Do you crate your adult BC when you leave for work?

[wildo]

Title says it all. As I continue to learn about BCs and continue to wonder if I'd really want one or not- I looked at my adult GSD as I left the house this morning and told her to "be good." She has full reign of the house and is not crated. It's not an issue- and I like that.

 

But I know lots of folks who do crate their GSDs during the day... so perhaps this is nothing more than training and/or personal opinion.

 

So what's life like with a border collie in this regard? Do you crate when you leave for work? Do you find that you have to crate, or do you let your BC run loose without issue?

 

I'd like to hear some opinions either way... I'm not sure how useful this thread will be since it's more likely simple personal preference. Note, I'm not talking about puppies or adolescents. Of course I think those dogs should be crated.

[Liz P]

I used to leave all mine loose in the house. I started with one BC, then I had two. By the time the younger was old enough to be trusted loose, he had developed a tight relationship with the older one. They never had disagreements, so I trusted them together. Then I purchased my first female and I had to crate her so she would not rule the house with an iron fist when I wasn't home. It was just her personality.

 

Now I don't leave most of them loose because I have an entire pack of dogs and don't want to risk a fight getting out of hand. I don't think it is very likely that would happen, but I don't want to test that assumption either.

[G. Festerling]

All my GSD's are loose. Only crate one for feeding to allow her time. My older Border Collies are loose. My younger dogs vary depending on level of "trustworthiness".

For the most part though my house does not allow for much getting into.

My cats are the worst offenders!

[Tommy Coyote]

My dogs stay out. I do have to watch to make sure there is absolutely nothing resembling trash anywhere when I leave the house. Zeke is really bad about trash.

 

Tommy was bad about eating library books. But she seems to have stopped that stuff. I say that and one day I will go home and find a shredded book on the bed.

[wildo]

Tommy was bad about eating library books. But she seems to have stopped that stuff. I say that and one day I will go home and find a shredded book on the bed.

 

That's really funny! When my girl was quite young (she was four months) and I didn't really know what the appropriate age to leave a dog uncrated was (she's also my first dog)- she would pull books off my bookcase and chew them up. Never did any other damage to anything, but books... Kind of funny!

[G. Festerling]

Liz made a good point.

I use my bedroom, livingroom and the office/dog room to segregate the sizes.

My Germans have the living room and all are females spayed. The Borders are mother and son plus Belle who rule my bedroom.

[WildFlower]

I have three dogs.

 

Daisy was the first. She was crated until she was about 1 year old and then left with partial freedom in the house Devon was the second. He was crated until about 1 year old too and then I started leaving them together. (Daisy and Devon a little over 1 year apart in age and get along really well.)

 

Teak was number three. She is a 5 year old that had never lived in a house before me. She is crated for a couple of reasons and I think it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. She crates up easily every day.

 

My dogs do not have full run of the house. I gate the hallway so they do not have access to the bedrooms or bathrooms. This is my preference. Daisy and Devon haven't done anything destructive in years.

[mum24dog]

Title says it all. As I continue to learn about BCs and continue to wonder if I'd really want one or not- I looked at my adult GSD as I left the house this morning and told her to "be good." She has full reign of the house and is not crated. It's not an issue- and I like that.

 

But I know lots of folks who do crate their GSDs during the day... so perhaps this is nothing more than training and/or personal opinion.

 

So what's life like with a border collie in this regard? Do you crate when you leave for work? Do you find that you have to crate, or do you let your BC run loose without issue?

 

I'd like to hear some opinions either way... I'm not sure how useful this thread will be since it's more likely simple personal preference. Note, I'm not talking about puppies or adolescents. Of course I think those dogs should be crated.

 

I wouldn't personally want to leave any dog routinely crated for as long as I would have to if I went out to work. Exceptional circumstances might force it on me, such as if the dog was on crate rest, but I would otherwise try to make alternative arrangements.

 

I wouldn't leave a dog completely unattended all day even if it weren't crated.

 

I'm not a softie, it's just not considered acceptable to leave a dog crated and unattended for lengthy periods by the majority of knowledgable dog people here in the UK, and is actually illegal in Sweden, I believe.

 

All my varied dogs are happy to sleep in their crates at night and are crated on a rota basis at agility shows, but that's so we can keep the 2 that hate each other apart and don't have to watch all 5 to stop them escaping at the show, also forces them to rest.

 

IME BCs and that of my many friends with multiple dogs is that BCs are no better or worse than any other type of dog as far as behaviour when left alone is concerned. All are individuals, of course, and some will develop problem behaviours, but that's nothing to do with being a BC.

[Root Beer]

Mine are always loose. All of mine that were crated while I was at work at some point (Speedy, Maddie, Dean), earned the privilege of being out all the time by the time they were about 2 years old. I've had as many as 5 loose all the time, and, thankfully, there have never been any issues when we are away.

 

Of course, all of my dogs, except Sammie, crate at trials and training classes. All can crate if need be at the vet. And they love having a crate in our hotel room when we are on vacation. They all take turns sleeping in it and I've even found Speedy, Dean, and Tessa all curled up in it together a few times when we are away.

[wildo]

Now I don't leave most of them loose because I have an entire pack of dogs and don't want to risk a fight getting out of hand. I don't think it is very likely that would happen, but I don't want to test that assumption either.

 

Actually one thing I didn't think about is that I've not yet met a BC owner who only has one. You guys are nuts! LOL! I think my agility instructor has 8 (EIGHT!) dogs right now. Yes, most definitely once you have a "pack" I can see the need for crating. Great point.

 

IME BCs and that of my many friends with multiple dogs is that BCs are no better or worse than any other type of dog as far as behaviour when left alone is concerned. All are individuals, of course, and some will develop problem behaviours, but that's nothing to do with being a BC.

 

Yep, I can't say I'm too surprised by this. I guess I was just thinking that with the BC being a bit more crazy than "normal" dogs, that perhaps they might be a little more destructive. Of course, that's usually a sign of lack of stimulation which is a whole other topic. So I guess it's good to know that they can actually be left loose. I like that idea.

[Tiga's_mom]

Tiga's never been crated. We used to use our bedroom like a kennel when he was a puppy when we were not home, but we lived with someone else so it was easier and safer for everyone. He got into a few things in there when he was really young but he had free reign of the house when he matured a bit. We still have to make sure there's no cardboard left out though. He will devour anything cardboard. (toilet and paper towel rolls, leaving the paper intact is one of his favorites) He's great now though and I trust him fully.

Annie is still crated at night and when we're not home, but she's only 11 months old and I don't trust her yet. She's ok for short periods like if I'm showering or taking out the trash but I don't want to push it too much. We're thinking about letting her free at night. She seems to want it and I feel like she might be ready.

They are never left home alone all day. One of us always comes home for lunch, usually me, to take them out for a short walk/run in the yard. I would trust the 2 of them together alone, I just don't trust that Annie won't destroy the house yet.

[Mark Billadeau]

Most of ours (7 in total) are crated while we're away from the house. The way I look at it if a dog is fine being crated all night then it should be able to handle crating during the day for the same number of hours. The caveat is that they are loose for quality time which provides sufficient mental and physical exercise.

[WildFlower]

Actually one thing I didn't think about is that I've not yet met a BC owner who only has one. You guys are nuts! LOL! I think my agility instructor has 8 (EIGHT!) dogs right now. Yes, most definitely once you have a "pack" I can see the need for crating. Great point.

 

Border Collies are like potato chips - it's hard to have just one!

[rushdoggie]

Border Collie earned his freedom between 2 and 2.5 years. He's never been destructive as in chewing things up (in fact I have accidentally left food on the coffee table and then went to work and it was there when I got home) but if he heard things outside he'd get hyper excited and bark and race around and I didn't want that happening when I wasn't home. Thankfully he grew out of most of that. He is separated from small dogs via baby gates just for safety, even though they all get along. Baby small dog is still crated, because he is a heathen.

 

Edited to add that currently I come at lunch 95% of the time and only work a half day on Wed, so they do get breaks. They also do get attention and walks and exercise when I get home, and even more in the summer when days are long and we can go out and play at 8 pm.

[Carson Crazies]

I have four border collies and one mutt. Only one dog is crated while I'm at work - she's 19 months old and still a bit too inventive for my preferences. Two dogs get the run of the kitchen, living room, and hallway. Two are behind a closed door and get the run of the master bedroom and bathroom. I usually don't give loose privs until they're about 3 or 4.

 

As a side note... I don't find working bred border collies to be particularly "crazy" or any crazier than "normal dogs". In fact, the least settled dog that *I* know personally is a GSD (bless her heart). That's not to say that some border collies are crazy, but most of the BCs I know are working bred, and quite lovely to have around.

[Root Beer]

Actually one thing I didn't think about is that I've not yet met a BC owner who only has one.

 

I've found they are quite addictive!! We had one Border Collie and two mutts for quite a while, but I wanted to add another Border Collie for most of that time. Now that I have (at least) a pair of Border Collies, I would never want to go back to just one. I enjoy their particular interaction with one another, as Border Collies, as much as I enjoy them for themselves!!

[juliepoudrier]

I have a pack of 9. Some are crated and some are not, and it has nothing to do with their ages, but rather their personalities, or health issues. The epileptic dogs is crated for safety reasons when I am not around--packs of dogs, or even single dogs, have been known to attack and kill or seriously injure seizing dogs. My 15 1/2 year old is crated because she still chews stuff if left loose, including crate bedding, rugs, anything pricey, etc. (the exception is when she's crated in my van--in that case she can have bedding and generally doesn't chew it).

 

The youngster is crated, though if I'm going to be gone an especially long day, I'll leave her out. So she's actually had the run of the house with the other dogs a couple of times now (she's ~18 months) When I go to work (at an emergency vet), I take several of my dogs with me--namely the ones with special issues who need meds during the time I'd be gone. Everyone else then stays loose in the house. I am taking a risk with this, though, because two of the dogs I leave loose don't particularly like each other, but so far so good.

 

I agree with Mark on the "cruelty" issue. If it's not cruel to crate a dog all night long, then using a crate for the same amount of time during the day isn't cruel either. I work at home most of the time and all my dogs do while I'm working is lay around and sleep. If someone is using a crate to contain the dog most of the time without any quality interaction with the dog during the times the dog is out, then yes, that's cruelty. Of course my dogs are not crated at night (I fight for space on the bed with several of them), so if I have to crate them during the day, I don't feel bad.

 

That said, I have one dog, Lark, who thinks a dog's place is on the bed. This is the result of me deciding that it was a bit unfair to crate her while I was at work during the day (though she came to work with me and got out for several breaks over the course of the day), then come home and be out for a few hours and then right back in the crate for bed. I have a tall antique bed that she could not jump off of, so I started letting her sleep on the bed when she was still quite small. Now she thinks the bed is the only place a dog should sleep.

 

Anyway, I think crating is largely about personal preference and individual dogs.

 

For me, if individual dogs have special needs, or two dogs don't get along, then crates are used for the individual dogs' safety. Otherwise they can have the run (mostly) of the house. There is one bedroom gated off for the cats, and now that my nearly 19-y.o. cat has taken up residence in the kitchen, I will often gate the kitchen off too--mainly just so I can leave food for the old cat if I want and also just so the dogs don't inadvertently do anything to hurt her (the old cat gets stepped on a lot otherwise).

 

J.

[juliepoudrier]

double post.

[wildo]

Wow- nine dogs!? And here I can't decide if I want to add a second... You must spend a not-so-small fortune to trial all of them!

[juliepoudrier]

For financial/employment reasons I am not trialing right now, but all 9 are not trial dogs anyway. There are rescues, retiree trial dogs, youngsters, etc. I set sheep at trials and use three of the nine for that. Three are aged 13, 14, and 15.5. The 15. 5 year old was one of my first trial dogs. The 13 year old is a retired open trial dog, as is the 11 year old, who still works on the farm. Generally for sheepdog trialing, one is limited to two open dogs (for many trials here in the east). I have two six year olds who are trained to open level and are the ones I use for setting sheep. I also have a third six year old (the epileptic) and a 3 y.o. and an 18 month old.

 

Many people rehome their retired trial dogs. I keep mine, which partly explains the numbers.

 

J.

[wildo]

Three are aged 13, 14, and 15.5.

 

Thanks for the info. Is it common for a border collie to live this long? I'll be ecstatic if my GSD lives this long. What nice long lives.

[MrRipley]

It just depends on the individual dog and the situation. I crated Ripley till he was nearly 5, because I did not trust him with my oldest dog. Now that she has passed, and I know he'll get along find with my other dog, he is free in the house with no problems (although I close off the bedroom and bathroom doors). When he was crated, it was a roomy crate, and he loved going in there as part of his routine when I was getting ready to leave the house. He LOVES his routines. As others have said, when I'm not home I don't expect my dogs to do much other than sleep, so I don't see crating as much of an issue if it needs to be done. Of course he had a water dish in there too. Now that he is free during the day I don't see any evidence that he does anything besides sleeping anyway. I don't have a dog door or access to the outside.

[juliepoudrier]

Thanks for the info. Is it common for a border collie to live this long?

The two who have already passed were both pushing 16. I would guess 12-15 would be a typical lifespan. There was a recent discussion here where several folks mentioned 17-18 year olds, but I think they're the exception. 14 or 15 is probably much more typical.

 

J.

[Gideon's girl]

I left the house at about 11 this morning with Gideon loose. When I got home just a short time ago, the laundry was done, folded, and put away. The kitchen and bathroom were spotless and all the books were reshelved in alphabetical order. I think I'll leave the Border Collie loose more often.

[Emelie M]

it is illegal here in Sweden to keep your dog in a crate. Even for just a minute. So no, I never leave my dogs in crates. I never had to, and I never will. (I hope) Perhaps I'm just lucky. But my dogs (Border collie and shelties) have never chewed on furniture. Thank god for that.