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Leave him in the yard or in the crate all day???


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I recently (three weeks ago) adopted a border collier (5 yrs old).  My last dog was strickly an inside dog except to do her business (no one told her before she died that she wasn't human!).  At any rate, I do have a good situation as I work from my home office and we do have 2 acres of fenced in yard.  Scotty has really taken a liking to the bulldog Buster next door.  Buster helps Scotty get his exercise as they run the fence line together.

In about a month, I will go going out of town and my son (that lives in a separate house on the property) will be taking care of Scotty.  The problem is that my son is gone 14 hours a day.  Scotty does sleep in his crate at night and when I leave the house for a couple of hours, I put him in the crate (also when I have clients over).  However, it is my understanding that it wouldn't be good to leave him in the crate while my son is working and gone for 14 hours.  He works too far to come home during lunchtime.  

We have set up the covered back porch (screened) with a doggy door to go outside, however he would not be able to get back into the house because of the patio door.  I am trying to slowly work with him everyday (today was the first) to learn to be outside for most of the day instead of my cool home.  I put the water and food bowl on the porch, along with his toys and bed, and a fan that blows in the area of his bedding.  I live in Central Florida so it gets really hot and humid here.

I guess my question is, with daily training outside (one hour one day, two hours the next day, and so on); will it be okay to leave him outside/on the porch for 14 hours and then bring him in to go in the crate at nighttime?  I'm trying to save money and hoping it will work since he has plenty of yard, however if this is too much heat I would rather pay for the kennel when I'm gone.  I look forward to reading your comments.

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I agree he shouldn't be left in the crate alone for 14 hours at a time. I work from home too and spend most of my time with my dog. She's pretty heat sensitive even in the springtime now when it's only in the mid-70s where we live. Having grown up in Alabama, I know how miserable it can get with the humidity in the south. Have you checked out any other options near you? You could possibly hire someone to stop in and let him out a few times a day or take him on walks while your son is at work? 

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On 4/13/2019 at 2:57 PM, Scottys Mom said:

  I am trying to slowly work with him everyday (today was the first) to learn to be outside for most of the day instead of my cool home.

Why? In the summer it will be much too warm for him to be in a screen porch all of the time, even in the shade. I would look into other options. Maybe he can stay at a friend or neighbor's house during the day or else you can pay someone to come in and walk him so that he can stay in the house. Or, you could make a dog door from the cool house out to the yard so he could go in and out.

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I would do an internet search for doggy daycare. I'd never heard of such a thing until recently. I found one in a neighboring city that has great reviews and has half-day, full-day and overnight rates. It's not cheap, but for the money it will give you peace of mind and save your son the hassle of taking care of your pet after a long workday. My vet offers kenneling services, but it means being in a crate most of the day with potty breaks -- better than being in a crate for an 8-hour stretch but still not ideal.

Most of the reading I've done say dogs should not be crated for more than 6-8 hours at a time. Most of articles say 1-hour for every month of the puppies age, up to 6 hours for dogs 6 months and older. No way I'd leave an unattended dog in a crate for a 10-, 12- or 14-hour stretch.

Also, I'd be hesitant to leave a newly acquired dog alone in a screened porch, and not just because of the weather. If he gets anxious at being left alone for hours he may decide to find a way out. My girl is pretty high-strung, which I'm told is a common trait for this breed. I think she would panic and tear through the screens and any wall-type of materials, possibly hurting herself in addition to running away.

I used a doggy door with my last dog. It worked perfectly for those long hours away. But I can't trust this dog to be left alone in the house, and I'm not so sure I can trust her not to climb or dig her way out of the backyard.

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