When each of my pups leave home, a folding wire crate (cage) is loaned to the new owners if they do not have one.  This incurs some interesting reactions from the new owners if they do not have one.

Some immediately see the logic of a crate.  Most feel that they don’t really want to put their new "family member" into a cage.  They’re positive they won’t really need it.  They may have raised previous pups successfully without using one. When they discover I’m not to be dissuaded, they humor me and agree to borrow it.  But even as I’m stuffing it into their car, I can still practically hear them thinking, "Put this baby in that cage?"  Yet, when they return the crate in a few weeks, they glowingly describe its wonders, and how quickly the puppy was housetrained.  Almost invariably the "loaner" crate is replaced with a crate of their own.

Folding wire crates seem to have limitless valuable uses.  A primary use with a puppy is as a housebreaking aid.  Being basically clean, a healthy pup raised in frequently cleaned surrounding will not want to dirty his own area.  (Can you imagine the enormity of the task of attempting to housebreak a resale-outlet pup that has had to eliminate in its own cage?)  Given an entire kitchen, a pup will wander to a far corner to eliminate and not feel he’s dirtying "his" area - establishing an unnecessary, hard-to-break pattern.  Confined to his crate, he’s going to create a fuss and demand to be let out in order not to soil his crate.  If he’s promptly removed from it (and preferably carried outside, avoiding those "almost-made-it" accidents at the doorway) the positive aspects of housetraining are constantly being reinforced.  Enabling the pup to make it through the night will probably entail an early morning outing, but the pup can then be returned to its crate, probably with a toy to amuse it, and the owner can get those last few hours of sleep.  Fortunately, the pups awakening time will advance, practically daily.

During the day, most accidents occur when the pup’s supervisor has been distracted.  The phone rings, someone comes to the door, the children need attention, and it isn’t noticed that the pup is wandering off to sniff and circle.  Putting him into his crate at such hectic moments prevents such accidents.  Sometimes, after training has progressed nicely, there seems to be a relapse.  The pup is taken outside at the appropriate times, but being older and more curious, he’s more easily distracted by the interesting items available for investigation.  If he’s allowed to be loose in the house after such a nonproductive outing, he’ll probably decide quickly that he now has time to tend to his creature-comforts.  Instead, if he’s limited to his crate, he will indicate when he has to go.  He can be taken back outside - again providing positive reinforcement.  Each "accident" that is permitted to happen indoors is a step backwards.

Crating an unsupervised pup also provides safety to him- and for the family possessions.  The cost of the crate will probably be negated by the price of items that didn’t get chewed because of it.  Your pup won’t be toppling a treasured lamp, or getting electrocuted from chewing on its cord.  When the pup is out of the crate he should receive constant supervision, and develop wanted house behavior habits right from the start.  By the time he is permitted more freedom, he will be past the chewy teething stage without ever having learned that remodeling chair legs can be fun.

A dog must learn that he cannot always be underfoot.  When he comes in wet or muddy, the crate is a handy place to dry off.  While the floor is being washed or waxed, he is safe and temporarily out of the way. If non-doggy friends arrive (and they always seem to wear black or blue clothing), the dog can be popped conveniently into the crate for a while.

When you travel with your dog, you will find motels more willing to welcome you.  Because your dog will be crated, they realize he won’t be pulling down the draperies or having an accident while you are out to dinner.  Crates are even useful if camping is your bag.

If you drive a station wagon or any of the hatchback models, use your crate in your vehicle and you will find it has even more benefits. The crate acts for the dog much as a seatbelt does for you.  A sudden stop won’t find him flipping over a seat and spraining or breaking a leg.  (Do keep the second seat up in a wagon if a crate is behind it so the crate doesn’t slide to the front during a sudden stop - for everyone’s safety!)  With a crate, windows won’t be noseprinted or panted upon.  Muddy footprints and dog hair won’t decorate your passenger-areas.  Windows may be opened to maintain your comfort level without fear of injury to your furry passenger.  He won’t be able to jump out, or hang out his head to risk foreign matter damaging his eyes.  If your dog must be left in the car for a few minutes, more windows can be left open for ventilation without fearing that your dog could get out.

A crate-trained dog also suffers little emotional trauma if he must be boarded or hospitalized.  Post-injury or post-operative care frequently involves restricting the activity level of the dog.  A crate-trained dog can adapt more easily to this confinement.  He won’t be fighting for his release - doing more damage to injuries or popping open incisions.

Despite the great value a crate offers new dog owners, I find that most can’t believe its worth until they’ve actually experienced it. Occasionally, I do end up minus a crate.  It does require maintaining a considerable crate inventory.  But having a crate to lend with each pup contributes greatly to having pleased puppy-owners and well-trained pups.