We added a dog to our house a couple of months ago. She is a 6 year old beagle.
She spends most of her day playing in our large fenced in yard with our 12 year old Chow. The Chow mostly ignores her, but has proven dominant on a couple of occasions when they argued over food.
At night they are both brought inside. The Chow roams around the house comfortably. The beagle tries to stay in the smallest room it can find, or the room I happen to be in.
I think the beagle was crated in its earlier life, and is looking for something similar now. We got it from the APA who picked her up from the street so there is no earlier information.
We have never crated a dog before. Do our dog experts believe that is what our beagle is most comfortable with from this behavior?
The biggest problem is that she puts herself in the bathroom for the night, but on a couple of occasions has broken house training there on the floor. That is something we don't want to clean up daily.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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It can be EXTREMELY difficult for people to start crating their beloved dogs, because most of us don't think it sounds like a very nice thing to do.
However, I've never heard of anyone who quit crating a dog because the dog didn't like it. Crating may take them a little while to get used to, but then they are VERY likely to walk in their crate (kennel) whenever they wish to be alone.
Your beagle is almost definitely not going to eliminate in her kennel. Make sure that she has a chance to go outside before bedtime, and that you take her out immediately when she wakes in the morning. If she does have an accident, it'll probably only take her the one time to know how much of a bad idea it was.
I met a lady last week who told me all about the dog that she used to have--the one she got for her children--and that she had to get rid of it because of the dog's behavior problems. Problems that would have been taken care of by kennel training her dog. It was very sad for me to hear.
The first time I crated one of my dogs, it nearly broke my heart. The sweetie cried, and I was pretty sure I was torturing him. However, he got over it pretty fast, and soon responded very well to the command "go kennel".
It is very nice to hear that you are looking into crate training your dog because you want to do the very best thing for her. Beagles are awesome.
Your dog might prefer a plastic kennel to wire, because she'll have a lot more privacy.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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we bought a plastic dog house for our Chow several years ago. He hated it, and after chewing up the bed, and chasing a few wasps, never returned to it. The beagle moved in and loves it, so I think you are right. A plastic crate is the way to go.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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It's kind of a "den" or "cave" to them. A place she feels safe and protected. Some dogs naturally like it better than others. If they are raised with them they are generally accustomed to it, even if it isn't their favorite place in the world. But some who haven't been crated as pups take to it quite naturally, while others hate it. It depends on the dog. But if she's shown a preference for it, it clearly can't hurt to accomodate her.
Posts: 11265 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Our Chow, who hated the plastic dog house, spends a lot of time outside in a house made of straw. As it ages it sinks in getting smaller, and he likes it better that way. Of course, if it starts to fall down, we get new straw and start all over.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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