Six Reasons You May Need a Crate While Tracking - Page 1

I am currently doing tracking with my 7 year old male, and my 2 year old showline female.

She's young, she's drivey and a bit of an idiot. She hates to be left alone in the car while I work Ranger.

At home, she likes to sleep in her size 500 crate, which is in my bedroom. Now, as those of you who have this size of crate will appreciate, it's a bit of a chore to disassemble it and lug it down 2 flights of stairs to the car so you have somewhere to keep one dog while working the other.  Also, it's not like I have to go a great distance from home to find somewhere suitable to track. There are several really good spots less than 5 minutes from my front door.

So, this morning, being rather pressed for time, I put both dogs in the car, and headed off to the local fairgrounds for a bit of practise.

During the 15 or so minutes it took me to lay a track for Ranger, and have him do the track, Star did the following:

1) Removed the dried liver treat bag from my tracking packsack, and tried to eat it. Fortunately, I caught her before she succeeded in getting it open.

2) Knocked the car keys down between the seat and centre console, where they were a PITA to retrieve.

3) Locked all the car doors. Fortunately, I had the windows quite wide open, as it was hot today. However, I will NOT leave the keys in the car again. Lesson learned!

4) Chewed on the top of a 2 litre water bottle. Fortunately, she did NOT get the top off, as she did on one previous occasion.

5) Re-arranged my side view mirror, so it was pointing inwards.

6) Jumped out of the open car window. At least she had the courtesy to wait until Ranger and I had finished the track before doing this.

Needless to say, I am now looking for a more portable crate that I can take with me when I track....

At least she didn't chew the seats.  

I have the largest size of these...

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751213

And it is light and very easy to move around by myself.  

at least she didn't knock your car out of gear for it to start rolling :)  I have had that happen, thankfully there was a wooden beam about 2ft in front of the car to stop it from moving

A friend of mines, collie, used to honk the horn while were tracking her other dog!! 

Wow, I will never complain to my self about lugging Hero's crate again...........Thanks for the warning...

You might check out the foldable wire crates, they carry quite easily, like a suitcase.

TT, that's what I'm thinking of purchasing. The plastic crate isn't heavy to move, it's just awkward to get around corners and up and down stairs without bashing the paint off the walls. Also, with it sticking out in front of me, I can't see where I'm going, which helps increase the damage!

I just need to find the right size. My late husband bought a HUGE collapsible wire crate for my previous dog. It will not fit inside my SUV, no matter which way I turn it, and it's too heavy for me to lift onto the roof rack by myself. So, I've got a few things to check out before buying, other than just how well my dog fits into it!

My dog was screaming so loud while I was laying his track that the police showed up. The neighbors (half a mile away) had called 911 to report a coyote in distress.
I also learned my lesson never to have a dog uncrated during protection. Headliner gone, steering wheel chewed up. window roller down thingy demolished, seats chewed.

YIKES, Changer!  What did they say when they found out it was your dog?  

Thank God Star isn't THAT crazy, though she does cry pitifully as I'm headed away from the car (or the house). She stops fairly soon, though, once she realizes I'm not coming back.