TotalANXiousNESS said:

That's awesome. What a life he has.

On the odd occasion keeping a dog in a crate for a long period of time is fine but to do this daily for long periods of time can cause emotional problems and this can include aggression, it can also cause serious health problems. In the UK all animal authorities would advice you against this as you could actually be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 if reported.

If you visit a shelter you may see many dogs exhibiting emotional problems due to being cooped up and they are in large kennels with a run. Shelters do the best they can to occupy them but it is hard to do due to how many dogs they have. This is why all the animal shelters that I know would refuse to allow anyone to adopt if a dog was being left that length of time on it's own.

You could go help out at a shelter and offer to take a few of the dogs for a walk. This way you will help the dogs become more stable and they may find a forever home quicker and you will have your doggie fix until the time you can have the time to devout to a dog.
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[Edited 3/16/09 18:07pm]

TypoQueen said:

that is a great idea!

ZombieKitten said:

The shelters here have volunteers who do take the dogs for a walk

luv4u said:

If I ever get to a place where spare time is more than just a pipe dream for me, I think I'll go volunteer for dogwalking at the SPCA. Only little dogs though. I'm not afraid of large dogs, I'm just uncomfortable with the idea of trying to walk something bigger than I am.

meow85 said:

i hardly like leaving my dogs at home for more than a few hours. even though they have a doggy door to in and out of. i just miss them

ZombieKitten said:

No joke, there are several large breeds that are literally bigger than me. St. Bernards and Bullmastiffs come to mind.

I have no problem with it and neither does my pomeranian Marvin. I don't put him in a crate (I'm assuming that's a locked up kennel of some kind) which seems a bit cruel. Marvin has a very, very large backyard at his disposal with a lot of toys, food, water and shelter so 8 or 9 hours alone in his own territory is a doggy blessing...

meow85 said:

You have the right idea meow.If you don't feel comfortable, stick to smaller dogs.
Our Saint is a very good boy, super gentle and walks like a gentleman...BUT if another dog should come across our path he wants to GET THERE and can be a handful and take you with if you're caught by surprise.
That's the only issue he came with when we adopted him from the rescue.He's gonna be getting some training for that very soon.

Our dog is crate trained. But if we leave him for more than 4 hours, we hire somebody to come in to let him out.

I've also thought about leaving him at doggie day school!

P.S. He is very small, and we can't leave him outside indefinitely. We have coyotes and other animals that could hurt him. We also have snakes and stuff. I would be afraid of leaving him outside too long.
[Edited 3/17/09 6:34am]

all this talk of crates and crate training. wtf

a crate may be fine for a puppy who's not housebroken yet
or to sleep in at night but once a dog is grown and knows
he has to pee and poo outside, why is the crate still even
in the house?

some dogs may feel comfortable in the crate but then you
could just leave the door open all day.

what is the problem all these people have with their dogs
that causes them to feel they have to lock their dog up
in a crate all day or night?

my dog has never spent a single hour in a crate. he just
stays at home alone whenever he has to and he sleeps in
the livingroom at night, on his beanbag cushion. he can
walk around if he wants to, get a drink of water or eat
a bit of kibble, lol.

why should i lock him in a crate? do these dogs you talk
about attack your furniture or shred your curtains when
you leave them free to walk around the house? if so, i'm
sorry to say, but maybe you're not home enough or maybe
you didn't train them well enough.

IstenSzek said:

My dog is very little, and he just over a year old. We can't let him have the run of the house because he gets into things. He doesn't seem to mind his crate though. Maybe he does, but he just goes in there and falls asleep. But we do have someone come over and let him out if we can't be there doing the day. We pay a dog sitter.

I thought about taking him to dog day care. I might do that instead.

We got him because I have a friend who has a Yorkie, and she takes him to Europe with her when they go. He is allowed to ride on the plane in a crate.. well a portable crate.. like a soft crate. I thought maybe we could do the same when we travel.

She hasn't had any problems traveling with him, so..

lascantas said:

well if he's small and he can walk/stretch a bit in it, i guess
it's not that big a problem.

my dog has the run of the house but he still sleeps 80% of the
time. so who knows anyway, some dogs might be really happy in
their crate and feel safe in it whilst their owners are out.

plus you say someone comes to walk him when you're gone too long
and you might even take him to doggy daycare (that sounds soooo
funny lol).

myfavorite said:

if you don't strop crying we're gonna have to put you in the crate

johnart said:

I really like St Bernards, but some of them can get to be up to 200 lbs. That's twice my size! If I were to try walking a dog who got excited easily, or who hadn't been properly trained, I'd have an arm torn out.

My little dude is alone for about 9 hours a day during the week. He's got the run of my big kitchen, with his toys and a cozy bed and our cat to chill out with (they totally love each other)

Other than that time, he always comes with us. I'd prefer that he wasn't alone at all, but my son no longer has in home care so unfortunately the dog has to spend weekdays without us.

For many dogs a crate is "their" den, their space. Ours takes himself to bed when he wishes and takes time in there as he pleases. It is his space just as certain areas in the house are our space.

IstenSzek said:

Our dog goes into his crate to sleep, all on his own. We keep the door open during the day and in the evening. That is his space, his den, he goes in there on his own to nap.
A friend of mine thought it was cruel to crate train her small dog. Her dog has never been crated though has serious separation anxiety when left alone. He has barking fits and destroys her apartment when she leaves. She can no longer go to her sisters that is disabled for any length of time because she is afraid to leave the dog alone now.
I think it would have been safer to have crate trained the dog as soon as she brought it home so it felt safe to be left alone.
There's so many things that dogs can get into around the house to harm themselves when left alone.
I am glad we crate trained our dog since the day we brought him home.
Dogs also like to be outside exploring so I make sure our dog gets out for an hour long walk everyday. he has a large garden but needs more stimulation.

meow85 said:

I know! and being that I'm scared of those breeds and I am not smaller than them, I totally feel for you - it's only sensible to avoid them if you can!


I saw a Borzoi at a BBQ I went to recently

OH MY GOD!!!!


the height of this dog was up to my chest! and I'm about 5'6" and I was scared of it, not because I thought he would bite me, but because he was sooooo tall and nervous!

GetAwayFromMe said:

Will you marry me?

sexxydancer said:

It's possibly the dumbest thing I've heard a person say about having a dog. You shouldn't be allowed to keep goldfish even.

IstenSzek said:

PREACH! It's fucked up to keep your dog in a crate, there's no fathomable reason for it other than the human fucking laziness. I suggest you mofos spend 8 hours a day in a cage with enough room to stand and move around a little bit it, but no more than that. Then do it every damn day like you do to your dog and tell me how you like it.
Dumbfucks.

ZombieKitten said:

I once saw a Borzoi I swear was as tall as me. Of course, it was big even for it's breed and I'm less than 5 feet tall, but still. BIG doggy.

It's a dog, dawg.

(this post was not approved by Teacher Consulting Services)

Teacher said:

A cage and a crate is 2 different things.

KidaDynamite said:

THANK YOU.


I cannot believe how many people here are getting all up in arms about crate training, when what they're describing is locking the animal in a cage for hours on end.

johnart said:

Oh goodness!! NEVER!

My cousin had a dog that he left in a too small crate for hours at a time and the poor dog hung himself with his collar while trying to get out of it

Such drama!

The answer? A cat.