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- Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!gatech!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!ce293
- From: ce293@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Gail E. Brookhart)
- Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
- Subject: Re: Opinions on breed.
- Date: 30 Dec 1992 13:55:48 GMT
- Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
- Lines: 58
- Message-ID: <1hs9p4INNbu6@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
- References: <1992Dec29.093725.478@walter.cray.com> <BzFGwI.I53@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
- Reply-To: ce293@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Gail E. Brookhart)
- NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu
-
-
- In a previous article, pierce@cray.com (David J. Pierce,,,,universeucb)) says:
-
- >I live with two dogs. One is an 80+ lb black lab, and one is a 35 lb
- >cocker mutt, Mack and Buster, respectively. These dogs are kept in
- >a 100 square foot kennel. Even though this is a pretty good sized
- >space, when I get home from work at night, these dogs are crazed to
- >get out and exercise. If you think it is okay to keep a large dog
- >in a crate all day, regardless of how much exercise he/she receives
- >at the end of the day, you are mistaken. Especially one that is
- >expected to work hunting upland game birds (both my dogs are hunters).
-
- I have to chime in here and say that I disagree with David. I have two
- large dogs that are kept in crates and they are not going crazy for lack of
- exercise when I get home. The craziness is because *I* am home. I get
- home and they get to be around alpha mama again and that is what they want.
- I also am firmly convinced that I inadvertently trained my Airedale to be
- a goof when he comes out of the crate by making too much fuss over him when
- he was young and I missed him after a day at work.
-
- >
- >Why do you need such a big dog? My suggestion to you is to get a
- >smaller dog, such as a cocker or beagle, that can still be a superb
- >hunter/watchdog/companion, and yet is small enough to be paper trained
- >or kept in a LARGE crate when you aren't there.
- >
- Again I have to say that I disagree with a point of this. I do not think
- that a small dog should have a large crate. If a crate is to be used as a
- component of housetraining, it should only be large enough for the dog ot
- comfortably stand, turn around and lie down in. The reason for this being
- that you are trying to teach your dog control of his bowel and bladder by
- capitalizing on the dog's natural instinct to avoid soiling his den. If
- the dog can be comfortable at one end of the crate while a pile of feces
- sits at the other end, you have caused more harm to housetraining than good
- IN MY OPINION. I also do not believe in paper training because I don't
- want my dogs to EVER think that that there is a reason for urination and
- defecation in the house.
-
-
- >Sure, any dog can be kept "healthy" living in an apartment. And dogs
- >are so adaptable that they will usually be "happy." But take your
- >happy apartment dog and put him in the same living conditions as my
- >Mack and Buster, and you will see a TRULY happy and healthy dog.
- >
-
- We have already talked this topic to death and so I will stnad by earlier
- comments.
-
-
- >Have a nice dog day!
- >
- >Dave
- >
-
- A salaute to tails... LONG MAY THEY WAVE!
-
- Gail
-
-