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I have a few crating questions


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I got Bear a nice big airy metal crate, and I put it in the downstairs bathroom, facing out. That way the girls can go down and see him, and he can see them.

Yesterday I put a cushiony dog bed that fit perfectly in there. I was gone for about 3 hours total when I had to work, and he totally shredded the bed. His foster mom said that he likes to rip stuffing out of things.

Today I put a shipping blanket (like you can get at U-Haul) in the crate. He had already started shredding it before I left the house.

Does anyone have any good ideas of what I could put on the floor of his crate that he wouldn't immediately shred?

Also, when do I stop feeling so bad when he starts crying after I put him in there? I just feel so guilty! I've never crated a dog before.

He was great last night when we were all sleeping. He slept with me part of the time, with Jackie on the sofa part of the time, and next to Maya part of the time. He didn't chew on a thing. And he didn't have any accidents. So hopefully he'll grow out of the chewing stage fairly soon. I would love to not have to crate him at all.

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Here's what Pooh Bear did to his crate bed yesterday when I was at work for 3 hours. He was a busy boy!
[img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UwCpArUYi*SdQwmWD!oqYryxc0gXXjSWrR8FNMLCZrH6pC97rT7brpe9tXP6qT4xLRLiEs5tDWXm2X0ag4kitbbD7KfiuuXrju!jisEX715Gw09uBLryCTI**3cjZMjS/DCP_0007.JPG?dc=4675516940436032150[/img]

Today I put in a U-Haul moving blanket, and he didn't shred that one too badly, so that might work out okay.

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Guest Anonymous

Maybe try putting a thin sheet over the crate, It will help 2 ways. It calms dogs down because there are no distractions. Also if he can see the other dogs, he will want out to play or be with them.

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I do this as well - Ilsa will shred her bedding unless the crate is covered. Crates should be like dens - nice temperature, cozy, and feel safe. Some dogs feel threatened by being contained in a space with no "protection" from the outside world.

I know people who have several dogs and all the wire crates are right next to each other - the dogs take comfort in each other, so the crates don't need to be covered.

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I would suggest a full crate training starting slow. Look at the training sticky in the training section. There are headings related to crate training.

Some dogs always shred their bedding, some outgrow it. I would watch to see what he does with a sheet. Mine would slowly work the sheet (or anything else within reach) into the crate and shred it too.

Other things you could try are; leaving the radio on (soothing music) or leaving the tv on (mine like animal planet or anything with running gazelles :D )

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he probably shreds because it's something to do--mine all do it in their crates, and they even carry things to shred into thier crates. (argh) I just make sure it's all safe and that I approve of them shredding it before I let them have it.
Don't feel bad for crating him...I've been gone awhile but I'm sure you're crating him for the best, and if he is left out and gets hurt or into something, you'll feel much worse because you had the crate and didn't use it.

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We're all starting to get the hang of crating now.

I put a heavy-duty U-Haul blanket in Pooh Bear's crate and sprayed it with Bitter Apple spray (early enough so that the blanket would be dry when he went in there). I put a kong with peanut butter in there, a booda bone (rope with two knots in it), and another hard chew toy that lights up. He walked right in there, and only cried for about a minute. When he cries, Maya barks for a little while too.

When I got home from dinner tonight (took the night off work), the blanket didn't look much worse than it did when I put it in there. And he was being very quiet. As soon as I opened the front door, Maya ran downstairs to check on Pooh Bear.

And he's gone in there a few times tonight to get his kongs so he could have them on the futon.

So the crating is actually going real well. Kongs are the best invention ever!

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