When did you first leave puppy alone in house-NOT in crate?

[Jordan & Daisy]

Daisy is about 5 months now and we have crate trained her but I am wondering- how old was your doodle when you first let him/her be in the house alone and NOT in crate?

I know you are supposed to do this gradually- try leaving them alone for 10-15 minutes, then a half hour, etc. but I am just not sure what a good age to start trying this is.

Today I left her in her playpen instead of her crate for the first time for about 25 minutes, I came home to THIS!! She must have knocked it over, lol!!! She was fine and nothing was out of place but I guess the playpen idea isn't going to work. :)

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I take my response back- I am similar to Brittney- Ragley has had free roam of my room at night since a little after 4 months. She just got too hot in her crate and has never been a lover of it so we both slept better with her out on the floor or bathroom tile. If I go run errands and can't take her with me, though, she is crated. 

[Brittney & Cally]

Also I want to just say Cally does not need to be punished it is all about Rosey wanting something that Cally has. It stinks because Cally loves Rosey but is now a little afraid of her.

[Adina P]

5+ years ago when we had three dogs they were free in the house together between age 1 and 2. 

Today I have a 4 year old dog and an 8 year old dog and they are both gated in the mudroom when we are unable to supervise them or are away from home.  The 4 year old is actually crated when we are actually away.  Now that I have children it just feels safer.  It takes a while for both kids to meander from the car to the door and it would be a little chaotic with two big dogs bouncing around the threshold or possibly wandering outside.  Plus I'm not the greatest housekeeper and can't keep up with the clutter the kids make so I don't feel safe leaving the dogs alone wandering the house and possibly getting into something they shouldn't.  Finally, my 8 year old began counter/table surfing at the age of 4 or 5 (see note about my lackluster housekeeping skills) so I feel better with him behind a gate.

I only share this to say that it's not the end of the world for a dog to stay crated (when you're gone) through adulthood.  Mine don't seem to mind being confined to the mudroom or crate and it gives me peace of mind. 

[Miss Ellie]

I think this is an anomaly, but we were able to leave Ellie out of her crate  with the run of the house and unsupervised from the time she was 41/2 months old...she has never destroyed anything and we have never had any potty accidents...of course in the early days we would take her outside to go to the bathroom just before we left and wouldn't be gone long...but now at 10 months old she can hold it for quite awhile now...she's a good girl that way...with our first dog Jack, a golden retriever he was about 6 months old when we were able to give him the run of the house...flip side of this...my sister has a 20 month old weimaraner and he destroys everything in site...so he still has to be crated...each dog is different!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Yes, I think each dog is different.  Finn never liked his crate.  He never really relaxed in it. By 5 months I gated him in the kitchen, leaving him for short intervals and then longer ones. By the time he was a year old, he had the run of the house.  But except for one incident in the beginning, he's never been a chewer or destructive. He's also been unusually good when we're visiting family or friends, usually picking a spot to chill out when we go out for awhile. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I think she was around 8 months but we did it gradually.  First just our bedroom, then after a few months the whole house.  If she got into mischief it was back into the bedroom again for a few weeks.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My doodles were about a year and a half.  I started with leaving them out overnight, once I hand no issue then I started with during the day after about a month or so.  I guess it all depends on your dog, I did not trust me two at all !!!  LOL.  They are great now :)  Take baby steps !!!

[Jordan & Daisy]

Thanks for sharing everyone! It is interesting to hear different perspectives. Daisy definitely doesn't "hate" her crate but she also isn't totally in love with it either. She will gladly go in for treats, etc but never ever goes in on her own and lays down. I think my husband and I both felt really badly because on Easter she was in there for about 4 hrs (the longest yet) so we tried the playpen thing but that didn't work. In a month or two I may try leaving her out at night when she sleeps and see how that goes. When she escaped the playpen the other day she didn't chew anything or go potty so that was a good sign.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I periodically go through a kind of "guilt" thing about leaving Quincy in his crate all day when we go to work.  We alternate crate days with Doggie Day Care days and really, he seems just fine. Once he figures out it's a "work" day, he waits for me to take him out for his last "pee", then runs into his crate when I hold up the stuffed Kong.  When we get home, we have to wake him up, then he stretches and meanders out of the crate.  Often it is 5-10 minutes more until he asks to go out.  Sooooo, if it ain't broke, as the saying goes.  

I would like to get rid of the ridiculously huge, ugly crate, but I know he is safe and he is not complaining! 

BTW- he has free roam at night and when we are home.  

[Kris and Sawyer]

Sawyer never took to his crate. But now that he's out free roaming in the house when we're gone, he mostly stays under our bed the whole time and sleeps. I think under the bed is his 'crate'. He goes there until we get home. Once in awhile he might get into something (office trash can yesterday because one of my kids threw an Easter candy wrapper in it..he smelled it!) but usually he just sleeps. Even when I'm here all day, he sleeps a lot. I hope that's normal at almost a year old!

[Marie and Hoka]

LOL, Hoka is laughing at his sister!  

OK, I admit it.  Hoka and his big sister Moxie are left in the back room with gates when we leave the house. We've been doing that for more than a month with no casualties.  If/when a second round of teething starts we will reevaluate.

He only goes it the crate for meals now (happily enough) and once in a while to keep the skill going.

He has Moxie and we only usually go out for a few hours at a time, so there are no separation anxiety issues.

[Jordan & Daisy]

Lol isn't that picture hilarious!! Poor Daisy!!

Hoka having Moxie as his buddy is awesome, Daisy is such a "people" dog that we feel terribly when we leave her for a few hours in her crate. I think probably this summer I'm gonna try gating her off in the kitchen and see how she does. I would love to be able to trust her alone in the house I just don't want to do it too soon!

PS we are talking about getting another dog next spring!! :)