Need some opinions on crates.

[chloebaby]

ok, right now we got one of those plastic crates for chloe. however, some of my friends whom has dogs said we should have bought the wired crates instead.

the reason is this way, chloe will be able to see us much easier then being in a plastic one that doesn't have much visibility. my wife said since our bed is so high.. it's hard for her to see us even when it's dark at night. so my question is.. are they right about that?

secondly, are puppies afraid of the dark? should we be turning on a light for chloe?

on a lighter side note:
chloe is 10 weeks old now.. yeah~ and she's doing much better. past couple nights she started to fart. and last night when i was holding chloe.. she farted and man! is smelled bad. my wife laughed so hard cuz i told her i accidently inhaled it.

so today, my wife IM me and told me chloe was resting on her slippers when she heard a poo sound. she thought it was her tummy so she laid down on the floor next to chloe and asked her.. "sweetie did you fart?" and then chloe got embaressed and looked down and then with those puppy eyes she looked to her mommy and licked her... gosh that would have been a kodak moment. hehe

[Tambrey]

hehehe...puppy farts can be really bad...and if her bowels are not working right, they will smell worse until her system gets on track...

I am glad to hear she seems to be doing better...

As for crates...we are using a crate for the first time withr our beagle, and we got the wire one, only because that is all WalMart had!

lights...I guess I am a pushover...I leave a dim light on for the dog...and when we had our Great Dane, I would leave the TV on 24/7 for him...he loved to watch PBS...especially Arthur...he would come running and lay on the couch wiht his head on the arm to watch Arthur when he heard it come on...LOL....
our cockatiel likes the Tellitubbies...

[TheSkeptic]

We have both plastic and wire crates. We ended up having to put a cover over the wire crates because the dogs felt too insecure with out the sides. I guess the full crates are like private rooms for them and they feel better in them. At the shelter scared dogs when they first arrive will often crawl in a crate to hide. I have never seen one go into a wire crate voluntarily.

[Tambrey]

come to think of it...we do have a blanket draped over the crate for Oliver...but I did that more because I felt it was just too cold and chilly in there...but maybe he was whiny because he did not like the feeling of it being open like that...

I know when he is not in it, we can usually find a cat or two hiding in it!!

[chloebaby]

humm.. in that case.. i guess the plastic one will do for chloe. perhaps i'll need to get a light for her. right now she sleep in our bathroom with a babygate blocking the entrance. reason is because she will go into the crate to play and sleep (sometimes) but if you lock it.. we'll never get any sleep. the longest she's cried and whinned and even barked (can't believe she learned how to bark at 9weeks old) for 2 hrs!

so we figured it's better to leave the crate door open for her to move around freely. so we have a wee wee pad in there (which she sometimes uses), but we think it's dark so she misses accidently.. i hope. and we would also put her resting pad in there as well. this way she can sleep either on the pad or in the crate.

but right now it's really hard for us cuz she's been very very naughty. i go to work at 9am.. but my wife sleeps till 10 or 11 cuz of taking are of chloe around 6am everyday. during that time, chloe needs to be locked up in her crate to prevent her from getting into trouble. but all she does is bark, cry, whin, and bark some more. we're afraid the neighbors will complain. any tips on what we can do?