# when no one's home, do you kennel the dog? Philosophy? Strong opinions?



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

I have a few questions about having a dog loose in the house when we're not home.

1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?

2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?

3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?

4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?

5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?

Thanks for any input.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

It would not hurt to crate break your dog as it's a very handy tool for a dog owner. As to all your questions just remember no dog is smarter than a 3 yr old child. Any training of the dog will take time and while training goes on hopefully your dog is maturing so depending on how long both takes there could be an extended time depending on the dog involved that damage to your home and the dog could occur. 

As the owner of home and dog it's up to you to decide what priorities will make you comfortable with crating/un-crating of dog. There will be other replies, I myself like young dogs crated for their protection and home.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

1. We don't crate anymore, we used to when the dogs where younger. They are not allowed in the bedrooms, or bathroom (doors are shut), or the cat room (baby gate keeps them out).
2. N/A
3. When we got our first dog, we planned for him to go to work with the boyfriend every weekday. We decided to get a second dog, about 8-9 months later, and for a bit, we crated the new puppy (with a couple breaks throughout the day - my lunchtime, and boyfriend's lunch time a couple hours later) and the older dog still went to work with boyfriend. When the new puppy was 90% potty trained we decided to have them both stay home.

Originally, when the dogs first started staying home, they were in the kitchen, baby gated in. Laminate floors made for easy clean up ( but we rarely had any cleaning up to do, as we they were let out twice, once at 11 and once at 1:30, and then I was home by 3:30 or 4).

They have since graduated to staying out and about. They really have no issues. They don't bark, whine, or even play together much when we're gone. We've set up a videocamera in a couple locations, and, really, they cleaned out their kongs, and slept....lazy guys! 

Also, I should say, we have a very small cottage, and the end of a long gravel lane, kind of rural. If they were to bark at a squirrel or two, from the window, no one would hear them. Also, all electrical cords are out of their reach. We don't have carpet, or house plants, and they've never scratched or chewed furniture

4. I have a hard time with "training your dog to behave when you're not home". When you're not home, how can you train them? Ok, I know, I'm being funny. I know that's not the point. But, really, it is the point. I'm not sure I really believe that you can eliminate an unwanted behavior 100%, so that they don't even do it when you're not home. I think, if a dog was bored, or anxious, it could revert back to that unwanted behavior, because you're not really there to redirect.

I guess what I'm not really sold on, is, can dogs be taught "oh, I'm not supposed to do that, ever!" I think so much of training is about redirecting, and managing things so you set your dog up to be successful...

My dogs don't have issues that cause problems when we're gone. Notice, I didn't say they don't have problems....period. Of course they have problems, but not anything that prevents us from leaving them home alone.

Anyway, I digress...often lol!.....if they did exhibit unwanted behaviors while we were gone, they'd probably still be crated, or at the very least, baby gated into the kitchen.

So, if having your dogs on the furniture was not allowed in your house, and they still had a tendency to get up on the couch, I don't know that I'd leave them uncrated. OR, if your dogs chew the furniture, I would suggest a crate. Basically, what I'm saying is, if there are issues when you're gone, I think crating can be a tool.
Also, I believe in crating young puppies, it helps with potty training, and in keeping them safe. To me, 9 hours a day, with no breaks, is too much.
My boyfriend leaves for work around 9, they get a break at 11, 1:30, and I'm home by 4.


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## Puddin's Training Tips (Apr 9, 2011)

Doxiemom said it all, but I'll chime in anyway

Most professionals will tell you that 9 hours in a crate is too long. I agree with Doxie Mom. If you want to keep your baby out of trouble, a safe room like Doxie Mom had is a great idea.

Now, a lot folks will tell you that the crate should be just big enough for the pup to stand up and turn around. I completely disagree - especially if the dog is going to be in there a long time. 
The logic for potty training sort of makes sense. The dog won't have anywhere to go so they will learn to hold it. But imagine how unconfortable it must be to be in a tiny space for hours on end.

If the dog is going to be crated long term, I suggest a super large crate or even better an exercise pen for movement with a small crate for retreat - inside the exercise pen. If the dogs are large or if two dogs are sharing a space, you can put 2 or 3 exercise pens together.

See Trainer, Emily Larlham's video on potty training - shows a pup in an ex-pen.
and the video below shows my weenie mix playing in a play pen that is actually 3 or 4 exercise pens put together.











Doxie Mom also touched on a great subject for latch-key dogs or any dogs for that matter - Management. If you can't watch and redirect, the best way to keep them out of trouble is management. If you don't want them in the trash, put the trash away. If you don't want them on the sofa, put boxes on the sofa.

Some people might advocate booby trapping. I say don't do that. For one thing, you don't need to scare your dogs to teach them and/or keep them safe. Additionally, you are not there to monitor how frightened the dog gets and how the booby trap will work, etc... 

Example.
You dog is about to jump on the counter and the booby trap goes off. Does your dog learn not to jump on the counter, does your dog develop a fear of going in the kitchen, does your dog develop a fear of the pans that were on the counter? 
What if a neighbor walks by the window when the booby traps goes off? 
Then later you will wonder why the dog is all of a sudden is afraid of the neighbor.

More on managing behaviors below




]


More thoughts on crating. I'm not against crating, but I have never been much of a crater and I have regretted that a couple of times. I got my first dog when I was living in Okinawa. I never crated him. Then when it came time for me to go back to the states, my poor fella had to right in a crate for over 20 hours straight.

That's just one extreme example but you never know when you might need to crate your dogs - home remodel etc..

So I suggest at least acclimating your dogs to a crate incase they ever need one. Play some crate games to start with. Throw treats in, leave the door open. Leave fun, inviting things in there. Once they like going in, you can close the door for a second at time, and so on and so forth.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

1. My puppy is crated, the adult dog is loose in the house.

2. Because he's a puppy, so I don't trust him to not pee if left for more than 2-3 hours, because he enjoys being crated and it lets him settle down and sleep (he doesn't settle properly out of the crate and doesn't get proper rest), and it generally keeps him safe and out of trouble. He's a puppy AND part JRT, so he's hyper and an expert at getting into trouble.

3. I intended to crate train the adult dog when I adopted her, but she really hated the crate and was well behaved enough that there was no point forcing it. I always knew I would crate train my puppy, fo rthe sake of speeding up housetraining and to keep him safe when he was a little puppy.

4. For my adult dog, no, she was adopted at 12 months and has been perfectly behaved. My puppy I don't trust to behave when we are not home, so he is crated. I think it's unrealistic to expect the dog not to get on the couch and not touch something yummy when you are not around. It probably can be done, using reward based methods and making it more rewarding to leave the stuff alone even when you're not around, but I'm not gonna go through all that trouble just for the sake of not crating him.

5. I feel strongly that everyone should crate train their puppies, and adult dogs if it's needed. My puppy has on occasion spent 8-9 hours in his crate while we have been out, but it's not a regular occurrence. I think if you're gone all day every day the puppy is better off in a puppy safe room or playpen where he can move around and play. An adult dog is probably fine in the crate for that long, I know people who crate their dogs every day while they are at work and the dog is perfectly happy in the crate. They just sleep most of the time. A dog sleeps 16 hours a day anyway, so 8 hours during the day and 8 overnight is fine.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


Our crew is kenneled



> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


Strauss gets in the trash (that's right, I've taught him to do a zillion things, but can't keep him out of the trash), and we have a house full of intact animals. We don't want fights breaking out while we're gone, or cat hunting, or or or.



> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


I used to want the dogs loose in the house, but quite frankly, I feel more at ease with everybody being crated.



> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


Not applicable to us I dont think



> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


Strong? No, not really. It works well for our crew. I don't think spending 9 hours in a kennel is terrible. The dogs aren't bored. They sleep. When people are home, they are walked, trained, and played with


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

dogclass said:


> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


My 3 year old and 6 year old dogs are not crated, my 5 month old puppy is crated.



> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


The puppy is not fully housetrained, nor is he fully trustworthy with the cats and he hasn't reliably learned what is off-limits for playing with or chewing. It's to keep him AND the house/my stuff AND the cats safe.



> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


I don't really care or have intentions about crating or not crating, I just use it as a management tool until I don't need it anymore.



> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


Well I think training the dog to behave when I'm not at home is the same as training him to behave when I am at home: Housetraining, don't chew this stuff, you can chew that stuff, leave the cats alone, etc. It just takes awhile for all the good habits to gel enough to trust them to happen whether you're there or not there. How do you know? When I am ready to experiment with no longer crating a particular dog, I start by leaving them uncrated for very short trips ( < 30 minutes to start) and gradually increase the amount of time I'm gone. I'll know pretty fast if they are ready or not by what I find when I get home. 



> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


Yes, I have a strong feeling that I want my puppy and my house and my cats to be safe. 9 hours in a crate EVERY day isn't ideal, but 9 hours in a crate SOME days isn't the end of the world IMO for an adult dog (my puppy, though, can't last that long without having to go potty). As long as a big effort is made to give them plenty of mental and physical exercise when you ARE with them, many dogs would probably sleep for that 9 hours anyway IMO.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

dogclass said:


> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


All puppies are crated or kenneled until they can be trusted alone. My dog (5 yo) hasn't been crated for a couple of years.




dogclass said:


> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


Many of the dogs I've had could be compared to a destructive force of nature. Thinking about what they _could have _gotten into would keep me awake at night. I try not to think about it.




dogclass said:


> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


Yeah. I wouldn't bring a pup home if I didn't have a crate ready for him to move right into.




dogclass said:


> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


My philosophy is to NEVER allow a pup to do the things I don't want him doing, so there are fewer things I have to train him out of later. A pup who never successfully raids the kitchen trash will eventually lose interest in the kitchen trash.




dogclass said:


> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


I believe pups should be crated when not supervised, but I know pups can be trained without crates--I've done it. I have opinions about how long a pup should be forced to stay crated, but lots of people make things work that I wouldn't do. If done correctly, I would have no issues with kenneling a dog outdoors, but lots of people think that makes me equivalent to a war criminal.

Your dog, your responsibility, your rules.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

*
1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?
*
No, both our girls are left loose in the house. There are some rooms that are closed off to keep them out of stuff though, but those rooms are always closed off.
*2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?*
When they were puppies they were in kennels when we weren't home to avoid them having accidents in the house.

*3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?*
Not really, we got Zoey kind of spur of the... week (we saw her ad and planned to go and meet her, after we brought her home we went out and bought all her stuff). 

*4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?*
Zoey was HORRIBLE when left in the crate. She would bark and cry and scream, despite all the crate games and trying to make the crate a fun place. She would ALWAYS, with out fail, poop and pee in there immediately after we left, and then she would end up sitting in it and stomping it all around in her fur. She would get so worked up she would drool like crazy in there and the floor in front of her crate would be soaked. She also managed to chip of bits of her toe nails on the bars. The plastic in her crate has deep grooves in it from where she tried to chew and scratch her way out. 

When we got our house we got an ex-pen and used it to gate off the dining room from the living room and kept her on the linoleum. She did a LOT better. Eventually we started letting her (and Maggie after we got her) be loose in the whole house for short periods of time (when we were mowing the lawn, or running to the store for a minute) and then let them be all day. They very rarely get into any trouble, and I feel like they are safer loose than in the crate.

We never had to teach them not to get things off the counters because, well, they are too short.  They are allowed on the couch so that's not a problem, and everything else that they shouldn't have we pick up and put away. Once we left the gate open when we were finishing the basement and Zoey went down there and chewed on a piece of dry wall.. and once I left a small zip lock baggie with four pretzel m&m's in it on the end table and Maggie ate them, but in 2 years I think that's pretty good. 

*5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?*
Yes. I don't think that my girls would be happy locked up in a crate all day with nothing to do. I only work part-time, but when we are both away from home the girls are left out. They get canned dog food frozen inside their kongs when we go, but that only takes them an hour or so to get through. They have a large picture window with a bed just for them in it, and the sliding patio door for outside entertainment during the day. We know they run around and play with each other because their toys are always strewn across the floor, the blankets and pillows on the couch are messed up (but they are allowed on all of the furniture and sleep in the bed with us) and they are sleepy when we get home. Either my husband or I will stop home at some point and take them out for a potty break.

I feel like they are much safer left loose in the house than they would be crated. Zoey's reaction alone to being crated worries me that she would hurt herself in the crate. I am also a totally worry wart and worry about fires, people breaking in, tornadoes... I would hate for them to be trapped in a crate and unable to run and get away- not that they wouldn't still be hurt if they could run, but I feel like they would have better chances.


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## LisaM (Mar 1, 2011)

dogclass said:


> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


With the 6 year old, she can be trusted to be loose in the house. The 9 week old has a gigantic crate (Great Dane sized) to hang out in if no one is home. I call it his play pen, it's located in the kitchen.



dogclass said:


> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


For the puppy it's to help him with elimination control and to keep him out of trouble. He is a monster chewer and he hasn't learned to not chase the cats yet. Also both dogs are crated at night. The older dog prefers to sleep in her crate. The puppy has a properly sized crate to sleep in. The "sleeping" crates are in my bedroom.



dogclass said:


> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


Yes and no I guess. The older dog has proven herself trustworthy to be loose in the house. If/when the puppy has calmed down and stopped chewing everything on earth and is completely potty trained I'll start to think about letting him be loose. 



dogclass said:


> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


I don't care if the dogs get on the furniture. As for good smelling things on the counter, well I don't leave food out on the counter, I like the countertops to be clear. If I didn't want the dogs on the furniture I would manage the environment somehow so they couldn't get on the furniture, or into the room that had the furniture I wanted to protect. If I had to leave food on the counter I would place it far enough back so it would not be reachable.



dogclass said:


> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


I feel strongly that I want well-behaved pets and if kenneling them until they have achieved the level of "well-behavedness" helps me get them to that point, then I look at the kennel as a blessing and a good tool to use. As for being bored, well both of mine look at the kennel as a place to sleep for the most part. Even when the puppy goes into his big play pen / crate while I vacuum or do something that I don't want him underfoot, he quiets down and relaxes in there. If I worked I would try very hard to find a way to give the dogs a break. Even though I know my older dog could handle it I would want her to get outside to potty. And the puppy - no way would he last for 9 hours. I would find someone to watch him or something.


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## MonicaBH (Jul 5, 2008)

dogclass said:


> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


All four of my dogs are loose in the house. My boys have just become "free roam" in the past year. The girls have been free roamers for as long as I can remember.



dogclass said:


> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


n/a



dogclass said:


> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


It's always my goal to have the dogs free roaming if possible.



dogclass said:


> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


With my StiXxX, I learned he was able to be trusted on accident. My OH was gone for the weekend, and I had a 14 hour workday that I started off late for. I apparently didn't latch his kennel, so you can imagine my surprise when I got home to see him at the front door. I'd had reservations about letting him free roam (he has some mild separation anxiety), but he proved me wrong right then & there. He's been free roam ever since.

With Clyde, it was more of a gradual acclimation (although he became free roam before StiXxX). I'd go and run errands and be gone for <1 hour; he did well, so I increased the time over the course of a few weeks. I'm not sure why I thought he'd be so bad, but... I'm pleasantly surprised.



dogclass said:


> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


I know that some people are vehemently against crate training, but I think it's an invaluable resource. For instance, dogs that haven't ever been crate trained do *not* do well hospitalized in a kennel overnight; they are anxious and often wind up hurting themselves trying to escape. I do not think that 9 hours in a crate for a large dog is unreasonable as long as it's not every day. As it stands right now, my dogs are only alone for about 8 hours a day, one day a week; there's also a rare day that they're alone inside for 12-14 hours. I don't think it's awful or mean. They're normally passed out on the couch when I get home whether it's been 8 hours or 12...[/quote]



dogclass said:


> Thanks for any input.


You're welcome.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Mine stay in an outside kennel when im not home. Since im usually not home during the day & they dogs are used to staying in their little yard because when im gone its usually not for very long & none of my dogs don't have SA so I know they aren't going to hurt themselves while im away.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

dogclass said:


> 1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?


My dogs are locked in the mudroom when I'm not home. When Penny was a puppy I put her in the unfurnished basement. I didn't have the boys as puppies.



> 2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?


I don't want an "incident" with the cats. You never know when a cat will decide to annoy a dog and the dog will get sick of it, or the dogs will get all "pack mentality" and think that hunting cats is a fine way to spend the afternoon. With puppies of course avoiding damage and accidents would be the biggest thing.



> 3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?


Um, hmmm, I guess not. I just think that the basic goal is to prevent your house from getting trashed, protecting the dog, and protecting the other pets in the home. If the dog can be loose in the house with none of those things happening, then that's great. Otherwise, some sort of management is necessary.



> 4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?


I'm not really sure dogs can be trained to "behave" when nobody is at home. Trust me, I've known a LOT of dogs who are trained to stay off the couch when people are home. . .but if you go feel the couch when you get home and the dog has been home alone, there's always a warm spot where the dog was sleeping . And if there's something yummy on the counter, well I wouldn't trust most dogs not to get it, no matter how well-trained they are.


> 5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?


Nah, not really. Dogs just sleep when nobody is home anyway. As long as they're properly exercised and get enough attention when the humans are home, I don't think they mind being alone for a while. I suppose for a dog with SA, any time alone is too much, though.

I do hate hearing about people who punish their dogs for misbehaving while they're gone, but won't crate the dog because "that's cruel". 

Thanks for any input.[/QUOTE]


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## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate it. I guess I'll answer my own questions if anyone's curious.

We've had our 1 year old sheltie/collie mix for about 2 months (recently adopted from rescue group). He's a sweetie. We've crated him when we're at work, so he's in there for 8 to 9 hours mon-fri. He gets lot of exercise and play when we're home.

We've really only left him free roam once for about two hours. He was on the couch, and got into some garlic left on the table (just chewed it, didn't eat it thankfully). I had a not couch policy, but now that I've had the dog for a while, I'm starting to question why I was so against having the dog on the couch...I don't know. It's mainly the unknown of what he can get into that I crate him. Honestly, keeping him off the couch isn't a strong reason anymore for having him crated during the day...not as strong as it was two months ago.

I've kind of always imagined a dog that could free roam the house when no one's home. I'd still like that at some point.

I like a lot of the points others have responded with regarding training the dog...basically to set them up for success rather than spend lots of time training them not to get on the couch. That's very reasonable.

With some video cam observations of the dog in the kennel when we're at work, he seems to sleep all day. When we first had him, he cried for a bit when left in the kennel alone. Now he doesn't mind the kennel much. He'll go in on command, and sometimes without being told. It makes me worry less about what he's up to when he is kenneled. And he hasn't exhibited any self-destructive behavior in the kennel.

I think i'll be worth it to try letting him free roam for short periods of time.

Thanks all.


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## beverley (Oct 7, 2010)

branston is crated when we go out and at night time.
sometimes during the day too for 'break' time.

he is house trained, but doesnt really know yet that all 4 paws are supposed to be on the floor! he has just discovered the window sills so everything goes flying!
and he too would eat the rubbish, especially the tissues.

there is a gate across the hallway that keeps him away from the cats (he chases them) but i wouldnt fully trust him not to clear the gate or chew it.

branston is crated when we go out and at night time.
sometimes during the day too for 'break' time.

he is house trained, but doesnt really know yet that all 4 paws are supposed to be on the floor! he has just discovered the window sills so everything goes flying!
and he too would eat the rubbish, especially the tissues.

there is a gate across the hallway that keeps him away from the cats (he chases them) but i wouldnt fully trust him not to clear the gate or chew it.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

1) Crate. He can run free once he's housetrained and trustworthy. He's too little right now.

2) Everything a typical 3 month old puppy would do!

3) We knew we'd be crating until he was old enough. Thus, we hired a mid-day dog walker.

4) N/A

5) 9 Hours is long, but a mid-day dog walker breaks that up some. I don't feel guilty about leaving him 3 days a week for two 4-5 hour increments. He never goes longer than that cus the dog walker comes every time we're not home.



dogclass said:


> I had a not couch policy, but now that I've had the dog for a while, I'm starting to question why I was so against having the dog on the couch...I don't know. It's mainly the unknown of what he can get into that I crate him. Honestly, keeping him off the couch isn't a strong reason anymore for having him crated during the day...not as strong as it was two months ago.


I had a no couch policy for all of 1 week.

Brady is now allowed on the couch but MUST sit or lay down. It is not a play area. He can initially get on by himself, but if he doesn't sit or down, I remove him and body block him from the sofa until he downs and "asks permission"

Works for us.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

*1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?*
Yes, always. Chances are my dog will be crated while alone in the house until he is at least two or three years old, if not always.


*2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?*
I've never given Dreizehn the chance to let me figure out what he would do without supervision... He is a puppy who is teething so I can expect him to chew on anything and everything. Also, there is a "dragon slayer" joke when it comes to dobermans. They find invisible dragons in everything (like couches) and, in the process of killing said dragon dobies tend to destroy whatever the dragon is residing in. haha


*3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?*
Nope, I always planned on crating him. 

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4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?*
My pup is just about 5 months old so I can't quite answer this yet. We are teaching boundaries though (no couch, no counter surfing, etc).

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5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?*
I don't find anything wrong with crating. A lot of dogs end up in shelters because they destroy things, it's not their fault and crating helps. However, nine hours alone is an incredibly long time. If you can't come home mid-day I'd consider doggie daycare or a mid-day dog walker. If your dog gets plenty of exercise while you're home then crating should be a big deal, he'll just sleep. You could always leave him with a toy that he cannot destroy (like a kong filled with peanut butter).


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house? Nubs use to have free run of the house, but when he hurt his knee, he started getting bored when home alone and started trash diving and would even counter surf, so after 2 years of free run, he is now kenneled for his own safety.

2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid? See #1

3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home? Yes I believe until a dog earns it, the dog should be kenneled. After you can trust your dog then free range until the dog does something like what Nubs did then crate time!

4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone? Nubs isn't allowed on one couch so we alway put something on that couch when we leave. Other wise Nubs was good until he started trash diving. Then I removed the trash then he started counter surfing, and instead of removing everything from the counters so he could start opening the fridge, I decided if he couldn't keep his paws off of things, he was safer in the crate because if it was this simple of stuff right now, with that removed then what? Chewing up the couches? Opening the back door and going outside by himself? No thanks! I didn't want to find out.

5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog? I think dogs should be crated yes. I think 9hrs is a tad bit to long, but it's not going to kill the dogs. Make sure they have water, and a bone to chew on and they'll be fine. Dogs sleep 18hrs a day on avg so it's not going to hurt them to be crated.


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## climber (Apr 28, 2008)

1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?

- Nico (3 year old Dutch Shepherd) has just now started to be left loose in the house when we're gone for short periods of time (3-4 hours or so). Even when we leave Nico free, we put him in his crate before we leave like we always have, only we leave the door to the crate propped open for him. Sometimes he stays in the crate, most of the time he does not - it's up to him though. Enzo (1.5 year old Keeshond mix) is always crated.

2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?

- With Nico, it's because he has a hard time quitting. If a bone rolls under the coffee table, he won't likely choose another bone from the 20 others they have, he'll figure out a way to get that bone back (I think it becomes a game for him). He's a good problem solver, except he doesn't seem to worry about damage done in the process. Enzo is crated because he has some resource gaurding issues still, and he has started "squabbles" with Nico over things. To date, Nico has no interest in these squabbles, so he just gives up what he has and moves on. Enzo just cannot be trusted to be out, unfortunately, because one of these times Nico might decide he has had enough and retaliate. We also have 2 cats, and Nico is as trustworthy as a dog can be around our cats, but Enzo still chases from time to time. The cats are always locked in the basement when we're not home regardless of whether Nico is free or not - our male cat likes to deliver kitty toys to our dogs, and I wouldn't put it past him to place a nice choking hazard into a dogs crate while we're gone. Cats are evil.

3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?

- Yes, we knew we would crate train any/all dogs we get. It's never a form of punishment for us, so our dogs really like their crates. Enzo can often be found napping in his crate while we're home. We also travel for trials and tournaments with our dogs, so they are crated in the back of a vehicle a lot. 

4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?

- Not specifically. If we didn't want the dogs on the couch, we wouldn't let them on the couch whether we were home or not. The dogs are not allowed to counter surf, whether we're home or not. The rules are the rules, regardless of whether we're there watching or not. Easier said than done, I know, but that's just how it is for us. We don't "know" our dogs are ready to be left alone, really, we just test. We decided to leave Nico out for the first time when we ran errands and would be gone less than an hour. We felt he could be trusted because it had been a long, long time since we had to stop him from doing anything bad - basically, right around the time we stopped having that "Oh no, where is Nico?" feeling when we hadn't seen him in 3 minutes. 

5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?

- Nope, to each their own. I don't think spending the entire day in a crate is mean, our dogs do it daily and they are quite happy creatures. I know plenty of people whose dogs are never crated, but they never do a single thing with their dogs. When we get home from work they go outside to potty and run around for a bit. Then they eat dinner, relax and digest for a while before my wife takes them each for a few miles of running. While she is running with one of them, I am typically training and/or playing with the other. On a typical night, our dogs are ready for bed before we are. After a weekend our dogs almost seem to look forward to Monday so they can lay around and rest all day (in their crates, of course).


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 24, 2011)

*1) Do you kennel your dog when no one's at home, or let him loose in the house?*
All of the dogs are kenneled except for Nina. Nina is loose in our bedroom/livingroom area

*2) If you kennel, why? What does your dog do without supervision that you want to avoid?*
-Veda doesn't like Nina and I don't trust them alone together unsupervised. Veda also is a trash digger.
-Loki enjoys destroying soft things. With the damage he does to his own beds, I don't want to see what my couch or bed would look like. Any and all soft things must have stuffing removed according to Loki. He is easy to stop when I am home, in fact doesn't even try. But I don't trust him alone
-Havoc is Havoc. a 9 month old puppy. I don't trust him with much of anything lol

*3) Did you have intentions before you got your dog about whether he should be allowed loose in the house when no one's home?*
When I got Veda i had full intentions of crate training. We have always crate trained our dogs and I think its a great idea. until a dog demonstrates trustworthy in the house it stays in the crate or kennel while we are away. 

*4) Did you have to put any effort in training your dog to behave when you're not home? If so, how did you train him? Specifically, like not going on the couch, or not trying to get at good smelling things on the kitchen counter? How did you know your dog's ready to be home alone?*
Nina never does anything in the house. In fact it takes a lot to even wake her up. If she wakes up she chews on her favorite nylabone or antler, then goes back to bed. The only time she stays awake for a while is when she knows its time to eat and she wont get out of your face. Or if you are eating something you normally share (like popcorn) then she just waits for one to be thrown her way quietly. She kind of just turned out that way on her own. She isn't allowed on couches and only invited on the bed very occasionally. She has never destroyed something in the house so she has proven herself trustworthy. She earned this after a year and 6 months of doing absolutely nothing wrong and she is about 3 years old now.

*5) Do you have a strong feeling about this issue? Is spending the whole work day (9 hours) in the kennel bad / mean to the dog? Are they bored out of their minds? Or does that differ from dog to dog?*
As long as you stimulate the dog before and after, give the dog an item to chew on in the kennel etc. then I think its fine. The dog should have ample space to turn around. An adult dog can hold is bathroom for 9 hours no problem. but I prefer to give my dogs more space than a crate. Each dog has an individual 5x10 kennel or an 8 x 10 kennel to hang out in while I am away. That way they don't have to hold their bathroom time, they can stretch and move, they have an area for sleeping, a drinking area, plenty of things to chew on etc. It works for us. I hope to expand the kennels and make them indoor/outdoor so they can be warm or cool inside, then go outside to tan in the sun, or go potty outside and keep the inside dry.


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