# Going to work - what do you leave in crate?



## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

I have read that stuffed kongs are great but my dog LOVES nyla bones. I would never think to leave one in his crate while I am gone for the day in fear that he might choke on it. It is a very hard plastic so I dont think that he can ever chew it that quickly in one day. 

I was wondering other than a stuffed kong, what if anything could be left with my pup for the work day? Thanks.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

I leave Nylabones with my dogs when I'm gone. I think that is very, very low on the danger scale. I also leave stuffed animals because my dogs don't rip them up.


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## Equinox (Nov 11, 2008)

Trent has two Nylabones in his crate. He's pretty destructive, but those Nylabones are good and sturdy, just with a few bite marks. I check them everyday for damage, though, just in case. Kongs can be torn up, too, so I check them as well. Any sign of tear and I'd toss it.

At first I left Trent bully sticks in his crate, and then realized he pretty much swallows the last 3 inches of the bully stick whole in one gulp. So I stopped doing that, but he always takes 2-3 days to finish a bully stick, so I can leave one in his crate for the first day without worry. Of course, I am able to check on him regularly (as I am home all day, usually). 

I don't recommend squeaky toys. Your dog could easily pop out the squeaky and swallow it.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

my boyfriend and i are gone during the day for work so our vet recommended leaving food and fresh water in her crate. we have a water bottle (like ones a hampster would use-petsmart makes ones for small dogs/toy breeds) because she knocks over her water dishes. lol. we keep soft stuffed toys in her crate. it usually takes her a long time to rip through one (like weeks). we also put a towel down and my BF's t shirt.


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## climber (Apr 28, 2008)

Nylabone Galileo - Souper. Regular nylabones hold up pretty well for us, but this thing is tough.


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

It just depends on the dog. My Lab doesn't really destroy his toys unless they are stuffies. He can pretty much have whatever he wants in his crate. My Mastiff will destroy some toys so I normally just leave a Kong or a Nylabone. I just throw the Nylabone out when its worn down enough that he could possibly chew a chunk off of it. It takes about a month for that to happen and just buy him a new one. I've also left deer antlers but you have to make sure that they are adequate size for the dog and check them for wear and tear like any other toy. After a period of use they do become sort of brittle and could break off. That normally takes a long time though.

I don't leave blankets or dog beds in the crates anymore because my Lab swallowed a piece of his blanket awhile ago...thankfully he vomited it up without any problems.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

I alternate what I leave with Nash in his crate. I alternate between a stuffed kong, a nylabone, a deer antler, a goodybone with the ends stuffed, a nylabone double action chew.

Allie and Lloyd are not crated so they have access to deer antelrs, kongs, goughnuts, nylabones, double action chews. All soft toys and rope toys are only out for playing when we are around.


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## GatsbysMom (Jul 20, 2009)

I only leave a Nylabone in Gatsby's crate when I'm gone. There are some bite marks, but no little chunks. I think they're fairly safe.


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## emily445455 (Apr 8, 2008)

I leave a stuffed kong and/or a rawhide bone. Depending on how long hubby and I are going to be gone


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

I don't leave anything in the crate when I'm gone at work (gone a max of 8.5 hrs.). The dogs sleep, which makes it easier for them.


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## chymali (Aug 11, 2009)

I don't leave anything in the crate either. My dog swallows anything, so it's safer to leave stuff out. 

She falls asleep anyways, and when we get home - we give her a long walk and she stays out for the rest of the day.


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## Davidjames (Jun 29, 2009)

During the day, leave food and water in the crate. I would also leave some toys to keep him occupied and maybe a dog pillow, or some kind of blanket to keep them comfortable. If crating at night, I would keep the water down to a minimum to prevent them drinking too much water in the night and having an accident.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

I wish I could leave food and water in the crate but that would be an absolute mess with my dog. I really think he gets angry and would destroy anything in his crate that he could. I am amazed by what damage he can do by chewing things even though he is only 10 pounds and hardly has any teeth left. lol


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## Davidjames (Jun 29, 2009)

Then I would put a minimal amount of food and water in the crate. That way if they make a mess, it won't be too bad.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

we leave a water bottle in there 24/7 but food only goes in during the day. and our bowl is attached to the side of the crate that way it's not sitting on the floor for her to push over. we also put down a towel and a t-shirt of ours. then we alternate between toys. nothing that she will destroy within that time. we also put a light blanket over her crate because if it's not over her crate she whines.


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## deege39 (Dec 29, 2008)

I have two fleece blankets in with Donatello because he _loves_ fleece, or anything soft... I also have a thick blanket over the top to make it darker, to encourage "sleep".

I actually have what they call a "croc" (sp), where it fastens to the wire door of the cage. I plan to put water in it while I'm gone at work, but in the mean-time I put treats and a little bit of soft-dog food in there so he gets used to eating/drinking out of it...

He's got a few different treats/chews in there with him, but he does absolutely nothing when I leave him alone. Seriously. He won't chew on his bones, he won't play with his toys, he doesn't even really eat... So I don't clutter up his crate by putting things in there I know he won't use... He does like his water though, and he's old enough to drink as much as he wants without having to pee right away.


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## TalerraHybrid (Aug 11, 2009)

i leave water in the crate at all times, Kaiya has one that screws on an dettaches to the wire of her crate, so no mess!! i found out the hard way, she likes to dig in her water bowl 
i also have a dog pillow, she loooves her pillow, and a stuffy, she is used to sleeping with her little sister (chihuahua) and i find if she has a stuffy shes asleep when i come home instead of whining the whole time


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

my dog's food bowl in her crate screws on like others said theirs do. and her water bottle hangs so it's not in the way either. my pup doesn't ever finish her food in her crate but she does eat some. she drinks water like a mad woman though. i have no clue why.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

How do you keep your pups from pees in the cage and tearing the soft stuff up? Rocky would make an absolute mess of everything!


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

it depends on the dog. my dog has one towel in her crate that she went nuts for and tore up but since then she hasn't tore up any others. we don't want to deprive her of water because we are gone about 8 hours during the day. every now and then she will pee in her crate and i think that's simply because she drank more water that day. but usually she will hold it. the other day i found loose stool in her crate smeared on her towel. usually she is really good about not going #2 in the house... let alone in her crate. so that made me think she just had an upset tummy. just make sure you check all items in your dogs crate every day to make sure nothing is torn, broken, or soiled. even if my dogs towels aren't soiled i still change them every couple of days. she likes fluffy towels. lol. she's spoiled.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

thats cute. If Rocky drinks 2 ounces of water he will pee about 7 times....no kidding! I think he does not have much control over his bladder yet. I would love to give him water when we are gone. As it is now, I have to bath him and wash his crate every day when I get home from work because he pees in it and lays in it. He is alone from 8am -1:30pm when my mom lets him out then alone again from 2pm-5:30pm. I dont get it though becuase he sleeps all night - about 8 hours - and never moves.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

do you put a towel or blanket in his crate? i know you said he tears everything up so i'm guessing not. what breed is he and how old? i wondered that too... my puppy sleeps all night and never wakes up and wants out, yet during the day they can't hold it. are you letting her out after she eats in the morning? maybe let her out twice? does your mom notice the urine in the crate when she comes? maybe your dog is fine until your mom comes and then leaves so quickly. then once she leaves maybe she gets a seperation anxiety from your mom. hmmm.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

No we dont put anything in there that he can destoy and consume other than a stuffed kong and a nyla bone. Rocky eats at 6:30am and is take about 3-5 times before we leave at 8am. I also try to take him on a 20 minute walk before we leave for work. 

The other wierd thing is that when I get home from work he doesnt just and get crazy when I walk in the door. He just stays laying down in his crate until i let him out. It is almost like he is a hibernation mode or something. Maybe he is just waking up....i dont know.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

i always feel bad for dogs that don't have any towels or blankets in their crates... but i guess if he chews them up it is safer for him to not have them. have you tried puppy pads? although if he chews towels he might chew those too. lol. i definitely think he is going potty after your mom leaves. maybe it's his way of expressing that he felt tricked that your mom came to "play" and then only stayed for a little while. i noticed when i had someone come let my puppy out during the day she did worse in her crate. it disturbs their sleep and makes them think that they are able to come out and play and then when you put them right back in there they get confused maybe? my puppy doesn't whine or get crazy either. i open her crate and she stretches... then walks out of her crate and wags her tail and seems happy to see me. then we walk quickly over to the door and i let her go potty outside.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

I always thought it might be worse for him that he gets let out in the middle of the day. Everything I ready says that people need to hire dog walkers if they are alone for a long time as a puppy. Maybe I will trying leaving him in his crate all day. He always pees twice and poos once for my mom though. I am afraid of what I might come home to find. lol


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

my dog would go a lot when my mom came to take her out too. but when she had to go back to work i had no one to let her out. so we did a trial week a few weeks ago to see how she would do and she has been just fine. out of three weeks shes only peed twice and went #2 once. we think her tummy was upset when she went #2 because it was loose. if you have to wait 8 hours to go potty do you hold it? of course. but if you decide... hey i think i'll go read a magazine on the toilet (lol)... you end up going potty, right? i think its the same with a dog. if they are out there in the yard they figure they might as well go. but if they are in their crate they think "i'll just hold it til my master comes home". i'd try it a few days and if she goes potty all over the place then you know she just can't hold it yet.


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## Sherm (Apr 30, 2009)

We leave nothing in Sibley's crate. She's too young to be trusted with anything at this point as she's only 7 months old. Our last dog ate things in her crate which required two separate surgeries. I won't be going through that again.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

wow my 3 month old puppy has things in her crate. we check all items in her crate every day to make sure nothing has been torn or could be eaten.

i just realized i'm a "senior member" now! YAY! lol!


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## TalerraHybrid (Aug 11, 2009)

croll326 said:


> How do you keep your pups from pees in the cage and tearing the soft stuff up? Rocky would make an absolute mess of everything!


she used to eat everything, but with a little training and "no chew" shes alot better!!! she ate one bed when shes was 3 months, ever sunce then, she hasnt destroyed anything other than toys.


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## kartor83 (Jul 14, 2009)

Stuffed kong- you put treats or kibble inside then load it up with peanut butter and freeze. I avoid stuffed toys or even some blankets if there is any chance the dog will chew it up.


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## Sherm (Apr 30, 2009)

Well, as I see it, if your dog is in it's crate and eats something, by the time you get back it's too late. Our last dog ate her blanket and required stomach surgery to remove the shredded stuffing of the blanket. About a year later, my wife felt sorry for her and put a non-stuffed blanket in the crate with her. She ate that one too. Not gonna happen with this dog.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

Today I put my pup in his crate with nothing.......yesterday I had to put him in his crate for about 20 minutes. I gave him his nyla bone and a new hard rubber horse shoe chew toy (its like a hard rubber kong). My wife came home 20 minutes later to find him covered in a yellow substance (pee? vomit?). We have no idea what it was. He was shaking like crazy and chewed the crap out of the horse shoe. There were bits of it in his crate. I think he got sick from the horse shoe and threw up. 

My dog go absolutely insane when he goes in his crate. I am going crazy about this. It has to be separation anxiety or something. Out of his crate he is an absolute angel.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

did you mention how old he is? and what breed?


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

From what I was told he was born 4/29/09

Boston Terrier/Pomeranian Mix

About 10lbs now


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

aw he's not too much old than my puppy. we had to wean her ourselves though so she's been with us since she was 4 weeks old. ours was born on 5/15/09 lab/cocker mix.  how long have you had him? maybe he still needs time to adjust to living with you. then once he's comfortable he'll calm down and be ok in his crate.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

We brought him home on 7/23/09. Its weird because I can feed him in his crate and he will even sleep in his crate with the door open no problem but when you close the door - LOOKOUT!! devil dog. I think he got his little paw stuck in on of the vent holes on the sid yesterday because he was limping when he came out of the crate. We have a furrari medium sized crate - http://www.petedge.com/Petmate-Furr...493-_-petmate furrari|-|100000000000000004099


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## Davidjames (Jun 29, 2009)

I'm sure your pup goes nuts because of separation anxiety when put into the cage. Very normal.

Cute puppy by the way...


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

we use a wire kennel for our puppy. maybe your puppy can't see enough of what is going on around him? maybe we need to swap crates (lol) because my puppy doesn't like being able to see when she's trying to sleep. she's a light sleeper. we put a blanket over her crate so it's more "den" like.


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## croll326 (Jul 25, 2009)

We had a wire kennel. He got his paw stuck in the slots when trying to escape - I video'd him one day when we left. That is why we got the plastic crate. I am now feeding him in his crate in an attempt to make him think good things come when he goes in there and not just that we are leaving him for a while.

And by feeding I mean his morning and dinner meals - not while we are away.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

i wanted to video my puppy while we were away but i don't have a cam corder. i'd say you're on the right track with making the crate a good place to be. maybe if he goes in by himself or goes in and does a good job you could give him a small treat.  let him know it's a tasty place to be lol


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