maggie is a year old now, but still causing some trouble!
hello all! I am back again with another question! Maggie is a year old now, and is doing well, except for two things.
1. she still chews and destroys things she shouldnt, such as my nice clogs, our chair which really isnt a chaior anymore, and our linoleum floor.
2. she still has occasional accidents in the house (pee).
Now, she does not do this all the time...I would say 2 or 3 times a month for the past 2 months or so she will chew or eat something or have an accident.
The problem is that she does these things when we are not home. My boyfriend is back to work now, and I am in school and work, and for about 4 days out of the week she is home alone for a significant amount of time, 4 hours at a time (his dad comes over to walk her around 11am).
We dont know how to fix these issues because she doesnt do it when we are home. We can't correct it because we cant catch her in the act. I have tried some of that bitter barrier stuff, but I have to keep spraying it, so the taste obviously doesnt bother her.
Luckily, none of the things she has ruined are of value. We are looking to get a new floor, and the chair is really old...but still, she shouldnt be doing that. Not to mention, she is the most important, we dont want her to swallow anything!
I feel like it would be cruel to leave her in the crate for 7 hours....but maybe I am wrong?
Any ideas? thank you.
1. she still chews and destroys things she shouldnt, such as my nice clogs, our chair which really isnt a chaior anymore, and our linoleum floor.
2. she still has occasional accidents in the house (pee).
Now, she does not do this all the time...I would say 2 or 3 times a month for the past 2 months or so she will chew or eat something or have an accident.
The problem is that she does these things when we are not home. My boyfriend is back to work now, and I am in school and work, and for about 4 days out of the week she is home alone for a significant amount of time, 4 hours at a time (his dad comes over to walk her around 11am).
We dont know how to fix these issues because she doesnt do it when we are home. We can't correct it because we cant catch her in the act. I have tried some of that bitter barrier stuff, but I have to keep spraying it, so the taste obviously doesnt bother her.
Luckily, none of the things she has ruined are of value. We are looking to get a new floor, and the chair is really old...but still, she shouldnt be doing that. Not to mention, she is the most important, we dont want her to swallow anything!
I feel like it would be cruel to leave her in the crate for 7 hours....but maybe I am wrong?
Any ideas? thank you.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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If she gets a nice walk before you go to work and is let out at 11 and then gets at least a 45 minute walk in the evening she should be fine crated for the day. Give her a Kong with cheese or peanut butter (freezing it will help it take longer) and that will keep her busy for a while. Otherwise, is there a room that you can close off that is corgi proof? She is still young to be trusted and the more she gets into, the more of a habit it becomes to look for trouble when you leave. This stage will pass but she probably needs a lot of exercise at her age.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Pet fence with an open crate and lots of toys to keep her busy especially a Kong like Bev said! This way you can put her where you want her and out of trouble but she has room! Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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One thing to always remember is that for a dog, being loose in the house is a privilege, not a right, and it's a privilege that must be earned and can be taken away for any reason. The dog does not mind being crated when left alone; it's really for our own preference that we leave them loose!
I would back up and keep her crated for a month or so. Then you work up gradually to see how long she is ok to be loose. Start out by giving her a long-lasting treat (Bev made some great suggestions) and leaving her only long enough for her to nearly finish the treat; the first time we left Jack, we ran to the store and back and were gone all of 20 minutes, tops. If she is ok, then work up to leaving her for an hour or so. And if that works, increase to two hours and so on. Every time you leave, when she is young, give her a long-lasting treat (this may mean cutting back a bit on her food). This will teach her that your leaving = relaxing time with a yummy treat.
Exercise before leaving is good too, as Bev suggested. Confining to a smaller area like Jane said can work for some dogs too. Being loose in the whole house is stressful for them. At 1, many dogs are still learning right from wrong and are relying on your body language when they approach something like a shoe to tell them that it's not desired behavior. If you are not there, they don't know what to do with themselves. All dogs mature at different rates, and while 1 is a general rule of thumb for when it's safe to leave a dog loose, some take longer than that and honestly some are never fully trustworthy.
Good luck with Maggie!
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You are so right! My son felt bad for Misty and kept leaving her loose in the house when she went a couple days of not destroying something. Three very expensive stomach obstruction surgeries later she has a very delicate stomach and we have to watch her all the time. She lives with us now and I always kennel her with no bedding (she will eat it) and a nice Kong. I think she likes it. She will race to her crate when I pick up her Kong and a couple times the door did not get latched and she did not even push the door open. I think Beth was correct when she said some dogs are stressed when left alone in the house. They will chew to relax and that can be very bad. We are lucky she is even alive.
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Permalink Reply by Matt & Hilliary on
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We had been trusting Oppy to be home by himself for the 6-7 hour time frame while we're at work. He'll be turning 1 this month, but unfortunately as of the last 2-3 weeks he's been less trustworthy so back to the crate we go. I hate leaving him in there, he gives you those sad eyes and makes you feel bad, but it's for his own good. He's really gotten comfortable with pooping in the house and it's something we have to put an end to.
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Finnigan is a year old and he is still crated when we are at work. In my situation, i am able to come home on my lunch break to walk him so he isn't stuck in the crate for 8 or 9 hours straight.
We have left Finn home alone, roaming the house for a 2 hour max and he's been fine but at this age I still do not trust him to be alone and free for extended periods of time.
If you cannot come home or have someone stop by to take her out, you may want to keep her in a play pen or block her in a room with a baby gate. This way she has limited access to the house but has room to move around more so than in a crate. The play pen may be better than a gate since it will keep her from reaching things like the edge of the linoleum, cupboard doors etc. If she has an accident it will be easier to clean up.
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REMEMBER: 1= ADOLESCENCE you can figure some testing and rebelling, several of mine also had "potty" issues along with the start of this! I think on another discussion we had the age of 2 for when things really settle down but of coarse this different for every dog!
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