Woof.

[mischiefmydear]

It never ceases to surprise me how prevalent crates & crate training is for dogs in Indiana. I don't feel that my life is an exception: I grew up with somewhere between 5-8 dogs in my life; I worked at a pet supply shop for almost 2 years. From Mississippi to Maryland, I don't think I new many people who bought & used crates for their dogs

Comments

[mischiefmydear]

That's interesting. I never thought about the protectiveness of a dog in relation to guarding its domain. I wonder how much of that is also reliant on the dog knowing whether they're the Alpha in the household or not, too? Like if you let your dogs walk all over you (a friend of G's for example), then they don't view their owners as the Alpha & feel the need more to protect? Whereas if a dog isn't the Alpha, that instinct may not be as strong? (This is based on our dogs... my parents always said any dog we'd have is a horrible defense because they'd lick any intruder to death.)

But if the crate is used more for house training, wouldn't that negate happy feelings? I know a lot of people who would put toys & such in the crate so it is comfy, but at the same time, if the dog is resentful towards going in there, or views it as a shameful place where they go to the bathroom, would they still view it as a den? (Like the one woman saying her dog gets in there and starts shaking things up, flipping things around when she has to go in, until the dog hears the lock flick.)