Opinions on this dog run

[Pennies]

OK so after I got thoroughly told off this week on here for crating my 7month old lab pup I think I'm going to see if I can get a dog run for her. Will this type be OK? here.

It is 4ft wide and 12ft long, tall enough for her to go on her hind legs & insulated.

Will it be OK to leave her in there if I go to work for a full day so long as she has a big walk (1hour) with the dog walker halfway during the day, plus a shorter walk (45mins) at the end of the day with me?

She will not be in it overnight or when someone is in.

[Xcountry]

it is adequate, needs by law to provide shelter for the elements - which it does, and she should be able to sit, stand and lie down in it. The kennel and run is fine, however 1 hour for a lab is a long walk?? Even the kennel club recommends more than two hours for a lab and they tend to be rather lax with their recommendations.

[insanityscatching]

Couldn't you try daycare? Won't the dog bark constantly in that and upset your neighbours? Perhaps another dog owner would have the puppy whilst you are at work to earn themselves a little cash I know I wouldn't mind doing that.

[Pennies]

She isn't 1year old yet and we've been advised to limit walks due to hip problems.

She's not a barker really. I would make sure she has loads of toys and chews etc to play with.

I have signed up with Borrow My Dog to see if someone else can give her an extra walk.

I've tried to find daycare - there's no-one local who seems to be able to offer what is needed to suit my hours.

[ender]

An hour and 45 mins is a lot of walking for a 7 month lab. A rough guide is 5 mins per month of age per day ("5 minute rule", some disagree but makes sense to me for lab puppies) so approx 35 mins would be OK.
What's more important is training, socialisation and company.
But its just the one day a week, and she's not a barker the dog run should be fine, maybe you could reduce the walks a bit and do some training or playing with her.

[dietcokeandcadburys]

If it's all day every day then no matter how may walks she gets before and after it's a bad idea. She'll get lonely by herself all day. One day a week should be fine but I'd look into alternative options, why can you just put her in the kitchen? You don't need doggy day care all day could you find someone who could just the morning or afternoon and then she's only on her own for half the day?

[Pennies]

My house is totally open plan and I cannot keep her in a main room, due to either the size of it or the burglar alarm. I put her in the utility room yesterday and it was total carnage. She can open cupboards it seems. I also think that the utility room is a bit small for her - it's only 8'ft by 6'ft.

I think that if she is lonely in a run, she'll be lonely in the kitchen. What's the difference? If anything surely there is more interest for her outside - we live in a rural area so there's loads of animals / birds etc to get her attention. In the utility room there's hardly any room, nothing to look at and not much else to do.

The length of walks thing seems to be a moot point - everyone seems to have different ideas, as per the two differing posts below.

[dietcokeandcadburys]

How many days a week would you be leaving her for?

[Pennies]

2.5days. Term times only.

[daisydotandgertie]

Pennies - I said this on the other thread.

Why can't you train her to be left at home? Train her so she doesn't misbehave?

And alter the alarm so it monitors the space from say three feet above the floor.

It's all doable, and without training her properly, you are condemning her to a lifetime of being locked up. That is not fair, especially for a young labrador.

It's lack of training which is causing your problems, not how you contain her. Crate, utility room, kennel - there's little difference between them and all are restrictive.

[soddinghormones]

We have two cats and a dog and our alarm is set so that it doesn't get triggered by the animals (in theory .. We've had a couple of occasions when I suspect the cat was to blame ...)

[Pennies]

How do I train her to be left at home?

[insanityscatching]

We started when Eric was really small leaving him for twenty minutes initially (dd's school run) and then lengthening the time he was alone. Now he's six months and he's happy being left for three hours although usually it's less. Nowadays I just say "you're staying here" and he plods off to lie by the sofa, if I say "you coming" he waits by the front door.
I make sure he's been walked and he has water and I leave a treat or two, he always has his toys and his bed and he has free access to all of downstairs.
Sometimes when I get home he's still by the sofa other times he's in his spot by the front door or in the coolest spot in the kitchen. He has never toileted or chewed anything when left and I checked with neighbours initially that he wasn't barking.
Eric can be a little devil for an audience it seems but without anyone there to notice his mischief he's as good as gold.