"I really care for my doggie, i'd never knowingly do anything to hurt him"


We know that. We really do. This is behind the posts about learning to live with a dog, learning about pack structure, and so on.

I only know one person that admits to 15 hours. She doesn't crate, she used to let him loose and he trashed her apt, messed up all the furniture (she has a husky) and they're outside with him for hours every day.

15 hours is not everyday, it's a sometimes, their schedule is not permanent. But most days they're out 10-11 hours.

Now they chain him. I'm not judging.

He's very destructive. I don't know how they out up with it.

I personally don't agree with many things they do but they don't need my approval either way.


So I want to say, I didn't advocate 15 hours, I think that's way too long. I offered to take their dog out when I knew they'd be gone for 15 hours.


I do think that 10 hours in the crate for a working family is OK.

I personally have options, I'm lucky to have a flexible job. But many people don't and I don't think it's right to knock them for locking a dog up for 10 hours.

I think locking them up is safer than leaving them loose and taking chances of them eating something.

Not everyone is willing to trust dog sitters, references or not. I wouldn't. For many reasons.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

"I really care for my doggie, i'd never knowingly do anything to hurt him"


We know that. We really do. This is behind the posts about learning to live with a dog, learning about pack structure, and so on.

Lol OK. I thought with all my posts about negatives only it might seem like something it's not.

I love him and regret not having dogs all my life. I had no idea it's this rewarding.

Same with cats. And the turtle.

I give in to my daughter pretty easy because she opened my eyes to many things i'd never try on my own.

"I will just say one more thing about the crating issue. I wonder how many of those people who crate their dogs for 15 hours a day are willing to admit that they come home to a mess to clean up in the crate, injuries caused by the dog trying to escape from the crate, or now have a dog that has been driven half-crazy and is suffering physically and/or mentally from so much isolation and confinement."


I know what Ed says about crating for such long uninterrupted periods. It's true he talks here about 12 hours, but he says in his .pdf about training young dogs: " ... to crate a dog for that long is going to make the dog depressed and/or crazy. In my mind it is inhumane."

(And needless to say, he is not saying to let the dog have the run of the house, to destroy or or to eat dangerous stuff.)


But this topic has been well addressed here and the O.P. gets it.

" .... regret not having dogs all my life. I had no idea it's this rewarding."


It sure is!

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

"I will just say one more thing about the crating issue. I wonder how many of those people who crate their dogs for 15 hours a day are willing to admit that they come home to a mess to clean up in the crate, injuries caused by the dog trying to escape from the crate, or now have a dog that has been driven half-crazy and is suffering physically and/or mentally from so much isolation and confinement."


I know what Ed says about crating for such long uninterrupted periods. It's true he talks here about 12 hours, but he says in his .pdf about training young dogs: " ... to crate a dog for that long is going to make the dog depressed and/or crazy. In my mind it is inhumane."

(And needless to say, he is not saying to let the dog have the run of the house, to destroy or or to eat dangerous stuff.)


But this topic has been well addressed here and the O.P. gets it.

I can't believe I missed one of his articles. I thought I read them all many times over.

I like his philosophy and his explanations for things. They make sense.





Different topic but still. I can open it in a diff thread if anyone is interested.

On the other board we had the discussion about dogs and wolves.

I see many times wolves lives being given as explanation for dog behavior.

I will tell you later what the discussion was about but first, do you believe that we can look to wild wolves to explain the behavior of dogs?



Note: For a new thread, labeled as such. Thanks!

Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/15/2013 12:47 PM)
Edit reason: mod note

That's for a new thread. There are several long threads on this already, too, but of course a new one is fine as well.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

That's for a new thread. There are several long threads on this already, too, but of course a new one is fine as well.

I will go read those instead)))

Here's my big issue about long hours in crates - if you're going to gone for 10 hrs every day then you shouldn't get a high energy youngster unless you plan on spending the remaining waking hours activity doing stuff with your dog - rain or shine, regardless of how tired you are when you get home. You need a lower energy adult dog because it's just not fair to the dog to get a smart energetic dog and keep it in a crate all day/every day.

I commend you for doing your best to make this situation work with your dog, Natalie. But for every person like you, there are 10 that would blame the dog and drop it at a shelter by the time it's a year old. Because they didn't have or make the time to meet their dog's needs and they ended up with a neurotic mess. It's so sad

 Quote: Mara Jessup

Here's my big issue about long hours in crates - if you're going to gone for 10 hrs every day then you shouldn't get a high energy youngster unless you plan on spending the remaining waking hours activity doing stuff with your dog - rain or shine, regardless of how tired you are when you get home. You need a lower energy adult dog because it's just not fair to the dog to get a smart energetic dog and keep it in a crate all day/every day.

I commend you for doing your best to make this situation work with your dog, Natalie. But for every person like you, there are 10 that would blame the dog and drop it at a shelter by the time it's a year old. Because they didn't have or make the time to meet their dog's needs and they ended up with a neurotic mess. It's so sad

Yes. This is what we see all the time.

This is why there are so many threads about people getting a WL dog or a Mal for a pet, on an impulse, when the reality of their lives and houses/yards and schedules are wildly out of skew with what a drivey dog needs.

Natalie is making it work. Many do not. It's heartbreaking.