By Abbie Tamber

Over and over again I hear folks say they just can’t stand the thought of putting their dog in a cage (in the dog world referred to as a crate). Why?

Don’t you have a favorite chair? Whether you are sitting down for dinner or attending classes or meetings, do you tend to sit in the same place? A crate-trained dog doesn’t simply “cooperate” by going into his crate – he seeks out his crate as a place of rest and comfort.

In general your dog should not be “banished” or “exiled” to his crate; it should be place where his family spends most of their time. Once the crate becomes your dog’s haven, it becomes portable, making life much easier for you, as your dog has a place to settle and stay out of trouble wherever he and you are.

Many folks are skeptical of the value of a crate. When many of us were growing up, crates were not used and our dogs were fine. What people forget in those days, there was someone at home during the day. There were no leash laws, so dogs tended to roam freely around the neighborhood or play with the kids outside. When our dogs came inside at night, they were tired and managed to behave themselves.

Nowadays no one is home during the day, and when family members are home, they are too busy to pay attention to the family dog. This makes a crate too valuable a tool to discard for any reason.