How long is to long in a crate

[Lynne of Fountain Falls]

May seem like an obvious question but I have a potential puppy family that seems perfect in every way except:  They plan to crate their puppy while they are at work, They say they will walk her before they leave but we know how it is just getting to work and school on time some mornings. This is a doodle that I am rehoming.  She is six months old, full of pep, sweet as they come.  I just don't like the idea of her being in a crate for 8 hours after a night of being in a crate.  I personally don't crate my dogs, even at night, once they are potty trained.  They all know what crate means, some go in and out of their crates to nap,  but I seldom keep them in it more than over night.  Id like to hear DK's opinion on this as I've promised to give them an answer about this puppy by Thursday. 

[Lynne of Fountain Falls]

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

What a cutie!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I know that some people do this, but I can't imagine my Doodles being crated all night and then again all day.  I have working friends with dogs, but they use dog walkers in the middle of the day or they take their dogs to daycare a few times a week.

[Adina P]

Is it the crate or the fact she'd be alone and not doing anything for 8 hours during the day?  Frankly as much as I don't think being crated for 8 hours straight is 'ideal' -- dogs that are left alone pretty much do nothing or they do naughty things.  For example, our dogs usually sleep in our room at night.  That's 8 hours of doing nothing and pretty much lying there.  That's not terribly physically different than doing nothing and lying there in a crate.  And sometimes I gate them just out of the kitchen...again after a few minutes they end up lying down and doing nothing.  That's equivalent to what they'd be doing in a crate.  So is it the crate itself that bothers you or the fact this dog is alone and doing nothing for 8 hours during the day?

Do they have plans for doing things with the dog after work?  Do they have plans for continuing her training so she's a good dog and not a dog they will rehome if she gets naughty (she is at that naughty stage of development after all)?

[Anneeb]

We crate during the day and frankly, I think our dood prefers being in there, he feels safe. When we don't crate him during the day, he gets anxious and destroys things. He goes in it with no problems and it's HUGE so he has lots of room to move. This is the only time we crate him, never when we run errands or even leave the house for 4-5 hours. It's like he knows it's a long time when we go to work...the other times, he just doesn't know when we are coming back and he's fine.

 

[Kate]

Personally, I have never crated before (had a German Shepherd for 12 years), but I do plan to crate my new Dood. I bought the biggest crate there is, and I will crate him overnight (next to my bed) for safety reasons alone. I work from home, so the only substantial time in the crate will be overnight. I will be honest...the minute I hear him cry it's going to be very difficult for me to not pick him up and bring him on the bed. However, I worry about falling asleep, and then having puppy chew/ingest bedding and have to go to the emergency vet or something.

[Kate]

P.S. That dog is ADORABLE!!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I am not crazy about crating a dog all day and all night. Tara is crate trained and I have no issue with crates in general but it just seems like SO much time in a crate when the dog is in it all day and all night. How much time will she have OUT of the crate? A couple hours in the a.m. and a couple in the p.m.?  Perhaps not enough for  a young dog full of energy. And like you said, they have plans to walk her in the morning...but... we all know how that can go.

 

I would like to know if they are experienced dog owners? Do they understand the physical and emotional needs of a dog? Do they view their dog as a member of the family? Do they understand the time and commitment required to train and care for a dog?  That a dog is not something that you keep in a crate until you have time for it? Crates are a useful tool but they also can be misused...

 

One DKer had a neighbor who kept their doodle crated day and night. When she was released she was so full of energy and so untrained that they couldn't wait to get her back into the crate. The doodle was loosing muscle mass due to lack of movement.

 

I'm not saying that is what these people would do...but I am sure that wasn't the way the other folks envisioned it either. Honestly if she were mine, with the info you have given us, I would pass on these folks.

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Once Ollie was potty trained, we stopped crating him at night (around 11 weeks).

Now at 12 months of age we leave him in the family room when we go out. The crate is still there. He uses it to get away from the hustle bustle of kids when he wants to nap. He also uses it to escape to, when I approach with grooming stuff. :-)

I guess it depends on the dog. Ollie leaves our stuff alone and is not a big chewer, so we never had a problem leaving him outside.

[Becka]

Do you use a door or a gate to keep him inside the family room? I ask because Sadie has outgrown her current crate and I'm trying to decide whether keeping her shut in the bedroom will work when I go away. She's used to being shut in the bedroom at night when we go to sleep, but I'm in there too, obviously, so that might be why she doesn't try to get out. I plan to get a bigger crate, but I'll have to do some furniture rearranging first...

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Ha! Murphy would love a "Safe place" to go escape the dreaded grooming and ear cleaning times.

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

Can the owners block off an area, so that the puppy might have more room?