by Adopt a Pet, | January 8, 2024
The answer to whether you should crate your dog at night depends on whether he is crated during the day and whether or not he has been properly crate trained. If he has been properly crate trained, and doesn’t spend time in the crate during the day, then crating at night is fine.
When you take the time to properly crate train your dog, he will view his crate as a den—a safe and comfortable place. Part of proper crate training means never using the crate as punishment. If you do, your dog isn’t going to want to spend any time there.
Ideally, the crate is used for house-training. Once your dog is trained, you can leave the door to the crate open, so he can enter when he wants yet still have access to the rest of the house.
If your dog can’t be trusted to roam the house freely while unsupervised, crating him while you’re out is okay. However, he should not be left crated for longer than 8 hours per day total and should not have to go more than 4-6 hours without a potty break. If you feel that you must crate your dog during the workday and at night, consider hiring a dog walker to break up the day or signing up for doggy daycare.
If you’re only crating your dog at night, that’s not excessive. In fact, some dogs would sleep in their crates whether or not the door was shut. If, however, the time in the crate becomes disproportionate, you should reconsider.