To crate or not to crate, that is the question!

Do you love controversy? If you do, let’s talk about crating your dog.
Opening gambit: In Finland, it’s illegal to crate a dog except for health reasons or transport. Similarly, while not strictly illegal in Sweden, it’s culturally frowned upon. And, in Sweden, it’s illegal to leave your dog alone in an apartment or house for more than six hours unless the dog has access to a window to the outside.
Counterpoint: The American Kennel Club: “Crate training is a vitally important part of bringing a dog of any age into your life and home… Crate training can give dogs a sense of security and give owners more peace of mind.”
Coming from a primarily Irish background (our family motto is “Is this a private fight, or can anyone get into it?”), this seems like a delightful argument to get into in October.
Our personal experience with crating a dog is mixed. We had one Bernese Mountain dog, “Oso,” who didn’t mind a crate. He’d go into it at night. It was his “man cave.” We left the door open because we knew he preferred to stay in it to sleep. Then, a few years later, we had the opposite experience with another male Berner, Tank. At three months old, we had to push him, close the door, and then listen to him howl the entire night. We quickly capitulated — we are weak! — and leashed him to the corner of our bed so he could be close to us. Of course, that was a short step away from him sleeping on our bed.
Since Tank, we’ve never crated a dog again, yet we understand why other dog guardians use crates. Our current dog, Toby, a Great Pyrenees, was returned to the shelter by the previous guardian because he destroyed his crate and then did some “minor” damage to the house.
The common reason guardians use crates is to puppy train. The idea is that a puppy won’t soil (pee or poop) where they sleep, so you can train the dog to wait until they are let out and let outside. Next is so that they won’t destroy the house when they are left alone for a while (we will get into how long is too long). Finally, there is the belief that because dogs evolved from wolves who spent their early puppyhoods in dens, a crate offered a dog a safe, quiet place to escape the hubbub of a noisy or stressful household (Oso would’ve agreed).
Factors to consider if you are thinking of creating a dog are, first, size: The key is bigger is better. In Sweden, for example, a crate for a Labrador would be about 38 square feet, much larger than what the ASPCA recommends in this country, which is just big enough for the dog to turn around. Next, how long? A strict guideline is not to crate dogs longer than they can hold their bladder. That is only two hours for puppies and maybe six hours for an older dog. Perhaps, like me, you will be forever haunted by the Swedish belief that over six hours in a crate (or left alone) is “dog abuse.”
Finally, be clear about your purpose for crating your dog. Is this just a temporary training solution? Is it a place where your dog can escape if she requires some “alone time” (with the door open), Or do you think this is a long-term solution — that your dog will spend much of her life, whether day or night, in a crate? If it’s this last one, the reason most likely is that you don’t want to come home from work to a home that a bored dog has ransacked. And believe me, we’ve been there. And yet, when we weigh whether a dog should be crated to protect our furniture versus letting our dogs have the freedom to roam the house, we’ve chosen the latter approach.
There’s the controversy. Reading between the lines, you get that I lean heavily on the side of not using crates as a “lifetime” solution. However, as with all disputes, the best approach is to be thoughtful and to explore the best options for both you and your dog. Do your research. Question the conventional wisdom, no matter what side of the Atlantic. You’re the one who knows what’s best for your dog — even as she stares at you pleading, no crate!

Hersch’s latest book, “Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends” is available through your local bookstore (Support your bookstore) or online.