Should Crate Training Extend Into The Dog’s Adult Life?
July 13, 2010 by Dave
Filed under Crate Training
I plan on crate training my puppy, but instead of a crate I will use a confined room with ‘potty pads’ – because I will be away at work for too long to crate train a young puppy. I work 7am-12pm, home for one hour lunch, then back to work until 4pm.
Anyway once the dog is older and has no accidents at all, should I then let him have the run of the house when I’m away or would it be best to stick with his confined room? Basically what I’m asking is, should crate training/confined area be temporary just for puppies, or a long term thing?
crate training is ok until the dog reach adulthood just let him out on your lunch break so he could stretch. their crate should be a peaceful place for them. an area where they could hide or heal. if you have kids, don’t let them bother the dog if he is inside their crate. just give him plenty of exercise while your at home. that should not be a problem.
it might not be a good idea to let them run inside the house either until they reach 18 mos old. because until that time they are still teething. they might chew on your furniture or worsed, your wall.
what i did to my dogs, we leave them in the backyard while we work and just let them in when we go home. that way, you don’t have to hurry to get home on time for fear that your dog might messed up.
I think you need a back yard or a doggy daycare. It doesnt sound like a good situation to have a dog locked up that long. Then, the only time it has to be out is when you’re sleeping. That’s not a good life for a pet. I’m sorry.
Yes, if she begins to be able to hold it until you can walk her, she can have the run of the home. My dogs can hold it for 12 hours…not because I want them to, but because it is raining, and they don’t wanna go out!
The rule of thumb is for how ever many months old a puppy is, that’s how many hours alone it should be. So, 3 months old, 3 hours; 4 months old, 4 hours and so on. Please make sure to follow this or your puppy will never be properly house broken.
Many dogs begin viewing their crate/room as their “safety” place. See what your dog likes when it’s older, but as long as the dog is properly trained, it shouldn’t have to be kept locked up.
The crate should always be a “safety zone” for dogs their whole lives, but it depends on the dog regarding confinement. Will the dog stay out of the trash while you are gone? How about medicine cabinets (yes, a bored dog can and will climb looking for trouble), will he leave cleaning products and pantry items alone if you are not watching him, some dogs learn to open the fridge. All questions to ask and precautions to take before leaving him the run of the house.
Most puppies should be kept in a crate when you’re gone until the age of 2, give or take a few months. My Dane was left to run the house at 16 months. Depends on the dog.
I firmly believe that dogs need restrictions. I have a dog room that my 2 adult shelties are in when I am not home. They are still fed in the crates. I have also had to punish the younger one and he gets time out in his crate.
They really do not mind being put in the crate, I had one shelty that always went to sleep in hers.
I crate trained my Lab and worked the same schedule as you and she did fine. They can “hold” it longer than you think, just make sure you give water early and let them go out right before you leave. As far as the run of the house, if they chew on things in front of you they will chew when you are gone. If your dog is well behaved then run of the house is fine, but I would be afraid of the pad training it might lead to soiling in other areas. Dogs are den animals and like to have an place to call their own, my dog loves her crate and sometimes rests in it with the door open. You should never use a crate or confinement area for punishment, it goes against the “safe” feeling the animal associates with the den. Thanks!
Remember that dogs are den animals. They like having their own space.
I think letting the dog have run of the house once it’s trained is fine, as long as it still has access to it’s own “room.”
A lot of people who have pets work full-time. It’s totally do-able.
no as long as the dog is housetrained when it’s older there is no reason to crate train it when it knows better than to pee in the house however make sure u still bring it out about every 4-5 hours or so because otherwise it will have accidents.