Feeding In Crate - Page 1

Tried to post this in the GSD sub forum but it won't post there for some reason.

Grrrrr. Silly forum just ate my entire post. So mad.

Anyway. I will start again. I want to start feeding the dogs in their crates. Ariel has been the lone doggie for the better part of this year, and even prior to that we just had an old rescue mutt that was pretty much a sloth. With the puppies around I'm afraid that she isn't eating enough and she's starting to look thin (or it could just be that she is blowing her coat like mad). When i feed her if one of the puppies decides to go over to her bowl she just walks away.

What size crate to you use in respect to the size of the dog for feeding in the crate? I know that the rule is dog can stand up and turn around, but is that size suitable for feeding? Right now I have 4 crates. An XL Vari that is 40x27x30. I was planning on moving Ace from the Large wire crate to this one, then I have 2 450s (36x26x26) that I was going to use for the girls. One of them is already being used by Janna and I was going to use the other one for Ariel who is 75lbs. Will this be large enough for feeding? I was also considering just moving to XL wire crates, but I dislike that the door doesn't come off the wire crates since I usually take the door off once the dog(s) have been fully housebroken and are past the chewing stage.

Finally how do I coax Ariel into going into the crate for feeding? She hasn't been crated since about 6 or 7 months old. Once she was housebroken and stopped chewing things (never a real issue with her) he we stopped crating her. The babies regularly eat in their crates. Janna eats most meals in there and whenever I feed RMBs the puppies go into the crates with the doors closed and Ariel finds her own place. Oh and one last question. How can I stop the dogs from going into each other's crates? It's only really an issue with Ace, he will go into whatever crate is close and have a nap but I want him to use just his own crate. One of my old Shepherds did something similar. He was 105lbs and had the XL Vari but I would always find him cramming himself into the 450 crate. Silly boy.

Thanks in advance
cheers :o)

If your dogs are only going in their crates to eat and nothing else then what you have would work. If you planned on leaving them in there for any legnth of time I would use the 42" wire crate, this is what I use for all my dogs.

The pros of a plastic crate is that it keeps all their hair in but it tends to get one hundred times hotter inside the crate when the weather is warm, this is the reason I will not use a plastic crate. The dogs get alot more airflow with the wire.

Also if you are going to feed in the crates I would keep the doors on them closed while they are eating so they cannot be distured by one another. As far as convincing her that's the place she should eat... I would simply put her food bowl in there at feeding time and she will be rewarded with a meal when she goes in, it took my dogs 2 meal to figure at exactly where they need to be when i'm getting their food ready:-)

"How can I stop the dogs from going into each other's crates?"

I have no idea maybe someone else could answer this...

In general I'm not a big fan of crates but I have to admit they have some advantages esp. for puppies,house-training etc. I used to have a big XL wire crate for a husky mix that ate only in her crate. I closed the door so she could be undisturbed and was able to relax undisturbed after feeding time. I would suggest the biggest wire crate with door for each dog (depending on size of dog X or XL) so they can see but can't disturb the other dogs. This way they can still watch each other but hopefully learn to stay in their place, even if you leave the door open later, when they are all used to eat in their crate. I prefer wire crates for feeding because you can monitor them better (e.g. only open the door when they are finished).

I don't work outside the home so the dogs don't spend any lengthy amount of time in the crates. They will mainly be in there for eating and when they choose to go in and for travel. Once the young ones are fully house broken and not chewing I won't close the doors at night. The only other exception may be if it's raining out and I will put them in the crate to dry off before letting them roam about the house. Airflow was the main reason I wanted to switch to wire. However our winters are SUPER cold so the plastic is nice as well. maybe I will switch back and forth...ha ha, I'm totally over analyzing this. I also prefer wire for traveling since they fold down nicely when they aren't needed. I just need to convince my husband that I need 3 new crates in addition to the 4 I already have for three dogs. ha ha. As for going into each others crates. Is it a big deal? If no one thinks it's a big deal then I will just leave well enough alone.

Tingies, I was typing while you were. Great advice. Thank you. I think I will slowly switch to 42" wire crates. It's almost winter here so I have some time before it's too hot for plastic.

"I just need to convince my husband that I need 3 new crates in addition to the 4 I already have for three dogs" LOL! This reminds me... my fiance didn't think I needed new bigger crates either. Then I went away with one of the dogs to visit family and my old Roxy Pooped in the house so I told him to put her in the crate. So he did and came home from work and she was really stiff because of her arthritis (36" crate). So he had no choice but to leave her loose, well everyday I was gone she left him a pile of poop in the kitchen:-) After this he asked "when are you gonna order their new crates" Never again will I be questioned when I say we need something for the dogs:-)))

Hehe, know what you talking about winter - Northern Canada here...

Tingies....same here. Where are you? I'm in North Central BC. We have had frost already. Brrrr.

Edmonton, AB here :o)

Prince George!! We come your way 4 or so times a year!! The kids love Galaxyland and I love saying at the Fantasyland and shopping till I drop!!