Help with leaving 7 mo old puppy alone

EllenCherryCharles · 06-17-2007, 03:39 PM

Dakota is a roughly 7 and a half months old now. Typically, when its nice outside (not raining/cold/excessively hot) he stays in an outdoor enclosure about 3 days a week when our schedules overlap and we are both at work for an extended period of time. I've discussed this here before, and he is perfectly safe in this area. That's not really the issue. I know most people feel that dogs should be inside with their owners at all times. I feel that way too, except when its nice outside and Dakota can run around and play in his pool and watch the birds etc while we are away.

Ok, so the real question. Its now June. Its going to start getting pretty hot next week. H is away at a conference all week and I want to start to transition Dakota to more inside alone time while he's gone. When its raining or otherwise unpleasant, he's typically been closed off in the bathroom....the only reasonable room that we can close off, or goes to dog daycare. Twice now, we've left him in the master bedroom (where he sleeps) with access to that bathroom (with toys water etc) for an hour or so while we go out to dinner, and he's been fine. He whines and runs around when we leave, but obviously settles down and hasn't destroyed anything when we get back. Mind you, we unplug all electronics and take all the bedding off the bed. Also, he has stayed all day at my friend's house with their dogs all day in their kitchen while we were on vacation with no issues.

I'm considering leaving him for a few hours (4 ish, with a break and then another 4 if all goes to plan) tomorrow while I'm at work in this setup. Do you think we have any chance of succeeding, based on previous progress? How likely will he be to destroy my actual mattress? I've never seen him chew on the mattress or couch (I've considered letting him be in the living room/kitchen/eating area as well, possibly less to get into, but still there's one big ticket item in there...couch...that could be destroyed). He is, as far as I know completely housetrained, and hasn't had an accident in months.

Is this a bad idea? Should I work him up to longer periods without us before trying? Is he clearly too young? Or is he showing signs of responsible puppyhood?

briteday · 06-17-2007, 04:21 PM

He's still so puppy. I'm not sure I would have the trust factor. Could you set up a large gated area with his crate for sleeping?

Or maybe go away for increasingly longer times and see if you get any destructive behavior.

I think if you choose to leave him alone for 4 hours at a time for more than just a day or two in a row, you might be asking for trouble. I still believe in crates, unless you can gate off a large area of the kitchen or such.

(Our youngest is almost 2 yo now and if we leave her for more than 3-4 hours we have come home to disasters. She has tried to eat "Wilson" the volleyball, gotten into papers, nothing with furniture but everything else like candles and table stuff)

Renoman · 06-17-2007, 06:48 PM

I would not leave a 7 m.o. puppy uncrated in the house alone. That's just asking for trouble. Is there a reason you don't want to crate him when he's alone? My dogs are adults and they are crated when I'm gone. They love their crates and I feel better knowing they're not getting into any trouble that could harm them.

Crating him would be alot easier than having to strip the bed and remake it every day.

If you crate him in the main part of the house, it's not as isolating as confining him to the bathroom.

EllenCherryCharles · 06-17-2007, 08:25 PM

I could crate him.....we USED to crate him. He absolutely HATES his crate. I mean, he'd pretty much rather be anywhere else but in there, as far as I can tell. We tried really hard in the beginning to get him used to it, we fed him in there, he slept in there, we didn't over use it, we put awesome toys in there, etc etc. He just always hated it. So, I could crate him tomorrow. But I don't really want to. At about 6 months old we started using the crate less as a crate, and more as a barricade to give him a little bit more room (and access to a window, by the way its situated near a door) while he's contained in the bathroom (its a big master bathroom). So, I think I'd rather keep that setup than crate him in the living room. The reason I thought that the bedroom/bathroom idea was a semi-good one was because he spends a fair amount of time in that room with us (he sleeps in there at night) and its a small enough space that he should feel reasonably secure, and not completely alone in a huge house. We have a dresser and a bed, and a dog bed in that room. That is it (we are renting and waiting for a stable job situation and a permanent house prior to buying lots of heavy furniture). So there really isn't anything for him to destroy, aside from carpet (its sort of old and he could feasibly chew on a few frayed ends) and the actual mattress itself. Its as close as I can think of to a puppy proof room. Or am I forgetting something?

The other reason I don't want to crate him is that even though I know its the best thing for dogs to stay out of trouble, I feel really bad keeping him cooped up all day. I just can't seem to get over that. I want him to be able to chase balls around and toss his kong to get the treats out. So, if there is any way I can not keep him cooped up, I'll try that over the crate.

Jen D · 06-17-2007, 08:35 PM

Go back to the crate, he will get use to it and start looking at it as his den not punishment. A pup that age is like leaving a two year old out loose you never know what they will find. Years ago I put my pup in the bathroom while I was out took everything out that I thought he could get into and came home to find he ate razors. He managed to get the closet door opened so off to the vets we went. He made out fine but all my dog have been crated since!

briteday · 06-17-2007, 08:40 PM

And I don't feel too bad about crating for that length of time. I have often peeked through the window before entering the house and found that my dogs are usually sleeping in their crates while I've been gone.

The only guilt caveat I have is that I am sure to give them plenty of exercise before I leave and we all take a really long walk after it cools off in the evening. When they are crated on days that I have to go to work I never skimp on the walks and play time.

Renoman · 06-17-2007, 08:44 PM

Would you rather he ate the mattress or chewed carpet and needed surgery to remove it from his intestines or would you rather crate him? Take his kong, put some dry food in it and seal it with peanut butter and freeze it. Tomorrow morning give it to him in his crate just before you leave for work.

Believe me, crating is the best way to go here. 4 hours in the crate will not scar him for life.

Jen D · 06-17-2007, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

Would you rather he ate the mattress or chewed carpet and needed surgery to remove it from his intestines or would you rather crate him? Take his kong, put some dry food in it and seal it with peanut butter and freeze it. Tomorrow morning give it to him in his crate just before you leave for work.

Believe me, crating is the best way to go here. 4 hours in the crate will not scar him for life.

That is a great idea freezing the Kong! I love the Kongs but my dogs always empty them to fast, they will now be put in the freezer.

Renoman · 06-17-2007, 09:22 PM

Frozen kongs are awesome. They work for so many occasions! My guys used to howl when I left for work - it was awful. I thought someone was going to report me for abusing them or something.

I started giving them frozen kongs as I walked out the door and they got so involved, they forgot to howl. Imagine that

EllenCherryCharles · 06-17-2007, 09:25 PM

Yeah, I know crating is the way to go, but I work full time, as does H. Typically he's alone for 3, 8 hour days each week. Since H is out of town this week it will be 4 days this week. I just feel like crating him that long isn't good for him (8 hours a day). I'm sort of trying to figure out a longer term plan for inside dog time. Maybe that's a crate. I guess that's the consensus here. I guess I'm weak, because it kills me to put him in there. I know he hates it, and the idea of putting him in there tomorrow all day (even with a break at lunch) makes me want to cry.

Sorry to be contrary, I just wish there was a way to keep my dog contained, safe and happy while not feeling like I'm punishing my dog (crate) or a bad owner (outside in his area, in the bathroom, or bathroom/bedroom uncrated). The only way I wouldn't feel guilty would be if I could work from home or something. I think what I'll try tomorrow is to leave him in the bedroom/bathroom during the morning and then check on him at lunch and re-evaluate from there. As I said, he's been fine in the bathroom for many days in the past, and has been fine in the bedroom/bathroom for short-ish outings. Also he's been fine in my friend's kitchen with her two dogs all day.

Or maybe I'll chicken out and just do the typical crate barricade for the bathroom. Its worked so far...I just wanted to give him some more room to move around.

Amaya-Mazie-Marley · 06-18-2007, 04:19 AM

I agree with what others are saying. I wouldn't have so much trust in a 7 month old puppy. All it takes is a few minutes for him to tear up a mattress, get into something he shouldn't. I would suggest start getting back into crate training him. Just work with him several times a day on his crate and he will learn to like it. Crates at my house are life savers. If we have a male guest over seeing as how my inside dogs hate males, if they are getting on each others nerves, it just depends.

bluesbarby · 06-18-2007, 01:36 PM

I leave Riley in a safe room when we're gone for more than a few hours. He's 7.5 months. He would never be able to handle his crate because my cats would drive him nuts. I know because they tend to do it at night now. They will literally circle the crate. They want to play. We can gate off our Kitchen/dining room/kitchen nook area. We have upholstered furniture in two of the rooms and so far he's left everything alone. Riley doesn't like Kongs (that was a total waste of money) but I make sure he has lots of chew toys when we're gone. We have stone floors in there and when it's warm he likes to lay on the floor to sleep otherwise he curls up in his crate.

skelaki · 06-18-2007, 01:49 PM

I've worked full times and had dogs. You can either have someone, a responsible teen, neighbor or professional pet sitter, come in and take the dog out for some exercise during the day or you can get an ex-pen (or two and hook them together for more room). Put the crate inside the expen with the crate door open. This gives the pup a bit more room but still keeps him safely confined and out of trouble. You can purchase es-pens very reasonably through PetEdge.

Debbie1224 · 06-19-2007, 06:09 AM

I learned the hard way that puppies even at 7 8 or 9 months old really can't be trusted alone all day. Crating really is the best way. I have 3 dogs now, 2 older one puppy, the puppy is crated in the garage (hat has air andheat) along with the older two. I just have beds for the older ones. They had full reign of the house but notuntil they were almost 2 years old. I lost a couch, chair, vinyl flooring and tons of other stuff by trusting them when they were younger alone. Dogs really do sleep the majority of the day anyway, so crate him, get him to love his crate and he'll be happy and you'll be happy knowing he is safe and sound. Just spend lots of time and let him get a lot of excerise when you get home. You won't be sorry. I went through all the guilt too and found that I felt guiltier trying to get rid of my guilt after they were always in trouble with me when I got home. Good luck!