Crimson

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice. I want to be as humane and good to Bessie as possible so she has the happiest life so this has been a struggle. The concept of locking an animal up seems to go against these things but I have been told they are den animals. I hadn't really thought about all the potential harm she could do by chewing away at everything, and outside she may run away so crating may be the best option. It's about to get realy hot here in Los Angeles and I can't keep her outside all the time with the heat. I've never used a crate or a kennel. It's my understanding that you slowly get them used to a crate so they learn to love it. I appreciate everyone's experienced advice and opinions. I feel much more comfortable with the idea of crating. It sounds like Bessie is still a puppy and as long as we take her to training, spend a lot of time with her on physical and mental activities, that the chewing will get better around 3 years old. If there are more comments, stories, and suggestions, please keep them coming.

I rescued a border collie/french bulldog recently that was hit by a car. She appears to be around 9 to 10 months old. We have a backyard and a chihuahua that she plays with and we do take her on walks, play with her in the back yard, and have tons of chew toys for her. When we leave, she starts chewing on shoes, the sofa (destroyed), our new wall, and well anything. It doesn't matter if we are gone a half our or leave for work. When we are home, she doesn't chew on her toys or her chew bones and seems perfectly content. We spend a lot of time with her and play with her a lot in the backyard. Today we put her outside in the fenced in yard with rawhide because we had to leave for work and I don't want her to destroy anything else. I don't know what else to do. Please help. We are desperate. I don't want her to dig a whole, escape and get hit by a car, and I want her to be happy. I read that you shouldn't crate for more than three hours, yet I keep reading that people crate their dogs while they are at work. I'm confused. Please help. Thanks!