I wonder how many people have bought a large dog cage because a friend told them how it would help keep Fido out of trouble. Well, I am here to tell you that it’s true! I’ve known a number of dogs over the years. If left all alone, these wonderful, gentle animals can cause all types of trouble simply because they are bored.
When I first started thinking about a dog crate for our puppy, a large dog cage came to mind. I knew I didn’t want to have to purchase multiple crates as the puppy grew. Dogs can be expensive to begin with and having to buy unnecessary accessories just makes it worse. So my wife and I talked to some of our friends and they recommended we try a metal crate with a moving divider. This way the dog will have the proper sized crate when he is small and it can grow with him.
Now, you’re probably wondering why this is important. I mean why not give the dog a larger area during the day while you are at work so he can play and have more space to enjoy himself? Well, there is a simple answer to this. A dog’s natural instinct (and this includes a puppy) is to not soil his den. I mean, who wants to make a mess and then have to lie down in it. If you allow your dog too much space, they will simply go to another area of the large dog cage and soil it there. Then they can play and sleep on the other side.
If you are house training a dog, you want to avoid this at all costs. You need to make sure your dog’s crate is only big enough for your dog to lie down and get comfortable and not much else. A crate is not a place to run and play, even though we have found it quite helpful to have chew toys available to keep them occupied.
Summary
Dog crates should be big enough for a dog to be able to lie down and get comfortable, but not so big that they can have an accident on one side and sleep on the other. A properly sized crate can be extremely helpful for housetraining your dog.
