Crating my Dog - Advice Pleeaassee!

[BeccaB00]

Ok, so at the moment I'm homeschooled, but thinking seriously about

going to public school..Both of my parents work, so I'll have no choice but to crate my

dog Bridgit while I'm gone.. Is this ok? I mean, shes always been crated at night time,

and when we're gone, but never all day, with-out having potty breaks.. any advice would be

greatly appreciated.


Edited: Bridgit is a high energy dog (border collie). Play pens came to mind, but what could I use? It has to be somthing so that she can't get to our walls, cause she chews them when shes bored. Could I buy a few of the $50 doggie play pens and connect them?

Thanks

Becca

 

[NellaBean]

My dogs are crated during the day. Well, 3 of my 4 dogs are crated. 1 is young and very destructive (as all young dogs are) so she is crated. My two old dogs are forgetting their housetraining in their old age, so they are crated. My 4th dog was crated the first 3 years of his life due to very destructive behavior (goodbye dining room set, baseboards, curtains, blinds, crates, chairs, etc).....he just turned 3 years old and is finally trustworthy out of the crate, so he is kept gated in the dining room during the day (where all the other dogs are in their crates).

I let the dogs out to potty around 8am and again around 6pm. So they spent 10 hours straight in their crates. Not the best situation but the best I can come up with. Other than maybe an accident here and there if they don't feel good (the old dogs), they are fine holding it. They do not have food or water in their crates.....all they do is sleep all day anyways, they are just confined to sleeping in the crate.

 

[RiverOtter]

If I remember right, Bridget is a pretty high energy dog. You'd want to be very dedicated to making sure she got enough exercise and mental stimulation. Lots of time with you the rest of the day and maybe serve most of her meal in a Buster Food Cube while she has to be in the crate.

 

[BeccaB00]

Yes, she is a high energy dog. Border collie. I'll definatly be giving her to buster cube, and mind stimulating toys, and are bones ok? We give greenies and non-splintering real bones.

 

[Sootsie]

make sure you dog has plenty of space and build up to leaving all day, toys, chews even an old jumper with your scent on it can help, i leave my border collie (1 year old high energy and demanding) gated in the hall and stairs from 9 am till 6pm again not ideal but i leave him with food and water his rope toys and chews hidden for him to find. initially my daughter let him out at lunch times but now he waites all day. i walk him and do some training/play before i go to work for about 3/4 hr and then again when i get home. and of course weekends he gets spoiled because i feel guilty leaving him in the week lol.

 

[sgtmom52]

Please make sure you remove her collar whenever she is locked in her crate unattended. Many dogs have lost their lives when their collar/tags got snagged on the crate and they strangled struggling to get free.

 

[BeccaB00]

See, play pens entered my mind also. I can't keep her locked in a ROOM because she literally eats our walls. Could I use a playpen? Maybe buy 2 or 3 of the $50 doggie play pens and connect them?

 

[sgtmom52]

Do you have a basement or inside area where you could put a regular dog kennel something like this?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/pet-ca...onal-kennel-5-ft-w-x-10-ft-l-x-6-ft-h-3606033

 

[NellaBean]

Quote:
If she eats walls, lock her in a crate for her own safety.

Take her out and run her for a half hour before school. Same after work. Let her get some energy out before she is locked in and after she gets out. My young dog that is crated comes flying out of that crate when I get home from work like a bat out of h e double hockey sticks.

 

[4 the Birds]

Of all the types of dogs that we have had, by far the best at climbing out or escaping from our pens was a border collie. They can easily climb a 6 ft fence. Ours even pushed through a wire mesh roof that we continuously wired over the top. We have also had dogs dig a tunnel under fencing to escape. Border Collies have a very high energy level and need lots of space to run and often!

Letting a dog roam free inside a house all day long is asking for trouble (damage to furniture, wall, or carpeting). Our inside dogs are angels when we are home but they are put in pens when we are away. Crating a dog is less than ideal but necessary for those without a dog pen. Ideally you want an indoor pen with air or heat and an opening to a small outside pen. This gives them fresh air and a place to pee/poop. Dogs should always have fresh water available to them regardless if it is a crate feeder bottle or water bowl.