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  1. #1
    House Broken TT120's Avatar
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    Potential problem

    So Milo is about 5 months old right now and he's starting to not want to go into his crate in the morning and afternoon. I think since he's trapped in there all day, 6 days a week, it's starting to traumatize him. I work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week so I'm gone for 13 to 14 hours a day. My wife was working a graveyard shift so most days, Milo would only be in the crate for a few hours. He seemed fine with this arrangement and would happily go into his crate when I had to leave for work. My wife decided to take a trip around the country and is not around anymore. (That's a different story for a different forum). In my opinion, her timing couldn't be worse as Milo is at an age where he needs humans around a lot to keep him out of trouble. So now, it's just me and Milo and his crate (prison) I'm able to come home at lunch and let him out for a break but I only have 5 minutes and I have to get back to work. Milo is starting to not want to go into his prison anymore cause he knows he's going to be trapped in there for hours on end. I have no family or anyone else for that matter to help so I'm unsure what to do. I have asked the neighbors for help and they refused. I don't want the poor little guy to be traumatized but I'm a dog person and need to have a dog around. I really don't know what to do. Free run of the house is not an option since I know he'll tear everything up and probably get himself hurt.

    Any other single parents out there with this problem?

  2. #2
    House Broken ccetta's Avatar
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    Can you look into doggie day care or a dog walker to come in?

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I'm not a single pet parent and I feel bad that you and Milo find yourselves in this predicament. My 2 ideas would be:

    1. Hire a dog walker who can come in and take Milo out for an hour walk mid-day. Maybe some walking and playing for more than 5 minutes will make going back into the crate less difficult for him.

    2. Find a doggy day care location between your home and work so that he could spend half a day in day care, either morning or afternoon, and on your lunch break you could pick him up and bring him home for the afternoon where he'll be tired from playing all morning and sleep the afternoon away.

    Thirteen or 14 hours alone, 6 days a week isn't fair to a puppy Milo's age. It will probably take a chunk of change to do either of these, but finding him another home seems like it would be the kindest alternative and it doesn't sound like you want to do that.

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  6. #4
    Best Friend Retriever soberbyker's Avatar
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    Can you make his alone area any larger by using baby gates or something similar to contain him in one room, after puppy proofing it of course? Does he have plenty of toys to help keep him occupied?




  7. #5
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    that's a really rough age to be alone all that time (and I totally understand how this wasn't at all your plan!) . Any option for a dog walker a few times a week at least? (even if not daily?) More space can help but ultimately that's still rough.

    I am a single dog owner and honestly i feel beyond guilty. I leave for work at 7am and am back at 4. long day for my dogs. They are older now (pen is 3 ish and Rocky is 11) - I had a dog walker more when Pen was younger (but she was still 7-10 months when I got her). we do a walk before work and our play time is after work. The dog walker is sporadic at this point to be honest, it's not something I could financially keep up (or it would come down to agility VS dog walker sorta thing).

  8. #6
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Truthfully there isn't many options. I suggest full time doggie daycare if you want to attempt make this work and I'm not even sure if doggie daycare allows 13 to 14 hours a day. You could do half day in daycare and then pick him up at lunch. That might work. I don't think a dog walker would be enough. He would still be crated for an excessive amount of time alone. Total max crate time and/or alone time should never exceed 8 to 9 hours a day in my opinion and at 5 months he should have a mid day break out of the crate for at least 30 to 60 minutes. I have a 5 month old as well, its very time consuming. I work a full time job and come home for lunch for a hour, so she is crated for 4 hours then I'm home for a hour then crated for another 4 to 5 hours and then I'm home for the night. No crate at night after I am home. I cant imagine leaving her or any of my dogs alone for longer than this

    Please don't be offended but if you are away for 14 hours a day, 6 days a week then there isn't going to much of a relationship with this puppy and ultimately he is going to be the one to suffer. Perhaps finding a more suitable home would be the best option for him, and when something in your life changes that allows you to have the time to raise a dog, you could revisit the idea

  9. #7
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    depending on hoe long this is for, maybe a few weeks at a nice kennel (there are some really nice/great places) or dog sitter? If this is temporary there must be an option that works temporarily until your wife is back (or if this is going to be long term then maybe other options can be considered at that time).

  10. #8
    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    I suggest that you expand his area by enclosing his crate inside an exercise pen. This way he can choose to sleep in his crate, but he'll have a bit more room to stretch his legs. You could set up something like this: Amazon.com : Precision Pet 38 in. Courtyard Kennel Silver Crackle : Precision Pet Products : Pet Supplies.

    He needs more human interaction and stimulation. If you can't spend more than 5 minutes with him at lunch, then get a dogwalker or daycare. My dogs are older than your puppy, but it's basically about setting routines. I get up several hours before I need to be in the office in order to walk the dogs, feed them, do short training sessions and give them free time to run in the yard; at lunchtime I play with them/do a training session and/or go for a walk for 30 minutes; immediately upon returning home they get a several mile walk and a short training session. If I cannot come home for lunch I pay my younger dog's handler to come and exercise them in the middle of the day. My dogs are no longer crated except on days the cleaners come, but this protocol works for puppies also (with considerations for age appropriate exercise and play, of course). Thirteen or fourteen hours a day in a crate alone with a 5 minute break is really too long for any dog, so if a dogwalker, daycare, or other alternative is not possible, you might think about returning him to his breeder, so an appropriate home can be found.

  11. #9
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Even if the pup were not crated during this time, that is too much time alone.

    I feel like the only way you can do this is to hire a dog walker to come twice a day for at least 30 minutes each day plus your five minute potty break, which is cost prohibitive for a lot of people, unfortunately, and would still be an imperfect solution. Boarding him in a daycare-like kennel would probably cost less.

    If this were temporary, like a week, you might be able to get through it with a situation where the dog could relieve himself on pads or something in your kitchen. But I would fully expect some behavior issues -- potty training, chewing, barking, etc. which could potentially lead to injury.

    This is a tough situation.

  12. #10
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    I think you have been given some great options above. I completely agree that if you can't find an appropriate solution it may be best to return him to the breeder. I understand you don't want to do that but I am betting you also do not want to raise an under socialized, neurotic dog either. Sometimes we have to sacrifice for the greater good, as hard as that may be. I am sorry you are dealing with this.
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