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Thread: Crate question

  1. #1
    House Broken Meeka's Avatar
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    Crate question

    Hello

    I have a 7 month old lab puppy .. i got her when was 8 weeks old and was home with her until she was 4 months .. as of September her schedule has been
    Up at 6:30 Am
    Pee and poop, breakfast , playtime and her last walk all done by 8:45 am when she goes into the crate. Dog walker comes in at 11:30 am to take her for walk and playtime until 12:30 pm. Back in the crate until 3:30 pm when my daughter and I come back. She is thriving on this schedule.
    Now my question is when I leave her in the crate from 8:45 am -3:30 pm without the dog walker coming in.

    I know people say it’s 1 hour per month but I feel bad for her and haven’t tried it yet.. I feel guilty and wonder what other dog owners have done.

    mind you I work from home Tuesday, Wednesday and sometimes Friday. she will go to doggy daycare as of January every Monday so she would have to stay in the crate from 8:45 am 3:30 pm for on Thursday’s for sure and maybe Friday sometimes..


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  2. #2
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    Physically, she probably can go that whole time, so if you want to move to that schedule I don't foresee a problem. I think that's a lot less crate time than many labs with working parents get!

    Personally we try to limit crate time. My husband normally works from home but has to be in the office this week, so Stormy is going to day care Monday-Friday. But that would be quite expensive to do long-term!
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    Meeka (12-02-2019)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    She would likely be fine now, more of a choice of what you want. My pup is 5.5mts and getting a mid day break and I am torn about reducing it but come January I have to get back to work 5 days a week and may not be able to swing daily dog walker forever (not gonna cut back right away but..)

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Does she sleep in her crate at night? I’m just wondering about total crate time but if it’s only a couple of days a week, I’d probably try it. It’s better than many pups schedule. At some point she may be okay out of her crate while you’re gone but you may have to work up to that. Our 1st lab didn’t seem ready to be out of the crate all day until he was nearly 3. Lark, who’s nearly 7 years old was okay out of the crate while I was gone before she was a year old. Henry is 16 months old and still gets crated when I’m gone because he and Lark play too wildly. I could actually probably let them take turns being crated. He might be ready to be uncreated but I hate finding out the hard way!


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  8. #5
    House Broken Meeka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    Does she sleep in her crate at night? I’m just wondering about total crate time but if it’s only a couple of days a week, I’d probably try it. It’s better than many pups schedule. At some point she may be okay out of her crate while you’re gone but you may have to work up to that. Our 1st lab didn’t seem ready to be out of the crate all day until he was nearly 3. Lark, who’s nearly 7 years old was okay out of the crate while I was gone before she was a year old. Henry is 16 months old and still gets crated when I’m gone because he and Lark play too wildly. I could actually probably let them take turns being crated. He might be ready to be uncreated but I hate finding out the hard way!


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    Yes she sleeps in her crate all night.. she loves her crate and snuggles with her stuffy. Knowing my puppy she won’t be ready out of a crate just like your first lab for a few years.. that is why I bought an extra large crate recently so she has room to stretch and is super comfortable.i know I will be using it for a long time.. thank you for your comment.. it is reassuring to read that I won’t be doing anything bad if I did leave her once a week from 8:45-3:30 pm.: she is my first dog as a adult so I am constantly learning and wondering [emoji846]


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  9. #6
    House Broken Meeka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tanya View Post
    She would likely be fine now, more of a choice of what you want. My pup is 5.5mts and getting a mid day break and I am torn about reducing it but come January I have to get back to work 5 days a week and may not be able to swing daily dog walker forever (not gonna cut back right away but..)
    I hear you! It’s so tough as we all try our best to be the best dog owners we can be.. [emoji846]


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  10. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I am not a fan of long crate times and vowed early, after finding a puppy soaked in pee in his crate the size usually recommended, to only crate three hours a day. He was not there for long because I was home and couldn't bear the crying any longer, but what if I wasn't home? So we used a pen that allowed considerable movement for one pup and our gated kitchen for Oban. Both pups early on chose to bathroom well away from their crate if they had to. Shift work has it's benefits and there was never more than 4 hours with no one home and only a few days a week. The pen and gates were made by my OH, they were high and sturdy. Caveat, puppies and dogs can wreck your room and hurt themselves. Ours did not chew on anything they were not supposed to. If I had to crate for long times (more than my arbitrary three hours) I would pick a crate as BIG as possible.
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  12. #8
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    I see no issue crating in the daytime her for 6 hours and 45 minutes one day a week. She will let you know if it is too long, but frankly, my 4 month olds go that long, just a day or two a week, and they are just fine. As long as she gets playtime and exercise when you are home, this is an ideal schedule for a young dog. They sleep while you are gone mostly anyways, and really don't have a great concept of time. You could put a home camera on her to watch her on your phone if you want, and that will show you how she does.

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