​Hi, dear friend!
A while ago, I wrote a blog post about car crates and why they are so important. Now it’s time to talk about house crates. House crates are important for many different reasons: a house crate gives your dog a safe place to retreat to when they feel overwhelmed; it’s like a room for your dog in your house, hence, it provides structure. It provides stability when traveling “Home is where my house goes.” It keeps your dog safe from itself, especially when you cannot supervise your dog while you are at work. Your dog won’t be able to destroy anything without your knowledge and potentially get hurt. 
A house crate should be a place for calmness and relaxation, so it is best to put the crate in a rather calm area of your house but without completely excluding your dog. But you can also dedicate an entire room, like a guest room to be where your dog’s crate is located. 
Let’s talk about which crates are best suited to be house crates. The ones that I use for my personal dogs are wire crates; they come in many different sizes and usually have the most space for the dog and allow for the most airflow. Wire crates are great as long as your dog understands and respects the boundaries of the crate because these crates are not the most sturdy ones. Don’t be fooled; any dog can break out of a wire crate with enough determination. I would also not advise using a wire crate for raising a puppy since potty training is still in progress, and accidents in a wire crate can turn into huge disasters. Also, puppies often like to bite on things, and when they try to bite the wires of the crate, they might get their jaw stuck (Ouch!). I recommend wire crates only for adult dogs that respect the boundaries of the crate. 
Another option is plastic crates. Plastic airline crates are great because they are a bit more sturdy than wire crates. They also keep any kind of messes contained. Unfortunately, they don’t come with a divider, meaning when raising a puppy, you will have to buy a new crate every so often according to your puppy’s growth. Airline crates are more secure but, therefore, provide less airflow. 
Metal crates like Impact, Rock Creek and TNC are also great but very expensive and maybe only necessary if your dog has severe separation anxiety and will try to break out of any other crate. Crates like Ruffland and Gunner are really more for transportation than use at home in my opinion. Here are some rather less orthodox crate options: a complete kennel with panels from stores like Lowe’s or Tractor Supply, giving your dog a footprint 4x4 or even bigger. Make a mud room your dog’s “crate.” A playpen if your dog is small enough. 
Whatever option you choose, you should definitely make sure that your dog is safe in the crate and can comfortably turn around, stand up and lie down. Once potty training is accomplished, the size of the crate can be anything that gives your dog the most comfort. 
Happy shopping!

​Let's talk about owning more than two dogs. Having more than  dogs falls in the category of the multi-dog household. When you have a multi-dog household, you basically have created a pack of dogs. A pack of dogs is usually a family pack but since it is highly unlikely that your dogs are related with each other unless there was some breeding happening, your dogs don’t share much other than the place where they live and the person who takes care of them. Hence, it is not given that your dogs get along with each other all the time; sometimes, even dogs that are related to each other don’t get along. Dogs will always be dogs, competing for resources like privileges, entertainment, food, and attention. What do you do if you have some individuals who do not get along?
The answer is simple: Crate and Rotate.
It is absolutely doable to live under one roof with two dogs that do not get along with each other by keeping these two individuals separated all the time. Does it take more time for you, the owner? Yes, but what are your other options? Rehoming one of the dogs? Trying to make them get along? Sure, you could try but be honest, do you like every single person you meet at the grocery store or the gym or the coffee shop so much that you would hang out with them all the time? Why are you bringing stress upon yourself and your dogs by trying to make them like each other if they clearly don’t? Using crates where everyone gets their turn to be outside and hanging around the house will create a much more peaceful environment. Does this mean twice the time for potty breaks, leash walks, and playtime? Yes, but don’t forget, they didn’t make the decision to live with you. Separating the dogs with structured time in and out of a crate can eliminate their need to compete for resources like attention and toys, including giving both the peace to eat food and drink water stress-free in their crates. You definitely want to discourage any kind of taunting of each other while one of the dogs is in their crate; that would not be fair. 
Crate and rotate has been a long-time procedure in my very own household since I own two female dogs that will not get along with each other. The only time both can be out together is when everything is absolutely controlled, and everyone is following obedience commands, and there are no items around, that the dogs see as high value. However, since it is not feasible to keep this status quo all the time, crate and rotate makes for a more relaxed environment. It allows each dog to be themselves, play in peace, and enjoy their life. 
Can you create an environment where both dogs can coexist with each other? Yes, you can, by doing a lot of obedience training and impulse control training to teach the dogs to regulate their emotions, but this means you will always have to supervise any and all close interactions of the dogs and be in control of them at all times to be able to intervene as soon as there are any tensions. Quite frankly, we cannot look inside the dogs’ brains and see what they are thinking about each other, so even with a lot of training, the status quo may stay fragile, and the ultimate solution will remain crate and rotate.