When Atlas turned 18 months old, he started to sleep beside our bed at our home or in a hotel without any issues. It has come to our attention that Atlas may not need his crate any longer. This article is about our personal experience on when and how to ditch the dog crate.
Why Ditch the Dog Crate?
You may hear that dogs treat their crate as their den, safe place so to speak. This is true when Atlas was 9 months and younger. After hitting canine adolescence, Atlas prefers to be out of his crate and with family. We continued to crate Atlas overnight because he tends to roam around in the dark and stick his snoot where it does not belong. In other words, he cannot stay put and just sleep when the lights are off.
For us, Atlas’ dog crate takes up half of our house’s entryway. It is the only place to logically put it without being too much of an eye sore. Suffice to say, we want our entryway back.
What Are the Signs That a Doberman Can Do Away With Its Crate?
For us at least, the tell-tale sign when Atlas is ready to sleep outside the crate was when he was able to go to sleep beside our bed without issues. We tested the water and allowed Atlas to sleep beside our bed in our master bedroom. During the early training days, he absolutely would not curl up in his corner and just sleep. He would sniff around, walk around and wander aimlessly in the dark, in our bedroom. As he grew older, he would still continue to sniff around and wander, but the duration dramatically decreased. Eventually, when lights are off, he would circle around his corner before plopping down. We first witnessed this on a recent road trip in June.
To see if he is indeed ready to sleep on a dog bed instead of a dog crate, we tested the theory at our home. And sure enough, Atlas slept soundly besides us with no fanfare. That was when we invested in a dog bed and decided to ditch the crate.
Crate Today, Gone Tomorrow
We bought Atlas a large Tuft n Needle dog bed. Atlas made use of it right away and instinctively slept on it on the first night we had it. We decided to keep the crate around for a few more days, “just in case.” As expected, Atlas slept on it on the second and third night. By the fourth night, I disassembled the crate and stored it in our garage. We decided to keep the crate for our next Doberman, who should be arriving around winter of 2023.
As I watch Atlas over our Nest indoor cameras at night, I see him sleeping on his bed. He would occasionally wander out of his bed and towards our front door, growling. Probably because he smelled a skunk or another wild animal, such as racoons. When his curiosity subsided, he returns to his Tuft n Needle bed and goes back to sleep. On the weekend, Atlas would lay on his dog bed until one of us gets up. It could be me, my wife or our 4 year old son. Once he sees a person in the living room, he gets out of his dog bed, stretches and waits patiently for me to take him outside so he can relieve himself. Atlas still has his Mighty Paw Smart Bell 2.0 which he can use to tell us if he needs to go in the middle of the night. So far, he hasn’t had to use it.
We will buy him a large dog house and leave him in our backyard during the day time when we’re all at work or school and bring him back inside during the early evening. Right now, he’s enjoying his extra large chew proof armored elevated dog bed from K9 Ballistics when he is left in the backyard. I suspect it won’t be long before we can leave him alone in our house entirely.
We are extremely pleased with Atlas’ state of being. Not only is he 100% house broken, he can be left inside the house or outside in our backyard on his own without us worrying that he might destroy things. Atlas has indeed become a good boy.