This weekend was rather busy and Shoes spent more time then usual in her large crate. She has two crates, a smaller one in the front room where she goes when we need her to be safe and confined for short periods of time and another much larger one located in her room where she goes to sleep overnight and when she needs to be confined for a longer time.

Why two crates and why confine at all?  The reason for two crates is because the smaller crate  fits into the front room whereas the larger one will not.  The smaller crate is much too small for long term confinement.  She has a large dog bed by the fireplace but there are times that she wants to feel safer or just doesn’t want to be “made over” this is when she heads for her crate. It is located in the front room because that is where everyone usually hangs out. She also goes there when send “Home”. This command is used when  ” non-dog loving” people come to visit, the phone rings, or we are eating in the front room and she is begging to much. I do a lot of crafts and she is sent to her crate when I work with anything that could be dangerous to her if she swallowed it.

The large crate  gives her plenty of room to turn around, curl up, stretch out ,  and walk around  without  knocking over her water bowl. This is located in a separate room  so that the TV and our different family schedules do not interfere with her  sleeping cycle.  She has a slight  case of separation anxiety and she feel safer when in her crate. When we leave the house, if given a choice of going outside in her yard or into the large crate – she chooses the  crate every time.  The crate gives  both her and myself peace of mind. I know she is safe inside  away from other animals (we are surrounded by woods), can not get out on the road, and can not get into my craft supplies, near my houseplants, by the snake enclosure or the fish tank. She feels safe and is comfortable in her crate – you can see her immediately relax as soon as she goes into the crate.  Like many dogs she dislikes thunderstorms – she runs around the house going from window to window until I  open the door to her large crate. She immediately goes in and curls up in the corner. This is followed shortly by loud snoring noises coming from the crate.