When I was a kid--and dinosaurs still roamed the earth--crate training a household pet was unheard of. The only crate trained dogs I knew were strictly hunting dogs. And I always felt so bad for them; when they were home they had a run & a dog house; never permitted in the people house. They were hunting dogs, after all. So I never got used to crates for my dogs. Having said that, when I was very lititle, like 5 years old, we had a beagle. She was locked in the kitchen when so one was home because she liked to eat shoes, pee on the carpet, etc. SOMEONE didn't put her Easter basket full of candy up high enough, & Lady got it. Ate all of it, chocolate included. About 3 months later she died of leukemia.
Don't know if the Easter basket incident had anything to do with it, but in my mind I'll always wonder. And so, now as an adult, my dogs learn the skill of laying quietly in a crate. They eat there, since there are 4 of them, and 2 are grazers & 2 are woofers. However Ruby does not do well in a car, so she goes in a crate, and feels more protected. When they don't feel good, or if they need quiet time, they go in their crate. There have been times when prolonged visits to the vet were required; into a crate @ the vets. Hotels require crates, as Ruth mentioned, and we go to dog shows. Hell; even dog shows require crates, at times.
It's good protection for you & your belongings; and also protection for your dog. For most dogs, their crate usually becomes like a teenager's bedroom; somewhere they can go & not be disturbed.
I was going to do a trial run letting her out this week (she's 15 months old now), but then she de-stuffed one of the few bed/pillows she has in her crate (it survived a few months... but this week, it was destroyed). Oh well. It's a big crate, and she does just fine in it (as verified via webcam), and never complains about going in (that's the only time she gets peanut butter stuffed kongs).
