Where does your corgi stay during the day?
Jeff is about a year and a half, and since I work an 8-5 job, he stays in the guest bedroom (with the door shut) when I am not home. His crate is in there, but the crate door is left open, so he has access the rest of the room. I started doing this at about a year old- before that, he stayed in his crate with the crate door shut.
There were no issues for awhile- I have a camera in there, and he was almost always just sleeping or sitting on the bed. Lately though, I come home to something new that was chewed! So far it has been the pillows on the bed or the wooden bed frame itself. It could be the weather- in Michigan right now it's far too cold to go on long walks in the morning before I leave for work. In the summer I would walk him for about 15 minutes before leaving. Now it's just until he goes potty. How can I keep my room from getting destroyed everyday in the winter though?
Where do you keep your dogs? I don't want to keep him constrained, but I'm afraid he is still too much of a chewer to have much freedom :/
I'll add that I do usually stop home at lunch to let him out and play a little. Additionally, he goes to a pet resort about twice a month to get some socialization/exercise. I cannot afford to do that daily or weekly though.
Thank you!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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You have a young dog who wants to be busy and if no one is there he's gonna find something to keep him busy..which is always bad things. Been there, did that and got the T-shirt. Right now I have 2 senior corgis so I don't have a problem...they are happy to sleep all day. But I've been in your position, the crate is your friend and your dog's friend. You say you are able to come home during the day to let him out and give him some interaction, that is great. The rest of the time he stays in his crate. Provide him with something that he can chew on...like those kongs you can put treats in. One when you leave in the morning and then another when you leave again at lunchtime. The crate not only protects your possessions but protects him too. Chewing a pillow or a wooden bed frame could cause him to get something stuck in his throat, chewing an electircal cord can be dangerous. You will have to find a way to give him so real good exercise at the end of the day tho. Corgis are high energy and if they can't work it off he will do things you don't want him to do.
And yeah, the cold Michigan weather doesn't help any. I live in upstate NY so my weather is pretty much the same as yours. I hate the cold weather so walks or playing in the yard doesn't happen as much as it should but we are able to play a rousing game of "Max and Katie In The Middle" every evening...lately even one of the cats has joined in. They have interactive games/toys that can help him use his intelligence.
I know others here will have many good ideas for you.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Ours have run of the house. I don't think they'd stay in a closed room; they hate not being able to see what is going on. Could this be causing him stress? Can you use a gate instead of the door so he can see out?
When Jack was young we used an ex-pen during the day. He got his freedom at right around one year of age, maybe 14 months.
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Permalink Reply by Kaitlyn L. on
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Hi Beth, what size or type of ex-pen did you use? My house is small, and the only place I can think of putting it would be in the living room. That is the only room that has expensive items I really cannot afford to have chewed! Jeff might enjoy looking out the front window though. I am a little worried he might try to jump out if he sees the mailman or other dogs walking by...?
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Sorry, I missed this somehow. Ours is this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Zinc-Outdoor-Exercise-Pen/dp/B00063KG...
Ours never tried to jump but both were put in an ex-pen when they were puppies and so had learned to respect it and never test it. I have on rare occasion locked both of mine in it at the same time (we had workmen coming over during the day while we would not be home). It got shoved around a bit but not knocked over. Neither of mine are escape artists.
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Permalink Reply by Marcie on
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Becca is home from 6:45 to 4ish most days. I walk her as far as the weather allows each morning. This hasn't been much the past week at zero degrees. She gets a longer walk in the afternoon. I have several kong type toys that I rotate to keep her occupied.They last longer if I freeze them. I will smear peanut butter or Honest Kitchen in, then add a few low calorie treat, then freeze. The kong genius works well, it takes longer to empty. Lately I have been shoving a carrot through an empty bone. She will work on this for several hours. I also leave chew items down, antlers and extra large rawhide. Both of these are slow chew items for her. I buy each of them as if she wa a much larger dog. It makes them last longer. Once they get short, they are an under supervision item.
A neighbor will also stop and take her out for a short walk on days off. A few teenagers in the neighborhood will stop in after school for me on days I will be late.
Becca has access to most of the house. The bedrooms are gated off as cat zones. The cat also provides company and interaction. The cat LOVES Becca, who in return tolerates her presence. I find that Becca gets into more trouble on weeks that she doesn't have agility class. If I skip a week of class, I'm sure to find something shredded. (She has a bit of a paper fetish.) Can you do some sort of class once a week as an outlet?
If you go the gate route, beware of he cheapest ones. They can be chewed through easily. I sprayed mine with bitter apple. You may want to spray the bed frame with it.
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Permalink Reply by Andrea on
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If I'm not home and Ein isn't at my mother in laws house or doggie daycare then she is in her kennel. I've always kenneled dogs. It's safest for them and safest for my things. Dogs, no matter what age, get into things. I don't want to chance them eating something bad or chewing something expensive or unsafe.
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Permalink Reply by Gromit, Sparkle, and Doug on
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Whether I've had one corgi or two I've always let them have the run of the house. Cooped up in a small room with no stimulation or room to frap a bit seems like itself a recipe for trouble. When Gromit was a pup he did some damage to a dinning table chair but he was just a pup and I probably left him alone too soon. By leaving them out for increasing lengths of time, starting with 10 minutes or so and working up, you can get them used to having the run of the place. Have a good selection of toys laying about is good too.
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Permalink Reply by Denis J. on
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My has been going through weather of -31c. lately and needless to say the walks aren't great. But he does love to hope in the snow of the backyard, which is good exercise, real quick. I take him out for about 20-30min. and then he goes to sleep exhausted. This morning is -26 and we just went out for about 10 min.
I've been giving him his meals in three Kong toys lately, which keeps him entertained for about 15-20min.
His crate is in the living room (which is a bit cramped now cause of the Xmas Tree) but he does have access to a few toys and chews in his crate. He faces the TV to keep him entertained a bit or just to have a sense of liveliness in the home.
We also have two cats that keep him company during the day. Just too funny to see the male cat laying down by the crate when I come home as If I'm breaking a conversation ... lol
I tried to Sour Green Apple spray when he was a pup but I needed to respray about twice per day. I didn't trust the risk of being too much exposed to it and it didn't last so I didn't bother anymore.
I'd say if you have a chance to get him to burn energy in the morning that might to world of a difference. Might have to get up earlier though. :)
Good Luck.
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Permalink Reply by susan on
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Jeli stays in her crate during the day and also at night when we are sleeping. She is 10 months and could get into way too much trouble if left unsupervised. Until about a month ago I had a pet sitter come in during the day and let her out and play with her for about 1/2 hour. I just can't afford to do that anymore, so she is in the crate from about 9 am to 4 pm. Its a long time, but it is just too risky to leave them out when they are young and full of mischief. At some point she will get more freedom, but I don't forsee that for a good long time. Maybe at a year and half we will test the waters at night time. Luckily she loves her crate. She gets frozen kongs stuffed with carrots, kibble and wet dog food. Sometimes a frozen pumkin cube or yogurt cube. When I put my hand on the freezer door she is already running for her crate! Do I feel bad that she spends so much time in her crate? Yes. I wish I could be home with her more. But I would feel way worse if she chewed a wire, or ate something that caused her to choke or ingest something dangerous.
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We've been testing Wally to sleep with us upstairs at around 10 months. We bring a bed, blankets and a bone for him to chew if he needs to during the night. We put a baby gate on top of the stairs and closes the office door and area for the washer dryer. For some reason he loved to go pee in the office when it was too cold.
At first he chewed the corner of the box spring in the spare bedroom but that stopped after I put some duct tape on it. He pulled it out but he didn't like the sticky feeling on his fun and paw so he stopped it.
Now we have our routine that when he goes to snooze at around 10pm, and when I'm ready to go, I pick him up (usually playing dead weight) and bring him upstairs. He goes to his bed no problem and starts to cry at about 6-6:30am to go out.
Sure it's early but I've seen the best sun rise ever during Spring, Summer and Fall season.
Now, it's just pitch dark with a glimpse of sun over the horizon. God I can for the day light to extend after the 21st. We both need our vitamins in the morning... :)
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Permalink Reply by Becky Focht on
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Kaitlyn,
Foxy is 13 months and she gets the run of the house except for bathrooms and bedrooms. She will take the toilet paper off the holder and shred it. We do go home for lunch to let her out and play with her. So far the only thing she has done is shred paper of any kind you leave out. Sometimes I do lock her in her crate in the morning and then she is loose in the afternoon. I figure then she doesn't have as much time to get into trouble and she's usually pretty relaxed in the morning. I do give her kongs stuffed with pumpkin or peanut better that I freeze and she has a lot of things to chew on like antlers and nylabones. If I couldn't go home at lunch I don't think I'd trust her for 8 hrs. with no human interaction so that makes a big difference.
Maybe you could try him loose just for the afternoon or morning and see how he does. We are in Michigan too and it is hard with the cold weather. We usually go to obedience or agility class once or twice a week so that helps keep her busy too. We are on a break for Christmas for a couple weeks so I've been thinking I need to increase her exercise at home so she doesn't become destructive out of boredom. That's good that he gets to go to the pet resort at least a couple times a month. I know that can get very costly.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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If you can't do a long walk, try having a game of fetch in the house before you leave him.He needs to expend some energy before being left alone all day. I personally have always crated or confined until they are at least one year but I am not gone for more than a few hours a day. Make sure the game lasts awhile so he is tired out when you leave. I live in Michigan too and still walk in the morning but I am sure it depends on how early you have to leave. If it is in the twentys or better I go out for a couple nice walks a day. Love my down jacket!
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