A client recently gave me some sad news. Their dog died via a rope that blocked and cut through their dog’s intestine. This year alone, I know of three dog death events via “chewing” just in my social media circle.

Let’s get down to it. Crating your dog doesn’t only maintain the rehabilitation or obedience training it received, it keeps your dog safe

Crates are illegal

Crating your dog should be common practice. Education about crates is the goal, however. There are places in the world where crates are banned. Those places don’t have an abundance of behavioral issues. The people that live in those locations have a different dog culture. As a result, they don’t experience all the behavior issues we see. We humanize dogs so much that we forget their needs as a distinct species.

I train dogs in Central Florida. The issues with dog behavior here are complex. The dogs that arrive for obedience and rehabilitation training benefit from the structure in their homes. I own one of “those dogs.” When my dog Max is without supervision, he “gets into things.” Putting everything away wouldn’t resolve the issue. I would have to rid the house of furniture.

Chewing Stuff

A dog with severe behavioral issues is likely to have anxiety, fear, nervousness, and aggression. Chewing, for example, can be a symptom of those behaviors. The crate offers security from the dog chewing or eating an item that it isn’t supposed to have. The ingestion of objects or poisonous food is frequent under supervision but, likely when the dog is unmonitored.

The passing of my dear dog student is sad. The good news is that you can prevent this type of accident from happening to you and your dog. I’m in the business of saving lives through education.

I hope this helps someone out there!

Love,

Denise