To think leaving a puppy for 5 hours is risking it?

[CurryBelly]

My puppy is 6 months old. I work 8:30 to 1pm mon - Thursday and for two of those days, puppy goes to daycare. Two days she’s left home alone but crated until I get home at 1:15pm.

Last week she suffered an awful accident in her crate, she rushed out too quickly and got her foot caught between two metal bars. It was horrendous and she was stuck like that for 20 minutes until I could find someone to cut the bars. Thankfully no injuries but it’s made me paranoid and I said no more crate from now on.

So over the weekend she’s had the full run of the living room, hallway and kitchen. I’ve left her for two hours max while I’ve been shopping twice and she’s been absolutely fine. No damage. She’s been left out of crate over night for weeks and has been fine also.

But I’m back at work tomorrow. I’m worrying that 5 hours will be too much and she’ll get bored and wreck the house?

My post is literally about getting rid of the crate. I have no friends who can pop in and dog walkers so far have declined. Daycare isn’t open on Mondays and have no space on Wednesdays.

@currybelly what on Earth is the point of asking the question if you're broadly ignoring every comment on the thread.

Obviously you resent being called cruel, but that's what you are.

Crates are a training aid, they should not be used for your convenience to house your puppy for FIVE hours on a regular basis. This is why people are calling you cruel. Please reconsider your position for your puppy's benefit.

I wish people would just do their research before they go out and buy a puppy. I cannot believe any decent breeder sold this puppy to you unless you lied about your situation.

Are you incapable of reading? I did not lie to the breeder!! My circumstances changed after I bought the puppy! I put more than two years of research into this dog before I bought her.

Do you have a room you can puppy proof eg we use the utility. Ddog never has the run of the house alone even as an older dog (it's alarmed)

We do have a utility room but there is no door separating it from the kitchen. She could have run of the kitchen but I think she’d be happier in the living room where she has “her” beloved sofa!

We never crated our pup. But then, we were able to safely leave him enclosed in the kitchen while I was out. And he really couldn't do any damage (and never did).
Why don't you try life without the crate? Can you just close doors and keep pup in the room?
Have you tried, instead of a dog walker, a pet sitting service? Short term you, can get a pet sitter who can come in and spend 20 minutes up to an hour with your little pup. I know, this may have been suggested.
The 'puppy' cam is a really good idea.

Could you get a baby gate type thing? They do taller ones for dogs, and cable casing for any cables she might like to have a little nibble on. Could you get a small sofa for the utility room? Or if you're happy to have her in the living room, some storage to put small things away so she cant swallow them? It takes a few mins to do, but should give you more confidence.

Baby gate?

Oh Pomley mentioned it already. Sorry.

Puppy pen or baby gate to keep her in the kitchen?

We got rid of the crate when rookiedog was relatively young. You can usually tell if your pup is destructive by a few months, but I would try leaving dpup for short periods outside the crate and see what happens.

It's definitely not great to leave a puppy for so long , but at least if they have run of the room can make it a bit mor comfortable for them.

I never understand why people get dogs they haven’t the capacity to care for properly.
Far too long to be left. It’s going to be a big, strong dog that needs early socialisation and lots of exercise. Badly handled/trained Doberman’s are dangerous and locking on their own for extended periods is both cruel and stupid.
Give the puppy back and but a cuddly toy.

You asked for advice and got it. 5 hours IS to long to leave a puppy, and in a crate too?? His/her behaviour is showing You that she is NOT happy. You have a solution - look harder for a dog walker.

She'll be happier with a dog walker or neighbour popping in OP.

@ CherryPavlova

Read the thread properly, circumstances changed. And fuck off with your cuddly toy comment.

@ Cultoffortnite

What are you talking about? Her behaviour is great.

It’s not that I’m not listening to replies, I am and I agree that she can’t be left in a crate for 5 hours. What I object to is people not reading properly, circumstances changed. Plus people are making out that this is a daily thing, it’s twice a week. And her training is going brilliantly. She’s currently working on kennel club awards after already completing two training courses (basic and advanced). This is not a dog stuck in a cage with no interaction, she leads a fulfilling life. Just two days a week we have a problem, which I’m working on.

CurryBelly I think people are reading the thread properly. When circumstances changed we have to adapt. You thought you were in a position to take on and train a puppy that has potential to be a fantastic guardian but if mishandled can become aggressive and a risk to others. You can no longer care for it properly. Give it to someone who can.
I repeat get a cuddly toy as they can be left lying around on their own and just picked up occasionally for a cute photo.

At 6 months old our puppy was left for 5 hours 3 days per fortnight due to mine and DH shift patterns. As a compromise between the crate / run of the house, we kept him confined to the kitchen so there was room for him to move about but nothing he could damage. Would this work for you?

Frilly farmer has got it spot above. Yes you resent being called cruel but crating you’re pup for 5 hours IS cruel!

My dog has had far more training than the average pet dog and will continue to have training. She will be starting agility training once she’s old enough simply for a bit of fun but in the background she has extensive daily training. Even on the two days that I’m at work in the morning ... her afternoon is spent exercising, having fun with training in the background. Anyway I’m not going to keep arguining about it.

I know now I can’t keep her in crate for 5 hours (not that I ever enjoyed doing so). Thanks for the replies.

I’d think about losing the crate and trying to confine her to just one room. Looks of Chew toys, working for food, big walk before you go out. All that kind of thing. You can only try it. It’s not ideal but you sound like you know that. My dog is a year and even though I’m home all day he spends most of it asleep. Maybe get a camera so you can check in on her to see how she is doing.

OP, twice weekly is a regular basis. Just because you're not doing it every single day doesn't make it any better. You can't leave a six month old puppy on its own for 5 hours a day - you just can't expect to do that regularly and for your puppy's training not to go into regression at some point.

Saying your puppy has more training than the average pup is also a moot point - we know there are a plethora of shit pet owners out there that don't meet their animals needs - just because her training is bang on does not allow you to counter by leaving her alone for five hours regularly.

You started the thread complaining you couldn't justify doggy daycare because of the cost, now all of a sudden it's not available in your area on the days you need it.

You know the answer to your problem already - you need to find a willing friend/family/ dog sitter to break up your dogs day for an hour on those two days a week. Anything less than that is substandard care. My two retrievers' cost me more in doggy care and dog food than my toddler does per month - that's the commitment I made when I decided to be a dog owner.

OP you won’t reason with anyone on here. It’s so black and white, no grey areas allowed.

I would invest in a stair gate or a puppy pen for the living room, forget the crate if you’re really not comfortable with it.

Do not do anything ridiculous like re home your dog, the shelters are bloody full to bursting with dogs that need to be re homed because they genuinely don’t have a home. That is what I mean by hysteria on this thread, absolutely ridiculous. Anyone’s situation that isn’t subjectively perfect, means they have to take the drastic and horrible measure of re- homing their dog.

Hanzodojo
Is totally correct.
I think the op sounds like a fantastic owner, apart from the crate for 5 hours, which she now agrees is a bit too long, and is trying to resolve it. If you see the real abuse that goes on, you would see the op's dog has a great life.
Do you think the dogs in rescue live like that, of course not, they spend far more time in concrete floored cages, as there are so many of them, some have very limited human interaction.

So much hysteria and nonsense on this thread

Yes, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel how you treat your dog better.

OP, it's so obvious that you really love your dog. In your circumstances I would get a dog walker.

I agree with @Veterinari, as she was doing 5 hours in the crate without any anxiety, then she should be fine out of the crate as long as you puppy proof the room.

It's about the absolute maximum for a mature, calm adult dog. Says who? Mine does 8 hours absolutely fine. Horses for courses, depends on the dog.

OP, people get weirdly irate about leaving a dog more than 4 hours, as if suddenly 4hours 3minutes is going to make such a difference.
You know your dog, you know whether she has separation anxiety.

I find baby gates are better than closed doors as the dog can still see through it. Get into a nice routine, out for a walk, into kitchen, gate shut, treat given (kong etc), out the door.