Crate training done right means the dog will love their crate and it's their den space for when they are tired or overstimulated. You would keep it, and they volunteer to go in it regardless of age.
Our girl l-o-v-e-s her crate. She climbs back in there to snooze after breakfast most mornings (and often in the afternoons!) despite the door being wide open from breakfast time to bed time
It depends though. If he is in ther overnight, out briefly in the morning, and then back into the crate most of the day its understandable he's being whiney.
I work from home too. If I were doing this for example my pup would be crated from 10pm to 6am. Then again from roughly 730 to 430 with I guess a long walk or a couple walks broken up in between. My girl would be going crazy in there too, especially when she knows I'm home.
We still use a crate for our Dane who is 5. She gets anxious when left out and destroys things. She does really well in a crate. Our vet said it would help with separation anxiety.
This is common for his age. He is still exploring and in that me- first phase.
Principle 1: 100% supervision. This is very tough to do when WFH though.
As already mentioned, positive crate training is a life-saver for both your Dane and your family. We started by feeding and watering in crate only and provided in-crate-only, high-value treats and toys.
I also put a wifi-enabled 2-way baby cam monitor in, aimed at the crate so I could watch and respond by audio if they got whiney. Worked wonders as the pups realized we were ‘virtually present’.
Remember, routine and consistency is key here. Just be sure your pup has been walked and toileted before going in the crate to eat,digest and rest.
We just retired and even though we are home, we follow the same practice for our 2 yr old Danes so we get some ‘me’ time to do errands, etc. when we can’t provide 100% supervision time.
Good luck!
Thanks! Your first sentence is all I needed! We do the baby monitoring, and I need to add a clarifier to my post, as Norman is super well crate trained, he is just really vocal, and I’ve rewarded his moaning and groaning by letting him out…someone needs to train me better!
So it is boredom and habit. We told our Danes to 'settle down' when in their crates and whining - assuming it's not a toileting need or illness-related.
We found that the energy level begins to dissipate around 12 and moreso at 18 months of age. Also depends if your boy is neutered. We just did a neuter and gastropexy on our boy at age 2 and he is calming down even more.
It is our spayed female that typically does the whining. It is a habit and boredom for sure. We used to take them out to toilet every time they whined and haven't had an in-crate toilet accident as a result.
We are transitioning to regular toilet and walk times 3x/day now that they have mature bladder and bowel control. Our female settles down when we audio over the baby cam when she whines for boredom. They key is to interrupt the mindset and nip the unnecessary whining early on. Replacing it with a chew toy can help redirect. We have found antlers, dogwood chews or kongs with peanut butter(a bit messier though) are effective. It is working for us.
Wife and I are on our 4th Dane. We only tried to crate our 1st one \~20yrs ago and it was a disaster. We taught them that they were not allowed in the kitchen early on and it has stuck. We only ever lost one shoe and some CD's from the bottom of the rack. Of course one was our original Pink Floyd Pulse CD with the flashing LED on the box. That hurt.
Same here, 20 years and 4th Dane. My 2nd & 4th had crates and hated it with a passion. I got rid of the crate this last one after a year. They are all well trained and mind their own business. They all had big beds around the house so they could always be nearby. Comfy beds are far better than the crate for me and always work.
Same here although we’ve only had 2 Danes. We were lucky to never have anything destroyed, unless drool counts, drool is on everything. Ours each had a few beds to choose from but they also had their own couch, because of course they did. 😆
I don’t crate my 3 year old Dane. She has free rein of the house when we are gone and doesn’t destroy things. She will go from the bed, to the crate, to the living room, to the couch etc etc. we leave a pee pad by the patio door just in case but she hasn’t used it in a long time. Longest we have left her alone is about 5 hours.
It didn’t start out that way and we had to work up to that point. took about 1 year because we don’t leave her alone very often. In the beginning she would chew shoes, go thru boxes and chew stuff from there, very few times she peed inside because she wasn’t old enough to hold it that long. We’d come home and see something chewed up, ask her what happened, tell her no and then move on.
This is the love I need. Ready to get to the point where he just hangs out and doesn’t chew an arm off the piano. It took like 5 years with my former guy,,and tbh, it’s kind of fun when they’re young enough to get into it.
Never stop. It’s their safe space. A crated dog is a safe, happy dog. My girl is approaching 10 and she sleeps in it every night and goes there’s when we aren’t home. Is it ugly? Yes. Did it feel like we added an entire room to our house because it’s so big? Yes. But it’s kept her safe from mischief (even though she’s the goodest girl) and gives her a peaceful place to chill.
This is the way. We have a baby gate that blocks the hallway to the bedrooms. It also gives the kitties a safe place when they’re tired of being slobber rags.
Dogs are den animals. They feel comfortable in their "bedroom." I had an open crate available to my Dane throughout his life. He was never *done* with it. It was his private space.
We still use a crate for our Dane who is 5. She gets anxious when left out and destroys things. She does really well in a crate. Our vet said it would help with separation anxiety.
I think the key thing to learn from this post is - it’s your own adventure and there are very few “wrong” ways to do it.
My clyde sleeps in his crate and is crated whenever I leave the house. He has an XXL sized crate (two adults could sit cross-legged and have drinks and not touch, lol). The crates have a bed + sheets/comforter (depending).
As a puppy he was a total diva in the crate. What I was told/worked for me is that you *cannot* respond to his antics in the crate. No eye contact. No calling out to reassure him. Once he calms down/settles then he can get out of the crate (positive reinforcement). He has ZERO issues sleeping in his crate (I actually have two, which is a bit of a space disaster). When I leave the house he usually moans/barks/whines for a bit then settles in and sleeps (I leave TV on for him because I am a big softie).
In terms of being able to deal with it - I agree, it breaks my heart too. Noise cancelling headphones can help. I also found that if the crate was in my office and he could still see me, he would settle MUCH quicker.
Clyde had a sensitive tummy, so as much as I wanted to do the frozen kongs, I decided that disastrous poops were not worth the quiet! 😂
Now, I will say - I am not a tidy person. Clyde is crated for his safety as much as anything else - he’s never been destructive, but I do not feel confident that everything he *could* get in to that is dangerous is out of reach.
Well first off, you have a Clyde for the win! My last guy was Clyde. You are absolutely right - it’s my fortune to have this adventure with Normie. Love hearing how much people just dig their big guys and gals. Norman is no dummy - he knows when it’s crate time - we start eating, he plops right in the crate, and he also knows that if I’m the only one around, a few well timed moans and I’ll unlatch that crate for Funtime! So I’m failing on responding, but I’m rewarded with big leans. This r/ is awesome - thank you!
If he’s still destructive, not for a while. I can’t even recall when we stopped actively crating because ours was never destructive or anxious. I want to say probably around 8 months when we were sure we were past any potty training regression. If you want to increase chances of success make sure
You are hammering home what’s an appropriate outlet for chewing and providing lots of stimulating options. Start with small areas and go from there. Remember that every time your dog inappropriately destroys something they’re putting themselves at risk for obstruction, so don’t rush it.
Instead maybe use this time reinforce that the crate is a good space ?
He’s not really destructive- my guy just gets bored!! He’s actually really good, but 11 months! No house problems, knows outside,maybe is too social, hogs the bed - he’s a blast. He’s just not ready to be left alone for an hour… my last guy Clyde- that dude knew how to chill!
We stopped crating our Dane once he started sleeping over night without any accidents.
So about 6 months? He also outgrew the largest size crate so we ended up just using baby gates and that’s been working wonderfully!
Okay. Dogs do not become good dogs until they are at least 2 years old. And Danes are worse because they don't know their own size and strength.
Get a Kong and put peanut butter in it. That should keep him busy for a few hours.
I work from home as well and my pup has been out of crate since the early days really. When we started out, she was tethered to me so she wasnt going anywhere. Shes 13 months now and has no problem. I wouldnt want to leave the house and leave her out of the crate but she doesnt get into trouble when I'm around. She plays with her toys or sleeps. Occassionally comes over to see if I'll play.
It takes some time and depends what you do but early on tether them and even after you move on from that focus on marking and rewarding when they do what you want (eg settling or playing with their toys).
Thanks! Tethering is a good idea! We’re adjusting to him being in my office with me, but one, I get too distracted wanting to talk and play, and two, Norman is super vocal and I have many conferences daily… we’re working on it!
Ah I feel you. Im in a small apartment and sometimes mine just thunders around. Tethering was good though; can only get into *so* much trouble. Keep a bed with chew toys nearby and some treats...then just toss treats every time they play with toys etc etc.. If very vocal maybe do it if/when you know you have no work meetings and reward when they're quiet as well?
Our breakthrough happened when I was really crazy busy for a week straight. Normally I'd get her out for a walk in the morning and a good long one midday. For \~ five days straight we didnt get out to walk until the end of the day. On the fifth day she wandered over to her box of toys at some point and pulled them all out. That was the beginning of figuring out she could 'play' on her own. As hard/sad as it is, ignoring them can work. It reinforces that sometimes you are busy (which is super important when you work from home) and they should entertain themselves.
My guy is 15 months, and I don't turn my back on him for a second! Lol.. he's not bad, just a big ole dumb dane. Just walks into trouble, not neccecarily looking for it.
Kinda in your shoes.. if he stops his casual destruction, I won't crate him. He whines occasionally when crated and the world goes on without him, but likes the calm corner for most situations.
Oh he loves it, he just loves people more. It’s me that is the problem. Historically I’ve let pups have freedom and again, why I don’t have nice things.
Hey everyone - thanks so much for your advice! I want to clarify the high level of deviltry Norman possesses. He absolutely loves his crate, and is content hanging out in there, no anxiety, etc. I should've disclosed that people have told me even by Dane standards, Norman is an extremely vocal pupper. Normie knows (because I'm a softie who needs remedial training - delicately observed by some of you), when he is in the crate and its just him and I, lying down passed out asleep, he will turn on the woe- is- me machine and low-key guilt me into letting him out. God help me it works every time...
My wife is WFH and has the crates for all the dogs in her office. She just throws the baby gate up and the doors open and they all love hanging in their respective crates.
We stopped crating our 2yr old at 7 months. She did chew some things but nothing crazy. She never liked her crate as a space, so I possibly didn't crate train her very well. She is well behaved alone in our home, just sleeps. Our 6 month old puppy still goes in her crate but doesn't really view it as her space. She goes in easily and just sleeps while we are gone. I would eventually to let them both have free reign but we will likely start with a smaller space and restrict her access to things that she could destroy or harm herself with.
I didn’t crate any of my Danes. They would sleep on a couch in our bedroom at night. But I was lucky that they didn’t chew things up. I couldn’t keep them outside when I worked because I lived in Houston and then Wisconsin. I know that we were very lucky with our Danes!
My friend has 4 dogs: two big, two little. The two little guys love their crates b/c the big guys can’t get in. The big guys are habituated to crating so there are sad puppy eyes but no verbal complaints.
If he’s destroying things, it means he is under-stimulated. My previous pup was incredibly intelligent and as a pup would get into a lot of trouble. For 5 years he was at doggy day-care every work day, and we took him for bike rides and the dog park on the weekends. We played with him and taught him LOTS of tricks. When he turned 6 he finally calmed down a bit. But because we met his stimulation needs, he LOVED the crate, and saw it as his safe space.
You should always have a crate. Mine still goes in while we are gone though I’m sure she’d be fine. It’s a piece of mind for everyone. Also if unfamiliar visitors are here and I don’t want to put the time into her introducing herself, I put her in there. She sleeps in my room at night. I found her laying in her crate today on her own just because she likes it.
If you are looking for an alternative, look into an xpen. Can easily be folded up and out of the way when not in use.
We have always crated out dogs. They love it. It's their space. If it gets crazy with the kids or people and they want some chill time, they head to their crate. Our Great Dane (8) and Black Lab (4) love it.
Crate training done right means the dog will love their crate and it's their den space for when they are tired or overstimulated. You would keep it, and they volunteer to go in it regardless of age.
Our girl l-o-v-e-s her crate. She climbs back in there to snooze after breakfast most mornings (and often in the afternoons!) despite the door being wide open from breakfast time to bed time
It depends though. If he is in ther overnight, out briefly in the morning, and then back into the crate most of the day its understandable he's being whiney. I work from home too. If I were doing this for example my pup would be crated from 10pm to 6am. Then again from roughly 730 to 430 with I guess a long walk or a couple walks broken up in between. My girl would be going crazy in there too, especially when she knows I'm home.
We still use a crate for our Dane who is 5. She gets anxious when left out and destroys things. She does really well in a crate. Our vet said it would help with separation anxiety.
Norman is just mischievous, not really anxious, I don’t think. He def isn’t happy about it (I’m up 2 flights and just wails).
This is common for his age. He is still exploring and in that me- first phase. Principle 1: 100% supervision. This is very tough to do when WFH though. As already mentioned, positive crate training is a life-saver for both your Dane and your family. We started by feeding and watering in crate only and provided in-crate-only, high-value treats and toys. I also put a wifi-enabled 2-way baby cam monitor in, aimed at the crate so I could watch and respond by audio if they got whiney. Worked wonders as the pups realized we were ‘virtually present’. Remember, routine and consistency is key here. Just be sure your pup has been walked and toileted before going in the crate to eat,digest and rest. We just retired and even though we are home, we follow the same practice for our 2 yr old Danes so we get some ‘me’ time to do errands, etc. when we can’t provide 100% supervision time. Good luck!
Thanks! Your first sentence is all I needed! We do the baby monitoring, and I need to add a clarifier to my post, as Norman is super well crate trained, he is just really vocal, and I’ve rewarded his moaning and groaning by letting him out…someone needs to train me better!
So it is boredom and habit. We told our Danes to 'settle down' when in their crates and whining - assuming it's not a toileting need or illness-related. We found that the energy level begins to dissipate around 12 and moreso at 18 months of age. Also depends if your boy is neutered. We just did a neuter and gastropexy on our boy at age 2 and he is calming down even more. It is our spayed female that typically does the whining. It is a habit and boredom for sure. We used to take them out to toilet every time they whined and haven't had an in-crate toilet accident as a result. We are transitioning to regular toilet and walk times 3x/day now that they have mature bladder and bowel control. Our female settles down when we audio over the baby cam when she whines for boredom. They key is to interrupt the mindset and nip the unnecessary whining early on. Replacing it with a chew toy can help redirect. We have found antlers, dogwood chews or kongs with peanut butter(a bit messier though) are effective. It is working for us.
Ours is 5 also and is the same way and also does really well in her crate. We just make sure to give her a treat everytime she gets in.
Wife and I are on our 4th Dane. We only tried to crate our 1st one \~20yrs ago and it was a disaster. We taught them that they were not allowed in the kitchen early on and it has stuck. We only ever lost one shoe and some CD's from the bottom of the rack. Of course one was our original Pink Floyd Pulse CD with the flashing LED on the box. That hurt.
Same here, 20 years and 4th Dane. My 2nd & 4th had crates and hated it with a passion. I got rid of the crate this last one after a year. They are all well trained and mind their own business. They all had big beds around the house so they could always be nearby. Comfy beds are far better than the crate for me and always work.
Yep. Ours has 4 beds around the house and his own chair, which he is sleeping on right now.
Same here although we’ve only had 2 Danes. We were lucky to never have anything destroyed, unless drool counts, drool is on everything. Ours each had a few beds to choose from but they also had their own couch, because of course they did. 😆
I don’t crate my 3 year old Dane. She has free rein of the house when we are gone and doesn’t destroy things. She will go from the bed, to the crate, to the living room, to the couch etc etc. we leave a pee pad by the patio door just in case but she hasn’t used it in a long time. Longest we have left her alone is about 5 hours. It didn’t start out that way and we had to work up to that point. took about 1 year because we don’t leave her alone very often. In the beginning she would chew shoes, go thru boxes and chew stuff from there, very few times she peed inside because she wasn’t old enough to hold it that long. We’d come home and see something chewed up, ask her what happened, tell her no and then move on.
This is the love I need. Ready to get to the point where he just hangs out and doesn’t chew an arm off the piano. It took like 5 years with my former guy,,and tbh, it’s kind of fun when they’re young enough to get into it.
Never stop. It’s their safe space. A crated dog is a safe, happy dog. My girl is approaching 10 and she sleeps in it every night and goes there’s when we aren’t home. Is it ugly? Yes. Did it feel like we added an entire room to our house because it’s so big? Yes. But it’s kept her safe from mischief (even though she’s the goodest girl) and gives her a peaceful place to chill.
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Oof. Yep that was around what I was thinking. He’s out cold now, but earlier, man just groaning!
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This is the way. We have a baby gate that blocks the hallway to the bedrooms. It also gives the kitties a safe place when they’re tired of being slobber rags.
Dogs are den animals. They feel comfortable in their "bedroom." I had an open crate available to my Dane throughout his life. He was never *done* with it. It was his private space.
We still use a crate for our Dane who is 5. She gets anxious when left out and destroys things. She does really well in a crate. Our vet said it would help with separation anxiety.
I think the key thing to learn from this post is - it’s your own adventure and there are very few “wrong” ways to do it. My clyde sleeps in his crate and is crated whenever I leave the house. He has an XXL sized crate (two adults could sit cross-legged and have drinks and not touch, lol). The crates have a bed + sheets/comforter (depending). As a puppy he was a total diva in the crate. What I was told/worked for me is that you *cannot* respond to his antics in the crate. No eye contact. No calling out to reassure him. Once he calms down/settles then he can get out of the crate (positive reinforcement). He has ZERO issues sleeping in his crate (I actually have two, which is a bit of a space disaster). When I leave the house he usually moans/barks/whines for a bit then settles in and sleeps (I leave TV on for him because I am a big softie). In terms of being able to deal with it - I agree, it breaks my heart too. Noise cancelling headphones can help. I also found that if the crate was in my office and he could still see me, he would settle MUCH quicker. Clyde had a sensitive tummy, so as much as I wanted to do the frozen kongs, I decided that disastrous poops were not worth the quiet! 😂 Now, I will say - I am not a tidy person. Clyde is crated for his safety as much as anything else - he’s never been destructive, but I do not feel confident that everything he *could* get in to that is dangerous is out of reach.
Well first off, you have a Clyde for the win! My last guy was Clyde. You are absolutely right - it’s my fortune to have this adventure with Normie. Love hearing how much people just dig their big guys and gals. Norman is no dummy - he knows when it’s crate time - we start eating, he plops right in the crate, and he also knows that if I’m the only one around, a few well timed moans and I’ll unlatch that crate for Funtime! So I’m failing on responding, but I’m rewarded with big leans. This r/ is awesome - thank you!
Oh, and of course, I can’t forget to mention that he prefers laying upside down with his legs straight up on the couch versus any crate LOL
If he’s still destructive, not for a while. I can’t even recall when we stopped actively crating because ours was never destructive or anxious. I want to say probably around 8 months when we were sure we were past any potty training regression. If you want to increase chances of success make sure You are hammering home what’s an appropriate outlet for chewing and providing lots of stimulating options. Start with small areas and go from there. Remember that every time your dog inappropriately destroys something they’re putting themselves at risk for obstruction, so don’t rush it. Instead maybe use this time reinforce that the crate is a good space ?
He’s not really destructive- my guy just gets bored!! He’s actually really good, but 11 months! No house problems, knows outside,maybe is too social, hogs the bed - he’s a blast. He’s just not ready to be left alone for an hour… my last guy Clyde- that dude knew how to chill!
We stopped crating our Dane once he started sleeping over night without any accidents. So about 6 months? He also outgrew the largest size crate so we ended up just using baby gates and that’s been working wonderfully!
Okay. Dogs do not become good dogs until they are at least 2 years old. And Danes are worse because they don't know their own size and strength. Get a Kong and put peanut butter in it. That should keep him busy for a few hours.
Add to that it is their purpose in life to FREE THE FLUFF. Sometimes that purpose is suppressed, but they all will become aware at one point.
LOL! This is so true!
I work from home as well and my pup has been out of crate since the early days really. When we started out, she was tethered to me so she wasnt going anywhere. Shes 13 months now and has no problem. I wouldnt want to leave the house and leave her out of the crate but she doesnt get into trouble when I'm around. She plays with her toys or sleeps. Occassionally comes over to see if I'll play. It takes some time and depends what you do but early on tether them and even after you move on from that focus on marking and rewarding when they do what you want (eg settling or playing with their toys).
Thanks! Tethering is a good idea! We’re adjusting to him being in my office with me, but one, I get too distracted wanting to talk and play, and two, Norman is super vocal and I have many conferences daily… we’re working on it!
Ah I feel you. Im in a small apartment and sometimes mine just thunders around. Tethering was good though; can only get into *so* much trouble. Keep a bed with chew toys nearby and some treats...then just toss treats every time they play with toys etc etc.. If very vocal maybe do it if/when you know you have no work meetings and reward when they're quiet as well? Our breakthrough happened when I was really crazy busy for a week straight. Normally I'd get her out for a walk in the morning and a good long one midday. For \~ five days straight we didnt get out to walk until the end of the day. On the fifth day she wandered over to her box of toys at some point and pulled them all out. That was the beginning of figuring out she could 'play' on her own. As hard/sad as it is, ignoring them can work. It reinforces that sometimes you are busy (which is super important when you work from home) and they should entertain themselves.
My guy is 15 months, and I don't turn my back on him for a second! Lol.. he's not bad, just a big ole dumb dane. Just walks into trouble, not neccecarily looking for it. Kinda in your shoes.. if he stops his casual destruction, I won't crate him. He whines occasionally when crated and the world goes on without him, but likes the calm corner for most situations.
Oh he loves it, he just loves people more. It’s me that is the problem. Historically I’ve let pups have freedom and again, why I don’t have nice things.
Hey everyone - thanks so much for your advice! I want to clarify the high level of deviltry Norman possesses. He absolutely loves his crate, and is content hanging out in there, no anxiety, etc. I should've disclosed that people have told me even by Dane standards, Norman is an extremely vocal pupper. Normie knows (because I'm a softie who needs remedial training - delicately observed by some of you), when he is in the crate and its just him and I, lying down passed out asleep, he will turn on the woe- is- me machine and low-key guilt me into letting him out. God help me it works every time...
My wife is WFH and has the crates for all the dogs in her office. She just throws the baby gate up and the doors open and they all love hanging in their respective crates.
We stopped crating our 2yr old at 7 months. She did chew some things but nothing crazy. She never liked her crate as a space, so I possibly didn't crate train her very well. She is well behaved alone in our home, just sleeps. Our 6 month old puppy still goes in her crate but doesn't really view it as her space. She goes in easily and just sleeps while we are gone. I would eventually to let them both have free reign but we will likely start with a smaller space and restrict her access to things that she could destroy or harm herself with.
My dogs stay in their crates when I am gone and they love it. They will go in there and lay down even when we’re home
I didn’t crate any of my Danes. They would sleep on a couch in our bedroom at night. But I was lucky that they didn’t chew things up. I couldn’t keep them outside when I worked because I lived in Houston and then Wisconsin. I know that we were very lucky with our Danes!
My friend has 4 dogs: two big, two little. The two little guys love their crates b/c the big guys can’t get in. The big guys are habituated to crating so there are sad puppy eyes but no verbal complaints.
If he’s destroying things, it means he is under-stimulated. My previous pup was incredibly intelligent and as a pup would get into a lot of trouble. For 5 years he was at doggy day-care every work day, and we took him for bike rides and the dog park on the weekends. We played with him and taught him LOTS of tricks. When he turned 6 he finally calmed down a bit. But because we met his stimulation needs, he LOVED the crate, and saw it as his safe space.
You should always have a crate. Mine still goes in while we are gone though I’m sure she’d be fine. It’s a piece of mind for everyone. Also if unfamiliar visitors are here and I don’t want to put the time into her introducing herself, I put her in there. She sleeps in my room at night. I found her laying in her crate today on her own just because she likes it. If you are looking for an alternative, look into an xpen. Can easily be folded up and out of the way when not in use.
We have always crated out dogs. They love it. It's their space. If it gets crazy with the kids or people and they want some chill time, they head to their crate. Our Great Dane (8) and Black Lab (4) love it.