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house ready?

mike hubb
February 9th, 2010, 05:07 PM
I have a maybe not so simple question. I am very cautious of leaving my dog who is 7 months old free to roam while I work all day. Is there a time when I should try this out or maybe slowly progress by an hour here and there up to the ten hours until I can make it home? Please help!

Kay9
February 9th, 2010, 05:37 PM
It really depends on the dog. I didn't leave my beagle free in the house alone for long periods (say, 2 hours) until she was well over a year. As a beagle, she was very high energy and could get destructive if bored.

Buddy, on the other hand, was fine at 8 months. He would just snooze. :)

DoubleRR
February 9th, 2010, 06:37 PM
I actually never leave a dog to roam the house while I am gone. They either are in the crate or in their own space--front entry gated off from the rest of the house, or spare room. I would rather prevent any problems than deal with them after the fact. The dogs are usually in their crates overnight until approximately two years of age, then in the dog space when we are gone or sleeping. When we are home, they are in the room we are in- usually the living room. They have their own toys and are provided kongs or other entertainment while we are gone. I never have housetraining issues or chewed up non-doggy items to be concerned with this way!

mona_b
February 9th, 2010, 07:49 PM
Well with me all my dogs(GSDs) had free run of the house by 5 1/2- 6 months of age. I also never crated. The kitchen was blocked off.

This is how I did it. They were 4 months when I started this.

I slowly started leaving them alone for about 10-15mins. I would just walk outside. Then I came back in walked around to see if they got into. Then praised like crazy. I did this for a little over a week. Then I would walk out and stay a bit longer. 20-30 mins. Came in and did the same thing. Praised like crazy. Then again I left for a longer period, about 45mins. I did all this for about a month and a half. I'm sure you get the jest of it.:)

bendyfoot
February 9th, 2010, 07:54 PM
My GSD, at 6 months, but with careful monitoring not to leave tempting chewables on the floor (still puppy chewing)...potty trained tho. Our boston X, not until she was after a year old...chewing AND not housetrained reliably until probaby 13 months. Really depends on the dog, it just takes one time unattended to know what the ramifications are...I would suggest BRIEF trial runs, like half hour, until you know what the reaction might be. And continue puppy proofing the house in the meantime.

TeriM
February 9th, 2010, 08:02 PM
I think it really depends on the individual dog :shrug:. Riley outgrew his crate at about 7-8 months so we compromised to the next step which was to babygate him into our bedroom. That is where he sleeps at night and our bed was/is one of his favourite spots in the house. I think that being in a room that was for relaxing probably helped the transition.

He didn't get free run of the house until probably another year later.

mummummum
February 9th, 2010, 09:05 PM
My last grrrrl was at home on her own (potty breaks of course) from the onset with no issues. My current two came to work with me for their first 6 mths staying in an x-pen, then had a dog-walker or me visit periodically during the day for years. Hee-hee ~ the first time my grrrrls were left on their own at night, free to roam was a mistake ~ they ate the inside of my leather couch right down to the springs.:laughing: ~ I can laugh about it now but then...not so much.:evil:You could always baby-gate a room or x-pen.

mike hubb
February 9th, 2010, 10:37 PM
Thanks everyone for the advice and imput. My dog is a husky/ lab mix and is craaaaazy. i think if i left her alone for an hour my whole house would be in shambles by time i came back. People I know say I'm cruel for using a cage when not home, but I think it would be cruel for all my stuff to get ruined. I think I will go with maybe starting out small up to her being out all day. I also have two spare bedrooms, so I will just have to see how it goes. Thanks again guys!

mona_b
February 10th, 2010, 09:23 PM
Just a question. Is she crated for 10 hours during the day? Is she crated during the night?

You say that she is crazy. Is it a crazy hyper? Destructive crazy?

There is a reason I ask these questions. :)

I just saw the pics of her. What a cutie. My niece has 2 - 17 month old Husky/Golden crosses.

Dee-O-Gee
February 10th, 2010, 09:44 PM
Our pup is 8 months now and we left her out of her crate on the weekend for 5 hours alone with her buddy Gryphon.

Needless to say when we came home, we only found a few remnants of wallpaper scattered around the house! :frustrated:

Other than this, she is a calm, loving puppy full of energy! :crazy: