her house. She goes there to sleep, and to chew on her chewy. She sleeps in her crate at night, but if she needs to go outside she lets us know and we take her. She is 5 months and it is every rare for her to need to go out in the middle of the night. The crate is a wonderful tool for house training and also give the dog a place of their own.