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Permalink Reply by Jessica on March 15, 2009 at 4:04pm

Do you intend to keep the crate forever, or just for potty training?

Since you don't want him in your bed, I would suggest leaving him in the crate at night (he will probably want to play and keep you up all night.) If your kitchen isn't carpeted, I would leave him in there with the baby gates. Remove the chairs (if they are wooden) though in case he decides the chew them up.

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Permalink Reply by Jaqueline on March 15, 2009 at 4:51pm

I personally would try it at night first. I don't know why, but I just do.

I will also crate train my puppy to prevent him from chewing and peeing all over the house when we aren't at home. As for the chewing part. I guess he has all his mature teeth now. All you've got to do is give him something to do when you are away. A Kong or a treat ball for instance.

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Permalink Reply by Owen's Mom on March 15, 2009 at 5:24pm

Owen is 10 months old. He gets the hallway. I don't trust him at all and I'm not sure if I ever will. He can find anything he shouldn't have! He is actually pretty good and I don't have to watch him like a hawk but you never know. It is for his safety and my sanity. He sleeps most of the day and we play most mornings, lunches and after work and a long walk at night. He hasn't done well with just chilling in the hallway at night. He will whine so he is usually in his crate.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on March 15, 2009 at 9:06pm

We started letting Gibson sleep in bed w/us at night when he was about 3.5 months old. This is only somewhat freedom for him since cannot jump up on the bed or jump down w/o our assistance. We stopped putting him in his crate during the day when he was 7 months old. We tested it out by not crating him when we went to the store or other short trips out of the house. I kind of knew when he was ready...he is very trustworthy :)

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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on March 15, 2009 at 9:31pm

I have been leaving him in the kitchen while I get ready for work in the mornings and I left him for a little over an hour when I went to the store today. He was a good boy - I came home to stretches and yarns so it seems that he was napping. My boyfriend is off on Mondays but he is away for a couple of days so unfortunately tomorrow is going to be a long day away. 9 hours :( I don't feel right leaving him in the crate that long at 10 months so I want to try to leave him out but I am nervous! I prob won't get any work done worrying about him. I could come home for lunch but it is 25 min each way plus potty/play time so it just means I will get home an 1 1/2 later - and then I won't know if he can make it all day. I am stressed - he isn't - he's just lounging around. I should take his lead and just relax I guess. I need a puppy cam so I can see what he's up to - ha.

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Permalink Reply by Ein Danger on March 16, 2009 at 1:29am

this is going to be ein's 1st night not sleeping in his crate. we just got back from visiting my in-laws and we couldn't bring ein's crate (which he always sleeps in) because it wouldn't fit in the car. so he slept on the floor in my sister in law's room. no accidents or chewing (he's only 6 months old). so we're gonna let him stay in our room tonight for the 1st time instead of being in his crate. i would suggest confining them to only certain sections of the house during the day or even at night since he's still getting used to his new environment. you don't want him getting into any trouble when you're asleep or away! if he's in a safe environment in which he feels calm in, i'd think it would be alright for him to sleep/be outside of the crate :) tell me how it goes!!

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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on March 16, 2009 at 9:02am

I also kept Bertie in his crate at night, until he was about a year old (same for little Ethel). Once they passed the milestones of 1) no pee/poo accidents and 2) no destructive midnight chewing, they could choose their own sleeping spots (I leave the crate open all the time, and Ethel still sleeps in her crate). I didn't let them sleep with me only because I was afraid they'd fall off the bed! But during the day, while I was at work, Bertie was confined to a small area that included the bathroom and a short hallway (with pee pads, that he stopped using at about 6 months) until he was about a year old and I trusted him. I also think he felt safer in a smaller area, too. Now that he is almost 5 and Ethel is 15 months, they both have full use of the house.

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Permalink Reply by Clif on March 16, 2009 at 10:42am

Oodie let us know when he didn't need to sleep in his crate any more! When he was around a year old, he started barking and whining when we put him in his crate at night so we finally left the crate open and haven’t had any problems. We did put his bedding out where we wanted him to sleep and it seemed to work since he only sleeps next to the bed and has never wanted to sleep with us. We tried that with Addie when she was about 10 months but Addie would drag her blankie back to her crate. She will only sleep and nap in her crate so I guess she feels more secure there.

We just started leaving them out during the day for short periods of time, about 2 to 4 hours and haven't had any issues but I still haven't let them out all day. I’m worried they’ll throw wild parties if they’re home alone for the entire day!

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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on March 16, 2009 at 11:14am

Thanks for the replies - it really helps to hear what everyone else has done! I tried leaving Tucker out in the kitchen last night to see if he would have accidents or be destructive as a test for leaving him out during the day. He was out from midnight until about 4:30 am and he whined more than when he was in the crate - but no accidents/trouble. I took him outside and put him in the crate until our morning walk at 7.

We walked for almost an hour this morning and he played with a new ball in the backyard for a while so he was very tired when I left for work at 10. The kitchen is completely clear of anything and everything he could possible get into (minus the cabinets and wood floors!)- i left some new toys, and a kong filled with PB and kibble - now I just have to see how he does.

If he is good and seems happy to be in the ktichen I think I may move the crate upstaits to the bedroom for nighttime and stick to the kitchen during the day.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he has a good day!

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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on March 16, 2009 at 7:36pm

Update: Tucker was a good pup today!! He was left alone in the gated kitchen for 9 hours (longer than a normal day) and he had no accidents and there was no destruction!! It is good to know I can give him a bit more freedom during the day. I am so proud :)

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Permalink Reply by Susan on March 17, 2009 at 12:05am

Annie was in her crate mostly during the day for her first year. We have always brought her upstairs with us at night and closed the bedroom door, so she was contained within our bedroom/bathroom. She was housebroken very quickly and only had a handful of accidents. Any containment was mostly because of mischief! When we went to work, she was crated. When we went out for a few hours, she was crated. But little by little, we'd leave her out for longer periods of time...see how she did. She's almost 6 now and we still have the crate...we no longer put her in it, but she does go in it to nap once in a while!

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Permalink Reply by mosesbotbol on March 17, 2009 at 9:21am

How about leave the crate door open and see what he does? Camber lived 24-7 for 6 years in a crate until we got her and did not want to go in the crate at all the first day we brought her back. She hasn't been in a crate since. I think if the crate door is open Tucker will have a choice since many dogs find the crate like an indoor dog house.

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