Did your puppy sign the crate contract

Didja get it in writing?

Both parties in the Great Crate Debate need to reach an agreement. Or the deal is off. Here's a new way of looking at crates from both brains.

Does the human like crates? If you are not a 'crate person,' dont use one. Simple, huh? Crates are new to the human/dog world, and there is no reason a person needs to conform to using something they dislike. We did fine without them for hundreds of years.

Does the dog like the crate? Yes, it's true that your neighbor's dog might love his 'house,' or so the neighbor enthuses. Some dogs like to peer at the world from a crate. Such pooches have signed the contract, thus making crate usage fair.

But if your dog repeatedly pees and poops in the crate, pants, drools, or shakes, moves the crate around the house 100 feet, breaks his teeth or nails trying to escape, or barks/howls for hours on end, this dog is not going to sign the contract.

Dont lie or forge his signature. This kind of dog didn't agree to, and never will agree to, the Crate Contract. Find another way to safely confine your dog. Here's the simple rule for that.

Put the pup in an environment where he can do no wrong.

We did it for decades with our pets before the dictate of Use a Crate! came our way. Ask anyone over the age of fifty how we did it.

Before we go, here are two common myths to bust.

Crates are dens. No, they are not. A den has no door. Mr. Badger, Coyote, or Wolf does not come home at night and have a door close behind him. Real dens are open, which is why dogs like to snooze under the piano, a nightstand, or your desk. Dens offer easy in-and-out at the user's whim, not at a human's discretion.

Crates are crates. No, they are not. They are cages. Because we have changed the name, making them pink or with sides as soft as butter does not change their nature. It is a cage. They look exactly like the cages at the local zoo used to transport small animals: because they are.

Crates/cages are a neutral tool. I have used them with some of my pets, the ones who signed the contract, and didn't for those who refused to sign.

I have no gripe against crates. They are tools you can use or discard to make life with the pet you love better. Not worse.

Yours in clear choices for both parties