By GAC's Darren Rigg

Many greyhound adoption agencies encourage crate usage. Some insist that adopters purchase a dog crate when they get a greyhound. Even a number of respected books about greyhound adoption promote crating. At the Greyhound Adoption Center, we advise against it.
Proponents of crate usage espouse that dogs are pack animals in need of a den or safe haven, which the crate becomes. Further, they say, a crate keeps a dog safe and prevents it from doing harm inside a home or hurting itself. They fuel their side of the argument by saying many animal shelters suggest crating and many dog behaviorists favor the practice, too.

Opponents see it differently. They don't argue with the idea of confining a dog, especially a puppy, for training and safety purposes. They do not, though, believe in making dogs live for extended periods in what is essentially a small box. As a matter of fact, some of those against crating argue that restricting a large adult dog this way can lead to behavior problems, rather than reduce them. They explain that the crate causes the dog to feel excluded from its "pack" family, that is teaches the dog the only den it need keep unsoiled is the box in which it is confined. The crate works against housetraining, crate opponents believe, and worse, against socialization with the family.


Crating has long been standard practice for breeders and people who show dogs in competition. It's a practical, efficient practice for keeping multiple dogs, housing them indoors and traveling with them. As the field of dog behavior counseling developed, the crate was, and still is, a tool used to help counter certain behavioral problems. For the greyhound racing industry of course, crating is essential. How else could low budget kennels keep more than a thousand dogs under control and close to the racetrack?

In light of all this, it seems reasonable to suggest a greyhound leaving a structured racing kennel for an alien home environment needs a crate to transition from track life to home life. To the contrary, experience shows this is not true.

The crate creates and maintains a vicious cycle
A crated dog doesn't have a chance to learn proper house behaviors and so, a vicious cycle begins: In the crate there is no opportunity to learn. A dog that isn't given the opportunity to learn can't learn and is condemned to make mistakes. A dog that makes mistakes must stay in the crate to "protect" the house and itself. In the crate, there is no opportunity to learn...
Far from being a den, the create becomes a prison. More sadly, the opportunity for dog and owner to form that unique human-animal bond is lost.

Why then do so many greyhound adoption sources and animal shelters insist that you crate your new dog? The answer is simple: They don't know their dogs well enough to determine which, if any, might need to be crated. The play-it-safe option is easier.

Some make money by selling crates. More importantly, they are able to avoid having to deal with so-called post-adoption behavioral issues, like chewing or destructive behavior.

The way to avoid crate usage and give a dog a quality life while counteracting behavioral issues is to adopt from an agency that gets to know each dog as an individual. Usually this type of agency - and I'm proud to include the Greyhound Adoption Center in this category -- is an advocate for the adopters as much as an advocate for the dogs in its care. Careful screening of potential adopters, education about the needs of each dog as an indivudual, and meticulous matching of the right character of dog to each home make the crating issue moot and create happy, long-term relationships for both dogs and adopters.

Crating is not the great panacea many people would have you believe. A crate should be a tool to be used only in the short-term, if necessary, and under special circumstances. I tried to come up with at least one example of those special circumstances for this article; I couldn't. Truth is - the reason people crate greyhounds is almost always for convenience.

In my more than 20 years of working with greyhounds and placing well over 4,000 of them, I have never come across the dog or the circumstances that would make using a crate necessary.

In the last issue of Offtrack, I addressed the issue of keeping greyhounds (or other adult dogs) in crates. I expressed my concern about this common practice and how, in my opinion, crating an adult dog should be a tool to be used only if necessary, in the short-term, and under special circumstances, but is not the great panacea some people would have you believe.
The response from our readers was overwhelmingly in favor of not using a crate as a permanent place to "keep" their adult canine family members, but many readers asked for individual advice on how to transition their greyhound from life in a box to life in the home.

Frankly, the numerous requests for help were overwhelming, so I decided to write this follow-up article in an attempt to assist those well-intentioned dog parents out there who want to help their dogs live "out of the box"!

It is impossible to cover every conceivable scenario, so I have to make some generalizations. However, I believe that there is a fundamental premise for eliciting any behavioral change in a dog's life, and thus the route to transitioning the dog from crate life to living room is relatively simple.

The premise is this -- it is important to quell ambiguity in the dog's mind.

Dogs are derived from pack animals that evolved in a highly structured social environment. As a result, dogs are highly emotional creatures and are "hardwired" to follow any rules, as they perceive them. They make sense of their environment as they go along and quickly satiate their desire to know what to do and how to respond in any given situation by adhering to their sense of "what's expected" -- from a dog's point of view. Therefore, causing a sudden major change in a dog's established pattern of behavior can be a huge mistake. Change has to be done gradually so that ambiguity (and thus anxiety) is minimized and new routines and behaviors become normative.


Phasing Out the Crate
The first step is to bring the crate into the center of the living area where you eventually want the dog to be when you are not at home. The absolute best place for this is in YOUR main living area -- where the family members (pack members) hang out the most. If you are using an open wire crate, versus an airline crate, place towels or blankets over its top and about one-third down the long sides of the crate. When all family members leave for long periods, continue using the crate as before, but be sure to make it a positive experience for the dog when going in the crate. Give him a chewy or pressed rawhide and equip the crate with a removable, comfortable pad. At night when you go to bed (and after the dog has had a final potty break outdoors), bring the dog and the pad from the crate into the bedroom with you. Close the door so that your dog can't leave the room; show him his pad beside the bed and encourage him to settle on it for the night. Ignore him when he tries to elicit play or attention. Be sure to put the sleeping pad back in the crate in the morning.

Start Building a Routine
The next step, perhaps five or six days following the first step, is to get the dog used to being in the crate while its door is open. You can do this in two stages. First, send the dog into the crate as you do when you are leaving the house. Once inside the crate, give him a cookie or other quickly eaten reward and walk away as though you forgot to close the crate door. Of course when the dog has finished his treat he is likely to come out of the crate right away. Ignore him for awhile. (He's already somewhat relaxed now because he was expecting a longer period of confinement). Second, make a habit of including the open crate in any indoor play interaction you have with the dog. When playing retreival games with your dog indoors, toss a toy around the room, but be sure to toss the toy into the crate a few times, too. When you are relaxing at home, give your dog a treat that takes a while to eat, or a toy that is designed so that you can stuff food or treats inside it (such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter).

Leave the crate door partially open while your dog enjoys the treat inside the crate. While he's busy, leave the house for a few minutes so that he is home alone for a short time, and when you come back, refrain from making a fuss. In fact, you should ignore the dog for a few minutes if possible, taking him out to potty after he's started to settle. Repeat this routine a few times, gradually increasing your time away until you can leave for about 25 minutes and not find the dog in a frantic state upon your return. After a few days of this routine, most dogs get the idea that being left alone inside the house is to be expected and not a cue for arousal or anxiety. At this point remove the crate door entirely (or fasten it open if it is not an airline crate).

Dog-Proofing the Room
Continue with the routine of putting the dog in the open crate when you leave, and practice coming and going more and more and for longer periods of time. Vary the length of time you are away, and always leave the dog with something to occupy his mind for the first few minutes when you leave. It often helps if you leave lots of dog toys and one or two larger rawhides littered around the floor of the room. Be sure to keep window sills clear of objects that the dog could accidentally knock to the floor while looking out the window. Fully open the blinds and curtains, and close the doors to other rooms in the home. If needed, block off access to hallways or other open rooms. Take small objects that you handle a lot, such as books, pens and TV remote controls, and put them in a safe place. Buy Nylabone-type items that dogs like to chew, handle them a lot and leave them in places around the room.

Look for Signs of Ambiguity
When you come home, notice what's been played with, chewed on, or moved. This will give you a sense of the dog's level of activity while you are away. Most greyhounds, once accustomed to your coming and going routine, settle quickly and hardly move or play much, but having things to chew on and play with will give the dog an allowable outlet for its energy or anxiety. Destructive behavior, or stress-induced soiling in the home, indicates a state of ambiguity in the dog's mind. If you find pillows shredded or doorframes chewed, etc. then go back to the point before removal of the crate door, and try to establish the new routine again. Don't punish the dog in any way for actions done in your absence. Contrary to popular belief, dogs don't do things out of spite. They simply have no choice than to try to quell stress-causing ambiguity.

After two weeks, assuming all is going well, it is time to remove the top half of the crate or take the towels and blankets from the crate. For a day or two, come and go frequently.

By this stage you should notice your greyhound sleeping by choice in his open, half-dissasembled crate (usually upside down in the "dead thingyroach" position). You should be able to go in and out of the house for short periods without the dog reacting. If this is the case, remove the crate entirely, leaving just the padded bed. While keeping the bed in the same general area, move it to the side of a sofa or wall so that your dog still has something to lean on while asleep in that famous greyhound pose. While you are at home, be sure to spend time with the dog in the parts of the house that you had previously cordoned off. Take his bed with you and use it as the indicator (along with verbal commands that you have by now established) that you want him to settle in these other areas.

By now you have most likely established in the dog's mind that he's part of the family pack -- not excluded from it by being relegated to a cage or kept apart from everyone else, and you've established new behaviors without causing ambiguity and its corresponding increase in anxiety. What's more, you'll be well on your way to discovering the true joy of sharing your life with a wonderful dog who loves you.

Darren Rigg is GAC's Director of Development and a dog behavior expert. Among his many responsibilities, Darren creates "profiles" of the greyhounds in GAC's care to help ensure the best match for both the greyhounds and their adopters.

http://www.greyhoundog.org/Faq/GreatCrateDebate.html

Darren needs to take into consideration that some greys love their crates and depend on them as a haven from other activities in the house. Sweeping generalities such as

The article also doesn't address the issue of crating for the protection of the dog or of other animals in a home.

A crate can be an invaluable tool in introducing a new dog to a household with pre-existing cats or non-crated dogs, or in a situation where there is not a good dog-proof room available in which to confine a new dog when someone is not home every minute of the day to manage the situation.

Yes, a crate can create behaviour problems. So can a leash or a collar if used incorrectly. To say that there is never a good reason to use one or they shouldn't be used because they might cause behaviour problems is just as wrong as saying that you should ALWAYS use a crate. All dogs are individuals, and there's no such thing in training as "one size (or one tool) fits all."

Brings to mind the truism that the only thing two dog trainers will agree 100% on is that the third dog trainer is completely wrong.

-Shalea

What a dumb article. There are always those out there that know more than they rest of us. I don't crate either one of mine, but I do know dogs that it is necessary. I firmly believe that a calm, cool tempement on the part of ALL humans in the household remedies a large portion of behavioral problems, but there are always exceptions, and far be it from me to tell someone what they should or shouldn't do in regards to their own property (ie, pet).

I have to disagree with this guy. Crating decisions need to be made on an individual basis. Some dogs need their crates to feel safe and some need to be crated for other animals safety. You can't treat them all the same, each animal is different and has different needs. I've seen and heard of too many tragic things happening for someone to say "just leave them ALL loose while your gone".


Denise

We crate Milky. Also Lincoln and Bear cause they are still puppies. Suzy has her couch.

A little story. When I was on vacation for a week, if I left the house for awhile, I wouldn't crate Milky. She has gotten better about chewing things and we have a trust.
After about 3 days she got so moppie and I figured it out. Dumb human as I was, she wanted to go in her crate when I left. So, I did this and she stopped being moppie and was happy.
I do agree, that it is a case by case for each dog. We never crated Annie and only crated Zeus/Suzy for a few months. We found out Suzy had severe SA and hated inclosed areas. She is fine now and that's probably why she did good racing, she wanted out of that box

I have no problem with people keeping their dogs in crates if that is where the dog is most comfortable. I've only had maybe 10 or 12 different greyhounds in my home (not all at once, of course) and none of them wanted to be in the crate. One female didn't seem to mind it but not for very long and definitely not when I left the house. Alone training was so much easier gating her in the downstairs living room.

I have very strong feelings about people who insist on crating dogs that can't handle being in them.... especially alone for long hours. It really hits a nerve to read about them finding new ways to secure the bars so the dogs can't escape after coming home to a bloody mess the day before...... drool soaked blankets, neighbors complaining about howling and whining all day long, etc., etc. All I can think is that poor dog deserves to be in a different home.

Something else I think is vital if you are going to leave your dog in a crate all day is to take the initiative to find out for yourself exactly what their day is like. None of this "well, he went in to get his treat, so he is fine" or "he didn't pee, so everything's great" business. Dogs can react quite differently when you walk out that door and at the very least, just turn on a cheap tape recorder to see what they go through.

Lastly, if your home isn't set up to have a dog living in it without keeping him caged most of the time, why get a dog in the first place? I don't buy that excuse unless you have multiple dogs or there is some behavior that requires crating, but even then, I would hope the behavior could be worked on rather than just locking the dog up every day.

Greyhounds are smart, well behaved animals. I have never had a problem (knock on wood) training them to live in my home without crates. Either way, if you ask yourself "do I know my dog is happy with the situation I put him in?" and you know deep down inside that the answer is yes, then you are probably doing the right thing.

Jenna

Good post, Jenna.

I dogsit about 10 days a month, for about 10 different dogs (never more than 2 or 3 at a time), and we have yet to have a problem leaving them all out together. Of course, I always have a get-to-know period with the dog-but after that, they just come over and settle right in.

To think that a crate can not be a very important tool for a dog is not very practical. Some dogs stress when NOT in their crate when family is gone like others (my Ty)stress when in the crate. We are in the process of uncrate training both dogs. The Lab is the harder of the two to train this way. But I have used crates for them both until awhile ago.
Tara