[RhodaTse]

I'm thinking of taking Charlie out of the crate to a normal bed. He seems to out grown it. I have a 24"x17" and 22" high crate, well I can't get any bigger than this because there won't be any room in the hallway to walk by.
He fits in when he curls up, not much room for him to stretch. Will he feel insecure at night? I'm still worrying about accidents(peep,poop) inside the house in the middle of the night.
What should I do? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif

 

[BeagleBabe]

Abby is in a crate that is bigger than that I believe and has been for most of the time we've had her...I crate trained her shortly after. My mother's dog is a lot bigger than Abby, some kind of shepard mix we think, weighs 60lbs and he goes into her crate, and when Abby is down their house she goes into his crate without hesitation to sleep or just relax /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif so Abby is not bothered by a bigger crate. I think she just likes knowing that is HER spot.

Other than her crate she has no bed. Lately she has been sleeping in our bed. When she does that, or even lays with me on the couch she likes to go completely under the covers and snuggle up....if she can't fit she'll try to stick just her head under covers.

If he likes to snuggle too maybe you can find him a bed that allows him to snuggle, maybe he'll feel more secure.

Abby will be two on May 15th and it's been a long time since she's had an accident in the house, and even then it was an oversight on our part. She's not one of those dogs that will pee or poop out of temper or anxiety.

Here is a picture of Abby in her crate. As you can see in addition to the mat she has a couple blankets for her to snuggle in and under, and she has plenty of room to stretch out completely.

 

[cheerio]

It is unlikely that he cannot adapt to freedom. If you put a cushion for him in your bedroom, he is is probably going to think that he has moved up in life. If you don't want him in your bedroom, simply leave the crate where it is and just take the door out. This way, if he does feel lonely and a little confused by not having his crate anymore, he can go in as he pleases...

 

[Spencer's Mum]

When I crate the dogs in the car, Spencer's just fits inside his crate. I usually leave the crates near the door at home and he will go in there and sleep sometimes. He likes his crate. What if you started out by leaving the crate there but just leaving the door open and see how that goes.

The crate that Sydney is in when we are gone is 3' x 4', it is WAY bigger than she is since she is only a 13 inch beagle and weighs 20lbs. The crate I have for her is actually for a rotweiler.

 

[ktvalentino]

We crate-trained our Sam-I-Am from puppyhood.
When he was about six months old, it was somewhat of a natural progression that we provided a dog bed for him to sleep in whenever he is in our bedroom.

He is still a crate dog, however, at the ripe old age of 12+ years; we keep his crate in the kitchen, and we often find him there if he is not in one of his other favorite places, sound asleep.

The crate also provided a safe place for him to recuperate from the two surgeries he has had in his life -- his neuter @ 6 months and a neck fenestration @ 5 years of age. We always knew that he was safe and comfortable there.

 

[kgh]

We have 3 dogs and 3 dog beds plus a crate that fits into the closet opening which realllly makes it feel den-like. Shasta always sleeps in her bed, Austin probably 70% in his bed and Megan 100 in our bed. We always put a doggie gate over the entrance to the hallway. My reasoning for this is if something goes bump in in the night, I know it is not my little darlin's. Also if one of them gets sick I also want to know about it and likewise for Austin's seizures.

 

[Spencer's Mum]

I use a baby gate at night too to confine the dogs to the upstairs hallway and our bedroom. That way they can't get into too much trouble without me knowing. They usually sleep all night anyway.

 

[Joe Johnston]

Sometimes they do outgrow things. Vinnny has gone from sleeping with us, to the loveseat and now to the recliner.

 

[RhodaTse]

Oh so true, he prefers the couch to the crate :biglaugh:
If I leave the door open, he would not sleep there instead he would hop on the couch and possess it, then starts growling at people sitting on it. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif