How to stop using a dog crate?

Are there any serious ramifications to removing the crate from the dog’s environment?

Our crate has two halves, a bottom half and a removable top half. We took off the top half first, then eventually removed the bottom half, leaving just the pad and her blanket. That worked just fine. She didn’t seem to even notice.

Why do you want to re-train her?

Yes, it’s possible. I did this with my now 14 year old dog Tilly when she was about 2 years old. We started out gradually by increasing how long she was left home alone inside her crate with the door open. Nearby was her dog bed, so you can guess where she waited for our return. Little by little, she stopped going in there all together, until one day I stored the crate away in the basement. I chose to retrain her because she outgrew chewing/destructive behavior very quickly, and I saw no point in her being confined.

My dog’s 14 and still loves her crate. We leave the door open and she sleeps in it most nights. It’s her den.

So you want to spoil the training you already gave the dog ?

I’m not sure why people on fluther ask “why would you want that” but I’ll explain…
I used the crate to housebreak her and to keep her from chewing at a young age. Now she’s housebroken and is done with her destructive chewing phase… so I’m hoping to teach her that she doesn’t need the crate, and hoping that she won’t pee in the house if I remove the crate.

Remove the crate , if the dog pees the dog pees .—its all part of having a dog ,—you could have just not used a crate and still trained her to not chew .

@dianalauren Ah. Okay. I ask because I crate trained my dogs for entirely different reasons. In an emergency, it’s really useful for them to understand commands for getting into their crate, so that you can carry them away from the situation without the risk of them running away.

It also provides them a place of security. So, for example, if you move, or if someone else needs to look after them for a short period of time, they have a place to retreat that is familiar and associated with safety.

I know my dogs get really excited when it’s bedtime and they get to snuggle down inside of the crate. One of my dogs even tugs insistently at her door if you don’t open it quickly enough.

Well, if she likes the crate and is comfortable in there, why not leave it hanging around for her to get in and out of when she wants? (I’ve never heard of using crates as a training method tho…?)