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Our puppy
Hi everyone,
We have had our puppy now for about six months (he just turned over a year) and he is pretty well potty trained, and we got him three months before we got married. Both my husband and I go to work during the day and since my husband works around the corner he goes home everyday for lunch, to let our puppy out and play with him for the hour he had lunch. Lately the puppy (ollie) has been living little "presents' for us in the middle of our bed when we get home from work.
Any ideas or suggestions on why he might be doing this? He is locked up alone on an average of four hours at a time. My husband says that he does or does not always go number 2 when he goes outside at lunch. We think it might be because he is bored, so we started waking him up earlier to go for a long jog in the morning and we make sure to play with him even more. I don't want to have to start crating him again but if anyone can give any ideas on how to get him to stop or why he might be doing this I would greatly appreciate it.
Re: Our puppy
What in the heck made up names are those?
Please read this.
And please don't give rawhides. They're TERRIBLE (they're made with formaldehyde!) and can cause obstructions (because chunks will swell in size) in your dog's digestive tract.
OP: ditto on probably going back to crating. An option before doing that though:
Have your H take Ollie for a walk or some vigorous playtime in the backyard at lunchtime. Sometimes they need to run around for a bit to stimulate things to "get moving" in there! That might help him go regularly on the lunch break.
Another suggestion would be closing the bedroom door. He can have the rest of the house, but no bedroom if he's going to potty in it.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
No, the proper term is "mixed breed" or "mutt".
The fact that people use these names is seriously disgusting. All it does is promote shitty ass breeding. I have a beagle/bassett which in designer world is called a bagle and a beagle/shepherd, who I'm sure I could make up some ridiculously stupid *** name for. But I don't. I call them by their mixes because calling them a designer name implies they are a legitimate breed and might encourage people to purchase.
The point is that made up designer breeds are not scientifically recognized as they do not breed true. They are only bred by non reputable breeders, predominately puppy mills. Promoting and using designer names promotes irresponsible breeding. I love my dogs too much to promote practices that involves the suffering of dogs just like them.
And don't give your dogs rawhide, they're covered in chemicals and prone to breaking off into pieces the dog can choke on.
To the OP, our dog goes through bouts of being destructive when he is bored. We normally amp up the exercise, try and get in some more mental stimulation through training and using the kong, etc. You can stuff kongs with yogurt, PB or a little pumpkin and freeze them. Bully sticks are also safe and keep them very busy. Kenneling is perfectly fine if that is the safest option for him. And if he's chewing things that can make him sick, it may be the best option. They sleep most of the time anyway. It's like me hanging out in my bed for 8 hours every night.
If your dog is being exercised in the morning and getting a potty break at lunch, then I wouldn't feel bad about having him in a crate. One trainer I talked to recommended not giving unsupervised freedom in the house to a dog that is under a year old or a dog that you've had for less than 6 months. Not only can they have accidents, but young dogs are also prone to chewing on things they shouldn't.
For many dogs, the time in the crate is a nice nap time.
I'm a bit late, but in addition to making sure he gets enough physical exercise, you might want to increase his mental stimulation by feeding him out of treat-dispensing toys (Buster cube, tug-a-jug, etc.), doing short training sessions, teaching tricks, etc. I've found that once you figure out the right combo of physical and mental "exercise," the dog tends to sleep when you're gone.
I also think crate training is a great idea, at least until your pup can be trusted not to destroy things or potty in the house. You can stuff a Kong with yummies (PB, plain yogurt, natural applesauce, etc.) and freeze it and only give it to your pup when he's in the crate. That way it's super-special and makes the crate a happy place. GL!
Ditto this. Rawhides are horrible. I don't give our boxer anything that is intended for consumption when she's alone, aside from the stuffing (peanut butter or pumpkin) in a kong. She gets bully sticks when we're home, and she'll gladly chew on one for a few hours until it's gone. Much healthier & safer alternative to rawhide.
I miss all you old posters
I don't even really lurk here anymore because its so dead. Maybe I'll join PB's soon...
FF
Agreed. When we got our dog he was crate trained and for the first couple weeks, we didn't have a crate and he was a terror. One night I came home after we'd both been gone and he had pooped in multiple places in the bedroom, stepped in it, and walked around and left poop paw prints over the whole room. He had torn the blinds off the window, and somehow figured out how to open the closet door and dragged everything out and chewed it up. I was definitely wondering what I had gotten myself into. I got a crate from my friend and it worked like a charm. He even would sleep in it with the door open at night, just because that's where he felt safe. Hope that helps!