Too long in his crate?

[Peggy Jensen]

I have a question about the length of time it is okay to leave a dog in a crate. I have a three year old (almost) Mini-Scnauzer who is my baby and I love him to pieces, so hence big time guilt about not being able to spend as much time with him as I want. I think the size of his crate is right, he has plenty of room to stand up and turn around and lay down completely, so hopefully this is right, I was told if the crate is too big, they may start going potty in the crate. He stays in his crate while I am at work, from 8:30 till about 4:30. Right now and every since I got him at 7 weeks - I have been running home at lunch time every day to let him out for 1/2 hour or so. I live about 25 miles from work, so with an hour lunch, it barely gives me time to fly home and back. My problem now is the price of gas is killing me and I am wondering how bad it will be for him if he doesn't get to come out in the middle of the day. He does not sleep in his crate (sleeps with me most of the time) and gets 1/2 hour walk in the morning and at least an hour when I get home, another 1/2 hour before bed.
Looking for some experienced opinions.
Thanks!

[Hee Yung Lee]

I guess every dog will be different. Is he still being crated because of housetraining reasons or does he destroy things while you are gone? If neither of these apply then maybe he would be ok without the crate. I stopped crating my dog at about 6-7 months and sometimes I have to leave him for 8 hours alone all day-he holds it fine and luckily doesn't chew on anything (well 90% of the time :rolleyes: ) and I don't find this cruel at all.

As far as having to stay in the crate all day, I guess I don't really think it is provided you give him plenty of exercise before you leave and when you get home. I know with my dog-he usually just sleeps while I am away, so it wouldn't make much of a difference if he were crated or not.

[Colleen]

Dexter has to go 8 hours in the crate sometimes and he really doesn't seem to mind. Even when my fiance comes home for lunch, Dexter usually just continues sleeping in his crate.

[Rebekah Hartman]

I have a 5-month-old puppy and he can go for 6-7 hours in his crate without issue. I try not to push it too much more than that because they say take the age in months and add "1" for how long they can "hold it" for puppies. That's where I get 6 hours from.

This sounds awful, but we were gone for 12 hours on Saturday :shuffle: and we just played like crazy in the morning, then I had a friend come play with him after about 6 hours of our absence, then back in the crate until we got home. He was fine (ready to play when we got home), then slept for the full night afterwards. I just make sure he has a couple chew toys and usually a Kong to keep him busy while I'm gone. On a typical day, he doesn't have to be in there for more than about 4 hours, but he's done fine when it's longer.

[Summer Magic]

When I was working my dogs ages four and eight years stayed in their crates from 7:30 AM until 5:45 PM and never made a mistake. Of course as soon as I got home I let them out for potty.

[Laura Redhawk]

Hi Peggy!
You've heard the old saying about Opinion being like a rear exit? EVERYBODY'S GOT ONE! (wink)

My own dogs are not generally crate trained, simply because I've had the luck of there almost always being SOMEONE around at almost any given hour, most of my life. Of course, had I added to our current space challenges and used a crate in training my current dog, Hannah, perhaps she would have Housetrained faster, easier and with more success over all...wouldn't that have been a joy! (of course I might have lost the opportunity to pull out the over 10 yr. old carpet in my bedroom and office, and we probably wouldn't own a lovely Bissell either!)

By the same token, if your dog is 100% housetrained and is no longer subject to puppy destructive innovations within your home...why continue to Crate? Why not just leave the crate OPEN, for him to use at will, when you are at work?

One reason I personally LIKE having my dogs loose in the house, is because they have a job. Although they spend almost as much time sleeping as the cats do, they DO serve to warn when someone is at the door, or on the property. The noise alone is a huge deterrent to most unsavory individuals whose profession includes entering your home, preferably with YOU are not there. Professionals what a quiet, quick, in and out opportunity, they don't want a yapping dog alerting ANYONE to their sneaky presence.

Although I doubt Hannah or Patch would opt to attack anyone, I have a strong suspicion that both would run for cover if actually confronted by a truly frightening person...I suspect that Fear Biting would be the most either one of our current dogs would muster forth under pressure...the noise and the fact that someone who doesn't BELONG there and doesn't KNOW what they are capable of doing is excellent protection for us and our home.

The other factor is Logic...I have NO CLUE why dogs manage to become Housetrained...from a pure logic stand point. I've trained dogs for over 30 years, successfully...yet why they cooperate so wonderfully with our ideas eludes me...plus R aside..lol. When I need to go potty...I pretty much want and at some point in time, NEED, to do it. Yet, our dogs can and usually do manage to HOLD IT for hours on end. I know the sleep factor is a big help, since during sleep/rest the body also shuts down more and there is usually less need. But, still...I find it awesome that they are willing to comply, even a little bit.

I'd try letting him have more freedom, perhaps using baby gates to start, and leaving his crate open and available to enjoy. If it doesn't' work out...bummer, but you'll have at the least have an out for feeling guilty. I'd try it for a few days (remember this will be a CHANGE for him) while still coming home as normal...this way the change is being introduced slowly. Even just for a couple of hours on a non-work day, might be the better way to start him off with this opportunity. Let us know how he does!
Wags
Laura


I have a question about the length of time it is okay to leave a dog in a crate. I have a three year old (almost) Mini-Scnauzer who is my baby and I love him to pieces, so hence big time guilt about not being able to spend as much time with him as I want. I think the size of his crate is right, he has plenty of room to stand up and turn around and lay down completely, so hopefully this is right, I was told if the crate is too big, they may start going potty in the crate. He stays in his crate while I am at work, from 8:30 till about 4:30. Right now and every since I got him at 7 weeks - I have been running home at lunch time every day to let him out for 1/2 hour or so. I live about 25 miles from work, so with an hour lunch, it barely gives me time to fly home and back. My problem now is the price of gas is killing me and I am wondering how bad it will be for him if he doesn't get to come out in the middle of the day. He does not sleep in his crate (sleeps with me most of the time) and gets 1/2 hour walk in the morning and at least an hour when I get home, another 1/2 hour before bed.
Looking for some experienced opinions.
Thanks!

[Peggy Jensen]

The main reason I don't leave him out of his crate when I am gone is because I was told by a very well respected and experience behaviorist that he is probably happier and feels safer in his crate. Sometimes if I have to be outside i.e., mowing the lawn, washing the car, run to the store for a few minutes, and he stays in the house alone, he will be sitting right by the door waiting for me when I come back. Also my son stops by once in awhile and lets him out, he says the first thing my baby does is run all over the house looking in every room supposedly to see if I am there. So I would hate for him to be looking for me and/or crying all day, he also gets very excited if he sees anyone or another animal outside, so I'm not sure if he would do an awful lot of barking. I live in a trailer park, so have very close neighbors and lots of kids running around. He has never been left out alone and has never had any housetraining issues. I worry more about his being unhappy than I do about his making a mess in the house.
What do you think?

[Andre Mendizabal]

I think: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" if your little guy has no problem being inside the crate... there's no reason why leaving him out... I know the schnauzers bark, and its annoying!!! ;) As everybody else told you, each dog its different, and some dogs spend the day asleep just waiting for you to get home, I know mine do... if you feel too guilty, give him a trial... leave him out of the crate and get out, but don't leave, just stay for a while outside your house and see if he barks, whines, or just stays there asleep... that will give you a clue on what to expect when you are not home... you can also leave him out of the crate but limited to a small area, like laundry room or kitchen... that will give him more room but not too much!!!! Good luck!!!! Mini-schnauzers are the cutest babies ever!!!! :dogrun: