Puppy confinement during the day

[Youarethecrown]

Hello all

DPuppy is now 16 weeks old, he’s so gorgeous and lovely and, so far so good, it’s been a relatively smooth addition to our family.

He is crate trained and sleeps all night without a peep in his crate. DP and I take it in turns to work from home so he isn’t left for long periods, and we time leaving him in the crate for 2-3 hours maximum (it’s only been 3 if we have to go out) with having just had a walk and toilet so he’s tired.

He is quite clingy and has separation anxiety in the day time, though. I’m wondering if we should get a play pen for him to use if we need to leave him for a short period, sometimes as simple as needing to put the DC to bed and so being upstairs away from him for half an hour or so. We have been putting him in the crate for these periods but it feels a bit mean to me. DH disagrees as he raves that crates are the best, and I understand the purpose of it as a cosy den for pup, but I would like to be able to leave him to play alone with more space for shorter periods of time. He has his set up in our kitchen/living which he can’t have free rein of yet as he would chew the sofa legs, mat etc if left and bored.

Op there’s a chance he’s clingy because everything is a bit too regulated, can you not dog proof your kitchen and have him in there with a stair guard and toys?

Hi OP, I can’t see anywhere where you’ve told us your breed but if it helps:

I have a 7 month old lab puppy. I will preface this by saying he does seem remarkably calm for a pup so it may not help you. He is also my first dog so I don’t have as much experience as everyone else.

I used a crate until he was about 5 months and haven’t used it since. He was in there for 7 hours over night and only for day time naps during the day when he wouldn’t settle to sleep and I know he needed a nap. I tried to use a pen once but gave up after 20 mins as even staying beside it, he was trying to climb out. No way could I have left him in there unsupervised. It now runs around my living room wall, blocking access to curtains, wires and books!

For a good while, I just brought him everywhere with me. So he’d sit on my lap whilst I was supervising DS in the shower or putting him to bed for example. Downstairs, I puppy proofed the kitchen and put a stair gate there as @CoubousAndTourmaIet suggests and he’s never showed any interest in chewing table legs. I agree with @TheHungryHungryLandsharks that they really shouldn’t be in a crate for that long and unsupervised. Things can change so quickly with a pup, mine was so much more confident at 5 months than he was at 4 so for this (hopefully) short period of time, in your position I would try and bring him every where - think of ways you can do this so you can supervise him as much as possible and he is near you. I had mine in the bathroom while I was showering etc. and where you absolutely can’t, puppy proof the hell out of a space downstairs that he can access. I know it’s difficult to do so, I’m raising my pup alone so it was all on me but I managed it.

I also remember worrying he had SA at about that age but when I read up on it, it’s not true SA - it’s normal for a pup that young to want to be near their family at all times. I could be wrong on that though.

Good luck, this phase will pass!

We concentrated on crate training nighttime only at first, then in the daytime we gradually started putting him in crate whilst we had dinner and then to go out and leave him. He was a constant chewer, my coffee table, chairs, cushions, rug and dining table he could chew all day, so for his own safety and not having no furniture he was put in crate when left alone. The most was 2/3 hours, mostly he would sleep, but he did wake up and bark. we did have a camera on him. Once the chewing stage was mainly over, about 6/8 months old, he could be left outside the crate, but once he saw me with keys, he would put himself in crate himself. If we had the room I would have got a playpen with high sides.

What about a huge crate with a smaller crate den bed inside with the door open - then they are confined but with a choice

Wouldn't that depend on the size of the puppy? It's hardly realistic if it's a Great Dane.

Pup is a miniature schnauzer, might have been helpful!

Today has gone well with the pen and one of his day beds inside with toys, he’s only been put in there with the doors closed once or twice but he’s also popped in and out to get his toys and chill on his bed.

Thank you for the useful tips. I would like to work towards him having free rein of the kitchen/living with door closed but he’s too much of a risk at this age. I think he will find what little stuff there is available to chew and chew it, or I worry about him hurting himself if he jumps on and off the sofa too.

Thanks for updating @Youarethecrown , it can make a difference because the bigger dogs tend not to do well with crates or playpens. They do need more space to move around.

Hopefully you'll find what works best for him and it'll all fall into place in the coming weeks.

I think op would have said if she was stuffing a Great Dane in the crate 🤪