Housetraining dogs and puppies, PART 2: Managing developmental issues with puppy crating

摘要

My 4-year-old Australian Shepherd rescue, Picasso, is an example of a dog that was inappropriately crated. Pic was kept in a crate for 23 to 24 hours a day, from 8 weeks of age through 10 months (when he was relinquished to rescue). The crate was toosmall for him, and it likely had poor traction—factors that contributed to his deformed hips and hindlimbs. Now he has monitored freedom and somehow manages to run, but arthridides are in his future, and they did not have to be.