Me again :-)

I was looking for input from folks as to how much crate time their dogs get vs how much exercise time they get!

I'd be particularly interested to hear about this in relation to puppies!

How long does your puppy spend in it's crate?
How many walks per day?
How long are the walks both in duration and distance?

Any other question folks want to add on this subject please feel free as I've forgotten something for sure!

Cheers

John

Buddy is (8) months old and has been sleeping in his crate at night and will continue to do so. We go to bed sometime between 9 p.m. & midnight ... and get up sometime between 6 a.m. & 8 a.m.

During the school year it is a pretty consistent 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. for the pup, but summertime is a little looser on the structure.

When I let him out of the crate in the morning, I immediately let him outside to do his business. He is either on long line attached to the inside of the kitchen door (with the door open, weather permitting) or out on his tie out. We play a brief game of fetch for 5 - 10 mins or so, then I give him one of his bones with frozen cream cheese or something yummy to keep him busy.

While he is outside, we have breakfast. After we have breakfast, he gets fed in his crate. I was feeding him outside, but decided that I wanted to return him to eating in his crate. He seems to be more focused that way & doesn't get dirt in his food and water.

Daytime has three options:

(1) In the Crate @ home in the Kitchen from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with his chew toys;

(2) Gated in the Kitchen with room to move about, with muzzle on so as to not chew up ANYTHING!

(3) Goes to work with me & is crated at my store from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

This week I have been using option # 2, as he spends so much time on-leash/on-line/on-tie out ... that I want him to have some uncrated off-leash time. Also, as a young puppy, I was always working at the kitchen table and he was gated in the kitchen with me. Since potty training has long been accomplished and he has proven that he can hold it for ALL DAY, I no longer fear him soiling in the kitchen if he is not in his crate.

When I get home or leave work, he immediate goes outside and gets a quick walk & some fetch/game time. He is back on the tie-out while I take care of dinner. Then he gets fed, back in his crate, then back outside for play/potty time.

Sometime between dinner and bedtime, usually from 8 to 9 but in summer it has been between 9 & 10, we go out for our evening walk, work on our obedience, have some play time, go potty, et cetera.

If we don't go right to bed, then we take one more trip outside to go potty.

"Weekends" are less structured, as he usually goes with me wherever I am going ... so then he is in the back of my car.

Also weeknights when I have stayed up watching movies or whatever, I have been letting him off-lead with his muzzle on in my downstairs, and he either lays down on the floor in the living room, but most often in the kitchen. Of course this is after we have come in from our evening hour jaunt.

Unless he is BUSY with something ... or Playing Fetch/Soccer ... he is laying down. So I have stopped feeling guilty about crate time. Also I have tried having him behind the counter in my store on a couple of occassions and he actually seems to prefer to be in the crate, 99% of the time. It is his SAFE PLACE. And the night of the 4th, he RAN for the CRATE, so I know he feels SAFE there.

I do constantly struggle with how much exercise he needs/wants versus bone development versus time. When he comes to the store with me ... he gets an extra walk around our downtown area, before and after his crate time, and that has been useful in obediance work.

I hope that helps.

Louanne

My wife and I both work from a home office, so this might not help.

I will also admit that I don’t follow all of Ed’s advice


Bed Time – 11:00 PM – 6:00 AM

Starbuck is usually in the bedroom sleeping on the tile, floor or futon. She has full range of the house, but is always in the room if I wake up during the night.

Morning – 6:00 AM – 8:00 AM

She usually wakes us up in the morning to go outside. She will not go back to sleep once the sun is up, so she get her Cream Kong and a crate in the garage.

Morning – 8:00 AM – Noon

She gets her food. Trip Outside. Play Tug, Chase, Fetch for 15ish minutes.

After that she has the run of the house while we work in the office. 95% of the time she is in the Living Room within ear shot. So far she has done minimal damage to the home. During this time there is some play when she comes into the office to visit.

Noon – Lunch

We feed her and sit down to eat out lunch. She usually gets 15 minutes of play time after lunch.

Afternoon – 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Usually at some point I put her outside on the long line. I’ll give her a Kong or Frozen carrot. She has sun, shade, water and a kiddie pool. She doesn’t like to stay out more than about an hour. Some days she will nap outside.

Night – 4:00 or 5:00 PM - ?

We have dinner. Play in the house some or watch TV. Several times a week we take her to a local park or for a walk in the neighborhood.

The majority of her crate time is the 1-2 hours in the morning and whenever we leave the house (dinner, appointment, movie, etc.). As soon as we load up the Kong she is ready to jump in the crate. I have never used a crate before and we will probably transition away from it once the pup is a little older and the yard fence is complete. The side yard also has an enclosed Kennel with a doggie door into the garage. If we add a second doggie door to the kitchen then she can have access inside and outside while we are away from the house.

This is when Quinton was a pup:

6:00 – 8:00 - Out of the crate and outside for potty and a drink of water. I’d make a cup of coffee and watch him, and then bring him back in to his crate while we do the kid’s stuff.

8:00 – 10:00 - Back out side for potty and then a quick (5min) training. Breakfast is then served while I did morning phone calls.

10:00 - 5:00 – If I took him to work, the he was in the car while I do my appointments and often would be let out to play with a client or two, a little training, and a potty break. If I left him home, then he probably spent the whole time in the crate, unless someone there snuck him a walk.

5:00 – 7:00 – Potty break, then free time and a little training, while dinner is made. In the crate while we eat. Then dinner in his crate.

7:00 – 9:00 – Free playtime if we are not busy with something else. Training is thrown in, as well as a longer evening walk. Then crate time.

10:30 – Last time out for a potty break.

Great stuff guys,

Thanks for the replies!

Gives me something to think about until my outside run is built.

Cheers

John

*** WARNING *** ... In Hot Weather, it is better not to use a Muzzle, even the ones that the can breathe and drink through. ***

I have made good use of a crate when my GS was a young pup, I still feed her in it and put her in it when I have to leave the house. It is her safe place. She is now nine months and we are working on basic training. My question is how much should I let her play with other dogs. I want her to be focused on me for training, but still be calm around other dogs.

Hi Penelope,

I've been told to not allow my dog to play with other dogs by a good number of people. I believe this to be sound advice as the consequences are a dog aggressive dog if things go wrong with "doggy play"!

I have another question for the board also related to crates etc.

Does the crate lead to a reduction in drive?

John

Not here. As a matter of fact, when I got him out of the crate, he was much more responsive, and eager, to play.

 Quote:

Does the crate lead to a reduction in drive?

No!!!

A dog that is comfortable in his crate will be well rested and come out 'ready to work'. Think of it like a battery charger.