I need advice...i have had Jack staying in a puppy pen attached to his crate since we got him and its been a god send.. as I work part time. Behaviour wise he has been fine ..a typical chewer but otherwise content in his space until now..so we had a family visit to the UK and we had a dog sitter who visits him weekly come and stay in our house. While we were away she followed our routine.. put him in his pen to go shopping etc well he started to jump out..he tore a light switch off the wall..ate the skirting and my cushions on our return he has stayed in his pen at night but has continued to jump out during the day...so I know i need to get rid of the pen. He gets a 30 min walk before I leave and is never alone for longer than 3 hrs. How do I stop him destroying the house...he has only got 2 shoes so far but I am nervous coming home... Where do your dogs stay during the day and where do they sleep at night? Sorry for the long post
Oh, I feel your pain! We kept Benson crated during the day I think until he was at least a year old. Nighttimes though were a bit easier, and he was decrated at around 8 months. He had a large crate where he could easily move, stretch out and turn around. Benson was never left more than 2- max 3 hours. He would happily pop himself in there, and after eating a frozen kong would doze the rest of the time away. We monitored him on the CCTV and never had a problem. Even now though, I wouldn't completely trust him, some things are just too exciting. We have had a new door fitted..without a letterbox for this reason! Now though he is just kept in the kitchen whilst we are out. Some dogs are avid chewers from the get-go, and some are not! My other two are as good as gold, Benson well he has cost me a small fortune in boots, shoes, dog beds, cushions....the list is endless..
Both of our dogs are determined stuffed toy destroyers. There are some that seem to last, but most are shredded pretty quickly. That said, they don't chew anything else in the house. As pups, Tilly was pretty good and Cooper was never terrible, but both of them have chewed up a few books and and other chatchkas when they were pups. I think the transition was between a 12 and 18 months. They seem to know that tearing up their stuffed toys is ok, but other things are off limits. We never had a problem with them going over the pen. We use the pen as a gate for our front porch right now, and neither of them try to jump it, though Cooper could clear it like a deer if she wanted to.
Rory was decrated at 12, months but he ate the washing machine so he was crated again until about 18 months. He's fine now but he does like to prance about with the cushions. He likes soft furnishings
How old is Jack? I didn't start decrating Xena during the day until 9 months, and even then it was in very short bursts and I had to continue to keep surfaces clear. I didn't trust her completely under she was 1...well after she turned 1. As you can see, all dogs are different. If Jack is still destructive then don't fret about keeping him in his crate for short periods of time.
You probably need to either buy a crate (where he won't be able to jump out), or else confine him to a room where he can't do a lot of damage. Merlin hated his crate and puppy pen, so we gave up on it pretty early, and just restricted him to the hallway by closing doors and using baby gates when we went out. We always left plenty of toys and stuff for him to chew on, and he chewed up the front door mat more times than I can remember!
I know I shouldn't, but that made me laugh. I have seen all sorts of destroyed items mentioned, thought I had heard it all .......
Thanks for all the responses...Jack is 7 months old this Friday. I had never closed him in his crate as it has always been attached to his pen. Last night I left the pen open and he slept there anyway all night and I had to wake him in the morning. Usually he wakes at 5.30 barking to be let out. Today again I left his pen open and some Kong's...I sprayed where he had chewed with my own homemade bitter apple and it seems to have been ok...no damage but it's day 1....so far so good. My issue is we want to camp soon with Jack and so I know crating him at night is the best option so I will have to try but I don' t like confining him after he has has so much freedom.
Harley was de-crated at about 5-6 months old. Initially she had the run of the kitchen and I could watch her on the webcam. After a month or two she had the living room, then by the time she was 9 months old she had the whole house. I am lucky though that she isn’t a chewer. All dogs are different and some may need longer than others.
Yes, crating is definitely useful when you're camping but our girl Ella just sleeps in her bed in the front room of our tent.
Moose loves his crate for two things-it's his safe space when I run the hair dryer or vacuum, and for bed. I pop him in it when I go on errands if it's icky outside, otherwise, he goes in the backyard. He has freedom in the house the rest of the time, but I am home with him all day. He's almost 4 months now, and about to outgrow his crate. I will be buying him a bigger one. It has been a sanity saver for us both!
