Dog Community

What size crate?

Posted : 6/28/2006 10:48:48 PM

I have a 10 month old chihuahua. He's about 10 lbs (i know he's huge but he's very tall). we got him when he was 12 weeks old and he had a huge anxiety issue. if i left the room or he couldnt see me, he would have a HUGE hissy fit. screaming, yelping. originally he spent his nights in our downstairs bathroom. its pretty big and he had a lot of room to play with his toys. he also has a stereo in there and he listens to music at night. a few weeks ago i noticed he was chewing on the base boards, cabnits and walls in there. then today he chewed thru his blanket and the stuffing was all over. so we've decided to get a crate for him. i would like to know what size i should get for him. he's 10-12 lbs i think and he wont get much bigger. he's very tall. and he's very hyper active.

Also i wanted to know if anyone knew how hard it is going to be to transfer him into the crate. He will only sleep in there and then stay in there when we arent home. I am at home during the day so unless i'm eating, he's out with me. he hasnt learned manners with food yet so most of the time he goes into his room lol he's super smart and tries to find a way to trick me into leaving, or getting up for a second or looking away so he can try to get a bite.

anyways, any advice would be great!

Minty_Pups

Posted : 6/28/2006 11:14:19 PM

A 10lb chiwuawua will fit into the smallest crate availabe at your petstore. Most crates have tags on them saying from xxlbs to yylbs, so picking the right crate shouldn't be too hard. The trick is to not give your dog TOO much room. You can also make it more comfortable by putting in a pillow and soft sqeaky toys.

Your dog won't like his crate at first, almost no dogs do. But most dogs will get attached to their crates pretty quickly. Start by just leaving him in there for 10-15 minutes. Put him in there and get out of the room. He'll cry and whine and scratch at the door, but ignore him. When he has quieted down, wait another 5 minutes or so before you go to let him out. Never let your dog out while he's whining(unless you know he has to pee), or it'll give him the message that as long as he whines, he'll be let out, and that'll just encourage the whining.

Then just increase the length of time that he's left in the crate, and pretty soon he'l lbe able to be left in there the whole day with no problems!

tricia

Posted : 6/29/2006 12:11:26 AM

Thanks!!! He knows that the hissy fits wont get him any where so after a few minutes he stops. Do you have any suggestions on a type of material for a blanket for him? he's chewed up ALL of his beds and blankets. At the moment we bought him a huge rubbermaid box and he would curl up under his blanket but now that he's eaten his blanket i dont know what material to try short of a canvass tarp lol he also has tons of bones, kongs, toys in there with him so i dont know why he doesnt just chew on them. his last bed lasted less than a week. it had a "chew proof bottom".

astaracheetah

Posted : 6/29/2006 12:33:51 AM

I don't even have a blanket or bed in Shippo's crate. He's almost 6 months old, but I still don't know if I can trust him not to chew it up and I don't want him to get into the habit, so I am waiting. I put towels in there when I first got him but he would pee on them (I think the breeder was paper training him before I told her I wanted him crate trained).