Crate or gate off the kitchen....

[angray]

I was reading some of the posts, which were exytremely helpful, and I have consulted the vet, and have read some books concerning that matter, but I am second-guessing myself now. Since Mugsy will be alone from 7-2 daily, would it be better to crate him for the entire time, or to block off the kitchen with baby gates? He's only 9 weeks, so he can't just very high yet. I don't want him to hate the crate, or to soil it. He enjoys sleeping in it with the door off, but once the door is on, he cries and howls. Which would you do. The vet said to crate him, since he could get into things, but is it too long of a period of time to crate him? What would you do?

 

[HRCant]

Mine is now a year old and we tried both ways. The end result was that he made less of a mess inside the crate than outside. We keep Evander crated for about the same length of time, occassionally my husband or sister-in-law will come home to walk him during the day. When we kept him in the kitchen he would pee or poo inside the house and tear up anything he could reach. Inside the crate he manages to control his bladder until I get home to let him out. I know the crate seems harsh, but after a while, they get used to it and almost enjoy it. It's a safe haven for them to be in. My advice is to crate the puppy!

 

[Memphis'sMom]

We too have stuggled with this--being as you can only trust Memphis alone for about 2 hours before she has the destroy something:rolleyes: . We never crated her at night so she REALLY hated being put in the small one when we first bought her, but being as boxers are very clean and she is alone from 7:45 unitl about 5:00 by BF built her a large (8' by 3') wood kennel in the basement and she seems happy. We have extra food and water dishes in there, all of her toys and a bed. She has gotten out a few times and trashed the basement, but she's in the best of places: 1) She's contained from ruining my 1 year old house and 2) she has enough room to move around and be "free".

As for the wining, I agree that eventully he will settle down. Memphis is 11 months and she still wines when we first leave her, but I've had to run home after only about 15 minutes and she's already quite.

Good Luck

 

[blurble33]

we use a crate for both of our girls, we have a large one and they go into the same one together b/c they HATE being apart they are so sweet. we didn't have a choice b/c our youngest just jumps the gates and left out on their own for a lengthy period of time they tend to be mischevious but that is aboxer for ya!

 

[Boxer_21]

Flashback!!!

Originally posted by angray
He's only 9 weeks, so he can't just very high yet.

Sorry, but I had to laugh when I read this. I thought the exact same thing when I brought my Riley home at 8 weeks old. I took the first week off from work to be with him. Unfortunately, after that first week I had to leave him from 7:30am-1pm everyday. The first day he did great. The second day... well, see for yourself.

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24833&highlight=riley+gate

- Mandy

 

[BoxerLuv82]

I went through the same problem with Rocky. Unfortunately the babygate didn't last very long because he quickly learned to "climb" over it :rolleyes:

In my opinion I think the best would be to crate your baby. It kees him safe from harm, although he may not reach high things.. there are plenty of little things that they can 'discover' , , specially when they're that tiny. Think of it this way: either way, there will be a mess to clean up! :p

 

[Rockys Mom 2]

I have to agree the crate is the way to go. I've tried both & gating Rocky with 2 gates one on top of the other kept him in the kitchen but he would still pee & poop all over. Once we went to the crate he held it all day. It took a little while to get him used to it but now all I have to say is in crate and he goes right in. I have found a kong to be the best thing with some peanut butter in it. Sometimes we freeze it. Good luck.

 

[lmyhand]

I crated Baxter at first and while it worked very well, I felt guilty and eventually gave in and put a gate up in our kitchen and dining room area, which also had access through a doggie door to my small patio area outside. While, the peeing and pooing didn't happen because of the access to the outside, Baxter got bored and gnawed on the legs to my nice dining room table and eventually gnawed a mouth sized hole into my wall! I couldn't imagine! But-now, he and Mattisse (my other boxer) have full rign of my house. They are both over three now and as long as I pick up after myslef and don't leave anything out, they do very well. So, crating is a good option, unless you are very patient about repairs and buying new things that might be destroyed!

 

[KazzMan]

At that age crate him. You may think that he can't jump very high, but he will be jumping before you realize it. Then he will be getting in a heap of trouble. Give him time and he will get use to the crate.

 

[VTbxrFan]

My brother's boxer puppy climbed over a baby gate at 7 weeks old. They couldn't figure out how she was getting out, so they set up a video camera to watch her. She was too small to jump over it, but she climbed it with no problem!