New puppy

dyan

I am not for leaving a pet unattended with things they might chew and choke on.

Initially we just gave him a little treat - of course they are so eternally hungry at that age every small tidbit was exciting.  We quickly went to the red kong (from puppy) and then to black.  Bugsy is a monster, monster chewer and didn't destroy kongs until he was older.  We had a larger size than he could really handle so there wasn't a choking hazard.  As for something soft in the crate for whatever reason he didn't destroy towels or the fleece blankets but the crate pads were like stuffies, so that was a no go.

We did use the crate to help him to understand turning 'off' he didn't come with a downtime so the crate helped.  In fact I feel confident that the crate training is why he has never ever chewed something while we have been out.   

dyan

I know he will be able to knock down baby gates..or step over them

squeeee I can't take it need to see some pictures - what is his name???????????????????????? 

How exciting!  A puppy!  You brave being you!

I think crate location has a LOT to do with a doggy liking his den.... at first I kept it seperate from my bed, and the only time CoCo went in there on her own was after her spay....she went in there to get some peace and quiet.  I only really crated when no one was home since she was "unreliable" aka chewing on everything.

Now though, I moved her crate right near my bed, and the door is never closed anymore.  She goes in her crate at night time when she's sleepy and I'm not ready for bed yet.  (Even though she has doggy stairs to my bed, for some reason, she wont go on my bed without me in it... weird... but somehow she knows it's MY bed.)  I dont keep anything in her crate except a nice comfy bed I made for her, and her favorite blanket.  (Was my throw...but she claimed it as her own.... lol.

Also, she goes in there on her own at night time when I'm lying in bed and is moving around too much for HER liking.... lol 

I didn't have a chance to read all your responses here but congratulations on your new puppy.  If you do crate I think you will be happy you did.  It's nice to want the pup to look out of the windows and come to the door but remember those are the type of things that need to be with lot's of training.   Greeting at the door almost always means training not to jump and looking out the window often leads to anxiety so when the pup is free that is find and when your not home he will have confinement.  It's a wonderful tool for saftey and potty training too.

Let's look back on this thread in 6 months and see if you still feel the same way about crates as you do now.

Good luck and have fun!