OP, please know that I'm not being judgemental when I say this, but I am a "preacher" when it comes to the fact that any dog needs to be *comfortable* being in a crate. I'm not saying 24/7, or in a puppy mill type situation, but think about the following:
1)dog has to recover at vet's or at home long term, usually activity is restricted and crate use is recommended (cage at the vet's, but that's usually the size/shape of a crate)
2)something happens to you and somebody else is suddenly "in charge" of your dog, if the dog is used to his or her crate, the transition will be much easier for each of them
3)in a multipet household pets need to be seperated for behavioral or medical reasons
4)in case of travel (car, plane) or hotel stays
Not all of life is predictable, but knowing that your dog will be safe and sound and in a familiar environment can give you great peace of mind. We have individual crates for each of our four house dogs. The doors stay open when we are home, and they will actually often choose on their own willingly to go and lay in one (sometimes their own, sometimes not). We also feed in them so that no fighting could ever occur. To each of them it is their "safe" place.
If your dog has had "bad" experiences with a crate, this can be overcome with treats and toys given specifically at crate time, as well as feeding them in the crate. We also NEVER reprimand or raise our voices to them when they are in their crates.
Lecture over
Here's Olive, in her crate, by choice:
Terri
