Wwyd? I had to be out of the house for about 6 hours today. It looks like this might be the case for the next month o
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Anonymous
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Twice a week.
We use a crate at times and our dog likes it enough (she goes in it fairly willingly, but we don’t use it often), but usually it’s just for an hour or two. So today I decided to leave her uncrated with a run of most of our house (I closed doors to some rooms, and put away things I thought she might chew or ruin). I left her a Kong with peanut butter, her toys and the cat to play with. Good or bad? Would you do this? |
Anonymous
| So you're asking if you can leave a dog for six hours? Of course! |
Anonymous
Well, freely roaming, yes?! |
Anonymous
| How old is this dog? We routinely leave our dog around the house, but she’s been trained to do so. |
Anonymous
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Unless it's an untrained puppy or a dog who may have accidents or behavioral issues, of course you let them free roam, with a potty break before and after your absence. |
Anonymous
| Depends on age. I'd crate a young dog just in case (or limit access to one room only) |
Anonymous
You can also crate most dogs for 6 hours, no problem. |
Anonymous
| If your dog was fine, your cat was fine and your house was fine, whatever you did was fine. A dog can be left at home, of course. What do you think happens when other people go to work? If you are actually worried that she's going to get bored and cause trouble, just book her at a daycare for those days. |
Anonymous
That will depend on the dog. You will know if you made the right choice when you get home. |
Anonymous
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Yes as long as the dog is not a puppy/chewer.
I have two dogs right now. The 5yo lab has free reign and has after the first week we had him because he’s not destructive. The 5mo lab puppy is in a crate because he’s not destructive chews everything and eats everything in sight. |
Anonymous
| We have 2 puppies and a pen approx 5’x5’. They sleep in pen and we also put them there when we are away. They have enough room to roughhouse a bit, spread out in their dog beds, chew bones etc, but they do not ever pee there bc it’s where they sleep. |
Anonymous
| We never crated our dog, he has full run of the house. We don't leave treats out, just toys |
Anonymous
| We don't own crates. Not against the idea, just haven't ever owned one. Except for bathroom needs, I leave the house having no concerns. No concerns once they are past the puppy chew on everything phase. Only 2 times there was a bathroom accident, the dog actually went in the bathroom. |
Anonymous
Depends on your dog. I close off parts of the house and clean the kitchen countertops - otherwise they would countersurf. One of my dogs is also still a chewer at age 4, so obviously never ending. But one of my dogs can get through the gate I put up to the living room so my system only partially works. Mine are also fine being crated. But they don’t usually need to be. |
Anonymous
Most of us only have them for puppies or because of a problem behavior. We can assume OP is in that boat. OP you can also set up a safe room that is larger if the crate feels too restrictive. Imo it doesn’t make that much of a difference to the dog but I like them to have access to water just in case. |