Crate questions

[KalamazooMom]

We are adopting a 1 1/2 year old Retriever / Greyhound mix. Hooray! He is crate trained. I've never had a dog who's crate trained. Our previous dog was loose in the house. So I went and bought a crate. The dog's foster mom says she's home most of the time but she crates him when she leaves and most of the time at night. My plan was to crate him when I am gone at work, but to leave him loose at night as the kids and I both like a dog to sleep on our bed. What do I need to know about using the crate? Should I give him a kong or something else for when he's in there? Where should the crate be? I was thinking in the laundry room but then I thought maybe it should be a room we go in more often. Would appreciate any advice or tips.

[Ola_]

An ideal place for a crate is in your bedroom. This way even if you're not home the dog has all of those familiar scents. And at night if he has an upset tummy or anything he will wake you to take him out. Just be sure to never use the crate as punishment. A Kong is a great idea.

BTW, I wouldn't let him sleep on your bed right off the bat. That's quite a big priviledge and I'd wait for him to settle in, get some training started, and make sure he will get on and off the bed on command. Also be sure there's no resource or space guarding beforehand.