Vent: I always argued that crate training was cruel, but a shelter volunteer's insight flipped my view.

Seeing how a safe den space reduced a rescued dog's anxiety night after night made me reconsider. Isn't it more about providing security than confinement?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamiemurphy5h ago

Den not a cage, that phrase always gets me. I had a buddy who was so against crates he'd rather let his dog chew through drywall every night. Then he saw my rescue pup curl up in hers voluntarily and suddenly it's all about 'canine instinct'. People love to judge without seeing the context, you know? Like, sure, if you're locking them in for hours on end it's awful, but as a safe space it's totally different. Funny how perspective shifts when you actually witness the comfort it brings.

kellyjones10h ago

Yeah, it's a den, not a cage.

anthony_campbell884h ago

My friend was convinced crates were just fancy jail cells until her spaniel started dragging his bedding into his every afternoon for a nap. She'd find him in there, door swinging free, snoring like a chainsaw. Now she calls it his "studio apartment" and gets oddly defensive if anyone questions it. The dog basically did his own interior design.