When can I leave my pups out of the crate when I'm gone?

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

I have a 10 mo ALD and a 15mo LD that sleep in the crate at night.  When I go shopping or have to be gone for more than 5 minutes, I put them in the crates.  I have tried confining them to a room (kitchen) and they have jumped the barrier or chewed on the wooden baseboards.  I have tried leaving them out in the house, came home to the front hall carpet in shreds.  I have tried leaving them outside and they have chewed on the house's siding.  Puppy Madness indeed.  Will they grow out of this?  I haven't been to church in a year because we are gone 5 plus hours (choir practice and its an hour away).  I don't think I should leave them in the crates for more than 2-3 hours but I am stumped.  Do you think its separation anxiety x 2 or just a puppy thing?  Thanks for your help.

[Carol and Banjo]

Jeanne - Banjo is 14 months now - we keep him crated if we have to be away.  Our house doesn't lend itself to confining him to a small area so this is our only choice.   On the days I work and other times we have to be away we've left him for up to 7 hours - I have actually left a tape recorder to assure myself that he isn't crying or barking while we're away.   He always gets a peanut butter/oatmeal stuffed frozen Kong and when we're getting ready to leave all I have to say is "you want a goodie" and he literally RUNS to his crate.   He's just fine when I get home.  I only work one - two days per week and we don't leave him that often....but honestly he does just fine.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I think you already know the answer but just don't want to admit it.  You can't!  They get too neurotic when they are left in the house or outside for long periods of time.  It really depends on the dogs and their personalities.  I had to leave my puppy (and my older goldendoodle) in the laundry room for a few days while I was working at an estate sale and my husband was out of state for a funeral.  The puppy chewed the bottoms of the cabinets and even a section of the sheetrock.  Neighbors came by to let them out into the back yard, but it was hard for them to be alone.  I used to leave my two doodles in the house for hours when we were gone and they never disturbed anything.

What do you do with them at other times when you are going out?  I take my dogs with me as much as I can (shopping, lunch dates, short trips of any kind) and we have our car doggie proofed.  In fact, we call it our dog car.  We have a great climate around here so most of the time we do not need to be concerned about heat or cold.  When I take them out, I try to work in a trip to the dog park or a walk someplace while we are out.  They love to go anywhere, even a short trip to the grocery store.  They are always ready for a ride in the car.

If your dogs sleep in their crates all night, then they should be fine for longer stays in their crates during the day also.  You might even want to cover the crates so it is quieter and a little more private for them.  Yes, the puppy will probably outgrow much of the destructive behavior, but you don't want him to have unsupervised time to practice the destructiveness.

[Terri H and Kramer]

Maybe this is a case of Double Trouble? I started leaving Kramer alone and loose in the house at about 18 months with no problem. My hubby SWORE we would come home to shredded furniture but I think it made Kramer nervous to be home alone. I would sneak up to the windows and he would be sleeping on the rug by the front door every time! Now he is almost 2 and we can leave him alone for 6 hours with no accidents and no destruction...poor hubby has had to admit he can be a good dog after all!
Hopefully you will get some good advise here....I am stumped since crating never worked for us. It may just be a matter of waiting longer since 2 dogs tend to egg each other on when it comes to destruction. A friend once told me he would come home to find the entire contents of his pantry in the back yard...drug out there thru the doggie door by his 2 dalmations! One was the brains and the other the brawn in their mischievous endeavors!

[Tracy L Boring]

Jeanne,

I have two ALD's.  I take them on a long walk, play tug, and fetch.  If I can not walk with them outside, then they alternate walking on the treadmill with me supervising them.  I work with them for about an hour or two hours before I leave. They are ready to take a nap when I leave.  

I thought that I had shut and secured each door on the crate.  I came home to find out that I had not.  They were sleeping near each other on the floor.  They both still go into the crate when I leave, but I don't shut the door.  They come out at some point and sleep on the floor.  Our older ALD,  was about 1 at the time, and our younger ALD was about, 3 months old.  The 3 month old was a very, very calm ALD.  

I can tell only tell with one of mine, when he does not get enough exercise.  He becomes a real handful (kind of anxious, barks at any noise, and he bounces off the walls).  My other ALD is just as calm as can be, or at least maybe he has me fooled.  I guess my strategy is try to tire them out.  I don't leave them for more than 3 or 4 hours, without having someone come in to walk them. 

The dogs are now 2 and almost 1.  We take them three times a week to agility and obedience.  We started obedience with them, when they were both 4 months old, and agility with the older dog at 1.  I hope this helps.  

 

 

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Connor the goldendoodle (3 yrs)  and Simon the ALD (21 months) both stay in their crates when I am away. All I have to say is "time for bed." I put a TUX with a grain-free biscuit inside for Simon and just give Connor the biscuit. I leave the TV on for them and they are fine. When I go to work (part-time), grocery shopping, dr appts, they stay in their crates. I never have to worry about either of them getting into mischief and feel relaxed and confident they will be fine and happy when I get back home. Although I think Connor would be fine in the house, it would be tough on Simon still in his crate. And the two of them together are like play maniacs!!

I think dogs sleep 90% of the time when they are home alone in their crates. The get bored and snooze. :-)

When they were both about a year old, they started sleeping in the house at night with no problem.

[Stephanie Cross]

Aren't they crated for longer than 5 hours at night?  My husband and I both work full time (but somewhat different schedules), and our 9 month old DD is crated often for 9 hours a day.  And when we're at home, he's generally confined to the kitchen (where he has chewed up the woodwork, but at least we've confined the damage to one room) unless one of us can devote full attention to him in the rest of the house.  Until he outgrows the chewing, I have no intention of letting him roam the house unattended!