Does my dog have a bad life?

[Cavalierchaos]

I normally post on the puppy threads but wanted a wider range of views. Basically, I'm very paranoid/guilty/worried that I'm too boring for my dog and he's not having a good life. I mainly think this because he whines a lot and I'm aware that I'm not a very stimulating owner.

I live alone.
I work three days a week.
Live in two bed terrace (two reception rooms plus kitchen) with yard.
3 nights a week we go to my boyfriends house who has a small garden.
Two nights a week he goes to bf's parents and they have a bigger garden and also a field he can run in once a week. They have a Labrador and the dogs get on well. He is so happy here as there is so much more going on to entertain him.

He's a 9 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who has lots of energy and is very hyper.

When we're at my house, this is a typical day:

8am breakfast and toilet in yard
8.15-10am cuddles on sofa
10-11am in crate whilst I go to the shops
11am -11.45am dog walk in park, lots of sniffs
11.45 - dog bath
12pm -6pm I do sedentary activities eg jigsaw, crafts, playstation - pup ideally chills next to me/on my lap/at my feet/mooches around during this time. Will have a break at some point to throw toys for pup and take him into yard for a pee.
6pm- pup 'helps' me prepare dinner.
6.15-6.45pm -walk pup
6.45 - 7.15 -pup in crate while I eat
7.15 - 11pm pup chills while we watch tv.
11pm bedtime

I'm sedentary for long hours in the day and I naively thought a lapdog like a cavalier would be happy just to be with me. But I don't think he is because he whines a lot and paces. I think about rehoming him a lot to a busier household with lots going on to entertain him.

I should add that he gets lots of pets and cuddles thoughout the day with me.

Please answer the poll. I don't know what to do.

When I'm at work, one of those days he is at bf's parents, one day he's chilling at bf's house (bf works from home) and the last day he is the crate at mine for two lots of 4 hours (I go home at lunchtime to walk him).
OP's 3rd post. So it's one day a week, every week, he's in the crate for 2 x 4 hours.

4hrs a day twice -

So 8/12 and 1/5 or similar

This is good advice op. The walk can feel daunting before you start but it’s lovely once you are out.

Me too. I’m a massive dog lover and my life revolves around my dogs. They are by no means neglected.

But…

This is a puppy. OP shouldn’t be over walking him or doing high impact activities.

Puppies need LOTS of sleep. I felt guilty about crating my youngest pup, until my trainer told me that she needs it to switch off and meet her need for sleep. 21 hours a day apparently!

The dog is getting two walks a day. Has human company most of the time. Is getting socialised with other dogs. Has toys and brain games.

This is plenty, op. Have you done puppy socialisation classes / puppy school? You could consult a trainer, if you’re worried about meeting your pup’s needs. Ours is amazing.

I don't think it's the worst routine for a young cavalier!
I have a cavalier too although she is slightly younger. Things that we do with her have already been mentioned such as limit mats, kings etc. she is very food focused though unlike your dog. What I'd do in your situation is use all of his daily ration for either enrichment or training.
Soak any dry food and mash into likit/kong, add a little dog safe peanut butter , Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese. Maybe he could be eating this instead of being in crate while you eat.
Consider teaching a settle command on his bed so he stays there when you are eating.

While you are chilling watching tv or whatever throw toys or do a little trick training.

Perhaps add in a shorter walk in the afternoon/evening.

If you have a garden or outdoor area then you could scatter feed some of his food.

These are just some ideas for enrichment. It sounds like you are doing fine. Only consider rehoming if you are struggling with him rather than because you don't think you are good enough as you are doing fine with him!!

Our cavalier is our first of the breed and she is most definitely a lap dog! The most chill puppy I've ever known. She loves a cuddle. It's literally what they were bred for 😀

When I say crate, my puppy has a small crate for night time and a huge one that we use as a playpen for periods during the day, to avoid overstimulating her, give her space in a multi dog household, allow her time to sleep and chew undisturbed.

Lickit mats and kongs 🙈

I'm firmly of the belief that dogs should fit in with their owners. But a bath every day is insane, even once a fortnight is too often. Replace the daily bath with twice as much walking time and some brain games every day, and I bet he will improve.

For example I have a very lazy breed (whippet) but she gets more walking time daily than yours, then she literally sleeps the rest of her life away til the kids come home haha. To be fair she doesn't need daily brain games because she doesn't have a brain as such. Walking and giving them time to sniff everything tires them out. And she calmed down hugely once she was about two years old.

And agree with above poster, scatter feeding is a good lazy way to entertain him. I just throw a chicken slice in the garden but don't let her see where it lands, keeps her entertained for ten minutes finding it and looking for more, bless her thick head 😂❤️

It’s worth pointing out to some posters that according to guidance as a nine month old the dog is only supposed to have a maximum of 2 45 minute walks a day and some people say less is better than more. So I don’t think OP is wildly off the recommended amount.

Too much is not good for their legs when young.

And also any exercise counts. He doesn’t need to be on a lead to count as his five mins per month of age.

The five minute rule has largely been debunked - obviously don't take young dogs out for hours on end but as long as you're sensible you can walk them a reasonable amount.

I don’t think that’s true for breeds at all. My friends dog now has hip dysplasia snd the vet said it was caused by walking her too much as a puppy. The problem is they race about such a lot even inside when they are young.,

We were trying not to overdo the walks but our vet told us our pup needed more exercise; when she was 18 weeks old he said we were being too cautious and told us more food, more walks.

The 5 minute thing makes no sense really - how can a Pug need the same exercise as an Irish Wolfhound? It can't.

I think the OP is doing fine with exercise and pretty much everything else - my only worry is the 8 hour crate day...

I think by 9 months you should get rid of the crate.

Otherwise it sounds fine op 🤷‍♀️

My ddog on my work days gets two 45 min walks, I'll do some training/playing with him if he seems bored.

On non work days he'll get longer walks in more interesting places.

He's well loved and spoilt so I think he's happy enough.

@Calliopespa like I said, you still have to be sensible but there's no arbitrary rule that 45 minutes is fine but sixty is suddenly not.

It all depends on the dog, their health, their weight, their breed, how slowly you build it up, what surfaces they walk on and how they tend to walk. A big breed that charges around like a loon is much more at risk than, say, a mini poodle that just likes a sniff and a potter.

Our nine month old is crated at night or when we all go out (rarely). I thought that was pretty common still and most people ditched the crate by around two years of age. It’s all very well to say leave them in a room they can’t destroy but not everyone has an indestructible room. For example our kitchen has a table and chairs in. Dog is also more settled in his crate and happily sleeps the whole time he’s in it. If we were out and left him out the crate I think he’d pace around more and potentially be more distressed.

So do you imagine that those of us who rear free-range puppies have no furniture in the house?
Sorry to shatter your illusions but I have a big wooden dining table and four wooden chairs (and no, they aren't ancient, rickety and chewed). We also have two wooden stools, wooden cabinets and floormats in the two rooms that the pup has access to. She hasn't wrecked anything! When she was little she nibbled the corner of a mat but we sprayed it with bitter apple a few times and she quickly learned not to.

We've reared 9 giant breed pups and none of them has ever been crated aside from in the car and then only up until about 15/16 weeks.

Our current pup is 7 months, she wasn't crated at the breeders or here - we got her at 8 weeks old. She lives in two rooms - a carpeted kitchen and a tiled orangery. We have puppy gates to keep her away from the stairs and restrict access to the living room at night (so our cats get some peace), she has loads of space to wander about in and she's a happy pup. We don't have a massive house, just a very average 3 bed end-of terrace.

The advantages of free-range puppies far outweigh the disadvantages. They toilet train very quickly, have no confinement anxiety and don't develop muscle wastage from hours spent lying in one place. They also don't whine or bark for attention.

I would highly recommend going crate free.

Yes but if you go to a later post she says her bf sometimes takes him but she doesn’t like to rely on it. So I read it as not every Friday.

It is a bit tricky to follow as the routine ended up being spread across numerous posts.

Long story short, that Friday, when it happens is not ideal. But in fairness to op plenty of people leave dogs alone all day, all week. Maybe not crated; but just Friday - and not every Friday- is imo not as bad as a daily routine of being alone.

The size of the crate is obviously a factor too.

It doesn't really matter if it's every Friday or every other Friday, dogs only live in the moment and on that day the dog is bored and probably quite upset that it's left on it's own in close confinement for 8 hours. The dog won't know that if he just gets through that day there will be 6 days following where he can run free again, it just knows that it's been locked away and left alone. They can't look forward to things.

The fact that people leave their dogs in those conditions every day is irrelevant and doesn't make it OK. If you get a dog you have a responsibility to look after it properly and that doesn't entail locking it in a cage for 8 hours on any given day where it can't run around or have any other type of stimulation. A lot of dog owners think that because the dog is just sleeping anyway when it's in the crate it's content, it just means it has nothing else to do.

Long story short, that Friday, when it happens is not ideal. But in fairness to op plenty of people leave dogs alone all day, all week. Maybe not crated; but just Friday - and not every Friday- is imo not as bad as a daily routine of being alone.

I'm not sure that saying "well, other dogs have it worse" is a great argument 🙈

Leaving a puppy in a crate for eight hours a day (likely more once you factor in commuting) is wrong whether it's once a week or once a month.

Most crates aren't massive enough to stretch /stand up and turn easily depending on breed/size of dog

Imagine we have been locked in a room 2/3 inches taller then us and maybe a few inches of space each side - you would end up having to sit curled up/crossed legged or standing the whole time which wouldn't happen

Where if left to roam could lay/ sit legs spread which is same as a dog. Yes many curl up in cages as no choice

Where if left to roam may lie down but legs /paws stretched out and stretch

Can't be good for any dogs bones and muscles to be curled up in mainly same position for 4hrs each time