Leaving Dog Out in House

[mgrey]

Hi All,

Just wondering if any of you are able to leave your boxers out while you are gone. Any advice?

I plan on leaving Maggie out of her crate for about 2 hours tonight while I am gone (in the house). She use to tear things up when we would leave her alone outside in the garage when she was younger but now she has stopped (I thinking because she has somewhat outgrown the "puppy stage"). It is WAY to cold to leave her in the garage now so we usually crate her inside.. but I want to give her a chance to be outside her crate inside the house...

Any thoughts or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Ron]

Tie is a good boy...but when left by himself, he can still cause trouble

make sure there is not food on the counters ....and make sure the garbage is out of reach

[nikita&memo]

Nikita was about 14 mths old when we started leaving no longer crated in the house. I guess you just sort of know when they're ready....if Maggie is no longer tearing things up then give it a try. We gradually built up to leaving Nikita for longer periods of time alone....start by leaving the house for 30 mins, next day 45 mins and so on...till you're comfortable she is fine alone. We also shut doors to all rooms and she has free roam of kitchen, family room and main hall (which is long). So far we haven't had probs. Now I hope we can get Memo to that point LOL
I'd also recommend an extra large bully stick!! We also leave the radio on.

[KeeperBoy]

Keepers is 4.5 and Boo is 2.5 and we still crate both of them when we aren't home. Personally, I feel safer when they are crated. I don't worry about them getting into something or getting hurt. I also worry (you'll all think I'm crazy) that if someone broke in they would either hurt the dogs or let them out of the house. I also have the room they are in clearly marked so in case of fire a firefighter can come in and just grab their crates and I won't have to worry that they are hiding somewhere (this actually happened, a home about 500 feet from ours burned down this summer and two cats almost died because no one could find them, they were hiding in a bedroom closet). I know, I'm nuts.

We do leave them both out when we work out at a gym that is walking distance from our front door, usually about 45 minutes at a time.

[AussieGirl]

I agree with what was mentioned before, start with a short period of time and build it up, leave something to entertain her, I would personally restrict her access to one or two rooms/areas of the house so close bedroom doors etc, and make sure there is nothing tempting left laying around like food, bin anything you would rather come home to still in one piece lol. Good luck!

[Doreen]

I am still crating both of mine. 2 year old and 1 1/2 year old. I don't think they are ready yet to be left out. Rex still will take books off the bookcase once in awhile. He has stopped taking the remote control, so he is getting better, but not quite there yet! Today was the first time I put blankets in their crates. Once after I first got him, I put a mat with padding in there. He tore it all to pieces. Then I left a towel in there, chewed that up too. I only left them for about an hour today and the blankets were in tact! I felt bad now that it is colder and they are just laying on those crate floors, especially since they are so spoiled and can sleep on a bed, sofa or chair just about anywhere in this house ordinarily, then throw them in a cold crate when I leave. I too am hoping to be able to leave them out some day. I do know I can't leave Coco out home with Rex gone cause she chewed up my blinds one time when I took Rex to the vet. It has to be both out or both in crates, LOL.

[bruinsBoxers]

Definately start with short amounts of time and then gradually work up to longer stretches of time . If she is not ready to stay un-crated you will soon know .

All boxers ( any dog ) are different and some must be crated for longer than others . Boxers tend to have a much longer puppyhood behavior-wise so it is not uncommon for them to be crated until they are 2 or even 3 years old . And some are never trustworthy un crated .

[purplelori]

Wally has been allowed free access to the main rooms (living,dining and kitchen) since he was about 3 months old (He's 1 now)--mostly because he showed us he could climb out of the 'playpen' area, so why not? We make sure the TV remotes and anything we don't want him to have (butter dishes on the countertop, for instance!) are put AWAY--he has a long reach! He has several beds as well as his crate to snooze in, and a doggie door so he can go in and out. Part of this was because we still had Carli and she was used to being able to go where ever, and we didn't want to bother her routine. It's worked out fairly well, and he is getting better and better at leaving things alone that aren't his. We do put out a variety of things to keep him busy--stuffed Kong, old juice bottles with some kibble in the bottom, etc.

Good Luck!

[JoeV]

Originally Posted by mgrey

Hi All,

Just wondering if any of you are able to leave your boxers out while you are gone. Any advice?

I plan on leaving Maggie out of her crate for about 2 hours tonight while I am gone (in the house). She use to tear things up when we would leave her alone outside in the garage when she was younger but now she has stopped (I thinking because she has somewhat outgrown the "puppy stage"). It is WAY to cold to leave her in the garage now so we usually crate her inside.. but I want to give her a chance to be outside her crate inside the house...

Any thoughts or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

LOL, leave Lucky out while we're gone?? I would have to be on crack for that to happen.

[Spyglass Sally]

I'm only comfortable leaving Buddy out while I check the mail! lol! It will be nice when we can get rid of the crate, but I don't know that it will be anytime soon.