How much freedom for a puppy?

[ProseccoSupernova]

We have a 10 week old Spaniel. We have a crate and a playpen attached. He is in there for most of the day with lots of toilet and play time with us every hour or two. I feel so guilty seeing him asleep or just walking around the pen but surely he is too young to give him the run of the whole room? He is in our living room as our kitchen is too small so there are sofas and other things in there he could damage if left to wander on his own. How old were your puppies when you left them unsupervised? He is in a crate at night and sleeps brilliantly but don’t want to shut him in a small crate during the day

i only put mine in the crate when i was going out or at night, apart from that he had the run of the house

My puppy had the run of the front room from day 1 at 8 weeks old, she chewed some things when we weren't watching but most of it we managed to puppy proof. In the garden she had a playpen or was on the lead while we made our fences secure. Now she's about 4.5 months and has the run of all downstairs except the kitchen. All the books I read say to confine to one area/room but I think it depends on what works for your home and family. For us, she had to walk through the playroom and dining room to access the garden so it makes sense to make sure those areas are puppy proof. But I'm always around so she isn't ever unsupervised.

Oh and she has never chewed our carpet or sofas - she prefers wood and cables! So things you might assume would get destroyed actually might be fine. I only put ours in her crate for sleep or if it's unavoidable for me to go out at a non-nap time. If she's not due a nap then she has a puzzle feeder or kong or Dentastick with her. I wouldn't like to crate her for any length of awake time.

My spaniel was only ever in the crate if I was showering, or at night. She had total free run of the house (apart from upstairs because going up and down can damage their joints when they’re young).

Why are you shutting the pup away all day? For toilet training purposes? Why did you get a dog if you don’t have the time to put into them?

You have to supervise at all times, that’s kinda the point of puppies. They damage things, pee everywhere. Your job is to teach them how you want them to behave. Not lock them away all day.

OP have a look at the puppy training uk group on Fbk - it's so so good for these sort of questions.

I have a 12 week old terrier and he has the run of our large kitchen and back garden. Then the rest of the house if he is constantly supervised - he loves to wee on carpet...

Our puppy is limited to the kitchen or garden in the day but gets free run of downstairs in the evenings when the kids (2&5)are in bed and toys are away. She's crated at night or if I'm out, during the day she sleeps in the crate with the door open.

Mine was also only in the crate when she had to be alone, the door was left open all day so she could go in if she wanted some peace

Long time since we had a puppy but she had the run of the house when we were in and had the dining room when we were out , never crated.

Mines only in the crate when I’m out (3 school runs half an hour each). The rest of the time she has free rein of the house, I just constantly shadow her to keep her out of trouble. Yaabvvu to keep a puppy locked up all day just incase it damages something, that’s part and parcel of having a puppy, you don’t stick it in a pen and only let it out when you can be arsed for it

She’s only in a crate when I’m out because the one room that’s properly puppy proofed already has a very large dog in it (he’s got his own couch in there he likes to sleep on), and I’m not comfortable leaving them unsupervised yet

Mine was restricted to the kitchen/diner in the day for many weeks. But so was I as I stayed there with him. He was only in the crate when we needed him to be safe (doors open, could not supervise) or sleeping.

As time went on we spent a bit of time in the other rooms but as they were not as puppy proofed we had to gradually build that time up because we had to move back to the kitchen if he started to chew things he shouldn't and we could not distract him to stop.

Obviously now he has free run of the house as he is an adult.

As a dog trainer, I let mine out only when I can directly supervise. If I can’t, they are crated or in a pen so that they cannot practise unwanted behaviours. Obviously I have to make plenty of extra time to allow the puppy out with us but if someone is not watching them, they go away

The vast majority of the problem behaviours I see are as a result of too much early freedom.

We only had a puppy pen but ours was loose on the ground floor unless we were out or in bed when he went in his pen .

We have a 9 week old pup, she’s in crate when eating/sleeping or we need to keep her safe for a few mins to unload dishwasher or go to toilet. She sleeps about 18-20 hours a day so in there a lot. Otherwise she has freedom in whatever room we are in. She hasn’t been upstairs yet as I don’t want to encourage it so young.

As long as you can supervise the puppy you don't need to keep him in the crate/play pen all day.

@Whoknowswhocares I’m assuming you’re not an accredited trainer with that advice

[quote TeddyIsaHe]@Whoknowswhocares I’m assuming you’re not an accredited trainer with that advice [/quote]
I agree. She thinks saying ‘I’m a dog trainer’ means that her bad advice holds some weight. I work for a large dog rescue centre in Alicante, I’m the treasurer, also do training, rehabilitations, fostering and home checks. I’ve never come across a dog whose behaviour problems were caused by not being kept in a cage all day as a puppy

And I’m sure there’s still a lot more people on here with better advice than me

Mine is 10 now and crating wasn't a thing then. We puppy proofed the living room and he had full run. Ate our bookcases and feet...

He is not ‘locked up’ he is in a pen approx 3x2m (the size of some people’s rooms) with loads of toys, a comfy bed and water. We can’t supervise him 24/7. Surely some people do a lot worse and leave them alone all day! We are in and out of the room all day interacting with him, taking him out to play in garden etc and he is out of the pen completely from 4pm onwards.
But I take on the tips and will look to give him more space and see how it goes this week.

Oh and i work from the connecting room with the door open all the time onto him so he can see me

It’s a dog not a rabbit (although thankfully even they are considered to need more than a hutch these days)

Why would you do that? He's a dog, let him be in the house like a normal dog? Give him a Bed train him to go to his bed? He's capable of learning bed, stay and so many commands at his age.

We have our own 7 week old he's in with the other 3 big dogs, no crate no pens nothing, he gets told no when he chews a skirting board, he gets the run of his home. He eats and sleeps and plays with the big dogs and is currently asleep on the kitchen floor, his favourite room.

I understand the crate thing, but only when going out maybe? Why is he in a cage with a pen and at what point does he get to be released?

Let him rest then pick him up pop him out and let him wee and poo outside, he will get the message very quickly, but how is he going to learn to go to the back door to tell you he needs a wee if he's locked in a pen all day?

Poor pups.

My dog had the run of the house from the word go and only went in her crate for bed and when I needed to leave her for things like having a shower; I didn't leave her alone in the house for a few weeks anyway and except for the above times the crate door was left open.

Having free run of the house never caused her any behavioural problems. I've never heard of that being an issue.

Kaelin Munkelwitz has a great puppy training book and lots of info on crate training. Highly recommend