My husband and I adopted a puppy 6 weeks ago. He's now about 8 months old and is a lab/pit mix. He's a great dog with a charming personality and has fit in great in our household.
The problem is that we crate him while we are at work, then again while we are asleep - about 6-7 hours at a time. He is crated during the day 4 times per week and at night 7 times per week. I feel like this is too much time in the crate and is not fair to the little guy.
When he's not crated and we're not in the room, he tears stuff up. He's already going to training class, but that's more like sit and stay and come commands. We have a fenced-in yard, but is it okay to leave the dog outside for 6-7 hours? We've tried that, but he's really wild when we get home (jumping and chewing on me). He's not mean or aggressive, but he's a lot more calm if he's been in the crate.
How can we give him more freedom and still save our belongings?
2006-10-24
09:17:44
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9 answers
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asked by
Elizabeth G
2