Home alone

[samjuniper]

We have crated Indie our German Shepherd since we got her at 8 weeks old so she's quite happy in there. However, she's 7 months old now and getting quite a bit bigger so we thought we'd start leaving her in the kitchen so she has a bit more room to move about. She has so far chewed oven gloves, a plastic tray, a bag of potatoes and started chewing on one of our kitchen chairs. We leave her with her bed and several toys to keep her occupied. She also upturns her water bowl so she has no access to water (she also does this if we leave her water in her crate). Will she grow out of this? Is it okay to leave her in her crate as long as she's getting plenty of exercise at other times?

Jen & Richard

[Lisa/Colin]

We are new to crating (with Millie) but I would say that she would be Ok as long as you arent leaving her there too long and you are exercising her well before and after and when you are in the house with her she is out of the crate. We didnt crate Hektor (our Great Dane) for size reasons (we would have needed a gigantic one!) and to be honest he didnt stop having a go at chewing stuff until he was about a year. We had to make sure there was absolutely nothing lying about. He's 2 now and we can leave everything and he wont touch it.

I think if she is outgrowing your present crate, get a bigger one or make sure EVERYTHING is well out of her reach when you lock her in the kitchen.

Good luck!

lisa

[Margaret J]

i have 3 x GSD's all where crated to beyond a year ...and the crate is still used for the youngest who is just beyond a year old .....

like Lisa said so long as they get plenty exercise at other times then i would carry on using it....

my lot fight over the cage and more often than not i find all 3 jammed in to it together ...by choice.... so i take it from that they like the cage.....

my cage is pretty big can Indie stand and turn in the cage??? if so then it is big enough !!!!!

[Suzanne H]

Our older dog was crated until he was 18 months. We tried him out of it at a year and he trashed the kitchen.

Even now we can't leave the pup's collar, anything plastic or any clothing/footwear belonging to me in the kitchen. And I wouldn't trust him out of the kitchen - he gets too wound up by the postman, etc. The kitchen is at the back of the house and quiet.

Doesn't touch the bin though!

As long as they get plenty of time out of it, are not in it for long periods of time except overnight and get plenty of exercise, I see no issues. It's what they're used to. He still goes into it to lie down while we're having our tea but only cos the pup pinches his bed.

The one bonus of him being out of his crate was that he didn't bark to get out at 6.30, he slept till we woke him up....his little brother has taken that one on though.

[Ross/Ali]

Giles is going to be promoted shortly to bigboysville when we get puppy.
we're wondering how he's going to take it. He'll pretty much have the run of the house...

then again, we might just get the second crate down, but we're running out of space!
_________________
want to see the animals in my life?
Click here!

[Suzanne H]

I have been fascinated by seeing how Otto has reacted to Rudi. He was disgusted to begin with an avoided the intruder like the plague.

Then he seemed to let the pup do anything - steal his toys, his bed, steal his food and he did nothing to stop him.

But as Rudi gets bigger, he doesn't let him off with so much anymore. It's almost as if Otto's decided "Right son, you're a big boy now. If you want it, you'll have to fight me for it"

Otto will let the pup lie next to him, but if he so much as touches him, he growls and moves away. And if the pup is taking liberties eg jumps on the sofa, Otto chastises him and drags him off and pins him to the ground.

He'll also go and get him. It's hilarious, Ian says to Otto "Where's Rudi, go get him" and he does.

they do compete for affection though and Otto will block Rudi from getting to me. We largely just let them sort it out for themselves. At the moment, Otto gets everything first, but he may not be the boss of them....we'll see.

[Jack]

I have crated mine since I've had them, the girls anyway and continue to do so to this day for a number of reasons.

My first Staffie love, Mitzi, was an intermittent destructive oh I swore so I didn't EVER want to come home to a trashed house/eaten sofa ever again

They LOVE their crates and go to them voluntarily when it's treat/food time or if we're going out OR if THEY need time out

They are Staffies and even though they ADORE each other and we have a perfectly balanced pack if I'm not home I cannot ensure that stays the case. I have seen what can result from a spat and I am not willing to risk that EVER happening in my home or to my dogs EVER - I'm not suggesting it WOULD happen, just stating i am not willing to take the risk. I KNOW what my beloved breed was initially bred to do, I KNOW their capabilities IF brought up and handled incorrectly or with scant regard and respect of that. I ADORE this breed but I do that through wide open eyes and not rose tinted spectacles. I have been greatly criticised by some owners of late because of that but THEY are the dangerous ones because they fail to acknowledge the possibilities and take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of all - that's not something I can ever be accused of. My dogs mean the world to me and keeping them and our home safe is ALL that matters to me
_________________
Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk