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What is your setup for your dogs while you're gone?


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In particular does anyone have an indoor run set up? I am really interested in doing a dog room with something of that sort in it when I move.

 

My last 10 dogs have all been papillons and shelties and I'm trying to figure out what the best set up will be for a BC sized dog. My current dogs are in x-pens in my spare room when I can't watch them. Mia is three but can't be left out alone without supervision and I greatly prefer a pen or a run to a crate.

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Generally my dogs are either crated or just loose in the house. There's essentially a permanent baby gate to keep them out of the "cat room" and sometimes I will place a gate to keep certain individuals separate from each other while not having to crate them.

 

Dogs in crates: the youngster, the oldster who chews stuff if left out of a crate, the epileptic who needs to be confined for her own safety should she seize while I'm not there, and the older dog who has developed separation anxiety and will have accidents in the house as a result. The first three are crated together in my "dog room" (actually an enclosed sun porch off the kitchen) and the anxious dog is crated in a separate location so that she can't rile the others and vice versa.

 

I kept one dog in an X-pen for perhaps the last year of her life. This was for her own health and safety as she would panic on the hardwood floors, and though I had runners everywhere, she'd invariably manage to get off of them (or lie down in a manner that left her back legs off of them) and then have trouble. She ended up hurting her back and a crate was really more cramped than she could take, given her bad hips, etc. The X-pen worked great for her, but she was not one to try to jump or climb out, nor did she jump againts it or otherwise be overly active (and thus liable to knock it over) while confined there.

 

The dogs who can be trusted not to chew or fight or get in the trash or anything else obnoxious are left with the run of the house.

 

For an active or determined border collie, I would think an indoor X-pen would be a minor obstacle if they really wanted out. A small chain link run would work (for the non-climber), but of course they are much more bulky and difficult to move. I also found that the X-pen seemed to take up an inordinate amount of space, but depending on the set up of your house, that might not be an issue. I'd probably try just baby gating a dog into an area. If you worry that the dog would jump or climb you can always stack the gates, but then a dog who will jump or climb isn't likely to stay in an x-pen either.

 

If the dog is not large, you could always get the largest crate possible (like my mother had for her borzoi), which would give the dog space to sleep and walk around a bit while still being fully contained.

 

J.

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Thanks!

 

I probably worded that poorly but I figured a BC would jump the current setup I have. It's a miracle my dogs right now don't realize they can jump the x-pen if they want to. My youngest will work the gate and unlock it if I don't put extra locks on it and let them all out but hasn't figured out she could scale it if she wanted. My older dog regularly jumps higher than the x-pen while inside the x-pen but also hasn't realized she can jump it. Last week they jumped a fence at the park that was the same height as their pen. Silly dogs.

 

I'm probably over analyzing since all my dogs save my youngest eventually have been able to earn free roam at least in a room while I am out. The young one is now 3 and even though she's fine when supervised she's still not trusthworthy when left alone and will chew and shred things. I think I've gotten used to this so am anticipating that the dog will also be a chewer for life.

 

I was thinking along the line of the chain link or other run with a lid but I do agree it would be bulky. I'm single though and live alone so I'm hoping to have a 'dog room' where I can store the dog stuff out of sight of the living area.

 

I've been considering a larger crate too, I like that idea a lot and used it with my youngster when she went through her rip up the carpet phase as a pup and couldn't even be kept in an x-pen. I bought a boxer sized crate and it gave her a lot more room.

 

I just do really like the idea of giving them a little more room if possible.

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I'm a big fan of the bigger crate method. Rudder has both eaten drywall and ripped up carpet, so if I'm not there he needs to be completely contained. I think I've seen x-pens that are more like a really long crate. They are the same height as a crate and fully enclosed like a crate, but maybe 3 or 4 times the length of a normal crate. It's definitely something I've considered since I love the roominess of say a Great Dane-sized crate but don't necessarily need the height.

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They do sell lids for xpens.

 

Cressa is normal loose or lock in my room or on occasion kennel. She is kennel if we had a very exciting day and she just needs a to calm down/chill.

 

Troy is 80% of the time kennel. Since he can clear an xpen without trouble and he can also get into anything i can reach. One day i learn he had figured out how to jump through the pass bar to get into a closed off room. I can leave him loose in my room with the door closed maybe once a week to once every two weeks.

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I have a friend with several Border Collies who has a dedicated dog room. She has some nice kennels all along one wall that she uses instead of crates. Its works very well.

 

Mine are either loose and separated by a gate (I keep Papillons and Border Collies separated when alone due to size differences) or the puppy-ish Border Collie is crated (he has a big crate and sleeps comfortably in it) and the Papillons loose. If its hot or I will be away a short time its loose, if its a quick trip its easiest to crate the puppy.

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I keep two loose in my room (door closed), two loose in the dog room (gated) and the youngster in an expen in an open den. I'm not much of a fan of crating all day anymore because it restricts the dog too much. Even when my dogs are injured and need "crate rest", they get an expen.

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I have several ex-pen type kennel runs set up in my basement for when I'm gone. I have a couple of dogs who will jump pens or move them around & a few who can be a bit destructive. So, last summer, I went to a system where I built a frame for the bottom of the ex-pen out of 2x4s (just basically a 4x4 box). I attached the frame to the wall (at the studs) and then attached the ex-pen to the frame. For some of my dogs who are jumpers I had to zip tie on an ex-pen top. I ended up ordering new ex-pens from Drs. Foster & Smith - they had a fairly heavy duty pen with very inexpensive shipping. They are fairly easy to clean. I actually put down 1/2 inch horse stall mats as the floor too.

 

The nice thing is the pens are super secure & the dogs can't destroy them. Probably your dogs aren't as destructive as some of mine are. : )

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Puppies and fosters get crated. My rule of thumb is typically to stick with the crate for the first year and then start to test the waters of freedom. I start with simple things like being loose while I mow the lawn or run to the store, graduate to half days and then full days.

 

I've been pretty fortunate in that my dogs have been able to come to work with me their entire lives, but that will be ending soon. When I work at my other job they used to have someone come let them out midday, which made it easy to transition to half a day in a crate, half a day out.

 

Because my employment situation is changing and I can't rely on someone coming to let the dogs out 7 days a week, I recently had a dog door installed. So now the dogs have free run of the house and access to a small fenced in area (12' x 20') within the fully fenced yard. I opted for the smaller potty yard to prevent them from causing trouble when I'm not home (fence fighting, digging, etc.). The dogs think this is a GREAT arrangement and now I can be gone for 12 hours without worrying about them. I even run a web cam when I'm gone to check in on them. :D Yes, I'm a dork.

 

My parents stop by when they're in the area to give them Kongs or to let them out in the big yard. They like that.

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All four of mine are loose in the house, since they are totally reliable and all get along. When they were puppies, they were crated for about the first year or so, until deemed trustworthy. I have a big crate set up in our bedroom that anyone can go in if needed or wanted.

 

I wish I had a dedicated dog room! We also have 3 cats, so our spare room is the cat room, with a cat door for them to come and go, but the dogs can't get in the litter boxes. Cuz that's just icky... :P

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Four of mine are loose in the house and two are crated. I have a puppy that I cannot trust yet and my oldest border collie gets into everything so for his safety he needs to be crated. We do have a dog room set up with enough crates for everybody, just in case we need them. The boys are in that room with each other, crated separately. My dogs are never left alone for very long periods of time. I work days and my boyfriend works nights, so someone is usually always home with them. Works perfectly for us!

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Dear Doggers,

While a larger (great dane) crate can be handy as a whelping & puppy box, I don't know any other reason for them. My dogs, who have their choice of large (500, medium 400 and smallest 300) choose location over size and some prefer the smallest. Think "den" not "play room" or "master bedroom".

 

Donald McCaig

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^^but when are your dogs crated? I'd agree most dogs pick the more den like crate to sleep, and for short periods of time (though not necessarily, Rudder absolutely hated when I covered his crate to make it more den like), in some cases, such as mine, when the dog is going to be in there during the day for possibly 4-5 hours at a time, and possibly up to 8-9 hours total a day, it helps to have the bigger one to let them stretch out a bit more. Now, I'm not talking a Great Dane size for a chihuahua. More like a large lab size for a smaller BC.

 

Rudder is about 10 months old and I'm hoping I can let him loose in the house here fairly soon, but so far he's solidly proven he's not ready for any freedom. Since I have to have him crated while I'm gone for most of the day, I'd like him to be able to stretch out easily in the mean time. But I think it very much depends on the dog's preference, how much time he'll spend in the crate and under what circumstances. JMO

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Maybe it's because I don't have multiple dogs - two at the most at any given time, plus a cat or two - but my critters have the run of the place when I'm gone. There's an open window that the cats can use to get to their giant outdoor (covered) run, but my dog has never shown any interest in "making the leap." And even if she did, she'd be in an enclosed space. The run is 10' x 10' x 7' and made of 2x4s and chicken wire.

 

That said, if I had a place that had rooms with doors, I'd have a wooden screen door on at least one of them. Some of these doors are quite handsome and if you have them with brass mesh, they look really nice. I live in a big one-room apartment and I have one of these on my front door, which opens into the building hallway. I get good airflow that way and the critters can watch folk come and go.

 

I don't even own a dog crate, though I have no objection to them, but my dog does. She has a "den" under my computer desk and another bed by mine. When I'm gone she spends the bulk of her time in her den. She is always yawning and stretching as she steps out of it when I come home.

 

post-10533-056804100 1342136876_thumb.jpg Kitty run

 

post-10533-065500900 1342137155_thumb.jpg Sugarfoot's den.

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My oldest BC is loose in the house, has been since she was about 2.5. Before that she was in an x-pen. The aussie was in a large wire crate (2 sizes larger than a sleeping kennel) until he was 5. Then we let him loose for a while but if there is any food on any surface or garbage within his reach (or any treat smell in any jacket pocket hanging on the coat rack), he gets into it. So, if I know the house is safe I will leave him loose, if I think he could get into something I put him in the kennel. My youngest BC is just over a year and is in an x-pen when we're not home. When she was younger she was in a wire crate because she would try to escape. She grew out of that as she matured.

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Mine could all be loose in the house unless the combination includes Ike and Taz, because there is a small possibility they might fight. So if I can't take one or both of them, Ike either goes into a kennel outside if the weather is nice or he is crated. It's not ideal, but fortunately he is not crated for long periods of time very often. I am sure he could handle being outside in his run all the time, since he used to live in a kennel (at his previous home), but I'm afraid he's gotten soft since living the cushy life...

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Depends on how long I am gone. We have some indoor/outdoor runs in our basement/garage. this works well if we are gone for long periods or an overnighter. For general purposes some are house dogs, others have kennels outside. During the summer I prefer to house my main working dogs outside to acclimate to the heat instead of being in AC

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The young one is now 3 and even though she's fine when supervised she's still not trusthworthy when left alone and will chew and shred things. I think I've gotten

 

Not necessarily. Ross used to be like yours for the first few years but stopped of his own accord.

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Most of our dogs are crated, some in the house and some in the milk house (future kennel). We have one loose in the house.

Some day I'd like to have kennel runs in our dairy barn; but for now our budget cannot handle the costs of the runs.

 

The way I look at it is, dogs easily handle being crated overnight (about 8hrs) which means they can handle being crated all day; as long as, they get plenty of quality time loose in between.

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3 loose, 4 are crated in proper sized crates for them, but they are rarly alone for long anyway. Rusty is always either tethered or crated, he cant ever be loose with Ripley and besides that he is a theif-of a very dangerous item he has a penchent for-Knives. yup, my little 15lbs idiot will find any way to get on counter or into drawers and steal sharp knives..I caught him hauling a boning knife(that I apperently missed when locking down the knives) into his crate about a month ago. I would rather avoid one day hauling him off to the e-vet and explaining that my dog stabbed himself with a knife :blink:

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I have had at least one dog needing crating for the past thirty years(not the same dog all that time). I have had dogs that could be loose in the whole house. I once had a dog that I had to use two baby gates one on top of the other to contain it to a single room. My current JRT is fine loose in the house except that she starts acting like she owns the world if you don't take her down a notch regularly. I can't wait until my BCs are old enough to leave loose, actually Gideon is finally getting there. I have x-pens, but I've never had a dog I wanted to trust to one without me right there. In other words, whatever solution I come to, changes as soon as I add a different dog to the mix. So typical.

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I have a covered deck the length of my house and attached garage at the back yard. I have 2 6' X 6' kennel runs with dog houses in them. In addition I use an X-pen to divide the other half of the deck into two 'runs'. I sometimes leave two dogs at home for a few hours in the afternoon. One other dog could be left loose in the house. The Chi gets put in a BC size wire crate if I need to leave him at home. But mostly they all come with me. When I am home, I often leave 3 BCs loose outside in fenced yard for a few hours every day...they run around and play for about an hour then sleep on the deck waiting to come in. My two youngest have been wire crated in the evening in the living room all their lives. The eldest has been a 'house dog' but for the last 3 or 4 years I crate him also; he is noise sensitive to the TV and would get out of his 'bed' constantly. In the wire crate, he is settled and happy. I just got home from being away for almost a week where they spent the majority of time in my truck topper(frequent potty breaks but also a day of hanging out in a big yard and two days at a dog trial). Pretty happy dogs tonite to be back in usual routine.

cheers Lani

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Dear Doggers,

 

I do remove the tasties from the kitchen counter. Otherwise 3 sheepdogs are loose, one guard dog contained with a babygate in the solar room. I've an eleven year old on diuretics so if I must be gone all day I arrange to have someone let him out at noon.

 

Donald McCaig

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