Crate Vs Kennel Vs PEN - Page 2

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate them. Yes. This is my first time with show prospect puppy.  I bought two puppies from the same litter and observed both of them for about 3 months and then kept the better one and sold the other. When I had two they used to play and play in the yard all day and during night time I used to put them in crates to sleep.
Now having only one now and with the winter and snow I am not able to leave him in the yard for long time. And he too wants to be around people but leaving him inside the house takes one person to look after him all day as long as he is left free. Power cords, frocks, table cloths or anything hanging is at risk.

My other puppy also had a lot of drive but with a NO for everything he finally stopped biting the ball. And I dont want the same thing happen to this pup now. So I am trying to figure out. May be a particular schedule or plan works ??

Kacey, yes. He is a show prospect and I have plans to show him and title him. And he knows few commands like sit, stay (but will do it only if he wants), box, come etc.

Its like he either sleeps in the crate or he doesnt sleep as he always finds something to be occupied with. I have a 6X10 kennel but he figured to come out of it so I have to do some fixing. And we have a decent back yard but I am trying to manage his play time, sleeping hours and also save his drive and this is where I am seeking some expert advise.

Some say never leave a dog or puppy in a crate at a time for more than 4 hours but sometimes during nights with rain or extreme wether etc he has to be in the crate for about 6 plus hours. But I make sure he goes into the yard for about 30min to 1hr every 3 hours except in the night. I let him go around for an hour to few hours all day long based on the climate and even night I am a night owl so will take him out 12am, sometimes 1 am etc.

I heard his hips or hind legs structure may damage with extended hours of crating and I dont want to do it and I am doing everything possible to leave him free.

Thanks
Inc

I do not care if I only had two !    No running free in my home.....

That is not the proper wording..

Gives wrong impression when you start a paragraph on a dog forum with that description.>

JMO   from a dog trainer position!! I have 6 germans left and two cocker spaniels.  I have never let them  RUN in the house... I have too many years of collecting and I do not like dog smell nor hair..I spend hours just keeping the SUN room clean.  ALL the germans come in from time to time and stare at me while I cook or are on the computer and then out they go.. I have a proceedure I use and never waiver.

As you see in the picture...the butt of a cocker spaniel..in her kennel...I do not allow the dogs to RUN my home  I run it.   I do not want things broken. One TAIL from an excited gsd and down goes it all..THEY all know their command and are very well commanded immediately.  Everyone has their time with me, only once in a while inside. LAST night for 21* cold   Laredo and Abby slept in the room below...in their kennels not seen here.. I have concrete floors and tile in all but the computer room.. Notice the picture of Drakius..with the DOOR CLOSED so he could not wander off as I was on the computer...AS long as I can watch and control  they may be loose to be free in the part of home I want them in.  NO other priviledges. My son was here and his dog and Duchess ended up in HIS BED>>>>I knew that would happen..no biggy...BOTH had a bath and were clean..Usually my dogs are full of dirt , sand and wet so RUNNING free in house is not gonna happen.

YR

DOOR SHUT  as long as I cannot watch the dog..Drakius

Laredo stays in front yard in his enclosed area and has his own kennel when I let out other males..He has to be kenneled at those times/or when the Cockers are let out for their time to play and do their BUSINESS> in his area...THEY cannot be let out on three acres..I would never see them again.


Cockers end up where they DO NOT BELONG>>DUCHESS ?? have no idea what she intended...


THIS is my DINING ROOM TABLE  with  MAX on it.. I thought  my table was for the Lemon Meringue PIE>>NEVER know where they will end up if you turn YOUR HEAD for just a few seconds.!!



Oops I got caught    On the couch !!  

Our fur kids are all crate trained from little babies.  When we show they have to be quiet in their crates.  In the car they are in crates for safety.  Even if you do not crate in the house please make sure your puppy knows how to behave in a crate. 

 I am currently dog sitting a horror show. She  is not crate or kennel trained.  she is not housebroken and she has had no training!!!!  She screams like a banshee in her crate, Chews the bars acts like as A$$.  If you allow her to run in the house she pees/marks every 5 seconds so I am in a no win situation!  Can't even put her out in the yard.  She bellers so much the neighbors would kill me.   Anyhow my point is make sure your pup can be crated. saves alot of drama later in life. 

My pup is crate trained but that's my concern on how long can he stay in the crate and if his legs or hips goes bad. I have a fenced yard in which he runs and plays around and also 6X10 kennel but I usually dont use it as he is in the fenced yard. Now I am planing to move the kennel into the garage so he will spend his other time or when it is raining or bad wether in the kennel rather than in a crate.

Thank you Yellow rose and Bryn...

Earlier Post - “We Need To Read People”

www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/bulletins_read/457617.html



Where, in the original post did the person say they were raising or training Schutzhund Dogs ?

 even if you do not do the sport...EDUCATION????

 

Hmm....people make it sound more complicated than it really is....

I have 3...all altered so no issues there...all 3 sleep in the house at night in the kitchen near laundry room. I do not use crates although I do not disagree with crate training or it's usage. For my Dogs bed is their spot...if they want in they must remain on the dog bed or in their designated area..I can cook, clean have trash can on the floor none of them which includes 7 year old female, 3.5 year old male and 8 month old female will touch anything that is not given to them...I have cat food (wet/can food) on the floor that I place every day for my cat, water dish and dry food..none of the dogs would touch it...even when un supervised. The rule is simple..you stand up and start walking around..out you go...and you don't come back in for at least 1 hr. I don't let them in or out as they want/ask...if one has to go potty which my 8 month old sometimes does..she sits up looks at me and waits till I let her out which could be 1 min. or 1 hrs...once she is out and done her business she stays out for the remainder of 1-2 hrs. that way she knows she does not ask to come in, she is invited in when I want her in...standing by the door and begging which she did in the beginning will not work...
All my dogs are taught to wait on food and toys..i had my 9 year old daughter teach them that with bacon...she would place bacon on the floor and not let them touch it till they ignore bacon and focus on her..eventually that moved on to placing bacon on their paw...a month ago she placed bacon on my 7 month old puppy when I walked into the kitchen started talking to me, puppy sat there focused on us for over 10 min before she said "go ahead" that applies to toys also..dogs learn that they can not touch it unless allowed or told...just my 2 cents on basic obedience....my puppy loves to bite, pull, etc..but she does it when she is allowed and told...her drive is impressive...she just now knows when to use it. :) 
During day 2 of my females are out in 2    20 x20 pens, my male stays in the house in the kitchen...I had camera installed when I started leaving him alone in the house that took picture every 30 sec...he would walk around, sniff cat food, chew on raw hide...stay by the glass door but for most part remained in laundry area...in 3 years we had him we never had an issue....when he was 6 months (thats when I got him) he was trained "off the carpet" so he stays off the carpeted area...few times when we had someone come into our front yard I would call him across living room and let him out front door to greet visitor or bark at intruder...he is not afraid to cross the line he only does it when he knows he is allowed which would require a stranger to be present, heard or seen.

Hope thats not too much info...and it all makes sense..it is a broad question..just want to assure you that it is doable and dogs are great students you just have to make sure you are clear on your rules and expectations.

I always crate train my dogs.  I only have one dog right now, so he is free in my home and I trust him 100%. When told, he will go to his crate with no hesitation.   As a matter of fact, when was I on the road, I ended up leaving my crate in Maryland at my Aunt's house.  It was there for a year and a half and when I finally got around to picking it up, I wondered if I would have to re-crate train.  You should have seen how excited he was when I set it up!  He couldn't wait to get in and lay down, he missed it.

He moves around from spot to spot at night, but the crate is always one of the spots he chooses at some point and he naps in there during the day.  There are times that he is crated, such as when a neighbor comes over with small children.  I trust him completely with kids, it's the kids I don't trust with him.  I will not subject him to small children, unless I can control the situation, such as family.  He loves his crate and it's another tool that I wouldn't do without.  I don't have a kennel or run, so can't speak to those.

I wouldnt leave a baby in a crate for more than a couple hours ( with the exception of naps or overnight sleepin.)  I havent heard of crates causing leg problems.  I know a few breeders who keep pups in crates for up to 6 hours doesnt seem to have any ill effects.  I wouldnt do it personally but that is just me.  Ohh I've never had any luck with puppy pens in the house.  The wee devils always seem to drag it out of the kitchen and onto the living room carpet.  Crates work better here LOL

LOL, those are great pics YR.  You have a gorgeous place.

Because :if you read   THE BOOK   on  Training by Susan Barwig and RAY ,  THE FIRST CHAPTERS TELL ABOUT    PUPPY TRAINING AND THE REASON YOU TRAIN A PUP   .....


HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH   SCHUTZHUND...IF YOU DO NOT WANT SCHUTZHUND...    EDUCATION OF HOW TO TRAIN A PUPPY AND AN ADULT DOG   IS ALWAYS   NEEDED WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW PUPPIES REACT to being  put in crates.


I KNOW VERY WELL HOW TO READ PEOPLE>>> I HAVE 48 years in   PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT . OF BUSINESS ' AND HAVE MANAGED BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.


YOU can get lots of valuable information on how to train in crate  etc from any good  BOOK...THE therory and Method of Schutzhund is not only about    doing the sport.....gosh   ...TRY READING IT>>>  IT IS LIKE A BIBLE for all kinds of problems with PUPPIES   ...CRATE training is a must....for many reasons..and it was written by two people who do know about  REAL live german shepherds.  not just someone who tried something and wrote a book and never  had a german who achieved and is a working dog ...and has definate solutions on how to get a pup headed in the right direction...I cannot stand   having people read books written by so called   TRAINERS who have never had a leash on a working dog or have only trained a few pups here and there...then they write a book and it is suppose to work on GERMAN SHEPHERDS>>.   

SORRY you did not understand.

There are many reasons to use  CRATES<    PENS > and Kennels  and SUSAN BARWIG  addresses it along the way in this book....DOGS trained like SUSAN illustrates in the book are very well behaved and this book gives all the steps clear up to the SPORT ...if you want to do it...I know this op didnt ask about doing SCHUTZHUND>>>> neither do half the people here do it...either....EVEN POLICE  K9  handlers  read this  book.

YR