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an extra large crate that could probably comfortably hold 3 Boxers curled up together. After I fed Tango in his crate, gave him toys there and taught him that it was HIS personal space (which took less than a day) he immediately fell in love with his crate. Holly fell in love with Tango's crate too, and I often found the two of them in there curled up asleep or chewing on their bones.

When Tango was 6 months old, he was stolen from our yard. I searched for him for weeks on end before giving up, and Holly enjoyed having a king sized bedroom all to herself. She spent almost all of her time in the crate, and when I would get their food ready, she would rush into the crate and sit there looking at me, waiting for her dinner.

A few weeks ago, Sookie, Tango's sister was born and we brought her home. Great Pyrenees are a breed of livestock guardian dog, and Sookie's parents are working dogs. As a result, she was born in a barn in the midst of a herd of goats. The full extent of her human contact was to see the owner come feed and pat Mom and Dad a couple of times a day, until the day she was brought to us, so she was pretty wary of humans. When I brought her inside, she instantly, and I do mean instantly, ran inside of the big crate. She innately recognized a den and felt safe there where she was protected and yet could watch what was going on around her.

After a couple of days, Sookie would venture out of the crate while we were sitting down, but as soon as someone stood up or walked into the room, she would zip right back into the crate and peer at us through the wires. I was only allowed to touch her through those wires at first because only when I would lay on the floor outside of the crate was the brave enough to sniff my hand.

Now Sookie is more than comfortable around people and she is always laying in whatever room we are in, although she is still crated at night. Her fondness for the crate has faded as her extremely strong bonding instincts have kicked in, but it is still the safe spot where she takes her goodies. She also runs to it when I vacuum, and when it's time for a meal. Holly still spends most of her time in that crate, but luckily she's as fond of Sookie as she was of Tango.

As you can see, there is absolutely nothing cruel about these crates. Giving your dog a crate no different than your child having their own bedroom. Holly and Benny sleep with us at night, or on the living room sofa as they please, but they both are very fond of their crates and use them regularly (and voluntarily). I work from home and so the crate doors are rarely closed, but when they are the dogs calmly lay down and occupy themselves with a toy. Whether the door is open or closed, the dogs are all secure in knowing that they have a safe, private space to go whenever they want to be alone. It prevents the dogs from snarling at each other, and me from snarling at the dogs, and has promoted a healthy atmosphere for everyone. In the hands of a knowledgeable, patient owner, they are sources of comfort, safety and peace, not tools of torture.

Learn more about this author, Megan Clark.
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