How long can pup be left in crate

[Susan Martin]

Hi...My 9 week old Beagle Puppy Molly, has figured out how to climb out of her play pen . I am going to have to leave her in her crate (about 7 hrs) until I can figure out how to keep her in the play pen during the day while we are gone.
We leave at 8:15am and my daughter gets home from school at 3pm. Is that to long to leave her in her crate? She still fits in it for now, but I will soon have to get one that is a little bigger for her as she grows.

Susan

[Chris Smith]

I am not an expert, but I think 7 hours is way too long to keep a puppy in a crate. That is even a really long time for an adult dog. A 9 week old puppy cannot possibly (or physically) hold it (their pee and poop) for that many hours so you are forcing him to go to the bathroom where he sleeps. Not only is that unfair to him, it is messy for both of you, and it will prolong housebreaking him.

I would think about 2 hours is the max. amount of time that he should be locked in a crate at his age.

That is also too many hours to leave a 9 week old puppy alone without any attention or someone around to supervise and spend time with them (with or without a crate).

[heathea]

yup, probably a little too long for a pup that young in a crate. I can sympathize with having to work however (have to buy kibble some how, not to mention mortgage...)
:)
So, here is what I suggest. I am guessing just had to clean up the pen or whatever when you got home, a puppy that age just can't hold it over 2 hours. You need an "area". Do you have a room or hallway that preferably has a "hard" surface floor that you can put the puppy in? We use a basement hallway with a ton of blankets, etc. to sleep on. Other people I know use baby gates to keep the pup in the kitchen. Then you have a sleeping area and an area for them to potty in.
A crate causes problems because they (no matter how large the crate) will be trapped with their "potty" which leads to more cleanup and other problems down the line. If i were you I would baby gate off your kitchen (or other area) and put the crate in that area with the door open which would allow your dog to leave the crate to potty. Don't forget lots of toys and fresh water. A kong filled with treats is also helpful.

In a perfect world we would all be able to be home with our dogs everyday, but I know I cannot, however I do love my dogs very much. Take care.
Good luck,
Heather

[heathea]

also, if you don't want to put her crate into her "area" you could just use blankets. I found having an area to put my dogs while I am at work was much better than crating, so if you do this, you wouldn't have to purchase a new crate...
just FYI.
-Heather

[Susan Martin]

I kinda knew it would be to long. My kitchen is very large and not pratical. Bathrooms are carpeted. I guess I just need to quickly find a net of some kind to fit over the top of her playpen, like those ones they sell for the top of a childs crib so the child can't climb out. I guess I was lucky yesterday cause she did not mess up her crate at all. Once my daughter gets home from school Molly gets to go out on walks for the rest of the day. My daughter barely leaves home without her after she gets home from school. Anyway, Thanks for the advice.

Susan

[Cheri Milligan]

Susan, I have an 11 month old beagle (also named Molly). My husband and I both work so we built her a pen which we put in our laundry room because it has a concrete floor. We did eventually have to cover it because she climbed out of it. Did you know some beagles can climb trees? :D Molly used to be able to climb out of her pen and over the baby gate. She hasn't climbed over a baby gate in quite some time I wonder if her paws are now to big to use it like a ladder. She can now be in her crate for 9 hours during the day if she has to be but now that it is warm out she stays outside when we are not home. Good luck - our Molly was a handful the first six months but now I wouldn't trade her for the world.

[Summer Magic]

Hi Susan

That is a long time for a puppy to be in a crate. Can you place her in a bathroom or laundry area where you can put down papers and close her off from the rest of the house? If you don't have a room where there is a door you may need to get more than one baby gate to keep her in. I had a sheltie who would jump over the gate, then if I raised it he'd go under it. We ended up buying another one and stacked them, it worked.

Good Luck

Judy and Magic

[Susan Martin]

Thank you all for the great advice. What I did this morning is I got a baby gate and put it sideways on top of the baby play pen. So far this morning it has worked. I hope it works for the next couple days. At least until this weekend when I have more time to put something together. She can almost jump out of the pen.

We just met someone down the street last night after work with a 9 month old Beagle and she had a blast running around playing together. We hope to do that often.

Susan