I'm a new dog owner; I adopted a 2 yr old Black Lab mix. She is a really happy dog, with SOME basic understanding of sit, and potty training. But, my question is really around how long a Lab can be crated. My wife and I both work, unexpectedly, I may not be able to work from home any longer, so the dog would need to be crated all day, and then at night....so realistically only NOT crated for 5-6 hours a day. I feel horrible about it, but until she is 100% trained, and I can trust to leave her in the house with an old stubborn cat, I feel like this is the only option. Advice??? (I live in Minnesota, so winter is 7 months long and being outside for her all day isn't an option!)
Hi @Falcon sorry but 17 or 18 hours a day in a crate is unacceptable for any dog of any age, even allowing for 8hrs overnight leaves 7 to 8hrs per day. How do you propose that your girl toilets within those hours. If she us crates and needs to go she will be forced to toilet in her crate. Could you not need to toilet for at least hours every day? If she must be left you really need to work out a system of either home visits for toilet purposes or a crate and pen scenario in which she has more room to move around. A separate issue is the lack of company and socialising she will have. Dogs have been bred to be companions to us humans and seek human companionship but the amount of time spent in a crate will certainly impact her social interactions and training.
It will hamper her development, mentally and physically, I think, to be stuck in a crate all day. It would also be totally miserable for her. Would you be able to get family or friends or neighbours to help out? Or to pay a professional dog walker to take her out twice a day and spend time with her? Or book her in to a doggy daycare set up? And even with that in place, a pen and crate set up as @Jojo83 says, is a better option than just a crate or maybe to section off a room with a baby gate?
At 2 years most dogs would have the run of the house and be pretty dependable, but since she is a rescue you must not be there yet. Once you can trust her in the house alone, you might consider a dog door to the outside. If she is not a big barker, or an escape artist that may help your situation. Our dogs are never crated anymore, but they are left alone all day occasionally.
Hi Falcon, I'm in the same situation as you but I live in Maine. We crated ours both day and night for just a couple of weeks. She was mostly trained but a rescue dog and needed some help. She is no longer crated during the day. We created a puppy/dog friendly room just for her. She stays in there during the day along with her crate where she loves to hide her toys and play. We are still crating her at night but will try not to crate her at night starting this coming weekend. I know allot of people say its wrong. But being a first time dog owner I'm pretty green. I did talk to several dog owners along with my vet and dog trainer. All suggested the same that crating for a short period of time is fine. Just don't over do it. Good luck and keep us updated. One more thing get your dog some game stimulating toys.
It is really not humane to crate a dog day and night. It is worse than a human prison cell, since a crate is far smaller. If you have to be out all day, then you need to consider employing a professional - either a dog walker, or a dog daycare - or perhaps a relative or friend or neighbour, who can have the dog during the days. If you can’t provide any of the above, then IMO you have to consider if you can meet the dog’s needs sufficiently to be able to keep the dog.
