Leaving my dog in the crate for 7 hours?

Question

While I am at work. There is no pet sitter in my area, I have already checked. And my husband is at work.

I have a Chihuahua mix whom is 16 months old. I am working on getting him use to two hours and going from there.

Before putting him in the crate I take him out for a 20 minute walk, get ready, then take him out for another 10 minutes.

I don't want any harsh criticism, I just want to know if this is too long for him. He's always ripping everything in the house so that's why I resorted to crate training.

Answer 1

Yes it seems long, but I am a military wife and so is my daughter, we were in Germany and came back in 05 with two cats each and they were in their own carriers. The flight was about 9 hours they were in cargo and then two hours when my parents picked us up.

All they cats did fine...

Answer 2

This is not the best situation but it will not hurt your dog to be in his crate for 7 hours.  Make sure that it is not in a place that gets hit by the sun and it is a good idea to have a crate bowl that attaches to the door for water.  Be sure to give your dog some exercise and allow him to eliminate before leaving him for that long and he will need to get out right away when you return home.

Using a crate is not a prison and it is a very safe place to leave your dog when you are not home.  Most dogs will curl up and go to sleep in their crate and won't even realize that you have been gone for 7 hours.  

Answer 3

I realize crating is a difficult subject but I think it should only be a last resort if used at all. I've always had dogs and made sure to train them so that they can stay loose in the house. You should try getting your dog used to being alone in small portions and you should train him/her to not ruin everything in your house. personal opinion is that if you have to crate a dog for long periods of time you shouldn't have a dog.

Answer 4

no its not too long and will save him from getting hurt or tearing things up . limit water also  before you crate like two hours before u crate him , and food too .  he will get used to the crate . Its really the safest option . the  time you take him out is good also . good luck to you both lol

Answer 5

I personally think 7 hours is to long. It might be ok to do it once a week but definatly not days in a row.

Can you lock him in the bathroom or laundry. It might be a lot nicer for him. At least he can still run around a little bit. If you put some paper down he can go to the toliet.  Then you can give him toys to play with as well.

Answer 6

Yes it is too long.

Answer 7

If you are gone for a short time (2-3 hours) you can crate him, otherwise I would put him in a long term confinement area, this could be a pen or a safe room (e.g. kitchen). Put bedding, water bowl, and puppy pads in the enclosure. Put the bedding as far away from the puppy pads as possible. Also leave some chew-safe interactive food toys and some frozen kongs for your dog to play with while you are gone.

Answer 8

Actually, at 16 months old that is NOT too long.  It would be too long, by far, for a puppy.  By one year old your dog should be able to be in the crate for 8 hours or more, and since he is older you should be fine.

Also, since you are trying to put him in for shorter periouds and work him up, it should be less stressful for him when he starts going in for 7 hours at a time.  

Additionally, taking him out immediately before is exactly what I'd do too.  Remember to put in toys and water and you should be good to go.  Though, I'm sure he'd remind you that a little trip to the dog park after a long day sure wouldn't hurt, right? ;)

Answer 9

Most of the books I've read recommend not leaving a dog in a crate for longer than 3-4 hours.  And if you do, then not a solid wall crate like airlines use (it can do funny things to their eyes and brains.)  Instead, consider either getting a large wire crate (since it's a dog so small) or an indoor fenced area that he can have.  Basically it should be large enough for him to walk around a bit, have water, a place to go to the bathroom, and toys.

I'm including some links to examples, but don't feel like you should just look at pet stores.  Baby stores often have the same sort of pens and enclosures and it's not quite as expensive.

Answer 10

Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  You can try it and see.  It's better than coming home to a ripped up house and a dog that might have eaten something that it shouldn't have eaten.  Leave the tv on for company and a light if your the room is dark. Just come right home from work and pay lots of attention to your pooch.  If he's totally house trained then I think you can get a bigger crate so he room to move around and don't leave too much water in there cause he'll never hold it with a small bladder.

If the crate thing doesn't work then you can try something else like a baby gate in the kitchen and leave the crate open so he can go in and out to nap.  Spray bitter apple stuff on the cabinets bottoms so he doesn't chew them.