Does anybody else regret getting a dog?

[MsVestibule]

We thought long and hard before we got a puppy. What would be the best breed for us, how will we look after it during the day etc.

It really hasn't worked out as I'd hoped.

What we didn't realise was that we would get a puppy who chews EVERYTHING, even now, at 10 months old. He is mainly confined to the breakfast room/kitchen and one of us has to watch him ALL the time.

The chewing means he has to be in his crate from 8.30-3.30 4 days a week, although I come home at lunchtime and walk him for half an hour, but it's still not ideal for him.

A retired, local family member enthusiastically volunteered to walk him every day (we wouldn't have actually got a dog if they hadn't volunteered) but that fell through extremely quickly 🙄. TBH, this has been our biggest issue - I resent that so much of my (previously spare) time goes on working later than I should so I can take a lunch hour to dash home and walk him.

What we (very, very foolishly) didn't consider was what we would do if we wanted to go somewhere for more than 3.5 hours. Our lives are not quite as dog friendly as we thought they were and we just have to accept that if we want to go somewhere, we pay for doggy daycare. Expensive, but manageable.

I suppose I'm just fed up that our entire lives seem to revolve around him. Honestly, I know this is all our fault. I had my reservations anyway but our DCs were so keen and I have to admit, I was too.

I'm not quite sure what I hope to achieve from this thread. Has anybody else felt the way we do at this stage and then gone on to fall madly in love with their dog? Or do I just accept that this is the way I will feel for the next 12 years?

He is a really beautiful boy and does get a lot of attention and affection so he's not neglected (apart from the crate thing), I promise!

[lovinglifesomuch]

Wow you guys are easily riled 😂

[iforgotwhatiwasgoingtosay]

A tired dog is a happy dog, we used to have similar problems it was because he had too much energy throughout the day and he took it out on the house. We started walking him for atleast 45 mins before we left in the morning, try and aim for 2-3 poops, we would also leave dog toys dotted around the house - lots of them, I'm talking 3 or 4 in each room. Now I can leave him the 7 hours I'm at work and the only occasional problem we have is him rummaging through the bin if i forget to take it out, or the cute toys I have left turn up beheaded in the hallway lol

[Carouselfish]

Your dog is bored into destructiveness. Try shutting yourself in the bathroom for seven hours (without your phone) and see how great you feel even if you have fun at either end of the day. If he's chewing out of the crate - still boredom because he's alone. Find him a new home where there's someone there most of the day.

[lucy2204]

Hi op, have you tried leaving a piece of your old clothing(make sure it smells like u or your partner) in there with him so he don't feel lonely? An putting toys/treats in for him? Do you leave the tv or radio on for him? All this helps our dog, although he's not in a cage it did stop him chewing. as he had back round noise and toys to play with! If I was u tho I'd try this in crate or pen for the first few times and then when your home leave me out so you can watch how he acts🤷‍♀️goodluck,🤗

[loveyoutothemoon]

You'd be better off letting have a whole room if you can, make it puppy proof.

I bought a pen 2-3 times taller than my tiny puppy and he climbed over the next day!

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

I bought a pen 2-3 times taller than my tiny puppy and he climbed over the next day!

Oh yes. HOW DO THEY DO IT?

[Haypanky]

Unless the dog actually actively likes the crate, I'd either dog proof a small room to confine him to during the day, or probably go down the muzzle route. A well fitting muzzle seems less cruel than a long day in a crate to me.

[Haypanky]

I'd also get lots of Kong toys to keep the dog entertained for short spells in the day, and look into a dog flap. And get a dog walker to come in at lunch time so you can have a shorter break and get home sooner. Look at games to tire out the dogs brain, but just the body. Things like 'find it' games where you hide millions of tiny bits of cheese. You can probably find suggestions online. Chewing is a stage but can also become quite an ingrained habit so be prepared for a long haul and think about how to manage it.

[Yogagirl123]

Two options really, daycare for the dog on days you can’t be home.

Or rehome.

It’s really not fair on the dog as things stand.

Puppies do chew, it’s usual behaviour for a pup.

It’s really tough, you wouldn’t be the first to make a mistake like this, and sadly won’t be the last.

[loveyoutothemoon]

But how can the dog drink with a muzzle on? It can't go without water from 8.30 til lunch time. Could it go in the kitchen and leave nothing around to chew on apart from toys? Or would the cupboards be chewed?

[tabulahrasa]

I wouldn’t leave a dog unsupervised with a muzzle on, they catch on things quite easily... and they don’t stop dogs getting some things.

My last dog was muzzled on walks, he could pick up gloves, socks, he once found a dummy and took it home... sticks even if he tried hard enough.

There’s the potential there of him getting something in his mouth and the muzzle obstructing him being able to get it back out again.

They can drink fine though.

[YogaWannabe]

I’m sick to death of these threads and all the stupid people who run out and buy a puppy “because DC we’re so excited”

It’s fucking idiot and ends up being horribly cruel.

[KateGrey]

I know it’s a bit controversial but what about a shed outside so he can come and go if your garden is massively puppy proof. My friend has one and it’s warm and dry and the dog has access to the garden.

[fivedogstofeed]

It's 'controversial ' because not only will the dog be just as bored alone in a garden all day, but also at risk of being stolen.

[PETRONELLAS]

Knowing the breed might enable some insights from other people.

[Stickmanslittleleaf]

Tab surely if your dog could pick up sticks and dummies or anything really it had an ill fitting muzzle? The whole point of a muzzle is to prevent the dog biting things, be they other dogs, people or small furries as in our case. If a dog can pick something up through a muzzle it's fitted badly! The only worry with a well fitted muzzle is vomiting. Ours also couldn't be caught in any way that would really harm the dog.
Dogs can drink through muzzles as long as they're muzzle trained, very easily.

[tabulahrasa]

“If a dog can pick something up through a muzzle it's fitted badly!”

Nope, fitted him fine and stopped him biting fine... but, because I wasn’t bothered about him doing things like playing about with inanimate stuff while on lead - I’d let him and if he angled things just right he could push them through the holes. Things can still go in a muzzle, it was his mouth that couldn’t get out.

[Foxmuffin]

As well as daycare etc have you tried stuffed, frozen kongs?

[Mrsoh39]

My puppy is 4 months, those frozen kongs do not last long at all.

[Stickmanslittleleaf]

Tab thanks for clarifying and I see how that could easily cause a problem for another dog, I stand corrected as mine was muzzle trained and kennelled from birth so didn't have any such ideas when muzzled once home or out and about. I was only thinking about my own situation and not seeing the bigger picture about a different dog in a different home and the dangers that could pose so I do apologise and in light of that muzzling shouldn't be an option for OP and I was hasty to suggest it.

[tabulahrasa]

“mine was muzzle trained and kennelled from birth”

An ex racer? yeah they’d be very different, greyhounds tend not to play with random stuff the same anyway, even without that.

Mine was a rottie, so mouthy anyway, plus clever enough to work it out and stubborn enough to keep going when it wasn’t easy, lol.

Much easier to imagine there being an issue with an unsupervised chewer when you’ve watched a chewy dog work out how to get stuff to be fair...

[anniehm]

You didn't think it through and l/or got the wrong breed. Mine isn't caged (is confined to one room) and whilst I'm pt so normally he's left for only 4 hours we can leave him all day if we have to with no issues. The chewing decreases by 8 months and stopped completely by 10. It does mean your weekends revolve around dig friendly activities so we go running, go for long walks, pub lunches and go and visit the care home nanna is in (he is very popular there). My parents have him for holidays but aren't local

[Wolfiefan]

You shouldn’t leave a dog all day.

[MrsMozartMkII]

I have two Rotties who'll be two next month.

They're crated at night and when we're out during the day, which is max 3 hours and only occasionally. They have to be crated as they chew - one soft things, the other hard things. Our entire lives are based around managing these dogs. I've never had chewers like them, but they're our dogs and we've had to find ways to manage their behaviours, including trainer and behaviourist l. The GSD doesn't chew, none of our others dogs chew, but these big daft soft irriates are a law unto themselves. If they're walked for 3 hours a day then the chewing is, as a rule, much reduced.

The point I'm attempting to make is, as others have said, a bored pup with limited activity is going to have some stress response, which in your pup's case OP looks to be chewing.

[YippeeKayakOtherBuckets]

Back in the real world, many many people work full time and leave their dogs for 8 hrs. The dogs are fine and happy.

Some people don’t even stick to regular walking schedules