05/15/2023
I cannot preach this enough.
CRATE. TRAIN. YOUR. DOGS.
Crate training can literally keep your dog alive. Not only are there a million different reasons (not literally but you get it) why it’s beneficial but it can keep your dog from making an expensive and even worse, fatal mistake.
Dogs are opportunistic animals. I’m not saying that your dog who has free roamed for the past 5 years and has never chewed or eaten anything needs to be in a crate. But so many people make the choice to “see how their dog will do” or do the “hope I come home to an intact house” all because you think your dog needs to have free access to parts of your home? or puppy owners who let their puppies sleep in bed with them and wake up in the middle of the night to them on the floor and little did you know, while you were sleeping, your puppy chewed up and swallowed a toy, sock, blanket, etc.
To which you will then either find out when your puppy can’t keep anything down or p**p because that matieral have now become a foreign object blockage and now needs emergency surgery. Which could run you anywhere between $5k-$10k. And this is also hoping there are no complications and you dog makes it through. And even if you have pet insurance, why would you risk it?
Trust me, when the day comes, you will have wished you had crated your dog. Believe me, I have trusted dogs and ended up getting burned and THANK GOD those dogs lived and I refuse to make that mistake again. Would I love to be able to leave my dogs to lounge and free roam the house? ABSOLUTELY! But I know my dog and although most of the time he makes the right choices, I know every now and then he doesn’t and I care for my dog and his safety.
You and your dog are not a failure if they cannot be left free. You are a good pet owner and doing the right thing by crating your dog to ensure their safety. Anyone who tells your otherwise, ignore them.
I find it more selfish to put your dog at risk than how “cruel” it’s is to keep your dog in a crate.
Okay… rant over.
Crate training is SO important