Of course not. There are many who think they are cruel and will not use them. People in Europe tend not to use them. People who have not heard of using them won’t generally use them. If you have an outside yard with a fence or a secure kennel you many not need to use them.

They are extremely useful. But they are not the only means to achieve housetraining or safety in the house or car. They are, in the opinion of many, one of the best and easiest ways of doing so, with many side benefits.

Remember, your ultimate goal in using the crate is to produce an easily housetrained dog and one that can be trusted in the house. Therefore, you should consider the use of a crate for a dog to be temporary. You are always working toward the time when you do not need to use a crate extensively.

With housetraining, it is only a matter of time for the pup to outgrow the need for a crate. As as puppy gets older, it will naturally develop ways of telling you that it needs to go (but probably not before about 4-6 months, be patient), especially if you encourage this. As this starts to develop, you can decrease the crate usage. Always keep a close eye on your pup — the trouble you take now will pay big dividends later. If you need to, put a leash on your pup and attach it to your waist. That keeps the pup from wandering off into trouble. By the time your puppy is about 6-8 months, he should be able to sleep through the night either in an open crate or a dog bed.

Many breeds, especially the larger and more active ones, will need to be crated during their adolescence until they can be trusted in the home, if you cannot leave them outside in the yard while you are gone. There are several things you need to keep in mind. The first is that this type of crating is never to be a permanent arrangement except for those rare cases where the dog proves completely unreliable. While this does happen, it’s more common for the dog to be sufficiently mature by the time they are two or so to be left alone in the house.

To make the transition between keeping your dog in the crate and leaving him out when you are at work, start preparing your dog on weekends. Leave him in your house for an hour and then come back. Maybe it needs to be fifteen minutes. Whatever. Find the time that works, and make a habit of leaving him unsupervised in the house for that long. Be sure to praise him when you come back. (Leave the crate open — available but open — while you are gone.) When you know the dog is reliable for this period of time, gradually add 15-30 minute increments to the dog’s “safe time.” Don’t be surprised if this takes months or even a year.

Now, there are some dogs that are never reliable when left inside. This might include dogs that were rescued, dogs that have separation anxiety, dogs that destroy things indiscriminately, or who mark or otherwise eliminate in the house.

• Do think of the crate as a good thing. In time, your dog will too.
• Do let the dog out often enough so that it is never forced to soil the crate.
• Do let the dog out if it whines because it needs to eliminate. If you know it doesn’t have to eliminate, correct it for whining or barking.
• Do clean out the crate regularly, especially if you’ve put in a floor and you have flea problems.
• Don’t punish the dog if it soils the crate. It is miserable enough and probably had to.
• Don’t use the crate as a punishment.
• Don’t leave the dog in the crate for a long time after letting it eat and drink a lot. (because the dog will be uncomfortable and may have to eliminate in the crate.)
• Don’t leave the dog in the crate too much. Dogs sleep and rest a lot, but not all the time. They need play time and exercise. When you are at home, they should not be in the crate (except at night when they are still very young puppies). If necessary, put a leash on your pup and tie it around your waist while you’re at home.
• Don’t check to see if your dog is trustworthy in the house (unsupervised, outside of the crate) by letting the dog out of the crate for a long time. Start with very short periods and work your way up to longer periods.
• Don’t ever let the dog grow unaccustomed to the crate. An occasional stint even for the best behaved dog will make traveling and special situations that require crating easier.
• Don’t put pillows or blankets in the crate without a good reason. Most dogs like it cooler than their human companions and prefer to stretch out on a hard, cool surface. Besides providing a place to urinate on, some dogs will simply destroy them. A rubber mat or a piece of peg-board cut to the right size might be a good compromise (be sure to clean under any floor covering frequently).