Do you crate your dog? Is it cruel to crate? What are your thoughts on this issue.

All of our dogs are crated when we are not home, we feel it's safer from them. We don't have to worry about them getting into things and getting hurt.

Al doesn't get crated, after just a few days of bloody gums and wires poking into the crate i decided to leave him out and he does wonderful! (unless i leave the garbage out!)

All of my fosters have chewed up the crate and wires are now missing and when i'd get home some wires would be turned into the crate and i'm surprised they didn't puncture themselves...

i think it depends on the dog.. if they like the crate and that's their safe place then crate them.. but if they hate it and do fine out, then don't crate

Lots of good point there. We have talked about leaving the greys out when the time is right, but we can never leave the shepherds out because we would not have a home left and or they would kill each other while we were gone.

Chloe is a high prey drive pup and likes to harass and chase the kitties. Frisky is able to hold his own, but Marie runs. Right now, it's all play to Chloe, and her interest in them has waned considerably over the last year, but I'd never leave her uncrated when I'm gone. It would be too easy for the play to turn into a terrible accident.

I crate Diego when I'm gone, because he's still the new guy, and we're still learning about each other.

Tip is left uncrated when I'm gone pretty much by default, anymore. I only have two crates set up at the moment, and Chloe and Diego use those. When we start fostering again, I'll set another crate up, but Tip will still get free run of the house. He doesn't care about the kitties, and he's not destructive at all.

We don't crate our dogs at all. They've all started out in a crate until we can trust them, and they get used to their surroundings. Our fosters are crated, although since I'm home most of the time, the foster gets to stay out of the crate until I go somewhere, and at night.

But my own 5 are fine not being crated.

Some greys hate their crates, and can't be crated because they will hurt their teeth and gums trying to get out.

Rosie loves her crate , I leave the door open when Iam home. I only close the door when I will be away for awhile unless someone will be home, I really don't think she would do any thing bad if I left her out its more if something works why change it.

I have been told as soon as I leave the house Rosie goes to her crate and goes to sleep.