I have a 5-month-old male Golden Retriever that is kennel trained.
I’ve had him since he was 9 weeks old, and at first, he was confined to his kennel any time I was not able to directly supervise him. That mean at night, when I was in the shower, and definitely while I was away at work.
About three weeks ago, he graduated to being allowed out at night while I’m asleep and when I am out at night over the weekend.
He has been doing fine with both of the afforementioned situations. Nothing has been destroyed, and it seems as though he sleeps most of the time.
However, for the past two days I have tried leaving him out while I was at work. This did not work. He destroyed the dust ruffle on my bed and dug around in the trash.
What should I do? Should I continue to leave him out, letting him get over this destructive behavior now? Or should I return to confining him during the day and try this again in a couple of months? Will he be any better then?
He’s at a really chewy stage right now. I think my dog was over a year old before he could be left alone out of his crate all day with the run of the entire place without doing anything bad.
Can you gate him in the kitchen? I used to move the crate every day from the bedroom to the kitchen and gate him there. I also had a dog walker come once a day to take him out and burn off some of his energy.
I’m not an expert so I can’t explain his behavior, but our dog also showed signs of being able to handle the responsibility of being on her own and then went backwards. She is a very non-destructive dog (doesn’t chew shoes or anything except kleenex - she loves the trash).
The first few weeks she had the run of the house, she chewed the baseboards, which was really, really unusual. I don’t know what trainers would say about this, but we basically ignored it. By the time we saw it, it seemed too late to say “bad dog.” It was something she just got over. She hasn’t done it since and she’s out all the time now. As far as I can tell, she sleeps and dreams of chasing rats.
I’d rather not gate him. I have a feeling I’d come home to either a destroyed gate or a lot of chewed up drywall.
I don’t have a problem kenneling him through the day, but I’d eventually like to get to the point where I don’t have to come home at lunch and let him out. Maybe I just assumed he was a little too ready.
There have been other threads that explain about Kong toys, and how to stuff them with food and treats to keep your dog interested and working at getting the food out. Done properly it can provide hours of amusement, keeping your dog out of trouble. I was trying to find a link to the instructions, but it seems to have been taken down. You might try it.
He’s 5 months? He’s going to have the puppy thing goin on for another six months, at least. Soundshe’s expressing seperation anxiety and/or boredom. Keeping him out will enable him, which is not a good thing in the least, in fact, it may reinforce the destructive behaviour, rather than prevent or cure it.
Keep him in the crate while you’re gone, and it’ll become his home, so much so, probably, that he’ll not want to come out.
Definately keep him there for a while, you’ll know when he’s relaxed enough to stay out.
May I suggest one thing? Find out, for SURE, if he’s barking in the kennel while you’re gone. My neighbors leave a dog out in a kennel all day when they’re at work and he’ll get going for 30 or 45 minutes at a time- nonstop barking. Whatever choice you make, if you have neighbors, make sure he’s not being loud.
I crated my dogs for the puppy years. What I learned was that a dog may show signs of readiness but they may be sensitive to certain events that could “set them off”. One of my dogs chewed into the drywall out of the blue after I had stopped with the crating. Once I was home for awhile I discovered that this guy was moving in next door and I saw him lunge at my window and shout because my dogs were barking. This was an irritant I guess and there is no telling how many times he had done this or how much barking had gone on that day. Bad weather could cause a dog to get anxious and chew as well. My dogs get nervous and pace during thunder storms but at least they are out of that chewing stage. I do not think you should be in a hurry to stop crating. Most dogs kind-of “den up” and are pretty comfortable in their crates. Lucky would just go lie down in the crate for a nap or to chew on one of his toys. Like others have mentioned, quality time when you are home with plenty of exercise and companionship will provide for the needs of your friend in a superb manner. AND… no feathers and sawdust when you come home.
