LO always slept on my bed, as did Pereg as a puppy - she would wake me and tell me she needed to pee or poo. Mainly the latter as she arrived with almost non-stop orange squits. When she was done she would come back to the bed and cry to be hoiked up again, but she never soiled the bed. That happened two years later with her epilepsy. Anyhow, when I got poor little Ziva, who "vanished" while I was in hospital, I thought no more dogs on bed, especially un-house-trained one, so I went straight to the store at the Pension - bought her a bed for the salon during the day - first dog I had ever had who had her own proper bed - and a fairly good size crate to keep in my bedroom for Ziva. Well, Baby Ziva was only with me for 11 days and I ended up with an un-weaned puppy, Tikva, "take it now" with the unspoken "or else". Tikva is doing fine. Growing and a lot heavier but still slim. She sleeps happily in her night crate although even though she will pee in it she will not poo, therefore if she needs to she wakes me to let her out. She then occupies herself while I get more sleep. But she is a mini booga and needs time out. I do not want to put her in her crate in my bedroom where she might feel deserted, so I now have a small crate in my salon where she can see me and I can see her. It is tall enough for her to stand in, in fact it is much taller than she is. She can turn round and round to get comfortable, and although she cannot stretch out to sleep, which she rarely does unless she is on the couch - she curls up and after a few minutes moaning, curls and goes to sleep. It makes it easier also when I go across to the macolet or if my neighbour is here and Tikva gets too excited. Oh, did I tell you she bites? So, open little cage, give her a biscuit, in she goes and after a moan or two she curls up and goes to sleep. I wonder why I was so anti-crates before now. But I guess I never had a small dog before. The crate in my bedroom is big enough for a much larger dog - the little one? Who knows. I have no idea how big Tikva will grow although at three months I should have a rough idea, having seen how she has grown since she came here. She can be a little evil booga but I love her all the same.
Good that she settles in the crate easily enough - and reassuring for you to know she's safe (and so are your visitors!) I've rarely used a crate.When we took on Gertie, the lurcher, she sometimes had a crafty chew of the furniture during the night. We'd booked a holiday cottage so obviously couldn't risk her doing that there so bought a folding crate to put her bed in during the night. She soon grew out of chewing and I put the crate away for many years. Then when we brought a tiny Chihuahua puppy home (Chico) I thought it would be a good idea to put him safely in the crate when he first met Pepe and Bogie in case he was scared (hollow laughter from Pepe and Bogie at the thought of Chico being scared of anything). It's put away again now, but it's there if I need it. Oh, just remembered another occasion I used it - when Jessie the cocker spaniel had a broken leg it was useful for keeping her safe.
This is my pen I use for Dottie when she's in one of her "evil modes" I put Zeus in there to keep Dottie company so she's not alone.
I'm glad your girl took to crating. That always makes it easier. Not everyone / every dog needs a crate but they can be very useful as are other methods of containment. With my breed crates are almost a must (or some other containment form) if you have multiples. They can also be useful if you keep intact dogs, most especially of opposite sexes. They keep pups safe from getting into trouble or injury if you go out. They are also a way to keep your dog safe in the vehicle. They are a necessity to me for shows as well. I've a few different kinds as well as larger 6ft kennels.
@6JRT's - I only have room for a very small crate in the salon, and where it is, is the only place it could go. Apart from anything else, the bed that Dottie and Zeus are in is gigantic compared to the one I had bought for poor little Ziva and which is now, of course, Tikva's Actually there is only one place in my bedroom for the larger night crate although I do have to shift it slightly to get to one of the chests of drawers, but that is usually just a once-a-day thing. @Bulldogs4Life - as I do not have any interior doors, a crate is the safest place for a puppy. With Pereg I already had LO and Pereg would not be parted from her. And once her epilepsy started it could have been dangerous if she had a seizure when in a crate [LO had died about a year before The Monster made its first appearance].
All of mine except Tucson sleep in crates from choice, They don't use them in the day unless in season and I need to go out. Tucson point blank refuses to entertain the idea of a crate yet was crate trained by her breeder.
@Malka yes Dottie's & Zeus's bed is super large its for GSD's but I thought it be idea for my JRT's xxx
Breagh and Mij both have a crate. They don't use them for sleeping in overnight but more for 'timeouts'. They also seem to enjoy the peace now and again. Not sure quite what we'll do with Willow the IWH
I only have doors on bedrooms and bathroom. The rest of the house is open living space type. Sometimes doors don't always work so great either. I had 2 that were fighting under the door. Most recently my youngest escaped the crate and opened the door. When we came home he had a pile of shoes, kids toys, dog toys, ect in the middle of the living room floor. So now he is in 5ftx5ft 6ft kennel. I could tell when first put in it he was looking at "how can I escape this". I like plastic the crates for shows. They are durable & can easily block the dogs vision if needed. I do use them in home some, the big ones or the big wire crates. I put the plush beds in there or simply sheets/blankets and in the 6ft kennels I use Kuranda dog beds.
Rosie, by choice, slept in a cage in the bedroom until she was two when she suddenly decided our bed was a better option. She kept that up until the beginning of this summer when she decided the sofa was a better idea. She does come in now and then, and sometimes does half the night on the sofa with the other half the bed. Not that she gets all her own way, of course
Bogie tends to play musical beds too! Sometimes he'll sleep in one of the dog beds in various rooms, sometimes it will be an armchair or settee. What doesn't change is that every morning at about six o'clock he comes into the bedroom and settles down quietly on the floor. As soon as I start to get up, he grabs one of my slippers and walks off with it.
When I finally surface I find that the mini booga has taken one of my slippers, then it is hunt the other Croc time - once she has asked and been let out of her night crate for a poo I go back to bed and do not see or hear any more from her until she hears me get up. I have no idea whether she goes to sleep in her bed or on the couch, where she has pulled the soft blanket covering over it, but she does not make a sound from once she has been let out of her night crate. She is actually in her mini crate at the moment as she was getting over-excited and needed time out. She was fast asleep until maybe ten minutes ago as I woke her going past [things to do]. She knows that I know she is awake but has not asked to come out and has flonked down again. Strange puppy.
