Hi, without going into detail... basicaly im having to move home and stay with my mother  for a while..sad i know.. but hey.. i got no choice..lol
My dog is just over two and when he has been left alone he has had part of the home to explore and live.  He does like to destroy things on occasions..  but when i move into my mothers place there is nowhere like that for him. So my question is. When there is nobody in the house do i buy a cage and put him in that when i leave for work (would be in cage from 9am until 3pm) and let my mum let him out when she gets back, do i put a muzzle on him so he cant chew everything, do i tie him up... or does someone have any other ideas.  He gets a long walk before i go to work.  Theres no one i can leave him with during the day, i can only take him to work with me occasionaly.  Im not wanting him to destroy my mums home :o) but i want what best for my dog.

Very grateful for any helpful advice given

Andy :-)

Hi,
I think the best thing to do would be a crate.
Max has a crate for when we are out. We both work too!

The crate gives him 'his' space. And if yours gets a long walk before work, he should be fine!

I hope it all works out for the best, and good luck!

Ashleigh

You could crate him for a reasonable period - although muzzling wouldn't be fair and neither would tieing him up because he could easily strangle himself.

The problem is that none of these methods are solving the problem are they? They are just offering a short term solution. Have you thought WHY he continues to chew? Could he be anxious about being left do you think? I think you need to address that problem - and ASAP - IMO :)

Whatever you do, don't leave him unattended with a muzzle on. A crate, or better still a secure utility room, or kennel and run, would be much safer.

Ok, thanks.. will look into a crate..

theres no room i can use. 

Its only occasionaly he will destroy something.. a shoe, magazine.. that type of thing.. but being in a new home might unsettle him so i want him to get used to his surroundings first before he is left alone to roam the house.

Unless i hear of better idea that hasnt been suggested i will get him a crate, thanks for the advice.

Andy :-)

Sorry I can't agree with putting a dog in a crate for 6 hours. I think that is far too long. It would be best to solve the problem. Whatever you decide do what is best for your dog, even if it means rehoming, unless of course you will only be staying with your mum for a short time.

 

Hi,

I agree crates are wonderful things for short times if you have to pop out, or for house training  etc I use them .However I think putting a dog in one and leaving it in one with door shut for more than 2 hours is abusing the crate system,and one left in for 6 hours sorry my personal opinion is downright stupid,more and more people are doing this ,especially if they have to go out to work and its not on.

I always understood crates are used short periods not an excuse to put a dog in one so you go off for a number of hours.

You would'nt leave a child in a playpen for couple hours 20 mins max to answer phone,hand washing out etc.Not quite same thing but you get the message.

Briony :-)

I'm afraid I tend to agree; 6 hours is way too long unless the crate is absolutely huge!

Is there anywhere he can be put, such as a room where he can see out the window? keeps my girl busy for hours, it is her "tv" :D Or maybe use childgates to control his access to certain areas.....plan his day, give him stuffed kongs and maybe even give him his food in a stuffed kong so he has to work for it and keeps himself busy doing that.

If he is likely to chew furniture, maybe use oil of cloves or Bitter Apple on the likely places. And remove all temptations especially if they have sentimental value or are expensive!

Lindsay
X

I to must say i agree that 6 hours is a bit exsessive ,he would be sooooo bored and not to mention stiff !!  ,what i would say is can you not get a doggie playpen (peps get these for puppys usually )  there  made of metal, easy to take up/down ect ,then you could pop this up say in the kitchen before you go ,leave him water and stuff to do ,then make it as big as you can so hes not cramped up all day ,then hes safe and happy and so is your mums house !!   or can he not have accsess to the garden if its secure ?? just an idea  i hope it works out for you ,also can a friendly naighbour not take him for a couple of hours or a dog walker ??

You don't say how soon you have to move in with your mum, but why not approach it in a different way and look to curing the cause of his destructive traits and go back to basic training? There's no time like the present, and you'll both be alot happier in the long run :)
Remove obvious items and then leave him on his own with the radio on, with a stuffed Kong as already mentioned...for initially a couple of minutes. Gradually build up this time ie 5, 10, 25, 50 mins etc etc. Regardless of when you do actually move in with mum...I would still recommend you give this a try, rather than having to resort to a crate at all. Give it a go.
:)

I see nothing wrong with a crate at all, its safe for the dog and giving some toys to chew they can be very happy, plus they sleep. If leaving that long get a fare size crate so your dog has plenty of room and keep water and toys in their. My dogs are kenneled from 8:50-3 every day while Iam at work, I leave at 6:30 and hubby leaves 8:50. My dogs do just fine. Then they are out for the rest of the evening. Their kennels are alot bigger then they should be they are for a german shepherd and I have boston terriers....I would not consider rehoming my dog just because I have to kennel them because I have to work, to offer advice like that in my opinion is just playen rude....A muzzle should never be left on when you are not there. My dogs are also kenneled when my hubby goes to bed and that is usually around 12 or 1, and they seem very happy and content. I only have one boston that gets free roam and is never kenneled.... Since Taz my hybrid is way to big for a kennel he is in the porch with a baby gate :)

I say do what you need to do to keep your dog safe inside your home while you are out, and a kennel I think would be your best choice. As long as you make it a happy place your dog will see it as a place to get away, it will be like your dogs den :)

Hi Dollface,

In the States crating for longer seems to be accepted, but in the UK there is a tendency to feel that 4  hours is quite enough :) Of course it depends on many factors but I feel we in this modern age tend to be a little too manipulative where our dogs are concerned and try to "make" them fit in with our lives when it may not always be fair. Not saying a dog can't get used to a crate for that long but...it just doesn't seem right to me. I suspect smaller dogs cope better than biggies.

My choice would be control with a child gate, as you have done with y0ur Taz :)

Lindsay
X

I live in Saskatchewan :) Like I said if you have to crate for that period of time get the biggest kennel possible to allow the dog to have plenty of room, nothing worse then being all cramped up...Taz just much easier to keep him in the porch being 158-162 pounds I really couldn't see putting him in a kennel, he's too big and at 10 1/2 years old does not move like he is suppose to any more :( ....

I'm not sure how big the dog was who the person was asking for, if it's a big dog even putting a baby gate up and keeping in the bathroom if there is no other place works too. Much better then shutting the door on the dog, you just have to teach the dog to leave the baby gate up. It only took 3 nights for Taz to learn he gets put in their at bed time as well.

wow - you crate your dogs from 8.50 to 3 - sorry I think that's downright cruel !.

Anyone know what breed of dog we are talking about ???

Trevor alot of people crate their dogs for a period of time and I really don't care what you think!!! I never asked for your opinion or your rude comment!!!!...Sorry Iam not as rich as you or other people to afford a dog sitter or sit at home and not have to work...My dogs sleep while Iam gone and they are only kenneled like this for 3 months out of a year, so to me that is not to bad. Until you know the other persons full situation (which I don't feel I need to explain to you) don't judge me/them....Many dogs are kenneled because people have to work to be able to support them, and Iam sure alot more people kennel their dogs alot longer but would not say on here because of all the negativity they will get from this forum.

Is it not better for a dog to be crated for that length of time, than to be stuck in a rescue kennel all day with just one walk and hardly any individual attention, and then at the end of that, maybe not finding a home and being put to sleep? Sorry but i agree with Dollface. There are millions of unloved dogs out in the world, and i'm sure that her's are a lot happier than most.

<<<<<<<<basicaly im having to move home and stay with my mother  for a while>>>>>>>>>>>>
..Andy,
How long do you class as 'a while'?????  It would be far better if you could use a dog gate (or baby gate depending on the size of the dog) on a bathroom etc, to enclose it.
But, if you are not talking long term,if the dog is house trained, choose the biggest crate you can so the dog has room to move (bigger than recommended for the breed)
Out of interest, what breed/size of dog do you have??? It may be easier to answer your question knowing that.
IMHO as someone else has said, it is better to crate the dog for longer periods for a while, giving the dog loads of love, attention, and walks before and after than send it to a rescue home where it would be sut up all the time in kennels and runs.
I presume you see staying with your mother as a short term solution rather than a permanent fixture???
Lea :)

come on folks are we really saying that it's OK to crate a dog for this long ? even zoo animals have the space to move around - I am not saying rehome the dog but for pity's sake give the poor thing a bit of space -use puppy panels to fence off an area/baby gates/buy a proper kennel and run but don't leave it shut up in a small metal box for over 6 hours at a stretch.

It's always difficult to discuss this sort of thing without seeming to "get personal" with other posters; for instance although i am not keen on dogs crated this long, i suspect Dollfaces Bostons are fine due to the care she has taken in choosing a big crate etc and if walked beforehand are probably used to it and therefore accepting. I am positive that some breeds (such as mine, the BSD) would be totally miserable crated for more than 4 hours maximum.

My girl does have a crate and goes into it for rest and so on, but it's kind of her choice :D. Putting a biggish or active dog in a crate for any length of time makes me think of battery chickens..... I want to shout "not fair!!"

Lindsay
X

Hi,

I use crates for short periods of times under 2 hours ,I prefer to put a safety gate on my utility room or my kitchen doors if im forced to be longer which uner 6 months old I try not to be unless I get someone pop in and check .

Then my older dogs have large internal kennel and run which means when I go shopping,they can run,have separate toilet area and lovely dry sleeping beds.Or I bring theminto the house with use of safety gates.

A dog in a crate for a number of hours would have to lie in his wee etc if did have to go (even if he is perfectly house trained the very odd accident can still happen,he could just be desperate one time)and what would happen if he managed to pick up a stomach bug he would be forced to lie or walk around in his own diarrohea.

If people have to work and have a dog which I accept some people have too,leaving a dog in a crate for numer of hours whether housetrained or not is unacceptable in my opinion and therefore larger puppy panels,safety gates etc is far kinder to the dog that has to be left for more than just a couple of hours.

Crates are excellent when used how they should be intended,but sometimes I think what would happen before they came so popular people were forced to think about use safety gates more etc and to think about more emphasis on training
their dogs ,problem dogs its just too easy to chuck them in a crate rather than trying to address the problem.

Just my opinion I know many of you will disagree and thats fine,we all have our methods.

Briony :-)

I think Andrew has left the building

From reading all of these posts it is generally accepted in the USA but not here.  I do use a crate but the door has been taken off as my nervous dog uses it as his haven to get away from noises etc if needs be.  I dont agree with crating for this long but then dont think rehoming to a rescue centre is the right idea.  Our nervous dog does chew and we have found the ideal detterent.  Vicks vaporub.  They hate the smell and they hate the taste.  We have practically cured him of his chewing in a week.  Well worth trying out. 

We found that our dog loved the taste of bitter apple and started to chew everywhere where we put it!

Claire