I have a strange/daft query too

[Louise Perry]

Now as most of you are probably getting a bit bored of me asking questions by now (sorry), but you are the best people to ask! Anyway as you know I have Reuben who is approaching 8 months old and a very lovely, cheeky boy. He is crated when I am out and at night time and has no problems with this but has never been left for a evening in the crate. You see we are lucky that when we do have the odd evening out my inlaws not only have my son overnight but also Reuben as they adore him. So if we were to go out for a night and Reuben doesn't go for a sleep over, is it okay to crate him at say 7/8pm, return at 11ish and then expect him to settle for the night when we go to bed? Do we have to give him some mental stimulation on our return as well as obviously letting outside for a wee etc? I know it sounds bizarre but as yet we haven't done this as my eldest has babysat before and so Reuben hasn't been crated all evening. I know I must sound a bit neurotic and if he wasn't crated i probably wouldn't worry about it but he is no where near ready for trusting to be let loose in the house in our absence.

What do you guys do?

[Sue and Cash]

Louise I am so glad I am not the only neurotic one with a pup here. I am totally the same way. Will they sleep all night if they had to be crated that long prior to bed? Could you take him for a quick walk when you get home maybe? Something to get him tired again perhaps. How great you can usually leave him with the grandparents. Mine has hip trouble and we just got home from there but at 90 she can't handle him alone. And as calm as he is at home he is nuts when he goes over to her house for for the first half hour at least. Like a different dog. Overly excited etc. I am sure you can tire him out again upon your return. We have nights where Cash is up every two hours. And others where he sleeps for 7 straight through. No rhyme or reason to it at all either. I can't wait for the others to reply. Happy Valentines Day!

[Louise Perry]

Hi Susan, gosh I worry more with Reuben than I did with my children! I could take him for a walk as long as not too merry on wine, haha. But I don't want him thinking he can have late night walkies, he may like that idea! Yes we are lucky with the inlaws. Reuben looks for his biscuit at 10pm and asks to go to bed and he will stay there until we get up, which is great. In fact tonight he went to bed at 9.30 as he went out for a wee and was hassling me for his biscuit and we won't get up until 8/9am tomorrow. Even then he sometimes stays in his crate for a while as if to say "do I have to get up yet"!
How is little cash getting along with his crate in general now?
Reuben has raging male hormones at present and i feel quite sorry for him. I have heard that their testosterone levels peak and then fall again, so I am hoping they will decrease a bit . We are doing the whole 'Off' thing and he will normalyy calm down eventually but difficult with a small child in the house. And we ceratinly hide furry blankets!
Happy Valentines to you also.

[Sue and Cash]

:LOL they do love furry blankets. I have a video of Cash loving his stuffed bears. He has a thing for them lately. I call him humpty dumpty! He has settled into his large crate and has been left as long as two hours thus far and seems to sleep in there while I am gone. So it's okay! I don't think one night will make him expect it everynight. I can picture him pulling you down the road while you are swaying in the wind! You are lucky that he sleeps through the night. Cash does sometimes but other nights because we don't crate at night he started moving from the bed to the floor then to the couch outside our bedroom. Dublin used to float at night also. I swear the past week I feel like Dub has returned. Cash does so many of the same things that it freaks me out. Dublin only ruff housed with my mother in laws golden retriever. That was his best friend and they would roll and growl and play tug a war for hours. He doesn't do that with any other dogs we were with. And now Cash is doing the same thing. Won't engage in play with other dogs that way except Sonny. Poor Sonny was confused what happened to Dublin and now this same type dog returns with me and he is pint sized but yet the same in so many ways. Life is funny. But so much joy is in our house again. We love the little trouble maker so much.

[Louise Perry]

Glad to hear the crating is going well. Funny enough I bumped in to a man the other day with his 16 week collie pup and he swore his old dog had come back in his new pup. He was really quite spooked by it! It is lovely that these naughty litle red devils can be so much trouble but melt your heart!

[Ossian]

Girls - I am becoming a little anxious about the timbre of these posts!

Do please remember these are not babies and toddlers....... its a dog!

You have an 8 month old active young dog. If you want to go out and leave him crated for four hours and come back at 11 ish?? then I dont think you can expect to go straight to bed.... do you?

[Louise Perry]

Don't know that is why I am asking the question! I wondered what other people's experiences were as I am sure people must have a social life too?

[Sue and Cash]

Eva you don't crate then? Mine only spends a few hours a week crated and after he has been exercised and naps there. And I do know these are puppies not babies. Puppies are easier and grow up faster. But I do baby my dog. I admit that. It's part of the fun. I am a pet owner not a breeder. Louise I feel a kinship to you. Oh and eva you ruined my visual of Louise walking in high heels and a cocktail dress with a tad bit of wine in her, walking Reuben!

[Philip Hall]

We used a crate for our last pup(now 4years). It had it's good points, ie we did not keep tripping over him and it had it's bad points....we hated it. As he was with our older Setter they spent hours together, playing, sleeping and generally he was taught how to behave. We used it at night and for the odd occasion when we went out but in the end we gave it back to our friend. If you are going to use the cage for long periods, then plenty of walks are called for or your wonderful Setter is going to think no one loves him and it's off to the cage when everyone else is out having fun.
As for us ....the cage is banned for all future Setters.
I must admit our life style is a litter different...no kids, so it is love us, love our dogs, the cottage is a kennel that we are allowed to live in and the Jeep is a mobile kennel we are allowed to drive for them!!

[Yvonne H]

We used a crate for both our setters but especially for our IRWS as she was so full of beans but never knew when to stop. Gently returning her to the crate when we knew she was tired (she would start mouthing and nipping) she would then crash out straight away. We also used it at night and when out during the day but rarely left her alone for long, increasing the time away as she got older. We just accepted that whilst she was young, we should be around. If at all possible, we also took her with us and if conditions were right, she was left in a crate in the car where we could keep an eye on her. On the very odd occasion she was left at home of an evening we would exhaust her first with a walk and play and then once home again, take her out for another play (not necessarily outside). To be honest, she was usually ready to go back to bed not long after.
Certainly at 8 months our dogs were crated if we were't around and although I personally wouldn't have been happy about leaving them for 4 hours, I am sure that plenty of people do.

[danielle rowles]

Phillip, I love your reply, "love us, love our dogs" exactly how it is in our house, if you don't like the dogs then dont come and visit!!!

None of mine have ever been crated, I have a 5yr old, two 2yr olds and and 8month puppy and I still have a house in tact!!! I do have a crate in the kitchen but the only reason for this is for the puppy to go in it to eat, he does love to sleep in it, though I don't tend to let him, its got no door on it so on the odd occasion it gets left in the middle of the kitchen I find 4 dogs asleep in it!!
Personally I don't like crates, though I know lots of people that swear by them, I can't see the point in them really, if your dog or puppy is recking the house then they aren't getting enough stimulation in my opinion, but thats just me!!!

[Denise Brend - (Devacott)]

I agree with you Danielle. We bought a crate for our girl, but really only used it very briefly. I felt it was bad enough when I had to leave her at home but to crate her too made it more upsetting for me, so we took it away. She has never chewed anything and is great at home. She has her own room which has a childs safety gate if we need her in one place. If we go out for a few hours in the evening (which can I add does not happen very often at all) I never go to bed for at least an hour after we get home. I don't feel its very fair to expect her to just go to bed again, so i tend to sit with her, brush her. give her a massage then say good night !! xx

[Sue and Cash]

But you have a safe place for your puppy to be if you go out which is the point of the crate for some. God forbid they get into something electrical. I leave my puppy out always even at night. But the stairway is gated so he won't fall down the stair by mistake in the dark. I have cords sealed with cardboard so he can't get to them as well. And he will be left a couple of hours here and there in an extra large crate for his safety. I don't have a room to give him! If I did, I would really like that. And I have always been able to stop using a crate after 8 or 9 months since I tire mine out enough that he sleeps when I leave. I don't like people who leave dogs in crates and go to work for 8 hours or more a day. But a few hours a day isn't a big deal at all. It's for the safety of the dog.