Hello everyone, this question is not really about my lab behaving badly but was not sure which topic to place this under. Gabby is now 17 months old and the past few weeks has not been wanting to get in her crate when I leave. She does not sleep in the crate anymore and does okay except for the occasional rug chewing. I have left her twice but only for a short period of time, maybe 15 minutes just to see how she would do. She was fine, she played with her Kong. This morning, as I was leaving, she refused and lay down on the floor and would not move. I am normally gone in the morning for about 4 hours and then come home to take her for a walk and eat lunch. She did eventually get in, but I was late for work. I cannot do this every morning so I am thinking about letting her stay in the living room with access to the kitchen and guest bedroom as she really enjoys laying on the bed in that room and watching out the window when I am home. I am just really nervous about her chewing. Gabby is a very heavy chewer and will try to chew things like pillows and rugs even when I am at home. I do have another dog at home, my 14 year old cocker spaniel who does not stay in a crate so I am hoping this would be some company for her. I am just really nervous I will come home to a demolished home the first time I leave her for such a longer period than I have previously. I would really like to de-crate her as I am sure she would prefer to be out with my other dog. Any advice would be appreciated.
My advice would be to first of all ensure that she has been for a good run before you leave her , secondly to check that there is nothing she can get to that may harm her, like electrical cables . Have you thought about a transition to a sort of play pen , there are some great ones available now which allow a lot more room for movement and play ? It might be an idea to look into this as a sort of interim plan before the big move to allowing free roaming ? Make sure also that she has access to things such as filled kongs to stave off boredom whilst you are gone , good luck .
I think Kate's idea of a pen is a good one. My sister uses one for her cocker spaniel when she has to leave him. Failing that I'd limit the amount of space you let her have to begin with until you know what she's going to do. Maybe choose a room with as little damagable stuff in as possible rather than giving her three rooms and like Kate said make sure she can't get at anything dangerous. Hope it goes well
The thing is with puppy pens that some dogs soon learn to escape - this is Twiglet at 15 weeks (she could climb out!) but I de-crated her then and there. I put bitter apple on all furniture legs and made sure there was nothing else she could get at. She's been just fine - no piddles, no chewing I will use the pen for the next pup 'tho, as they are great for tinies and saving me from having to get up in the night!
Our dog started doing this when he was put to bed in his crate in the kitchen at night times, he was still happy to go in when he was left alone when we went out during the day. We decided to take the crate down. That was last summer. This summer at 3 years old he absolutely refuses to go into the kitchen at night. Again quite happy during the day. I wish I knew what went through their minds!
Charlie has a crate inside a pen - it's a tall one, much taller than for puppies. And he also has a crate in a different room. This is because I was worried about the room where his pen is getting too hot in the summer. He is really well crate trained, and I never have a problem with him but it was obvious he wasn't as happy being left in the crate as left in his pen. It might just be that he is used to being left in his pen though. So, a pen might work.....the other thing is make the leaving kong super delicious for a while. Amazing stuff she would never normally get, really push the boat out in terms of delicious kong stuffing. And leave her two or three. So you leaving is an incredible food event for her.This works like a dream with Charlie - he sits under the kitchen table, staring at the fridge (where his kongs are, having been prepared earlier) and really seems like he is saying "hurry up and go, woman". He dashes into his pen to wait for his kongs when I'm ready to go. Doesn't make me feel very loved, but at least I know my dog is ok while I work!
Chuckle, my Gemma is just the same. As soon as my going out shoes go on (different to dog walking shoes) she follows me all round the house until I go to the freezer to get her Kong!
I decrated Harley before she was one. I started off just allowing her the kitchen to limit possible damage. After a few months we allowed her to have the front room, then a few months later she had the living room, kitchen, hallway and our bedroom. Luckily she has never chewed anything she shouldn't. She always waits for a treat as I leave - she will sit by her treat cupboard, will take the treat to her mat in the living room, wait for me to kiss her head, then settles down to her treat. Most days when I get home she comes from upstairs.......sleeps on our bed most of the time even though I leave the TV on in the front room
Hi, Look its pretty simple you need to handle pups like a new born child. You can expect them to answer or listen to you when you are shouting on them so it's better to let them know how much you love them and talk as politely as possible.
Hi everyone, so this weekend I did leave Gabby out of the crate for about 45 minutes on Saturday and 1 hour and 30 minutes on Sunday and she did great! No chewing anything she wasn't supposed to. She was a little scared I think because both times when I got back she was wanting to jump up and give me kisses constantly! I guess I will just stick with this plan and see how she does increasing the time increments. I am glad she has my other dog to keep her company though. Thanks for all the advice. KarenJ I do not shout at my dog and was not sure how you got that from my first post.
