i have asked on the forum where to get a cheap quilt or duvet to put in my dogs cage and on of the responses has been

'dont put her in a cage , she might not get as stressed and not rip the quilt up .'

this is not the reason why i need a new one yes she has ripped it up but she is a staffy cross that digs in her bed to make it comfortable not because she is stressed in any way.

why do people have to jump to comclusions and then give people greif about caging the dog. :rant:

I have a cage for my cavy's..it's open all the time...unless i pop put for some thing.!
I feel it makes them feel secure, and that they have a place to go thats there own.

Also, if there pup's, then they can't harm themselfs. or chew furniture etc.!

But most of all....it's there home..and they do feel safe in there.!

jt

Hi Vikki - Asda are selling single duvet & pillow for a fiver at the moment! I'm replacing our kids older duvets with new ones, and keeping the old ones for the dog so we can replace them as they get smelly / chewed / wrecked etc. Our GSD digs in his bed too, and if he's not muzzled he chews it too. We had a dog behavioural specialist out to us, who TOLD us to cage him - we'd got rid of it when he came out of "puppyhood" but this guy said he needs to feel secure. He's only locked in it at night or if we go out, but he actually CHOOSES to go in there and sleep when we're home too. Don't be made to feel guilty about it. :)

my girls are the same the problem is is stella who mainly goes in at night and when i go out is lazy if she is out of the cage she will pee on the floor not beacuse she is bursting but because she is lazy if she is in her cage she wont.

i just feel some people judge before knowing the facts she is 7 and has always loved her cage i dont know what she would do with out it.

We just bought our Female Cavi the medium for herself, as boy has his bed, but he has taken to getting in with her and have told hubby we now need the large too.

Johnt is the large cage big enough for mummy and pups?

my large one fits both of mine in but i dont lock them in together as it is a tad small i have my EBT girl then My staffy X girl who spends most of her time in there. i would have thought the large would be plenty big enough for 2 cavi's

does this look like a dog that doesnt like being in a cage http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/vikkibiggin/Image085.jpg

and here is the result of digging around in the quilt ripping it and making it in to a nice top.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/vikkibiggin/Image087.jpg

I'm surprised you had that bad response vikki.
I asked recently about dog crates/cages ( http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=333502 ) and got nothing but positive responses both in the thread and by PM.
I've also been researching their use elsewhere and have not found anyone that has a bad word to say about them (apart from cosmetic stuff like they don't look very attractive - well whoopy doo, put a cover on!).
If your dog is happy, you carry on!

Hi Vikki, the ASDA ones sound like a good bet. When Ailsa the dobermutt used to have a dog bed (before she invaded our human one and the sofa and decided dog beds were for dogs but not her), I made a sturdy cover for her quilt and it lasted really well- so well in fact that Ive still got it. I used to fold a single quilt in half and put that in it.

To some people, the concept of the dog crate is unfamiliar and they automatically assume it is cruel to use one. When you stray from the pet forum you get folk who dont have pets or havent had experience of crate training, hence the negative comments.

We had one for Ailsa when she was a pup and juvenile and it was a godsend during the night. During the daytime, we put extension panels on it to make a big enough confined space for her so that she could play, eat and sleep - and if she desperately needed to go whilst we were out (we came home every lunchtime and still do even though she is 6 now), we put a tarpaulin on the floor under the panelled part and newspapers on top. She was fine. I wouldnt have left her confined in the crate during the day, but with the extension, we were able to give her space and still have a clean kitchen.

A lot of dogs really feel comfortable in their crates, but Ailsa was never happy if the door was closed on hers and eventually, because of lack of space, we sold it, but for anyone getting a pup or juvenile dog I would recommend it

Don't worry about it Vikki, most dogs get a lot out of having a cage to keep them safe and the people who give responses like that only show off their ignorance.

They see it as a confinement thing instead of a safety thing - I'd like to see how they would feel if they were told they can live in their house, with their roof but no walls or doors :loopy:

Vikki, if you want my tough blue fabric cover to put a quilt in, you can have it- it's sitting on a shelf not getting used and it might make your quilts last a bit longer - i made it in large for the dobermutt to lie on so it would sit comfortably in your girl's crate.

We're at Hunters Bar S11 if u're interested

and here is the result of digging around in the quilt ripping it and making it in to a nice top.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/vikkibiggin/Image087.jpg

ha ha ha the top suits her :hihi:

thanks katkin but i think she would just rip through it my nan made me a cover for her bed a while ago from some thick blue cord type stuff and it was a nightmare getting her out of it :hihi:

she is a cow bag she is 7 and i bet she has had more beds than dinners. my partner couldnt find her so on the hunt i went and found her inside the quilt in her cage he said he had shouted her but she didnt move.

well we've been using a pen to fence off an area for her bed, food and training mats with loads of playing space. she had a similar set-up at the breeders house, we leave the door open so she can go in and out when she likes, but close it at night and when we're out. she's in there at the moment, ran in after a play and went straight to bed. seems to work, we've only has little weeing accidents so far.

im a great believer of using crates for the right reasons, I hated them until i got involved with greyhound rescue and started fostering greyhounds, we used the crate for safety whilst we were out so that the new dog wasnt left mixing with our own but could still be in the same room as them. It went down a storm with every dog and when we were home wed leave the crate door open and it was always full, id often find 2 or 3 hounds squished together inside it asleep with the door open, We dont have it up now as we no longer foster and it got to the stage where my own dogs started to get possesive over it as they liked it so much. As lottie says its often ignorance that cause the negative reactions, i hated them but had never used them, its like saying you dont like a certain food having never tried it. anna.x.

I have mixed feelings on crates, mainly because many people use them incorrectly. The aim is to make the crate feel like home and for the dog to see it as a den, not to lock them inside like a prison to keep them out of mischief.

I dont think crates are a cure all, how did we go on before crates? I think they suit some dogs and not others, there would be an uproar if I posted a thread saying someone down the road was keeping a dog confined to the dowstairs loo all day whilst they were out at work, many people do this with crates.

Crates are fine for a few hours and no more. I think there was a study in a horse magazine a few years ago where they challenged horse owners to spend 24hrs in a stable. The owners went stir crazy and thought twice about locking their horses in them for longer than necessary.

I think crates are a great thing if people are told how to use them properly unfortunately Argos and pet shops dont offer this advise.

Crates are also really helpful for some cats. The more nervous and crisis-hit the cat, the more they benefit from crates, carriers or beds that allow them to be hidden. They cope better when they are in a smaller environment than when they are allowed space. Confident cats sleep on things, nervous cats sleep under or inside things.

This does not apply to true feral cats who often fail completely to cope with being restricted in a crate and it can cause long term mental harm to them in addition to the physical harm they often do to themselves whilst panicking in the crate.

My cage is so big....you could get about 5 full grown cavi's in....with room for there mates as well.....for a party..LoL

jt

vikki - the biggest 'shut up' comment you can dole out to these people is:

... but we all put our babies in cages, but nobody regards that as cruel, do they? Just because they don't put lids on cots doesn't mean they aren't cages! Dogs can just jump higher than babies

Honestly - they drive me nuts

I've been doing some gardening today - well, potting on some young plants. I decided that a spare crate made the perfect height table for my potting tray - so guess who had to occupy said crate? :rolleyes: - even though it was missing it's tray as I was using that to stand the plant pots in, there he was, taking possession of any crate erected - as per usual :rolleyes:

... how did we go on before crates?
we battered hell out of the dog with whatever it was he'd chewed in our absence :suspect:
I think they suit some dogs and not others, there would be an uproar if I posted a thread saying someone down the road was keeping a dog confined to the dowstairs loo all day whilst they were out at work, many people do this with crates.there is a thread which contains a story of a dog who is confined to the downstairs loo - but this came about as the result of a thread asking for help with housetraining - it was quickly established that it wasn't a housetraining issue at all, but a scent marking issue having too large a territory to guard whilst the owners were out - having the run of the whole house. Instead of crating as suggested, the owner tried confining the dog to a much smaller room - i.e. the downstairs loo, and the result was that the dog not only stopped the unwanted behaviour but became less nervy :)

Don't worry about it Vikki, most dogs get a lot out of having a cage to keep them safe and the people who give responses like that only show off their ignorance.

They see it as a confinement thing instead of a safety thing - I'd like to see how they would feel if they were told they can live in their house, with their roof but no walls or doors :loopy::hihi: great analogy!! they'd have a fit if you tried to take their bedroom door off ;)

thanks guys

my dog is 7 and she has always used a cgae and she adores but some people think my dogs should be by my side 24.7 now unfortunatley i cant never mind the fact i cant walk to the park with them both without someone crossing or making nasty comments about my big girl can you imagine their outrage if i took them every where with me :hihi:

vikki - stuff 'em.
You carry on doing what you know is right for your dogs - end of the day no-one knows them better than you.

if dogs were barred from less places, more of them would be used to going to more places with their people, and more people would feel the need to train them - now tell me how we wound up with the situation we currently have with dogs panicking and biting people?

I think the main problem Strix is that too many people get a dog without thinking things through.

I've been looking at a few dog rescue sites, and I'm staggered by the number of young animals (often less than a year old) offered up because the owner is off to university, or emigrating etc. Didn't they consider that less than a year ago when they got the dog?

Very few people think about the type of dog they get - they simply get what they want because they fancy it, rather than because it's the right type of dog for them, and then it's no wonder that simple basics like learning how to control the dog or bring it up properly are not followed, and that's because the owners can't be bothered to find out how.

and because they've not grown up with one the way many of us 'experienced' dog owners have?

you need a special dog fleece rather than a human duvet!

I think the main problem Strix is that too many people get a dog without thinking things through.

I've been looking at a few dog rescue sites, and I'm staggered by the number of young animals (often less than a year old) offered up because the owner is off to university, or emigrating etc. Didn't they consider that less than a year ago when they got the dog?

Very few people think about the type of dog they get - they simply get what they want because they fancy it, rather than because it's the right type of dog for them, and then it's no wonder that simple basics like learning how to control the dog or bring it up properly are not followed, and that's because the owners can't be bothered to find out how.

I think a lot of dogs are "given up on" when they reach about 6 months and become boisterous, owners keep going through the puppy stage all the biting, house training etc but then run out of steam when they are still having problems with that is now a big puppy, that looks almost adult but still thinks like a baby.
Some dogs are hard work at the adolescent stage, and young dogs can be very willful, you can be sure that they will behave for someone else as well :hihi: so confidence is lost and the dog goes to rescue.

i think i have just made my final point on the other thread http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=333699

i think i have just made my final point on the other thread http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=333699

.................

Yes we have a challenging youngster called Badger who is totally unlike any sheltie i have ever had .................................. He is a big challenge but not one i would ever give up on,