Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23
  1. #1
    Puppy
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Sherwood, OR
    Posts
    6
    Thanked: 4

    Can't leave my Lab out without something being destroyed!!!

    So frustrated beyond all reason! We have a 1 yr old female lab & she's fine in the kennel & around us. She plays with her toys like she's supposed to & don't want her to be in the kennel forever. I want her to be able to roam freely at home while we're gone, but at what point does that happen? We take her out twice a day for vigorous exercise (especially before we leave). Make sure she takes a potty break also before we leave. There's something that's tore up when we get back even though she has plenty of chew toys to play with. Any tips? Is she just simply too energetic & young to be on her own? We don't leave her for more than 6-7 hours on her own. Thanks for the help in advance.

    Michel.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carolina in my mind..
    Posts
    6,391
    Thanked: 4178

    Can't leave my Lab out without something being destroyed!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mahojda80 View Post
    So frustrated beyond all reason! We have a 1 yr old female lab & she's fine in the kennel & around us. She plays with her toys like she's supposed to & don't want her to be in the kennel forever. I want her to be able to roam freely at home while we're gone, but at what point does that happen? We take her out twice a day for vigorous exercise (especially before we leave). Make sure she takes a potty break also before we leave. There's something that's tore up when we get back even though she has plenty of chew toys to play with. Any tips? Is she just simply too energetic & young to be on her own? We don't leave her for more than 6-7 hours on her own. Thanks for the help in advance.

    Michel.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    My older boy was not trustworthy to stay out of his crate for that length of time until he was about 3 years old. Our younger dog was okay out of her crate for 7-8 hours at about 18 months. Every dog has their own time frame for maturing. Yours is just saying that she's not ready yet. It doesn't mean she'll always need to be crated. I'd wait a few months and try again, starting with much shorter periods of time alone out of her crate to see if she's ready yet. Some will seem okay for a few weeks and then have an unsuccessful day. It's frustrating but rushing things usually doesn't get better results. Give her a little time and hopefully she'll be one of those early maturers.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sue

    Chase 9/29/2006- 6/30/2017 Always in our hearts
    Lark 12/25/2012- 2/2/22
    Henry 7/14/18
    Joey 5/14/2022

    “Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”

    Mary Oliver, Hidden Content

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to smartrock For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017), ZEKESMAN (07-17-2017)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2,366
    Thanked: 1096
    I can't leave mine out. They either stay in "their room" (if it's hot outside) or during cooler weather, in a kennel run (which I recommend for everyone to construct.)

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to TuMicks For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  6. #4
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    1,078
    Thanked: 451
    Mine were 3 years old. Labs are essentially babies until that age and rather than risk their getting hurt or destroying your things it's just best to kennel them while you're not there.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to MontananDakota For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  8. #5
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,917
    Thanked: 1052
    Is there a reason why you don't want to crate her? Being untrustworthy and mischievous are perfect reasons TO crate her. I still crate my 3 year old. At this point he doesn't need it, but he loves his crate so in he goes.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Meeps83 For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  10. #6
    Senior Dog SamsonsMom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    1,605
    Thanked: 1334
    My Samson was 2 years old when I let him out 4.5 hours a day while I was at work. I'd leave him out when I left for work and then my sitter came over, at the end of the visit she would crate him. We tested that for a few months and after he displayed positive behavior, he was able to stay out. Knock on wood he has not destroyed anything while I'm gone. The crate for him has always been a positive experience. My 7 month old pup Asher loves the crate too. He will go right in when it's time for me to go to work. At night, he doesn't make a peep. He uses Samson's crate now. Samson was a bit bummed at first because he loved to go in his crate and sleep. He has now adjusted to his bed outside the crate. Be patient. The crate a safe haven and a den. I put a very large blanket around mine so the only view is out the front. Extra sense of security for my boy. I'm sure Asher will be in it for a few years. He's a bit more rambunctious than I remember Samson being. He already swallowed a toy and that was under supervision. Mouthy boy! I love him to pieces.

    Good luck to you. Crating is not a bad thing when used correctly.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to SamsonsMom For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  12. #7
    Moderator
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Greenwood, Delaware
    Posts
    7,348
    Thanked: 7148
    It takes as long as it takes. My Sophie, who is 5 1/2 has had free run since she was about 3. My 14 month old, Brooks is still crated when we leave the house. He has no issues with being in the crate, and will happily run right in from anywhere in the house when I tell him "kennel".

    To the OP, is it you that feel bad the dog is in the crate, or does the dog have an issue with it. I've found that once the dogs learn their crate is a good place, they are more than happy to go in there and crash out for however long. I've had dogs over the years that would go to their crates and sleep, dogs are denning animals, and the crate truly becomes their den.

    One thing I will say, a bored Labrador is not a good thing, they will definitely find something to entertain themselves, and it usually won't be good.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to barry581 For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  14. #8
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    C. WA
    Posts
    1,624
    Thanked: 1235
    I had a trainer friend tell one of my pup owners this a couple weeks ago on FB (funny, I've been breeding 22 yrs and never heard it before but it's OH SO TRUE!!!).

    Labradors: Chew til 2. Shed til dead.
    Hidden Content
    The WindyCanyon Girls (taken Summer 2018)
    IntCH WindyCanyon's Northern Spy CDX RA JH OA OAJ CC (14.5 yrs)
    IntCH WindyCanyon's Ruby Pink BN CD RA CC (4.5 yrs)
    IntCH WindyCanyon's Kanzi BN CDX RE JH (5 yrs)
    IntCH WindyCanyon ItsOnlyMoneyHoneycrisp BN RN CC (16mos)
    IntCH WindyCanyon's Pippin BN RI CC (2.5 yrs)
    IntCH WindyCanyon's Envy CDX RE JH CC (10.5 yrs)
    IntCH HIT WindyCanyon's Kiku A Fuji Too CDX RE JH CC (10 yrs)







  15. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to windycanyon For This Useful Post:

    barry581 (07-14-2017), Mahojda80 (07-14-2017), MontananDakota (07-15-2017), SunDance (07-14-2017)

  16. #9
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Bend, Oregon
    Posts
    2,024
    Thanked: 3035
    We started with very short times - like walking outside to get the mail. We're talking 60-90 seconds. When we started extending the time alone outside of the crate we used cameras - DropCams - to keep an eye on him via our phones. And by extended times I mean 5 minutes while we were outside chatting with neighbors. From there it went to ~30 mins during a quick run to the store, always keeping an eye on things via our cameras. The minute he slipped up it was back to the crate and starting from the beginning. We were very lucky that Thor was trustworthy alone at about 9 months old. I know from this board that that is highly unusual, and I'm very lucky to have a lab that isn't too chewy. I think it is also important to note that we still left his crate available to him, and by watching our cameras I know he spent the majority of his alone time snoozing in it. It's important that they are comfortable there.

    I learned this technique from people here - I don't think we would have been nearly as fortunate without approaching it in this way.
    Mighty Thor, "So Much Dog", born 1/6/2014
    And baby Barley, born 3/9/2018

    Hidden Content

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to MightyThor For This Useful Post:

    Mahojda80 (07-14-2017)

  18. #10
    Puppy
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Sherwood, OR
    Posts
    6
    Thanked: 4
    To the OP, is it you that feel bad the dog is in the crate, or does the dog have an issue with it.

    That's a good question. From what you say, it sounds dumb of me to say now lol, but yea; I guess I do feel bad that our Mellow is stuck in a kennel for up to 7 hours. She has been positively trained into the kennel & she doesn't have any issues with it, but I guess I still feel like they might be more comfortable with a larger area to be in.

    She will go back into the kennel & we will give her some more time to mature.

    Thanks for your feedback.



    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  19. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Mahojda80 For This Useful Post:

    barry581 (07-14-2017), MontananDakota (07-15-2017), ZEKESMAN (07-17-2017)

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •