We’re on dog #3 and they reall aren’t that demanding.Make sure they’ve got water to drink, decide how you want to feed him (fill the bowl once a day or limit the time he/s allowd to chow down) make certain he gets outside long enough to take care of his business and get some exercise (around a couple city blocks should be plenty)and let him share your living space while you’re home (keeping him in the kitchen where he won’t mess the rugs/furniture while you’re at work should be no problem - kids safety gates work great).
So stop worrying and ENJOY your new family member.
We’re on dog #3 -first two lasted 14 and 17 years, so don’t think yours will kill himself. Just make sure he’s got water, decide how you want to feed him (put down food and leave it or limit the time he can eat), use a kids safety gate to keep him in the kitchen while you’r at work and share your space with him when you’re home - he’s a “member of the family” and locking him up all the time is something you only do to relaitves you really don’t like. So relaz and enjoy your new family member
Crating a child would be mean. But dogs are not children. Most of them take comfort in having one specific spot that is theirs and theirs alone, and many will go up to their “safe spot” of their own volition.
My dog used to sleep in her’s – it’s more of a little dog house. As she got older, she’d bug my mother at “bed time” and then run towards her crate automatically. We kept a little bed and some blankets, and my mother had a blanket draped over the top so it was like a nice little den for her. (We used to leave it open for her during the day, until the cat started going in there.)
Your dog will get over less anxious over you not being there 24-7. He won’t get lonely, and he’s not going to kill himself – really. Just “puppy-proof” the house to make it safer for him.
And he’s adorable!
When my old dog was a puppy, we both worked and the kids were young enough to not be home alone. So the dog was home for the nine hour days we were home, crated. While he was under a year, a dog walker would come and take him out mid-day, but as he developed the bladder control, he went out in the mornings and when we came home.
Over time, he got older and stopped getting into trouble. Accidents were rare, destruction was rarer (his biggest naughty behavior is counter surfing - but that’s our fault for leaving it reachable). And we’d leave the crate door open. He’d often be sleeping in the crate when we came home, but he could stretch his legs (or sleep on the couch or watch the neighbors from the front window) if he wanted.
Now we still have him - he’s 11. And a puppy. The puppy is now ten months and is still crated at night or if no one is home. I’m home days now, so he doesn’t spend nearly as much time in the crate as his big brother did - but we were out most of yesterday and he did fine. He’ll get locked in the crate about another year I think - he doesn’t have accidents, but he’s still in the chewing stage.
Puppy proof the house - make sure the food and trash are put away - you can train a dog to stay away, but removing temptation will be easier and less stressful (you should also train them to stay away, so they are good citizens - but if you don’t have to worry about food/trash in your house, it will be much less stressful). Keep the dog content with two daily walks, and if you have one nearby, regular trips to an off leash park for puppy playtime. I actually seldom walk my dogs, they play in the yard and get their running around done there - its Minnesota in Winter, I’m a “woman of a certain age where breaking a hip would be bad” and my small dog is 50 lbs, they MUST go together or IT ISN’T FAIR (the puppy broke out of his crate when left behind and caused havoc) - there is a lot of risk involved in regular walks for my dogs - so they enjoy the yard for exercise if the weather isn’t good enough for me.
As a puppy, teach them “nap time” - i.e. in the crate and quiet when you can’t keep an eye on them - or just want some time away from your dog. Dogs don’t sleep as much as cats do, but they’ll sleep as much as a teenager (I have two of those as well), eventually, he’ll learn that nap time is a time not to bother you, and you’ll be able to leave the crate door open and he’ll nap (or maybe, depending on your house rules, nap on the couch or at your feet.
My dogs are both yard trained with an invisible fence, so I’ll let them out with a bark at the door, and don’t worry about them. The older one doesn’t like cold (never did, and now that he’s old I think it just hurts) or wet, but the puppy will ask to go outside every twenty minutes just to look around. A fenced yard keeps me from worry. The neighbors did have to add two feed of decorative fencing to the top of their six foot fence, their dog could jump. And others have to add below ground fencing to keep a digger in - but once you figure out the best way to contain the dog, letting them out shouldn’t be a big deal.
He does go in willingly. At night I can keep it unlocked and he’ll stay in there without a peep. However, I’ve also been crating him for a few hours in the morning even though I’ve been home, so that it’s not as huge a shock when I go back to work, and he does whine a little at first.
Yeah, once I get my feet under me I’ll probably sign up for a class. I have a psych degree so I thought I had a pretty good grasp of operant conditioning, but proper dog training still eludes me. For example, I don’t understand how rewarding a dog for getting down off the furniture reinforces staying off the furniture. It seems like it would reinforce always first getting on the furniture and then getting off.
Thanks! He’s a handsome but stubborn little guy.
This was sort of my hope. I’m paying for someone to come in midday while I’m at work but it’s not cheap - like $300+ dollars a month. I don’t mind doing that for a little while but I couldn’t do it indefinitely.
Is he making it though the night? If he’s making it through a nine hour night, he’ll likely make it though a nine hour workday - although you will want to make sure you aren’t working late or having lengthy commutes.
You can also talk to a local church/middle or high school/scout troop/community center - looking for a responsible teenager who will be cheaper than a professional dog walker who can swing by after school. Taking a dog outside for fifteen minutes for $5 a day right after school is about the perfect job for a fourteen year old kid.
I got my first dog ten years ago, and the first six weeks were a nightmare. She was about a year old, and had been abused, and she nipped at my heels and chewed up many of my possessions. I was at my wits end, and I realized I needed help. I took her to a local dog trainer, did several weeks of classes, and the change in both of us was amazing. I got her a crate immediately based on my trainer’s recommendation, and I didn’t have to worry about her chewing everything up while I was out. She calmed down a lot. After about a years I didn’t crate her anymore, and she didn’t chew up any more of my stuff.
She’s 11 years old now, and the nicest, sweetest dog anyone could ever hope for. And I have two additional dogs.
It sounds like he’s fine with the crate. Of course he’d rather be with you, but it sounds like he’s fine in there. Can you put the crate in a place where he can look outside? Near a patio door or something?
Since you’re a first-time dog owner:
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Get several durable chew toys. You want things that he can chew and won’t break into small pieces. Nylabone makes really good ones. Bones like that just wear down. Durable chew toys can be left around the house for him to chew on whenever he feels like it.
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Get some play toys. Get things like balls, tug ropes, etc. that you can play together with him. Since these are usually softer items, you should always make sure he’s supervised when he has them. Some dogs will destroy soft toys and swallow the pieces.
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Stay away from toys that will can obviously easily be destroyed. A common example is vinyl squeaky toys. Unless your dog is super gentle, one strong bite can tear it up.
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Feed him good dog food. Cheap dog food has lots of fillers and is not healthy (and makes for loose, stinky poops).
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Give him lots of love!
He looks like an Eskimo! Very cute.
I think you’re doing fine. Try not to stress too much.
As others have said, leave him in a “puppy proof” area while you are out. This could be a bathroom, the kitchen, your bedroom, or a crate. If he is making it overnight without an accident, he should be fine during the day while you are gone. Just take him for a potty break before you go and another as soon as you are home.
Get a variety of toys, and rotate them. Leave 1 or 2 for the day, and then change them up for the next day. This will help with any residual puppy chewing behavior and with boredom issues.
Regarding the “treat for getting off the couch” question - there are dogs that are that smart. Think border collies and a few others. Most will not form the association with the entire behavior. Think of it this way: you are rewarding the dog for doing what you ask it do. Focus on that aspect. Coming when called - reward. Sit - reward. Off the furniture - praise. If he’s chewing on the wrong thing, I would distract him with something he is allowed to chew (one of those toys) and then praise.
Don’t worry too much about getting it perfect right away. He mostly just wants to have a family and a routine. Come on back with any questions about behavior or worries or whatever. We love answering puppy/new dog questions!
Yes, he’s always made it through the night. It gives me some comfort to know that maybe he could probably go longer, since I let him out last thing before bed, and when I let him out in the morning he doesn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to get things going. But probably won’t test my luck during the workday for a few months.
I do have a patio with a glass door, but…while he’s normally not bad, he does bark a lot when something catches his attention and I’m worried about disturbing the neighbors.
Thanks! You’re close, he’s a Japanese Spitz, which I believe had common progenitors. Other than a slightly sensitive bark trigger and his love of lunging at anything that moves, he’s a great dog. Surprisingly low-maintenance and not as aloof as some other spitz breeds. Even if he’s asleep, if you move he’ll get up and follow you and go back to sleep next to you.
Our three dogs come to work with me every day. Their original training was crate-based, however, and we still have three crates set up. When they are home alone I can view them on cameras I have set up, and 98% of the time at least one is napping in a crate (with the door open).
Crates become a dog’s “den”.
Dogs like dens, crates are fine as such, but if you fix your end table against two walls and one side to a couch or chair, that makes a perfect den for a puppy.
Sounds like you have a “follow me everywhere” kind of dog. We had a great dane on the farm I grew up on and he was like that. Evidently he didn’t realize he was 6’ 200 pounds because he’d follow you everywhere and that had to be trained out of him. But that just takes some time.
The dog will eventually get used to your routine so until then expect some whining or barking but that will ease up as the puppy adapts.
Yeah, I’ve watched him very carefully over the last few days and as long as I’m doing something low-key like working on the computer or watching TV he sleeps a LOT.
Ever since I got him I have been simulating crating him and walking out the door (putting on my jacket and shoes, taking keys, the whole nine) so it wouldn’t be unusual when I returned to work, and he was totally fine, not a peep. Until I actually left for work and he barked and whimpered up a storm. I have no idea how he knew it was for real this time.
The key, of course, is that the crate has to be a GOOD place. It’s a nice, comfortable sleeping spot where the dog is rewarded. There should be comfy blankets or cushions and a nice chew toy or two. Never, ever, ever punish a dog by sending it to its crate.
The advice I’ve heard is to keep the chew toy out of the crate - unless its something like a nylabone which are indestructible. If a dog does manage to chew a toy, he might, if he can stand, be able to hoick it back up. A dog in a crate might not be able to do that - plus the idea of a crate is in part that its a safe space where you don’t need to watch him - a chew toy is something that requires supervision.
Nylabones aren’t indestructible. At least not the ones that are made for consuming, which is many of their models. Nylabone is actually a brand, not a type of bone (same with Kong - it’s a brand with levels of indestructible-ness) so please don’t leave just any old Nylabone in a cage with your sweetie. Make sure it actually is indestructible.
An indestructible Kong toy with fat-free peanut butter in it or Kong-made cheese spray might be a better idea than something to chew.
The best tip I’ve learned for leaving a dog at home, which I learned recently because I got a rescue with separation anxiety, is to not involve your dog in your going-away routine. And it seems like you have it but maybe you are saying something differently when you leave for real? If you make a big production out of leaving and get the dog amped up it will be a huge letdown when you leave. If leaving time means relaxing time - probably going in his crate while you get ready - then they will stay relaxed as you walk out the door.
And honestly, nothing is truly indestructible if you have a dedicated chewer (says someone whose dogs have destroyed even the non-destructible kongs). It just takes longer and can be left in the cage until it starts to give.
My daughter raises service puppies, so we have had puppies in our house for a few years now.
We use crates all the time. Many dogs view it as a safe place for them.
The secret is to make them ***love ***their crate. Yesterday evening our forever dog and our service puppy happily curled up in the kitchen crate together (door open), while we played a game at the kitchen table.
Our last puppy would happily sleep all night in the kitchen crate. Many days, I’d be up first. First I’d let him out to pee- he’d always rush, probably because he knew I would feed him in his crate afterward. He couldn’t wait to come back in, get in the crate, and eat breakfast. He ***really ***loved his crate.
They really don’t need blankets and stuff. Chew toys are controversial (but I’m indulgent).
But **RickJay **is right, NEVER use the crate for punishment.
The crate is a happy place.