I have a wonderful 1 1/2 female Boxer, she is a great dog, friendly and always wants to be around people, she is crate trained, every morning after we go for a nice long walk we go back to the house and she goes right in her crate, she is only crated when we are not home, when we are home we are always giving her plenty of attention and playing with her and she gets tons of exersice, we have decided that we want to try to get her out of the crate so that she could have the run of the house while we are at work, we started small, by blocking her off in the kitchen. We thought as time went on we would give her more and more room, the problem is that when we tried to keep her out of the crate she is distroying things, we have tried it more then once and it has happened every time, I hate to think that my wonderful dog is going to have to be crated for the rest of her life, I would appreicate any help that anyone can give me.

Dogs are wired differently than people. People see an enclosed space as a cage, but dogs see it as a den, especially the more enclosed plastic crates. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving itself. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. If you leave her loose, you could lose her as well as your household furnishings. Too much of what they may shred can lead to choking or intestinal blockages. Worse yet are electrical cords. The only really safe place for an unattended dog is in a crate.

Some dogs find being loose in the house stressful. Left in a crate, they are in charge of the crate. Loose in the house, they may decide they need to do something about people and noises outside the house. Most dogs chew less after they are a little older. You might try letting her loose again after a year. If you do, be sure and leave her crate available to her. She can always relax in it.

You might feel better if she has good toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy. Keep up the good work. I think she is a very fortunate dog to have such a good home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dcetta

I have a wonderful 1 1/2 female Boxer, she is a great dog, friendly and always wants to be around people, she is crate trained, every morning after we go for a nice long walk we go back to the house and she goes right in her crate, she is only crated when we are not home, when we are home we are always giving her plenty of attention and playing with her and she gets tons of exersice, we have decided that we want to try to get her out of the crate so that she could have the run of the house while we are at work, we started off small, by blocking her off in the kitchen. We thought as time went on we would give her more and more room, the problem is that when we tried to keep her out of the crate she is distroying things, we have tried it more then once and it has happened every time, I hate to think that my wonderful dog is going to have to be crated for the rest of her life, I would appreicate any help that anyone can give me.

---

Well I just got a new puppy, and we bought a little gate so that we can keep him in the kitchen, and he's litter box trained(he's very small). We also try to keep everything that's not his out of his reach. I don't know how big your dog is, so I probably can't help you. :(

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KPandLR

Well I just got a new puppy, and we bought a little gate so that we can keep him in the kitchen, and he's litter box trained(he's very small). We also try to keep everything that's not his out of his reach. I don't know how big your dog is, so I probably can't help you. :(

---

If you are going to continue this you need to make sure that you keep your garbage can up and out of the way. Dogs even tiny ones can tip them over. If you have bones , foil, left over chocolate ,grapes etc... this could be deadly for your puppy if eaten. Certain household cleaners will kill them. Also any appliance that is plugged and can be gotten behind or if the cord dangles could be chewed causing serious injury, choking or death. Take a look at this site you will find many helpful tips on taking care of a puppy.ASPCA: Dog Care esp. take note of the foods that can harm your dog.

Going off what labman said about a "safe" room... I had a friend come visit once that brought her dog with her to town. We wanted to go out to eat, so we decided to leave the dog in my empty bedroom. And when I say empty, I mean empty. There was not a single thing in there. My friend brought cleaning supplies with her in case the dog pottied, so I figured it would be fine. When we got home the dog had tried to dig his way out of the room and completely destroyed the carpeting! I definitely hadn't thought of that happening! So, just to agree with labman, there's no such thing as a "safe" room, even if it IS completely empty.