"Uncrating" - when to start leaving your doodle out of the crate when you're gone...

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Hello everyone. I know we have discussed this before, but I am looking for advice/opinions on when and how to begin the "uncrating" process.

I have gradually been giving Abby a bit more freedom. First I would use a baby gate and give her the kitchen to freely roam when I would run errands on the weekend. Then I would come home during my lunch break and instead of putting her back in the crate I would leave her out in a bigger crated off area. After a few weeks of this, she had proven herself so I decided to go without the crate for the day. The first week of this was great. No issues. Just toys all over the place when I came home. But in the second week, she must have gotten a bit bored because she started finding magazines to shred. Nothing else, always magazines. I had a few stacked on the coffee table in the living room and under my nightstand in my bedroom. Needless to say, Abby is back in the crate. I feel badly because she is getting older and has a lot of energy, so I would prefer her to have some room to play while I am gone. However, it seems like she is may be a bit too young (6 1/2 months) and/or her puppy teenager phase and energy bursts are just too sporadic and crazy.

When did you start "uncrating" your doodle and how did you do it? Thanks in advance for the advice.

( And believe me, I understand it could be much worse. She has only went after magazines, not furniture, shoes, etc. I am very thankfully my doodle is, for the most part, well behaved! )

[Carlos and Chloe]

We didn't give chloe complete freedom until she was about a year old.  She had gotten a lot the chewing/shredding out of her at that point.  Don't get me wrong at 2+ years she'll still shred a tissue/paper towel that's left on the floor but she usually stopped looking for them :) If you want to continue to leave Abby out you can try to rotate toys on a daily basis to keep her interested.  We usually leave at least 5 toys scattered around the house for chloe to play with when we leave her alone.  The next day we rotate 5 different toys and so forth.  It may not completely eliminate her need to shred considering she's still a puppy but it may help.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Thanks for the advice. Abby could care less about paper and such when I am home. It is only when I am gone for long periods. As for toys, I need to try the rotation thing. She is spoiled and has at least 20-30 toys in the living room to play with. I guess I just need to wait until she is a bit older. It is probably just a phase, just like her selective hearing of late. :) Gotta love the puppy teenager phase.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Wow, Lucy is almost 2 1/2 years and she still isn't left out of her crate when we're gone. Maybe I'm just naturally more cautious when it comes to things like that, but there are several concerns I have. One, Lucy loves her crate and feels comfortable and secure in it. She never barks while in it, never paces... she just sleeps. She often goes into it of her own accord when we're home.  I'm afraid being left out of her crate she'd feel insecure with us gone which could cause her to bark at every single little thing outside (there are many dogs in our neighborhood who do exactly that). My other concern is that we have 2 cockatoos, and Lucy's barking could distress the birds... and of course, it would ultimately distress Lucy as well. My goal for her is to be calm and relaxed when we're away, not tense and anxious. At this point in Lucy's life, however, her destroying the house isn't a concern. I think she's well beyond that point (but who knows?... any anxiousness could lead her in that direction). She has mellowed considerably since she was Abby's age.

My only suggestion is to wait longer to try the out-of-the-crate experiment again (like months), and make sure Abby is well exercised sometime during the day (before being left alone is preferable). Oh, and I'd keep the paper products picked up and put away (and bedroom doors closed).

Good luck..

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Riley is now 11 months old and we started leaving him out of his crate at about six months.  He is very happy in it so if we have lit a fire and even though there is a fireguard we tend to crate him in that case.  Otherwise we don't.  We were gone for five hours the other evening and he was asleep on our bed when we came home.  He has never done any damage when we are out.   He is much more likely to find things like shoes/socks/my glasses when we are in! and run off with them.  The 'leave it' command has him dropping what's in his mouth instantly.  I would lift everything out of harms way, spray bitter apple on the legs of furniture (just in case) and see what happens. Some dogs are fine and some aren't but the good thing is you have options.  If necessary you can re-crate.  I would never give up the crate as it's a safe refuge during the day and if we need to have the front door open for deliveries or we have lots of guests Riley is happy to be there.  

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Thanks for the advice. I have always made sure to leave her crate where it is and open because she does go in there sometimes and nap. I may give the whole uncrating thing another try. Maybe she was just going through a magazine phase... Martha Stewart Living, in particular. She leaves Women's Fitness and my cooking magazines alone :) She doesn't get into anything else and listens to the "leave it" command if I see something on the ground I don't want her to pick up. Seriously, thank you for the encouragement.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I was never a big crate person and with Rooney being smaller - we just an ex-pen when we couldn't be home.  Large enough for a dog bed and toys.  I started leaving him loose at about 8 months - right around the time we got Stuart.  Stuart was left in the ex-pen or when he got larger was gated into the hallway and laundry room.  Now when we leave both boys are loose but I never have left them for really long periods.  2/3 hours max, anything over that and I would still gate Stuart, who at 11.5 months still loves to chew or else take both boys to daycare.

[Becka]

I've found a kind of compromise with Sadie. At 7 or 8 months she outgrew her crate so I started just shutting her in the bedroom (which is where I kept the crate) when I was gone. I made sure that there wasn't anything lying around for her to destroy and I gave her a treat-filled Kong bone. She's been fine--hasn't destroyed anything. (Of course, there was this incident: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/is-sadie-trying-to-tell-me....) So I guess the bedroom has become her crate--it's small enough so that she feels secure and has a comfy place for her to sleep. I have no plans to give her complete run of the house--she's not allowed on the living room furniture and I think there are too many ways for her to get into mischief.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

I love that photo! So hilariously cute! 

Speaking of mischief, I left the house for an hour or two to go to the store and came home to this: http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/welcome-home-i-have-no-idea-what-.... She has a dog door and a small yard that she loves to play in, but apparently didn't like the tree. It has since been moved outside the fence.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

I wasn't a crate person either. Mine were contained in the kitchen with a gate for the first 6 months or so. When I did give them more freedom I made sure ALL doors were closed and nothing was lying around. Very similar to baby proofing. I didn't leave doors open until they were about a year old. Way too much temptation to get into garbage, steal socks, tear up magazines, etc. Good luck:)

[Kristine and Charlie]

We crated Charlie (who is now 20 months old) from day one but since I'm home during the day he was usually never in there more than 4 hours at a time when we would leave (on weekends or weeknights).  When he turned a year I wanted to let him have free roam on the main floor so bad but since he was still getting into things like...the tp in bathroom, pillows/throws on couch and books/mags we decided he wasn't ready yet.  Well fast forward 5 months or so and we were ready to test him with all doors closed and everything put away.  And guess what?  He was an angel every time we left him.  Now a few months have gone by and we leave the bathroom and office doors open plus pillows and throws on the couches!  :)  He just sleeps the whole time just like when we would leave him in his crate.  I think it is important to wait until they settle down (or grow up a little) and even more important that they are getting enough daily exercise because that's when the younger ones get into mischief.  Hang in there though because I remember thinking all the time...'when are we going to be able to leave him out'? and now that time is here and it's already been a few months.  Timing is key so we don't set them up for failure....

[Meredith Spencer]

Is it a good idea to wait until Pup's have no desire to search out things to chew and shred before trying the "uncrating" thing?  Is that a good trigger for knowing they are ready??

[Julie and Maggie]

Just wanted to add that Maggie is now 10 months and I'd say that in the last month or maybe two we have been sort of un-crating her. Her crate is in the kitchen nook area behind a breakfast table and chair set. We gate it off in such a way that she doesn't have access to the entire kitchen but can go in and out of her crate, walk around a little bit, have access to her bowls and toys, and then look out the window to the front yard. It is a little bit more freedom yet keeps her in a safer confined space still. And she needs it. Only if we are gone for just a little bit, and especially if she is in a napping mood, will we just gate her in the kitchen. I just don't trust her to the living areas yet. But you have to go by your own dog and their behaviors.