# Best place to put a crate?



## BlueDaisy (Feb 3, 2010)

We're bringing home an 8 week old shih-poo next Friday. We purchased a metal crate and I had thought that we would put the crate in the corner of our dining room since it has a wood floor (easier for clean up in case of accidents). But I was worried about the puppy at night because (1) I have a teenager who watches TV in the living room which is adjacent to the dining room. She doesn't go to bed until 11pm on some nights and I thought she (with the TV on or whatever) would be a noisy distraction to the puppy; and (2) I have a husband who is a huge snorer who sometimes falls asleep in the family room, kitty-corner to the dining room. His snoring could wake up the dead.

Friends were telling me to either place the crate in the dining room during the day and then move it to the laundry room for bedtime, or to just keep it in the laundry room.

Our laundry room is pretty small but it does have a door that we can close if need be. It also has a counter with floor space underneath where I usually keep all the laundry baskets - if I remove the baskets, the crate would fit in there with no problem. And it does have the benefit of being right next to the garage door that we would use for potty purposes.

But compared to the dining room, the laundry room is so tiny! And under the counter just seems like a cave whereas the dining room is open and spacious. But dogs are den animals, right? So would under the counter in a smaller room be better? During just the night or during the day as well?

And, this is probably a stupid question ... if we use the laundry room, should I put a night light in there? The dining room would have ambient light from street and house lights outdoors but the laundry room is totally dark at night.


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## momtoharley (Jan 2, 2010)

If the dog is in a crate, I don't think the size of the room matters. Curious...can your teenager take the pup out at 11, and then put the pup to bed? The pup will probably need to get up once or twice for a few weeks, so not going to bed until 11pm would help. We keep our pup in the laundry room...the room itself is small, but he's in his crate, anyway, so the room size doesn't matter. I do leave a bathroom light on down the hall so it's not completely dark...but last night I didn't do that because we had a guest, and he did fine. The light is probably more for me, than for him, LOL.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

The biggest fear of puppies is being out of sight of the pack. That's a inborn survival instinct. For puppies, anything over 8' away is like the next county. 

You'll hear the two choices....keep them close/build their trust and confidence or shut them away where you can't hear their cries (they do eventually grow out of it).

Things that help in the early crate training process are food/toys/games in the crate, and perhaps covering the crate for sleep times. Eventually, the crate just becomes a safe, secure sleeping place (no food/water/interactive devices).


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## BlueDaisy (Feb 3, 2010)

My daughter will probably be the last one to take the puppy to go potty since she's usually up later at night.

I'm wondering if keeping the crate in the dining room during the day and then moving it to the laundry room at night will help the puppy know that laundry room = bedtime? Or am I giving the puppy too much credit to know the difference?


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## Jax (Feb 14, 2010)

This may be a stupid question - but is there a reason you can't put it in your bedroom at night?( (I know you say your husband snores, but in my experience this will probalby NOT keep up a puppy). After the first few nights (and I mean literally within 3 or 4) when in the bedroom with you I find the crying usually dies off and the puppy is fine going in, maybe a whimper or two at not being able to snuggle, and then settles down. Yes, its depressing (or possibly annoying depending on how you look at it) and the puppy may scream like its being murdered the first couple nights (or, your puppy may be fine - really depends on the puppy and how you approach the crating), but it really does get better quickly. When it's only 8 weeks its very probable that the first couple nights while it gets used to trying to sleep all night its going to have to go potty in the middle of the night (even if you've removed its water a few hours before bed) - and it would be much better if you were there to hear it wake up at 4 am and be able to get it out the door, as opposed to it getting freaked out and in the habit of urinating in its crate. That, again, within a few days becomes unnecessary, as long as you don't make the middle of the night potty break a special event. (don't excite or talk to the pup much, just pick it up, carry it out, let it potty, praise it, then bring it straight back to the crate. Turn on as few lights and make as little fuss as possible, for example.)

Just a suggestion of course (and you won't be a terrible person if you can't take it howling and want to shut it in another room), but if you can stand it it's something to consider. 

My guess is the puppy will not make the association of bedtime = laundry room, but more likely laundryroom = isolation.

We have two crates because we have a large puppy that is probably going to be a large dog, and its impracticale to try to lug a 36 or 42 inch crate around the house, but yes, we have one in the living room for daytime, and one in the bedroom for night. Since you have a small dog and it is practicale to move it, I would recommend keeping it in the den or kitchen or close to where you are during the daytime


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## kabuhtu (Feb 26, 2010)

I would suggest putting the crate in an area where your family frequents. You dont want the puppy to feel like the crate is solitary confinement. Ive done a lot of research on dogs and thier crates because Cameron is having issues with relieving himself in his crate. Another suggestion is make sure your puppy knows his crate is a "good/safe place."


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## BlueDaisy (Feb 3, 2010)

My husband would prefer that the crate not be in our bedroom, which is on the 2nd story.

I'm a work-at-home mom so I'm home during the day but often working in our upstairs office on the computer. I did just get a laptop so I'm more mobile now but I still have to be in the office quite a bit during the day for other equipment.

Maybe I'll leave the crate in the laundry room for bedtime but take the crate with me around the house during the day, like into the office? I could leave the door open to it and have Oliver on a leash with me - so he'll have some leeway but can't get too far away from me and can still have access to his crate while I'm working?

And when we're all home after school/work and at night, I could leave the crate in the dining room with the door open so he'll have access to it while he plays with our family?

Does it confuse a puppy to move the crate around the house?


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

We used to move Frags crate all over; different rooms, different houses, etc. It won't bother him. I would definitely try to persuade your husband into keeping the crate in your room at night though; if it has a bottom on it, there should be no reason for an accident to leak out, and it will probably help calm the pup a lot more than being locked alone in a strange room. 

Keeping the pup tethered to you during the day is great, and it's what most people do.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Just another way to think outside the box on this one...we have purchased a fw crates used on Craigslist so that we can have them in carious places. Since our dogs go to classes via the car weekly we keep a crate in the car. We also have one in the bedroom. And we keep them in the family room as well. It just helps, with three dogs and a few fosters, not to be moving crates all the time.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

We have done very well with the crate downstairs and sleeping upstairs. The crate in the bedroom does work well if you are comfortable with it, but you don't have to.


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## mani_labradoodle (Feb 25, 2010)

We debated a lot over this when we got our puppy a cpl of weeks back.. We decided on the living / dining area so we are around him. He is there at night as well. Also we keep the fench window (that opens out to our yard) shades open during the day when we leave him alone so he can look out and not be too bored.. Looks like its working well so far..


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## BlueDaisy (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks, everyone! We had a discussion about it last night and we've now agreed to keep the crate in our dining room during the day/night. I will probably take it up with me to the office during the day when I can.

Four more days until he comes home - I wonder how many times we'll change our mind by then?


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## MarcusDolby (Feb 3, 2010)

We have a four month old shih-poo. On the first night with her, we put her in a crate in the bathroom area. She was fine. The next night she cried bloody murder. We brought her and the crate into our bedroom. No change. Then we tried the family room, not but 40 feet from our bedroom and she's been there ever since. She really likes the family room because that's where we are most of the time when we're home. It's a secure place for her because she associates it with us. You might also try keeping her crate in one area only, but then having a playpen area near you during the day time. You can buy those baby playpens from Babies R Us.


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

There's good reason to have your puppy sleeping nearby during the housetraining period. That way, you can hear him stirring around during the night and take him outside if he needs to go. What we are shooting for is "errorless housetraining" and you do need to be around him at all times to make sure of that.

Once he is sleeping through the night on his own, if he is going to sleep in his crate you can put the crate most anywhere in the house. 

BTW, the crate doesn't have to be in your bedroom even during housetraining if your hubby doesn't want the puppy in there. You can just use a sleeping bag and bed down nearby to wherever the crate is for a while. Many puppies will sleep through the night by between 10-12 weeks and some will do it even sooner than that. So it won't be for too long.

That sleeping bag will also come in handy if your pup gets some kind of stomach upset or diarrhea - most of them do get at least one episode during the first year. When it happens, you'll want to be sleeping near him ready to go so you can move him out quickly.


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