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kschwab0203
Posts: 610 Member
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We recently moved into a new house and in an effort to protect our floors and furnishings, we have decided to crate our dog. He is two years old. Before this we kept him a small bathroom with a baby gate in the doorway while we were gone. I was able to come home and let him out during lunch, but my new home is too far- so he is in the crate from about 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Is this too long? I can't leave him out because although he pottys outside if left alone in the house all day he'd for sure potty somewhere.
My other concern is that he is not eating in the morning before I put him in the crate. I put his food out for him but he doesn't eat. Any suggestions? We used to leave his food and water in the bathroom with him at the old house but again in our effort to get a better grip on the accidents we do not put food or water in his crate. So basically he has access to his food all evening, but not during the day. He is full grown at 5lbs. I read that small dogs should eat more than once a day. How often does your dog eat?
I called his vet this morning and the woman at the vets office told me his blood sugar could drop from not eating, but also told me it was whatever worked for us- no help.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
My other concern is that he is not eating in the morning before I put him in the crate. I put his food out for him but he doesn't eat. Any suggestions? We used to leave his food and water in the bathroom with him at the old house but again in our effort to get a better grip on the accidents we do not put food or water in his crate. So basically he has access to his food all evening, but not during the day. He is full grown at 5lbs. I read that small dogs should eat more than once a day. How often does your dog eat?
I called his vet this morning and the woman at the vets office told me his blood sugar could drop from not eating, but also told me it was whatever worked for us- no help.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Sometimes leave my dogs from 5:30AM to 6PM, they grow accustom to it. Sure, it takes time, they will make accidents, but will learn.
Our dogs eat once in the morning and once in the evening. We crate the one, but leave the other out. The younger one is still too unpredicatable and will get into things.0 -
You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.4
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He seems ok with the crate so far. He was used to being confined to some degree already. Is it ok that he is only eating in the evening? I don't know how else to get him to eat in the morning. He's always been a picker and not so much a sit and eat everything in his bowl at once.1
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Could you leave him out and hire someone to stop by a couple times a day for feeding and potty breaks? I mean, some neighborhood kid might do it for a few bucks a week.2
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A full grown dog (2yrs) should be able to hold for 8 hours maybe more unless something is physically wrong. A dog typically will not eliminate where they sleep in the crate. I personally believe they should have access to water at all times. As for food if he/she is hungry in the morning they will eat. If they are not losing weight I wouldn't worry about not eating in the morning.3
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TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.5 -
Leave small bowls of food and water in his crate. If the crate you currently have isn't big enough to accommodate that, buy a bigger crate
At 5lbs, he can't take up much space! Leave puppy pads in the crate if accidents are an issue, but most dogs will by nature not want to mess in their crate.
While not ideal, that amount of time in an adequately sized crate isn't a huge problem, IMO. Just be sure he gets some quality time with you and a good walk in the mornings, and ditto for first thing when you get home in the afternoon.2 -
kschwab0203 wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.
I wasn't trying to be negative. Would you want to be kept in a crate for 8 and 1/2 hours? How about a dog run in the backyard and an addition of a second dog to keep him company?0 -
Leave small bowls of food and water in his crate. If the crate you currently have isn't big enough to accommodate that, buy a bigger crate At 5lbs, he can't take up much space! Leave puppy pads in the crate if accidents are an issue, but most dogs will by nature not want to mess in their crate.
While not ideal, that amount of time in an adequately sized crate isn't a huge problem, IMO. Just be sure he gets some quality time with you and a good walk in the mornings, and ditto for first thing when you get home in the afternoon.
Thanks for the feedback!
We spend a lot of time outside with him when we are home to make sure he gets enough exercise and play time.
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Since he's so tiny, isn't there any way you could block off a space in your home and put down pee pads in case he goes potty? Or buy a larger crate, put down a pee pad in one corner?
Also, I'm a former vet tech. Small dogs can get hypoglycemia really fast if they don't eat every few hours. You mention he's a grazer and doesn't just eat all at once. I'd leave some food in the crate with him. I would not want you to come home to a dead or dying dog because he's gone too long without food and his blood sugar crashes. And yes, it can happen!2 -
Young dogs are harder to leave at home since they are teething at that time. Just remember the goal is to be able to trust your dog to leave at home without the crate. Just make sure to do activities and go on walks with your dog and hopefully he'll grow out of it.0
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TheRoadDog wrote: »kschwab0203 wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.
I wasn't trying to be negative. Would you want to be kept in a crate for 8 and 1/2 hours? How about a dog run in the backyard and an addition of a second dog to keep him company?
Crating him all day is not the long term solution. I'm not thrilled about it,but the idea is that by having scheduled meal times and being crated he will learn to hold his pee longer and be better house trained so that we can leave him out in the house when were are gone.0 -
We have left our dogs in their kennels that long before, but we don't do it often if we can help it. Really other than during the night they are in their kennels as little as possible. We are not super disciplined dog owners...we let them eat whenever they want, there is always food in their bowl.
Do you have a basement or area in your house you can maybe create an area for him? We have 2 dogs that are crate trained and usually go in their kennels when we leave the house. Up until this week my husband worked evenings and I worked during the day, so they were rarely in their kennels. Now we are working basically the same schedule, so we are changing things up.
We have a big basement with concrete floors and in one section of it we are going to create a little clubhouse type thing for them...basically "fence" off a section so they can't get to the boxes or anything down there that could hurt them (cleaning stuff, tools, whatever)...that way they have plenty of room to pay, their beds for napping, toys, and their food and water. I am also lucky because I work close to home so I can go let them out at lunch, which I know not everyone can do. At my old job it would have been impossible with the 45 min drive, but my husband worked close.0 -
kschwab0203 wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.
It doesn't matter what most people do.
When I first got my dog I was working part time. Some years later, things changed and I had to go full time with a one hour commute each way.
Looking back on it now, it wasn't right. My dog became more withdrawn when I started working full time and he was alone 10 hours a day. Even though someone came in to feed and walk him once a day and I put out pee pee pads.
I agree with RoadDog from personal experience. I love dogs and they deserve the best life possible. I will never have a dog again unless or until 1) I'm a homeowner 2) I work from home and the gig is secure 3) I retire and have at least 15 years left to live in good health so I could take care of any dog I take on.
I love dogs, but do not have the time to give them that they deserve. My wife and I love to travel and do not want to keep kenneling a dog. When we retire and can afford the time, we will get a dog.2 -
TheRoadDog wrote: »kschwab0203 wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.
It doesn't matter what most people do.
When I first got my dog I was working part time. Some years later, things changed and I had to go full time with a one hour commute each way.
Looking back on it now, it wasn't right. My dog became more withdrawn when I started working full time and he was alone 10 hours a day. Even though someone came in to feed and walk him once a day and I put out pee pee pads.
I agree with RoadDog from personal experience. I love dogs and they deserve the best life possible. I will never have a dog again unless or until 1) I'm a homeowner 2) I work from home and the gig is secure 3) I retire and have at least 15 years left to live in good health so I could take care of any dog I take on.
I love dogs, but do not have the time to give them that they deserve. My wife and I love to travel and do not want to keep kenneling a dog. When we retire and can afford the time, we will get a dog.
We're the opposite - we're raising kids and dogs simultaneously so right now travel isn't really on the radar, but once we retire we do want to travel! So we've already decided no more pets after our current two pups are gone (hopefully many years from now, since the youngest is only 2!)0 -
Dogs can be fed once a day without a problem, their bodies work differently than ours, they stay fuller longer as the food doesn't digest as quickly. Also we used to crate our dog for around the same amount of time. I felt too bad, so we decided to leave her out of the crate, we started small 15 min at a time, and gradually just increased the time. Now she just sleeps on the couch all day like a bum.1
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I feed my small dog twice a day, but luckily she eats, goes and is crated for a short time until my mother who lives with us is up to keep an eye on her. Since yours is tiny, possibly you could buy the extra large size crate and keep it in a garage, laundry room or back patio. Not sure of your accommodations. If not, I agree with an outdoor dog run covered unless your weather where you live is extreme. Also by us, they have doggie day care play centers If not, I would think the bathroom which is what he was used to filled with lots of chew toys like a kong with treats in it to occupy some time and a pee pad for a back up should be fine. Good luck. 0
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TheRoadDog wrote: »kschwab0203 wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »You should find a home for your dog with people that have the time and space to properly care for your dog. A pet is a big responsibility and it is not fair to the animal to keep him around if you do not have the time to give to it. I'm sure you love your animal, but it doesn't sound as if you are in the right place to do the right thing. Give him to a family that will be there. When your life settle down and you have the time to invest, get another pet.
I don't think that's really a fair statement to make considering most people work 8 hours a day and still manage to keep pets. We are home everyday by 4:30 and every weekend.
It doesn't matter what most people do.
When I first got my dog I was working part time. Some years later, things changed and I had to go full time with a one hour commute each way.
Looking back on it now, it wasn't right. My dog became more withdrawn when I started working full time and he was alone 10 hours a day. Even though someone came in to feed and walk him once a day and I put out pee pee pads.
I agree with RoadDog from personal experience. I love dogs and they deserve the best life possible. I will never have a dog again unless or until 1) I'm a homeowner 2) I work from home and the gig is secure 3) I retire and have at least 15 years left to live in good health so I could take care of any dog I take on.
I love dogs, but do not have the time to give them that they deserve. My wife and I love to travel and do not want to keep kenneling a dog. When we retire and can afford the time, we will get a dog.
While I respect both of your opinions on this, I just wanna voice my opinion as well. My husband and I got our dog young, I was only 19 and only working part time. We now both work full time, and although we dont crate her during the day so she has the run of the house, I dont think we should have not gotten a dog. Every night we come home, and get her at least one hour of exercise, normally two. And the weekends we spend all of our time with her, this past weekend was our anniversary, we took a day trip, rented a boat, and the dog came with us. She gets plenty of love and attention, but I dont think dogs are exclusively for someone who has the luxury of staying home all day, because realistically, my husband and I will both have to have a full time job if we want to retire and be able to live comfortably2 -
How big is he? I've had Neo Mastiffs that might move from the couch to the floor and back once or twice a day, and were totally fine crated for hours. They loved us, were happy dogs, and did what they do best while in a crate, snored like old grampas! Little dogs tend to have little bladders* and might need a larger crate with a "pee pad" in it so that they can relieve themselves as needed. All dogs can be fed once per day, they adjust. They are binge eaters by design so it works with their gut systems.
I would NEVER rehome a dog so that the dog could have a more perfect life elsewhere if the life they have with their own family works for them. Dogs bond deeply with their families and it's as traumatic for them as it is for us to be rehomed. My husband just adopted a middle age Sheppard who was left at the pound when her family lost their home. She never ate at the pound and only started to eat when she settled into his house. She spends hours looking out the window for her family and goes ape-$h# when she sees small children, only to hang her head when they aren't HER children.
*I know of a dockshoud that works as a service dog (medical alert) and refuses to do either body function when she's not on grass. She has "held it" for 48 hours (she wouldn't drink water either) and was fine. She has this issue when her owner goes on crews ships. It's not GREAT and as she ages it will be a problem but the Vets consulted said that if she had to go badly enough she would use to provided pee pad.0 -
8 hours a day is not terrible. Most dogs will adjust to that routine just fine and nap while you're gone. Just make sure he gets plenty of exercise and attention when you ARE there, and I would generally say that if your dog is crated all day, better NOT to crate overnight.
As for not eating in the morning - I'm a big dog person, so this isn't something that would worry me in the slightest. BUT if you're worried, can you use a little bit of "treat" food - canned food, or pour some broth over his dry food? To make it more enticing and convince him to eat it. After a few weeks, you can slowly cut back on whatever additive you've used. He just needs to break the "grazing" routine.
Don't let him graze at night, either. Put down his food for like, 30 minutes, and then make sure he's watching when you pick it up. Use a phrase like "food!" when you put his bowl down and "time's up" when you pick it up. Something. He'll learn.1
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