I have a one year old lab mix. We have been through training but she still has lots to work on. How will I know if she is ready to be left with the other dog in the kitchen rather than her kennel.

I am so afraid she will chew on the cabinets or something. I left her in the bathroom at my old house a few times when she was younger and she started chewing on the cabinet dispite the wide array of toys and bones I left her.

I live with my sister and they just remodeled the kitchen and I can't have her distroying all thier work, but I can't stand the fact that she is in a kennel nine hours a day and then all night. There are really no other options it is kennel or kitchen. I see all these people with thier dogs loose when they are gone but how do you get them to be able to do that.

What do mean by kennel, do you mean crate? That's still a long time for a dog that young to be in a crate. I suggest taking her for two, good long walks a day: one in the morning and one at night. Then leave her some toys to keep her busy while you are gone.

It all depends on the dog, and when you feel comfortable. I have a four year old beagle mix and she stays out all day, I rarely ever put her in her crate any more. But she's mature and well-behaved. I feel comfortable leaving her out. My Airedale is only a little over a year, when I can't watch her, she needs to go in her crate where she can't get in trouble. If you don't feel comfortable leaving her out, then don't!

Some dogs chew on furniture when the master is gone because they miss their master. You are their companion as much as they are your companion.
I had to leave my first weim n a crate till she was about 5 years old. The second weim was about 5 years old but had his mother there to help me train. Yes, the mature dog helps train the young one.
I now have a boxer and found that in less then 2 years i could trust him out of the crate.
I feel there is a part where obedience training and the individual dog needs to be considered as to when to leave the dog free.
It sounds like your dog might be caged too long.

Can you take her to daycare say tuesdays and thursdays and take her for long walks so she's tired when she's in the crate? My dog is 15 months and I wouldn't trust him all day loose in the house but I do put a lot of work into tiring him out and I'm with him all day. My vet was telling me that she had to get up an hour earlier to take her young dog for a long walk every morning before work until she matured. I call my dog my personal trainer because I have to exercise him every day, no matter what the weather, for at least an hour and usually 2 hours which means I've gotten fit too.

That makes me so sad. She's in the kennel for nine hours a day & then all night??????

Wow.

So what you're saying is that your puppy stays in a crate for 18 + hours a day?

That POOR puppy! I want to cry!

You MUST do something wonderful for this pup.

Puppies have so much energy. They NEED to be able to run & play & gallop.

This puppy must be so depressed & I really feel sorry for it.

Please buy one of those retractable fences to keep your dog confined in the kitchen, which will give it more room than the kennel & will stop it from chewing on the kitchen cabinets:

It's called an Exercise Pen & here's some info on it I copied from the internet. Just Google a search for exercise pen & you can buy one online or at your local pet store.

Exercise Pens are gold zinc plated for maximum durability. Patented, inter-locking system securely holds the panels in place and assures the safety of pets. Has a full convenient door with security latches for easy 'walk-through' access. Can be configured in many different positions. Folds flat for easy storage and portability. All pens have 8 panels, 24 inch in width.

If jumping out is an issue, buy the roof top for it but PLEASE do something better than the crate for your puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's so unfair to your pup to only have 6 hours a day outside a crate.

And, during those 6 hours it's outside the crate, PLEASE make sure that pup gets SO MUCH exercise that it is physically EXHAUSTED, every day!

Hope this helps & Good Luck with your dog!

quote:

cu33029

Uhm crates are the BEST option for a puppy. Pupies SLEEP a while lot more than people realise in fact, I will leave a dog in a crate before I left them out.

At a year old the crate is the best place for a dog if you are not home. A dog will either sleep or get into trouble when left alone and so the crates is almost ALWAYS the best option unless a dog is completely reliable alone.

You MUST do something about the time this dog is being left alone however. Why is the dog alone for so long during the day? Crated or outside that leaves very little time that anyone is actually with the dog.

A crate isn't the same as a playpen. The puppy would go to the bathroom in a playpen. A crate is a safety zone.

I never count the night hours when putting dogs in crates. When it's time for bed my dogs get in their crate and don't wake up until my alarm clock goes off.

Here, leaving a dog in a crate for that long really isn't that bad, here are several out takes from articles.

"Counting little naps and longer snoozes, most dogs sleep about fourteen hours a day."

"Adult dogs spend approximately half of their life sleeping, typically twelve hours each day and some breeds may sleep as much as 18 hours per day!"

Sources
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/sleep-behavior-of-dogs/page1.aspx
http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/0_140/dogbowl.asp

This is a great time to train a four month old pup that crates are a fun place to be. Make it fun for her. I would strongly suggest Susan Garrett's Crate Games. It's a wonderful resource and easy to train.

quote:

Originally posted by badkittyamy:
[QUOTE]cu33029

Uhm crates are the BEST option for a puppy. At a year old the crate is the best place for a dog if you are not home.
QUOTE]

Crates are the best option when you are not home. Agreed. I crate trained my 2 dogs & still put them in the crate when I leave.

I said she should get an exercise pen to use because she said that she kept the puppy in the crate even when she was home b/c she couldn't let it out in the kitchen area due to the fact that she was unsure if it would chew up her sister's new kitchen cabinets.

WHEN SHE IS HOME, she can set up the exercise pen in the middle of the kitchen (which will help her protect the new kitchen cabinets from being chewed & ruined) & it will allow the puppy to get a break from being couped up in the crate for 18+ hours a day.

It needs to be able to play, jump, run around & it needs socialization.

If a puppy is kept in a crate for 18+ hours a day in solitary confinement, they may not turn out to be healthy, socialable dogs.

An exercise pen used in conjunction with crate training is a great way to raise a healthy, happy puppy.

the Op never said they were home the post actually states the dog is crated when she is NOT at home not while the Op is there.

"I see all these people with thier dogs loose when they are gone but how do you get them to be able to do that."

I don't see where you got the idea that this was when they were home. It clearly states this is when they are not there,

Hi BadKittyAmy,

The poster said "I can't stand the fact that she is in a kennel nine hours a day and THEN ALL NIGHT. There are really no other options it is kennel or KITCHEN."

When she is HOME, AT NIGHT (After Work), she can put the pup in the exercise pen in the kitchen, that way it gets a break from being in the kennel 18 hours a day.

I sincerely hope this helps you understand where I got the idea that this was when she is home.

i crate my dogs at night too that's where they sleep. Every night all night from late night until i wake up. (i won't say before i go to bed because often i crate my dogs before I go to sleep i often only sleep for 5 hours or less)

Generally that would be a crate trained dog, I assume most crate trained dogs sleep in their crates. Unless I am awake the dogs are crated if i am asleep they are technically unsupervised and when my dogs are not supervised they are in their crates.

Besides avoiding potential fights between dogs in a multi-dog household, it also prevents accidents. I know my dogs are safe and comfortable in their crates at night and i need not worry about them eating or getting into something that could hurt them.

may i ask why you got the new puppy knowing u have a busy schedule? training a puppy takes alot of time and effort. also try calling a humane society in ur area about training ur puppy to not chew things. i took my puppy to training classes once a week and ive never had to crate her. she use to chew at first but yes having another dog around helps and lots of toys to keep the puppy distracted. the puppy may also chew because of separation axienty disorder. i suggest leaving a TV on. i makes them think someones still in the house. i leave my TV on the animal planet sometimes and my dog will actually watch the TV.

I crate our five month old Dane at night and when I take a snooze during the day... but our year old Dane and our four month old Dane roam free...

However, if we're going to be gone for more than a couple hours during their "awake" time and can't bring them, THEN we crate the year old.

The most damage our four year old has done when we weren't home was snatching a loaf of bread.

i just found a baby gate at a sale for 5 bucks so that now blocks off the kitchen but i don't think any room doesn't have something the dogs could't get into and cause trouble.

LOL The border collie will be chewing on anything in site from wires to stuffed animals we being techies art students and welders I don't think there's a room in my house I would allow a dog in unsupervised.