It has been decided that Trebek will be getting a crate this weekend.  The issue is he's not our only dog as we have 3 others, a Rat Terrier, Shepard/Baseni mix, and Chihuahua.  The other Rat Terrier, Bella Rosa, and the Chihuahua were both crated trained and did well with it until Bella Rosa figured out not only how to open her crate, but her sister's too.  Thankfully both were trained well enough to be out on their own.  Now we have one more dog, Trebek, that I got shortly before moving in with my boyfriend who is the owner of the mix breed, Willow.   Trebek and Willow get on great but bring out the naughtiness in one another. 

My question:  If one dog is in a crate should all dogs be in a crate (not together)?  We do confine the 3 bigger dogs to the kitchen when we are gone so could we put Trebek in his crate in the kitchen with the others?  The Chihuahua is 3 lbs and never done a bad thing in her life, and now that I'm thinking about it the only non-rescue dog I've ever had.

Please any suggestions?  Willow has never been crated but came from the pound when she was a small puppy.  I really need help cause Trebek is destroying a lot of things and even though I try to tell my boyfriend the majority of things Trebek does, we (HE) is really to blame.  He doesn't like to hear that and I know he's about to freak and say Trebek needs to go.  Believe me I would do anything for that not to happen and have pretty good negotiation skills but I admit I hate worrying about what he is going to do and stepping in pee spots while cleaning up another mess of something torn up. 

Thank you for all being so nice.  I thought I knew how to train a dog until I met a Rattie.

Well my personal opinion is that yes they should all have their own crate. Molly came to us as a puppy (6 weeks old) and is crate trained, she loves her crate as she should. But Busta came to us with emotional issues and is not crate trained in the least. I am working on trying to crate train him and can see this is going to be a very long road. So for now when it is "crate time" I do crate both Molly and Busta at the same time. Molly, because she is already crate trained will sleep and Busta because he is not crate trained will bark, cry and carry on for a good 2 hours. At times he will take a 5 minute brake and start again. He hates his crate but it is a need for me to have them both crate trained. Currently I crate him twice a day and at night. At first I was only crating him once in the afternoon but added a morning time because I needed him to be in his crate because I have Kasey to deal with since he has his broken arm. Well the night time crate was added because he started knocking the baby gates down and that was just not acceptable. So he has his good nights of only carrying on for a few hours to bad nights were he will carry on off and on all night. It has not been easy or pleasant but like I said, for me they just have to be crate trained.

We, as in the whole family is just toughing it out in hopes that "one day" all the carrying on will end. He is a 2 year old rattie and has not been taught that the crate is not only his bed but is also not a bad thing. And he may never grow to love it but if we can eventually get to the point that he is quiet in his crate then that will be good as well because realistically he may not get past that point for a long long time.

I kind of lost track of time but we started this before Christmas, I think we were only crate training one week before Kasey broke his arm and then the crate training stopped for 3 days while we were in the hospital and back trying to get things back to normal. But now we are back into it and it is no better than it was on the first day. If I had to guess, I would say he has spent close to two weeks in that crate so far and we are not even close to being were we need to be. But I know that once we get there all this will all have been worth it!!!!!

So after all that said (if you made it this far), just be prepared for a very rough and long road if Trebek refuses the crate as well. It is very nerve racking, gives you a headache and makes it impossible to talk on the phone or watch TV. Oh and don't forget the loss of sleep. Your husband will have to be made aware of this training period as well. Good luck and I wish you he best in whatever you decide to do.

Thanks Donna!  Trebek actually is crate trained from his first home but they basically kept him in it the whole time because they couldn't deal with his issues.  I hate when people get a dog and then don't know what to do with it or don't ask for ideas/solutions.  It seems on here pretty sure that your Rat Terrier is not the only one that has ever done that.  My other Rat and Chihuahua are crate trained but it's been awhile and like I said Bella Rosa figured out how to open her's and her sisters.  Too smart for their own good!

The one I'm worried about the most in the crate is my boyfriend's dog because she can be distructive and she's strong.  I just had to laugh when I saw this review of a crate online:

I bought the crate sized for up to a 25 lb dog. My Rat Terrier is full grown at 12 lb and has been crate trained since he was a pup. I have had this crate for 3 weeks and I came home yesterday and found the crate, which is metal in pieces. I know Rat Terriers are strong but to break metal as if it were plastic is unreal.  

The 20 other reviews said how great the crate was, even for large breeds.