Taiko is now almost 6 months old. He's started maturing, marking his spots acting all Dog like etc. I've left him with the run of the house a couple of times for short periods and he has been as good as gold. I'd like to try leaving his "bedroom" door open at night rather than locking him in. He goes to bed the minute you say bedtime and usually he's flat out asleep straight away. Do you think I'm risking a three piece suite leaving his door ajar?
At what age did you give your dogs more freedom/trust?
Julie:)

With a Mal ..about 5 ;)

He sounds lovely .......have to admit , Hudson has never peed IN the house , even at night ...but when we took him to the groomers the other day it was the first thing he did in there ..talk about embarrassed!! He doesn't seem to equate other peoples places with not peeing yet *sigh*. Sounds like Taiko would be okay though ...I suppose you just have to try and trust him at some point :)

Mel

Julie,
Cava slept loose in my room at 3/4 months, then had run of house at about 9 months, because of stairs.

Only been leaving him loose in one room when we go out since he was about a year. Came back from shopping on Tuesday to disover he had got out of room and had run of house, Christmas decorations, presents etc Not one thing touched bless him
Anne :-D

I read your post on that subject Anne and I just couldn't bring myself to reply ! I am suffering from the green eyed god :D :D I wouldnt leave Thuggy in the house on his own for 10 minutes !! He would go banananananas

:D

Melody

Hi, I think it depends on the dog in question - Mauser you can trust anywhere, unless you leave a gateaux out to defrost (he licks all the cream off and leaves the cake untouched!!:D) he wont chew or anything like that though. Decoy is now 15 months and I would not trust him at all, its not chewing furniture that is the problem, its his paper fetish, he just cannot help himself around anything papery, be it a book, the printer feed tray! anything! if it has any paper content at all - its a gonna - he doesn't eat it, just rips it up and throws it around! Cookie who is now 8 months, I trust (kind of), but haven't tried it out yet - Too chicken! But no worries with house cleanliness, I don't think they'd go to the toilet.
Julie:)

Sorry, when I said marking his spots, I meant outdoors on his sniffs/walks :) He did pee 3 times on my Grans carpet last week,luckily she's deaf and didn't notice :D (yes, I cleaned up!) He's had the odd slip indoors, he pees on the spot if Big Uncle Murphy(v.big mal) calls at the door for walks,but I can cope with the odd porch puddle.
I think I'll invest in a new dog bed for xmas and perhaps relocate it to a quiet corner in the living/dining room.He peed on/ravished/chewed and finally buried his last bed...which cost £60! You didn't think a mal could be that good did you Mel? :D
Julie

LOL

Hudson doesn't bother with ruining beds ...just my sanity ;)

:D

Mel

Hmm, I MIGHT just trust Purdey on her 13th birthday!!!! Last Christmas she had a chocofest on the Advent calendars on 2nd December (she was off colour for a couple of days after.....) This year, due to the 7 unmentionables :-) she has been "promoted" to the peace & quiet of the dining room AND HAS JUST EATEN:-
* TWO boxes shortbread;
* ONE packet of brandysnaps
* ONE box of meringue nests
- and opened 1 pack mixed shelled nuts!!!
I think she might be feeling a bit off colour again for the next couple of days.

She is supposed to be the "responsible" dog in our family - she's like the old granny who sneaks in & pinches the biccies & all the soft centred choccies!

Margot

Gosh, this makes mine sound quite well behaved, although Cava is obsessed with the Chrissy Cards and wants to help open them,
Anne :-D

Ha ha..I love it !:D
Poor Lamb, I hope she's not too bloated, chocolate/biscuits and treats are a curse for any femal :)
Julie

And now things go from bad to worse - and I haven't even DARED put the tree up in the living room!!! As it is, the 7"unmentionables" are still ensconsed in the porch for most of the time - so we have had to seal up the letter box & put a plastic box on the front step for the postman - otherwise our cards are being opened & digested by the 7 fluppies.

NOW, when they are in the living room (without Granny P but with Mum) she is playing with them - and showing off - by running up the stairs - and guess who want to follow her!!!

Now when they leave home, they are leaving home with instructions about NOT being allowed to climb up and down stairs for the first few months - so guess who's going out tomorrow to buy ANOTHER stairgate!!!

Margot

Taiko hears the tapping of the cat bowl and you hear his not-so-twinkle-toes creeping up the stairs, you turn around and he freezes. I think he truly believes if he doesn't move you can't see him :) His latest stunt is to charge around the dining/living room bouncing across the sofa as he goes, then he shoots out the back door before "No!" even leaves your lips.:D
Rolf Harris should do a show on our doggy antics.