Cage

Is it ok to put my dog in a cage during the day and release him at night?

I want my dog to guard the house! He is a German Shepard and he does not bark. Could it be that he is only 6 months old?

Public Comments

1. he's a PUP! he'll guard once he's MATURE! don't keep him in a cage all the time- a good guard dog needs to be well socialized to understand the difference between good people and bad people! my best guard dog comes to work with me at a retirement home, socializing with old people, children, nurses, you name it! but when he's home, he's "on guard", and it's time to protect. he knows the difference between my dad knocking on my door, and some creepy stranger! failing to socialize your pup will result in a fearful dog- and they become fear biters- a fear biter NEVER makes a good watchdog!
2. Just because he don't bark doesn't mean that he is not a good guard dog. Sometime the best dogs are the one who don't bark. However, I don't think you should but him in a cage all day. He will go crazy if you do that..
3. No, it is not OK. He is a living being with a mind and energy and will go crazy being stuck inside a cage all day. Get a burglar alarm if your worried about your house - it's not your puppy's job.
4. I would really not suggest letting your dog out at night to guard you. If you want a guard dog you should train him to be one. Also I don't think that would be healthy for him. He would be in the crate all day and get no exercise and and you would have to wake up in the middle of the night if he wants to come in or if he needs to go out or stuff like that. If you left him in the house he would be jumping all around from all that energy he kept during the day and he might possibly just fall asleep. So my suggestion is that you get an alarm system instead.
5. Do you mean crate him? yes. make sure the crate is barely bigger than the dog so he can just turn around. then they wont poop or pee in it. Put a blanket over the crate leaving the door part open to see out. he will instinctively guard the house... you are his "pack" and he will protect his pack. and to the rest of you.. the technique is called crating your dog. and its perfectly fine. Some people crate during the work day, others overnight. its fine as long as you dont leave the dog in excessively long. Dogs are cave dwellers... the crate will become a little house for him to chill out in, after a while you will find him taking naps in it. It feels secure to them.
6. Well your "puppy" is only 6-months-old. It is usually 1 hour for each month of age, plus 1 hour, so your puppy can only be alone/hold its potty for 7 hours at this age. I am not sure how long you are leaving this puppy in the crate during the day, but I would not leave a 6-month-old puppy unsupervised inside or outside. I think this will be o.k. when your puppy gets older, but I think it might be too soon to expect her to be fully potty trained. They are not usually fully potty trained until 1-year-old. He may not be having accidents in the house, but that does not mean he is potty or house trained. I think it is too soon, but it is your puppy and you know how well he is or is not trained. I guess you could try to leave him out at night, and if he has an accident, you would have to go back to the crate.
7. If he does'nt get into trouble and it's safe to have him roam around at night then it's ok to leave him out.A dog does'nt usually start barking till 12mo's,so you have some time to go yet.When he is house trained and not chewing I hope you leave him out of the cage forever as with such a strong breed this can break his spirit.. Owner of the breed for 40yrs
8. I had a dog who didn't bark, but you can be sure that if your dog felt threatened, it WILL bark and PROTECT! It's natural. Even the most gentle dogs will do what comes naturally when need be, so don't stress. As far as putting him in a cage, I personally thing this is a HORRIBLE thing to do!!! I can't imagine getting a dog, then sticking him in a cage for hours! I think that is abusive. Dog were born to roam freely, and roaming thru the home is fine, buy sticking him/her in a cage is AWFUL. Please don't do it!!!!!!!