I’m not sure if this is super controversial or not, but I know a lot of people have different opinions and views on crate training their pet dogs so I thought I would ask here! 😊

So I got a dog pretty recently. Between my husband and I, one of us are almost always home with her. But of course there are times I need to go grocery shopping, a doctors appointment, etc where she can’t come with me. We bought a doggie gate to put up in the hallway for when we aren’t home, so she can access the living room and kitchen (where her food is) but not get into any of the bedrooms, laundry room or closets to keep her away from any clothes or small objects that she could choke on or harm her.. Well she has officially gotten to the stage that she is chewing the couch and basically anything she can get her mouth on. So the doggie gate is pretty pointless now.

We have decided to try crate training and bought her a crate. We haven’t began crate training her yet because she has a vet appointment next week so we want to talk to her first about crate training, what to do, what not to do, what to expect etc. I’ve also been researching a lot about it and I have seen SO many different opinions on it so far.

• Some people think crate training is beneficial for dogs, and if done correctly it provides a safe space for their pet to go when it’s feeling stressed, anxious or scared. They say their pet loves it and is able to give them the peace of mind that their pet is safe when home alone.

• Some others say crate training has been great but the dog should not be left in the crate for longer than a certain amount of hours. (Hours varied from what I read. I read one article that said around 4 hours max, and another that said 8)

• And then there were a couple of articles I read that were completely against crate training and thought it was not beneficial - Example:

So here are some questions I have: Have you crate trained your dog? Do you feel it has been beneficial? If you are for it, what’s the max time you think a pet should be in it’s crate each day, even if every day? Do you think a dog should sleep in it’s crate at night, or should it only be used when you aren’t home? If you’re against it, why?