# Leaving a puppy alone in backyard.



## wisepanda (Aug 2, 2011)

Hi All,

I've had my puppy for a week and a half now. She seems crate trained and can hold it in for 6 hours plus. Over the last 4-5 days we have trained her to be in her crate in the garage and she is taken out to pee and poop every 4 hours. Other times when my wife and I are around, she is given free roam as long as we can watch what she does. During these times, I've noticed that she automatically runs through the doggy door to poo/pee in the backyard when she needs to go. so does that mean she is potty trained?

Secondly, she seems to have a liking for anything that is lying in the backyard and tries to eat stuff ranging from pebbles to grass to dirt. Since I'm always with her when she is in the backyard, I tell her NO and she listens. But I'm wondering how to decide when she gets a free roam of the back yard. I'm somehow hating keeping her crated when we are not around. Any suggestions?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

You don't say how old the puppy is, that would be good to know. 

But regardless of the age of the dog, I would NOT leave a dog unattended outside who eats pebbles, dirt, etc. Crating is not cruel, it is keeping the dog safe. 

When she reliably avoids eating rocks etc, when you watch her say from a window or around the corner (as in, she isn't being good only because you are there) and she is old enough to handle outdoor temperatures, and you have a secure (locked) backyard with a fence she cannot jump or dig under, and no one else can jump into or harass her through, and you have sufficient shelter from sun, rain and wind (in the cold), then I'd say she'd be okay outside.


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## wisepanda (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks Shell. The pup is almost 10 weeks old. She is usually crated in the garage. The backyard is secure with fencing that she cannot jump through or dig under.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I wouldn't leave a puppy outside alone until about 6 months of age mainly for two reasons- one is that they need to grow up a bit before they can regulate their body temperature sufficiently and two is that for potty training purposes, you should be there to praise and treat every time she potties outside. You will probably transition from treats every time to praise after awhile but we're talking months, not weeks. 

A 10 week old puppy is not housetrained yet.

Is your garage climate controlled? (A/C in summer, heat in winter) If not, she should really be crated indoors. If you don't have hot summers, then a fan is probably okay but garages tend to get even hotter than a home without A/C would. 

I'm assuming since you have a doggie door, that once she is housetrained and a little older, she will be able to come into the house from the yard whenever she wants to? That would be good, for weather and her comfort.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I agree with Shell. 6 hours is also a really long time for a 10 week old to hold it. The general rule of thumb is one hour for every month they are old.


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