Puppy Wesley’s home!

[cefe13]

As 2bullymama said, we were thinking of trying to make the cage an enjoyable positive place to be but he will eventually be fed in the kitchen though

That being said i was on bully sitting duty last night and slept outside his cage with him, calming him back to sleep every couple of hours while he screamed the house down

He had his first full meal of raw food today and absolutely loved it! Didnt stop until its was completely clean

I know you're great bulldog owners and it is so obvious that you treat baby Wesley very well, so please don't get me wrong: I just wonder why making the cage an enjoyable place and why making him sleep in a cage? Can he not sleep in a little bed next to your bed and have his meals in the kitchen from start?

I am very interested in cultural differences, and caging is such an interesting example of how countries/cultures that overall are quite similar still approach a particular issue in opposite ways: whereas many dogs in the UK and in the US, for instance, are caged, this is against the law in Sweden (and also Finland, I believe). Here, dogs may not be caged unless they are travelling. In cars, on the other hand, they are common as the law stipulates that dogs must be confined when riding a car. So Castor has a big cage in the back of our car (and we have to have a big car because of this) but it would be against the law having him in that cage in our house.

[Zedsded]

I know you're great bulldog owners and it is so obvious that you treat baby Wesley very well, so please don't get me wrong: I just wonder why making the cage an enjoyable place and why making him sleep in a cage? Can he not sleep in a little bed next to your bed and have his meals in the kitchen from start?

I am very interested in cultural differences, and caging is such an interesting example of how countries/cultures that overall are quite similar still approach a particular issue in opposite ways: whereas many dogs in the UK and in the US, for instance, are caged, this is against the law in Sweden (and also Finland, I believe). Here, dogs may not be caged unless they are travelling. In cars, on the other hand, they are common as the law stipulates that dogs must be confined when riding a car. So Castor has a big cage in the back of our car (and we have to have a big car because of this) but it would be against the law having him in that cage in our house.

I totally get what you mean we are just doing what worked with Dudley, the cage is just a simple way of keeping them in a secure area while we can’t keep an eye on him chewing things like electrical cable or plugs which have in our hall, Dudley did do this but luckily the electric heater cable he chewed through was switched off at the plug, he also managed to completely pull a plug box off the wall including the screws from the wall

As Wesley gets older he will have the run of the hallway and kitchen at night but we will leave his crate open for him to sleep in, Dudley would always take himself into his crate when he fancied an early night we only removed the crate when he out grew it.

Just a personal preference but we won’t be letting Wesley sleep in our bedroom because we have quite steep stairs and prefer him not to be going up or down them, if we lived in a bungalow i would imagine he would be sleeping in our BED every night

[Mechadogzilla]

Congratulations on the new pup. He looks awesome!

[gobronco]

I know you're great bulldog owners and it is so obvious that you treat baby Wesley very well, so please don't get me wrong: I just wonder why making the cage an enjoyable place and why making him sleep in a cage? Can he not sleep in a little bed next to your bed and have his meals in the kitchen from start?

I am very interested in cultural differences, and caging is such an interesting example of how countries/cultures that overall are quite similar still approach a particular issue in opposite ways: whereas many dogs in the UK and in the US, for instance, are caged, this is against the law in Sweden (and also Finland, I believe). Here, dogs may not be caged unless they are travelling. In cars, on the other hand, they are common as the law stipulates that dogs must be confined when riding a car. So Castor has a big cage in the back of our car (and we have to have a big car because of this) but it would be against the law having him in that cage in our house.

Crate training at night, when they are young, can really help with potty training. They don't like going to the bathroom where they sleep. If they are crate trained right away they don't see it as a jail. A couple of our dogs would go to the crate when they were ready for bed every night even if it wasn't bedtime for us. Bruno the rescue dog slept in a crate for the first couple of months and would go and sleep in it, with the door open, throughout the day. It was a safe place for him. We stopped leaving the crate door open during the day because he kept pretending he is an alligator and killing the crate pad. He now sleeps on the couch. Time to break down the crate and put it in the shed. Hopefully for a long time.

[cefe13]

Crate training at night, when they are young, can really help with potty training. They don't like going to the bathroom where they sleep. If they are crate trained right away they don't see it as a jail. A couple of our dogs would go to the crate when they were ready for bed every night even if it wasn't bedtime for us. Bruno the rescue dog slept in a crate for the first couple of months and would go and sleep in it, with the door open, throughout the day. It was a safe place for him. We stopped leaving the crate door open during the day because he kept pretending he is an alligator and killing the crate pad. He now sleeps on the couch. Time to break down the crate and put it in the shed. Hopefully for a long time.

I hear what you say and "safe place" as in a place the dog can enter and leave as he pleases I believe we all see as ok, but a cage with a door is against the law in some countries and therefore not an option. So my point was mainly that we do think differently about some dog matters; and since we cannot crate dogs in my country, I guess we don't see a need for it. The idea of making the pup hold it since it doesn't want to pee where it sleeps to me therefore sounds like a very harsh regime. Without a crate, you will need to puppy proof your house and keep a close eye on the pup until it is potty trained, of course, but that also makes the bond between humans and dogs really strong as the pup is around you all the time until it's house-trained. A downside is of course that this requires dog owners to be able to stay at home a lot when the pup is young. We certainly have more generous holidays here than in the US (we have a legal right of five weeks per year of paid holidays) so getting a pup is often a summer holiday project or something people do when they are able to work from home or when they retire or are on parental leave.

[thett]

Welcome home baby shark!!! Wesley is absolutely adorable!! LOL, it does sound like he is giving you a run for your money, but isn't that what puppyville is about?? Enjoy the craziness while it lasts, he will be getting big in no time!!

I am truly happy for you and look forward to hearing all of Wesley's adventures and mischievousness