[Jenibelle]

I want to crate training, and I know that the crate needs to be seen as the dogs safe-space. But is it okay to give the dog more than one 'spot' in the house? For example... if I kept the crate in the bedroom, is it okay to give the dog a big comfy bed in the living room? Or could the dog possibly desire the living room bed over his crate, and become distressed when locked in the crate (which would happen at night and when people aren't home)?

 

[traciek88]

I see nothing wrong with that. The dog could theoretically have a place in every room to go sit. Giving the dog more than one place typically won't undue crate training unless you stop putting them in the crate.

 

[loopyboo]

I want to crate training, and I know that the crate needs to be seen as the dogs safe-space. But is it okay to give the dog more than one 'spot' in the house? For example... if I kept the crate in the bedroom, is it okay to give the dog a big comfy bed in the living room? Or could the dog possibly desire the living room bed over his crate, and become distressed when locked in the crate (which would happen at night and when people aren't home)?

I think he'll be ok ,because my dog has three spots he goes to in the house his crate in my bed room an his bit of carpet there too an his dog bed in living room, he might have a little whine about going in his crate but once he's in there he's fine an goes to sleep , I think you should just try an see how it goes x

 

[Jenibelle]

Thank you both!

I definitely want to crate train but I saw these big pallet beds that I LOVE the look of, and definitely want one for the living room as long as it won't undermine the crate training.

 

[desmetval]

My dogs are always in the kitchen/living room.
But when they are allowed - mostly on sunday mornings - they can all come and cuddle with me in the bedroom.
There is nothing wrong with that.
But, since they are not always allowed to go in the bedroom, they feel like it's a reward or a special occasion!
I like my dogs to work a little bit extra to get these kind of priveliges!

Love xx

 

[JudyG]

I don't know about crates, but Betsy has a bed in the living room & one in our bedroom, she seems happy with this

 

[mathilda]

We don't crate but our dog rotates between around 5 places in the house, depending on who's at home, how bad his back hurts, if he prefers sun or shadow or how warm it is (in summer he likes to sleep on the stone floor in winter he's on his bed).

if you want to establish the crate as the most awesome place to be, it must be the most comfortable place in the house.
I think it is difficult though, because a crate is probaly so small that you can't give him both sun and shadow places, cold surface and warm, fluffy softness to sleep on...except if it's a very big crate.

 

[annageckos]

My boys are crate trained, but I don't have it up anymore. When I did they could chose any place in the apartment to sleep. Couch, dog beds, my bed, bathroom floor, sun spots or the crate. The crate was one of the top places to sleep for Vegas. Shorty rarely used it, but Nevada would sleep in it too by choice. I didn't have any blankets or beds in the crate, but they still loved it.

 

[jagger]

What's mine is his, every spot in the house is his. He'll go out on the deck in the evening and lay in a chair to catch some heat from the sun.

He has a kennel, uses it now and then but he's never locked in.

 

[Jenibelle]

Thanks everyone for the input!

 

[Artdog]

No need to worry about both. Crate training is handy, even if you only need it in an emergency, so it doesn`t matter if your dog `prefers` another spot, it only matters that he can feel comfortable and safe in that crate. (think about fire evacuation, hotel rooms, away from home, etc, or emergency shelter).
So if his favourite place is on a comfy bed or couch, no problem, do the crate training also.
I set up a crate for Sonic, but was too afraid to push him in, and he wasn`t doing it for treats, but I left it out, door open and sometimes tossed treats inside. Eventually, he started using it to `get away from it all` when he needed to de-stress. I ended up pushing him in one day (extremely briefly, as in, `in you go` `yay` out and go for your walk) and immediately leash and walk (which was what he really wanted), and with that pairing (crate=walk) he now runs in the crate and gets locked up for anywhere from 1 hour to 5 minutes. It`s part of his going for a walk routine. Now I know that I can get him in their joyfully for any reason. He still uses it on his own (door open) to de-stress even though he has full access to couches.
Make sure you pair `going in the crate` with something jaw-dropping wonderful (from your dog`s point of view).

 

[Jenibelle]

Great advice Artdog, thank you!