Elana P
Well-Known Member
I am about to rock the boat here folks, and stick my neck out, and I'm sure the poop will hit the fan when I'm through, but here goes....
DOG CRATES AND CRATING OUR DOGS!!!
I can hear the snarls now, and see the hackles rising, lol.
Let me start with a question to the Membership.
Do you like your bed?
I know I do. I love LOVE my bed. It is warm and comfortable, and at night, I can't wait for my head to hit my soft pillow, and to snuggle into the comfort of my blankets and sink into dream land....
However... and yes, there is always a HOWEVER.....
Would I like it as much, if my bed was placed into a 6x6x4 box, where I would have to sleep at night, and spend most of my daylight hours locked up into??? Can't get out, can't move around much really, can't go to the bathroom when I have to go, have nothing to see, nothing to do, no mental stimulation, no exercise, nothing to do but sleep....
Ah-ha, some teeth are starting to show, as lips curl up....
Now folks, we have all been to the Zoo at some time or another in our lives, yes? Now I am of an older vintage, and still remember days when animals were kept in cages, not spacious natural enclosures like now days.
I clearly remember watching two wolves in a cage when I was a child. It was a fair sized cage by the standards of the day, with a den like enclosure in the back. They had food and water, an area to poop and pee, and each other for companionship, so being den oriented, social creatures, they had all their needs covered, right?
Do you think they were curled up in their den blissfully sleeping?
The answer is no.
Watching their unhappiness, made me sad even as a small child.
So here we are with our beloved companion doggies. We feed them, take them to the Vet, take them for occasional walks, buy them toys and treats, play with them when we feel like it, groom them, and love them.....
And yet, on a daily basis many of us allow them even less freedom and space than those two wolves had all those many years ago.
We expect them to sleep peacefully locked up in their crates all night long. We take them out in the morning, feed and water them, maybe walk them, or let them out into the yard for a few minutes, then back into the crate they go, for 5, 8, sometimes 10 hours or longer.
We justify it, by saying that dogs, are 'den oriented animals', and that they 'like their crates' (just like we like our beds). I wonder if whoever came up with that saying, would enjoy such a caged existance himself (?)
If we heard of any other creature being kept like this, what would we call it?
As animal lovers, would we not be up at arms, crying for justice for the poor creatures.... ?
OK..... now let the poop hit the fan!!!!! But think about my words, before you pick up the first handfull and take aim.
DOG CRATES AND CRATING OUR DOGS!!!
I can hear the snarls now, and see the hackles rising, lol.
Let me start with a question to the Membership.
Do you like your bed?
I know I do. I love LOVE my bed. It is warm and comfortable, and at night, I can't wait for my head to hit my soft pillow, and to snuggle into the comfort of my blankets and sink into dream land....
However... and yes, there is always a HOWEVER.....
Would I like it as much, if my bed was placed into a 6x6x4 box, where I would have to sleep at night, and spend most of my daylight hours locked up into??? Can't get out, can't move around much really, can't go to the bathroom when I have to go, have nothing to see, nothing to do, no mental stimulation, no exercise, nothing to do but sleep....
Ah-ha, some teeth are starting to show, as lips curl up....
Now folks, we have all been to the Zoo at some time or another in our lives, yes? Now I am of an older vintage, and still remember days when animals were kept in cages, not spacious natural enclosures like now days.
I clearly remember watching two wolves in a cage when I was a child. It was a fair sized cage by the standards of the day, with a den like enclosure in the back. They had food and water, an area to poop and pee, and each other for companionship, so being den oriented, social creatures, they had all their needs covered, right?
Do you think they were curled up in their den blissfully sleeping?
The answer is no.
Watching their unhappiness, made me sad even as a small child.
So here we are with our beloved companion doggies. We feed them, take them to the Vet, take them for occasional walks, buy them toys and treats, play with them when we feel like it, groom them, and love them.....
And yet, on a daily basis many of us allow them even less freedom and space than those two wolves had all those many years ago.
We expect them to sleep peacefully locked up in their crates all night long. We take them out in the morning, feed and water them, maybe walk them, or let them out into the yard for a few minutes, then back into the crate they go, for 5, 8, sometimes 10 hours or longer.
We justify it, by saying that dogs, are 'den oriented animals', and that they 'like their crates' (just like we like our beds). I wonder if whoever came up with that saying, would enjoy such a caged existance himself (?)
If we heard of any other creature being kept like this, what would we call it?
As animal lovers, would we not be up at arms, crying for justice for the poor creatures.... ?
OK..... now let the poop hit the fan!!!!! But think about my words, before you pick up the first handfull and take aim.