[cracker9ball]

My shift just switched so I tried to baby gate Samantha into the hall, bedroom, bathroom area because I am working graveyards now and she sleeps in my room. Well after the first night she had either climbed over or jumped the gate and was at the door waiting. She didnt do anything wrong so tonight I am going to leave her out. Any suggestions?

 

[mtd885]

We still crate Abby when we leave her alone. I recall your dog being younger so I'd say no to run of the house. Call it preventative measures. Has it had crate training? If so I'd opt for the crate.

 

[lmtoth2]

I would have to agree - I would not give her run of the house yet...do you have a room you could contain her in? I can understand not wanting to crate a young puppy for long periods of time

 

[cracker9ball]

She is good in the crate, but she is 4 months old and I wont leave her in there for 8 hrs.

 

[Shaia]

exact same thing happened with shaia - we were crating her up till 4 months, then started putting the baby gate up to keep her in the kitchen for a few hours at a time while we were gone. one day i came home to find her sitting at the door, but nothing was amiss. next time, put the gate up again, same thing. so starting at 5 months, we let her have run of the house and she's fine. longest i've left her alone in here is 3-4 hours, but i think she just sleeps. i'd think twice before leaving her if she hasn't been exercised though.

 

[gracielou]

I believe in crating until you can trust them not only does it keep your belongings safe it keeps them safe.

 

[Sammy-Doo's Fam]

Crating sounds like a good plan but for us, we can't use it because Sammy was improperly crate-trained and is terrified of it.

My Sam has the run of the house and we've never had a problem but, he is older than your Sam (2 years)...

 

[cracker9ball]

Well I was going to leave her out, but right after I roll out the door and get in the van she starts jumping on the door which is 80% window and ruined the blinds. I just went back in and played with her for a few minutes and then put her in her crate. I made sure she did not think anything was wrong so there would be no way she thought she was being crated for a reason.
So when I get home a little over 8 hours later she is fine, just a little hyper for a few minutes. I am giving her lots of attention and play time before I go to bed, where she will sleep on the floor or in my bed.
Well to my point, what do you all think aout a 4 month old puppy in a crate for 8 hours. I know its an hour for every month of the puppys age. But my shift changed and there is no more coming home for lunch, its either crate, bathroom, bedroom, or run free. I have nice furniture and electronics so running free is scary. I tried to babygate her into the hall, bath, bed but she climbed it or jumped it.
Please reply- Sorry so long, but I need help so I was giving all the facts

 

[KGarro]

Uma has never been crated and she's been fine. I think it depends on the dog. We'd just be extra careful to put things like remote controls, phones, etc. out of her reach. Don't be afraid to trust your dog if you think she can handle it.

 

[sdrudge]

Crating sounds like a good plan but for us, we can't use it because Sammy was improperly crate-trained and is terrified of it.

My Sam has the run of the house and we've never had a problem but, he is older than your Sam (2 years)...

Cacao is the same way. She is four and a half months. We only put her in the cage when we go to church, becasue it is earily morning and only for four hours. She does fine if we run out just free in the house. She has a hard time being in the cage. So we only do it if we really have too. So I understand.

 

[L's Mom]

Supposedly if you treat and feed in the crate, your dog is supposed to really start to like the crate... Lucas is now old enough that we leave him out when we sleep but crate him when are gone, he doesn't LOVE his crate, be he tolerates it...

 

[Jacquie777]

Holly is 4 and a half months, and I am leery of leaving her uncrated for a long time-- mainly because she CHEWS everything in sight! I have puppyproofed my kitchen as best as I can but there are still the cords for the computer that I dont know what to do with. She leaves them alone-- but I know one day she will discover them and chew them to bits! I have left her alone in teh gated kitchen for short periods of time (30 -40 min) and so far she is fine. Longer than that, she is crated.

Do you have time to leave your dog for short periods, then increase the time slowly, so you can see how she does? Or maybe there is a neighbor or friend who could come by once during the day to walk and feed your doodle?

I must admit being stumped by this problem-- my yard is not fenced yet, and even though we live out in the country with very little traffic, I don't want to let Holly roam free (even though all the neighbor's dogs do :shock: ). I'm working at home now but will eventually go back to work and need to come up with a plan for Holly by fall. Let me know what you decide to do, and how it works out! Good luck!

 

[*sharon*]

Rosie is a chewer so she has to be restricted at night and when we go out. She has an X-pen that we attached to the crate when we have to be gone for more than an hour or so. My husband fell asleep on the couch for 20 minutes and Rosie chewed a brand new Wii remote.

 

[emilee]

our puppy ursus is 15 weeks, and he sleeps in his crate for 8 hours at night, and also for several hours during the day while we are at home or at school. i think this is good for him; it is really important for puppies to get used to being alone in a crate because sometimes you just *need* to have that option of using a crate, like at the groomer or an overnight trip to the vet for instance. if you've never crate-trained your dog this can be a lot more stressful for them than if the crate is a normal part of everyday life.

also, the crate can keep bad habits from forming. if you prevent your puppy from chewing on inappropriate things when you're around, but give it given free run of the house when you're out and it chews on inappropriate things -- you've essentially trained it to chew appropriate things in your presence and inappropriate things any other time. as far as chewing goes, a 4 month old puppy hasn't even started the major chewing phase yet (when its adult teeth are coming in) -- you can expect a LOT more chewing in the next few months for sure.

on the other hand, if the puppy is crated when it can't be directly supervised, it may never even experience chewing on the furniture. if you correct or distract it whenever it looks like it might be thinking "hmm that table leg sure looks tasty" it might never learn that table legs etc. are fun and satisfying to chew on.

no puppy likes the crate at first, but it doesn't take long for most of them to get used to it, especially if spending time in the crate becomes part of the daily routine. giving yummy kongs in the crate can help them to associate positive experiences with being in the crate. our older doodle, kumo (~2 years old) likes his crate so much he sleeps in there at night with the door open!

-em

 

[MaxandMe]

for me crating my doodles when i leave the house gives me a peace of mind knowing they're all safe.
Max at 19mos is almost ready to be left out but Peanut would end up chewing something if left to her own for too long,
Beau hahhaa i don't think so, he's crated both at night
and if we have to run out for a bit. He's great but is an oversized puppy that is 8mos old along with being an inquisitive little bugger lately.
(shoes, mail, or slippers...so far i catch him 90% of the time so he doesn't get past LICKING Em ...the other 10% hahhahaa i am not discussing).

 

[seazr]

Dakota's crate has been 'optional' to him since he was about 3 months; however, my husband is almost always home with him . . .

 

[gene]

Jonah suffers from severe separation/crate anxiety, so he now goes free. Miko earned her freedom, and Rumor (rescue) was improperly crated by his previous owner and soiled in the crate and would lay in it. He and the crate with me lasted 2 week....noe sll three have semi-free reign of the house. As long as I keep up with the dog proofing, we do just fine. If I slip up.....they let me know..... :roll:

 

[Guest]

Maya never did like her crate and still doesn't. She has had free roam of the house since she was 7 mos old and we have never had a problem. She started just like Sam. I tried to baby gate her in the kitchen and she kept getting out so I just let her have run of the house and she has been fine.

 

[cracker9ball]

OK. For the next couple of days Samantha will be in the crate from 11:30 pm till 8 am. This weekend I am going to check on X-pen and anything else I s ee that coild help.

Sam was crate trained from the beginning and handles it well. I just dont like leaving her for that long. She has handled the previous 4 hr sessions well. I think I will start slowly training er on being left out. But I cant start while at work becoause of te hrs. I will start her being out wen I am leaving for 30 min, then an hour, and so on. Try to see if it would work.

Thanks for all your replies and I will kepp everyone posted on the progress and te decisions. :wink:

 

[cracker9ball]

If you have not noticed my H key is messed up. Which makes for all the typos. I will try to rememer to proof read before I post. lol :lol: