Getting a puppy in a week, looking for some ideas

110 lbs at 9 months. His world we are just living in it! Embrace the puppy phase because it goes by fast.

 

I have an 80lb German Shepherd.

 

That is some beautiful coloring!

 

Crates absolutely have their purpose and I’m surprised to see comments so strongly against their use. My dogs have considered the crates their “safety spot”. They choose to go into the crate on their own.

To each their own, however a crate is not some bizarre and barbaric punishment.

 

I agree. Our dog goes to her large crate in the house when she's super tired or wants to feel safe, because she knows it's her safe spot. She also travels in a Ruffland crate in the back of the 4R, always has. She is very uncomfortable in the car if she is loose in the back seat. Her being in the crate in the car is also safer for her and the other passengers in the unlikely event of an accident.

 

We have a bunch of dog lovers here, which is awesome. Maybe some members disagree on aspects about caring for their dogs but in the end we all love our pups. Our previous dog would get upset at thunder, fireworks and gunfire….she absolutely treasured her crate as a safety spot. She’d go in voluntarily and immediately feel better when stressed about those noises. Crate door wasn’t locked or even closed…the pup just wanted to feel comfortable and not stressed.

That dog also had Cushings which our vets all said gets exacerbated by stress. Why in the world would my wife and I allow her to be stressed more by her not having her crate that she loved?

And we didn’t train her to love it (same with current dog)….they chose to love the crates immediately on their own.

 

Perhaps I’ve just been lucky to own particularly well adjusted dogs who feel safe anywhere in my house.

 

I love labs. In fact we have two(4year old and 8 yearold) both chocolate. I love how you got your old man a ramp.

 

My dogs have always been extremely self and treated very well. They just happen to appreciate a crate being available.

I’m not trying to force-feed that crates are mandatory (some people come across as their opinion is the ONLY correct opinion). I’m just saying I’ve witnessed my dogs appreciate the hell out of having one available. My dogs might not go into the crates for a week at a time but they sure as hell love having them when they choose they want to be in there.

My dogs are extremely well-adjusted and do fantastic with people and being in public settings (some shithead owners can’t state that because their dogs are so unruly that they could never be taken into a Home Depot or your favorite bar). People love when we’ve brought our dogs in public. With that said, I feel pretty comfortable that I’m not a shitty dog owner. My dogs are my best friends. I think the world of them.

 

Yeah I hope I’m not that guy. And I don’t mean to paint owners who use crates as sadistic fiends. I’m fine when the use of the crate is for the dog’s benefit rather than the owner’s convenience. But I’ve seen crates used for the latter reason too often.

Edited to add:


Okay really I’m not “that guy.” Sometimes an idea pops into your head
and you just gotta follow through with it.

 

No you definitely do not. But I suspect many of us have crossed paths with people like that. I just appreciate other people who also love dogs as much as me. Even though some of us are disagreeing about aspects of raising dogs, none of us seem to be that type that stakes a dog to a rope in their yard for 16 hours per day while ignoring the poor thing. In fact, we’d probably band together to go rescue dogs being treated that way.

 

My best friend was laying across my legs when I typed that last message.

 

I wouldn’t say a crate is designed to isolate a dog. It is intended for them to have a confined space of their own but I don’t think it is out of isolation. We have a 3 year old Pointing Griffon and we still have a crate set up which he uses on a daily basis to take naps. He

I agree. We have a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon who is 3 years old. They crave attention and are beyond active. He is allowed to go wherever he wants in our house and yet chooses to take naps in his crate almost daily. Crates certainly serve a purpose for training puppies and those same crates act as a security blanket for them later on. I will also add that I’ve had dogs my entire life and my Griff is the first one I used a crate in his training. Granted the crate was in a corralled area with the door always opened however he loves it to this day.

As for car rides, he loves getting out due to his breed. I have those mats that Velcro down to the floor and seat back that can be found on Amazon. I open the back up and he jumps on in. Throw down his car blanket so he has a softer area to lay on and crack the back window a few inches and he’s good to go.

 

Ridgeback?

 

My dogs are used for hunting. They both work the field under the birds to get the game moving. When they are in the car, they are both in kennels. They jump right in the kennels willingly.

 

Yes sir. Good eye.

 

Great story telling shot...

 

Not everyone can take their dog with them everywhere they go, so inevitably they will have to "isolate" their dog by leaving their dog alone to either free roam their home alone or leave it in a crate. The only difference is how much space the dog has, and the more space it has, the more things it can get into that you may not want it to get into.

Secondary to that, not teaching your dog that its ok to be isolated in a safe space you've taught it that it's safe, is going to tremendously add to the risk of having a dog that has serious separation anxiety which then brings its own set of issues.

Very well said! and My silver lab is the kind of dog that I heard was being mistreated by being locked in a kennel all day and all I want to do is give her the best life I can possibly manage while still making sure that the bills are paid, a roof is over our head, food in our bellies and keep that sweet 4 runner full of gas to keep driving us to our adventures