so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

[ezbtr]

he does good LOTS, then poops or pees in house at times yet can be perfect especially if son, myself or his buds over is great. or if I'm gone 24 hrs - he feels bad soon after, so - as I work 0700 - 1600, put crate in garage? Lock him in it? Sorry new to this crate thing
P.S. he IS vision challenged, peripheraly, but ears and nose make up for it!

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

you haven't got the option of a dog door to a fenced yard

 

[ezbtr]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

we do have small back yard, havent got doggie door yet, but leave it and garage side door open

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

I work 0700 - 1600

I'm NO dog expert , But leaving him in a crate for that long isn't healthy for him.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

Any section of the house like the kitchen that you can put kiddie gates up to keep him in while you are gone?

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
Suggested max time is 5 hours but mentions six hours.

Have any neighbor kids that you can hire to take him in the yard during the day?

 

[avenger79]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

I used to hate the idea of crating a dog. Than I got a boxer. She could destroy anything in 1 hour. It was crate or gone, she got a crate. Like you I work 9 hours a day. Some days the Significant Other was there during the day some days not. It took less than a week for her to get used to her crate. Yes she still had accidents in it, and once got really sick with diarhea. I felt terribly bad for her that day. Now days she's older, has run of the house and a doggie door to a fenced kennel. When I come home she is sound asleep in her crate.
One thing I did different from many people though. They say the dog needs just enough room to turn around in. She has enough room to drive a car in. LOL I bought the extra large for the boxer and the large for the bulldog. Both have room to bring toys in and "hang out"

 

[JB]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

Outdoor kennel with a doghouse. Crating, except for transportation, strikes me as cruel.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

I only crate my dogs at night when my neighbors take care of them. They love their crates. If the door is open, they like to go in there and sleep during the day. I have towels over them so they must liken it to a cave or something. The crates I have for my dogs are big enough for 3 dogs to fit in it so they aren't cramped at all.

During the day, my dogs have run of the lower story of the house but have a doggy door to go in the yard.

 

[tomdinwv]

Re: so crate time for dog? Spike is 10 mos old

Crating a dog is okay as long as you make it the dog's "room" and not their punishment. I have a Boxer/German Sheppard (dog in my sig)mix and we crate trained him when we got him. He was about 9 or 10 months old. You could tell him to go get in his room and he'd go right in and lay down. At night, he'd go in the crate without being told, lay down and stay there til morning. Research it on the internet. If done properly, it is a good thing. Punchy no longer sleeps in a crate. After he got a little older, he calmed down and is a great house dog. Main thing is don't make the crate their punishment.