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.

Good post.

This is why I mentioned muscle wastage upthread.
I have a giant breed dog - how is it fair to crate a 7 month pup that is 5 feet tall on her hind legs? She would be crippled with arthritis by the time she was an adult. Same applies to smaller dogs in small cages.

It is also very bad for them mentally.

It's like battery hens. Free range is healthier.

No it’s not a great argument and I think OP is aware that that day is not an ideal routine.

But it’s a bit of a pile-on from people acting as though she has him crated as a matter of course. It’s four hours, then a walk, human company, toilet then another four hours until he can have the same, and only one day a week when her bf can’t take him. If he’s getting those walks he isn’t going to get muscle wastage. Lots of puppies do sleep for four hours at a time either side of exercise. It’s not 8 hours in the crate without cuddles or exercise.

Also everyone is assuming it’s a crate he can hardly move in. He’s not a huge dog so it’s perfectly likely he can stretch out in it.
I don’t fully understand why he can’t have the crate door open in a sealed off area. It doesn’t even need a gate; can’t you just close a door op in, say, the bathroom? Have his crate in there with snuggly blankets, but that way he can move about, stretch, tussle with a toy and, especially if he’s not trained, toilet away from his actual crate? The floor is easily cleaned in a bathroom, and cupboards easily secured with child locks.

That day is clearly a challenge and the low-point of the puppy’s week. But what always astonishes me is the vast - and it IS vast - number of people who get dogs when they work full time and the dogs are just left all day except weekends. That really is a lonely life for a dog 😞🙁

OP has said she suffers from depression and has posted feeling anxious about whether her dog is getting a far worse life than he might have elsewhere. I’m afraid in those circumstances I think it is relevant to pitch the situation against how lots of other dogs live - or what he might face re-homed. Plenty of people don’t post because they are leaving their dogs and aren’t even bothered. But try, op, to think about an open crate door set up, which would go a long way towards redressing the problems of that tricky day.

@Calliopespa

Nobody said that the OP's dog will get muscle wastage from being crated one day a week but it is a fact that crated dogs do and a lot of people are unaware of this. As you've pointed out yourself, some dogs are left crated all day every day and that includes massive dogs like Bully XL. It is not good for them physically or mentally.

If he's not toilet trained by 9 months then I presume he is also being crated at night, as many puppies seem to be. So at night it could be another 8 hours. Is that healthy for any dog? That is a minimum of one-third of their life (realistically it's more, because they are also locked away while the owner eats dinner or goes to the shops) locked in a cage. And yet, it has become the norm so that if you question it, you set yourself up for abuse.

If you were shut in a box for 8 or 10 hours a day, would you be happy?

@Calliopespa I actually think the majority of posts have been supportive of OP's situation and have said that the dog is, for the most part, very well cared for.

But that doesn't change the fact that a puppy spending 8 hours a day in a crate is not ideal, even if it's only once a week. OP posted asking for advice and suggestions and most people have been very understanding and suggested daycare or that the puppy goes elsewhere that day which I think is totally fair enough.

The fact that other dogs are being left alone for much longer periods doesn't change that.

No I wouldn’t. I don’t think crating is ideal, which is why I mentioned the open crate approach. I can see sometimes it might keep a puppy safer, depending on the immediate environment. But I’m sure op could manage a safe environment if it’s just for one day.( I can understand why she might not want him living always in her bathroom).

And what is actually interesting is your point that if he isn’t trained he is likely crated at night. A lot of people swear by crating in order TO toilet train on tgd badis they won’t mess their crate. I’ve always thought that sounded cruel…

It's not actually that hard to keep a puppy safe without crating, puppy gates are brilliant for restricting to one or two rooms at first.

When you rear them free range they are actually easier to toilet train because the whole room/rooms is their territory, not just their crate. A lot of pups won't like to foul their crate simply because it is their territory, but then they will toilet elsewhere in the house... That could be the case with the OP's dog.

One of my males was dry through the night by 10 weeks old, so I don't accept the argument that crating helps with toilet training.

Also some small breeds have small bladders so it simply isn’t possible to hold on even if they hate the idea of peeing in their crate.

Cavalierchaos

I dont think your day sounds bad at all. Yh sure there's prob more u could do, thats applies to us all. You clearly care about your dog, your dog will feel that, lovely.
Yh I'd pay attention to his whines/temperament, let that be your guide as to whether he is content or not.
Maybe a good run more than once a wk too.