Dog Room

[krayne]

During the past few weeks Ali has become extremely destructive in the house - this usually occurs w/ some pottying in the house, too. She is two - we've only had her for about four months and don't think she has ever been crated. So, we have converted a bedroom into a "doggie room" (we put carpet scraps over the carpeting, left only a futon w/ a blanket, her toys, water bowl and a radio - she also has a big window she can look out of). Today will be her first "full day" in the room. We did a shorter test run yesterday. We've also spent the weekend in there w/ her, playing, etc., so she won't feel like its a place for punishment or something. I'm alot more comfortable w/ this than putting her in a crate or in the garage. Her trainer says that she is getting more comfortable in the house and that the destruction is simply boredom. She will be in there 3-4 days a week, while we're at work. We can't afford the daycare or dog walking services, so I hope she will be okay w/ this. I'm one of these ridiculous people that tend to "humanize" my animals and feel badly if they are caged up or closed up in a room.

Does anyone else have a "dog room" set up? If so, does it work for you?

 

[laurelheebsh]

I don't have a dog room, but it sounds like a great idea if you've got the space for it. I bet Ali will be happy as a clam in there today! Just don't be surprised if the "pottying" or even destruction happen in there too--better than all over the house!

 

[pelow]

Destruction

We had a 9 1/2 year old boxer who destroyed our house when we moved. She has since passed and we now have two four month old boxer puppies. They reside during the day in our bathroom so that they will not destroy our house. However they have destroyed our bathroom instead. Our male ate the bathroom vanity and the female found a weak spot in the wall and put a hole. Our female has since started to eat the drywall around the hole. They have food and water, and a ton of toys but this did not help. Everyone tells me to put them in a crate but like you I feel that would be horrible all day while we are at work. So instead of fixing an entire house I have to fix one room after they get out of their destructive stage.

 

[Moon]

I also tried to create a room for Clyde when he was a pup. He ate the legs off all my kitchen chairs and ripped up the floor in the kitchen. So I bought him an extra large crate, purchased an extra soft blanket and always made sure to have at least one toy in the crate with him. I came home at lunch for a quick walk and he adjusted really well. He treated his crate like it was his own special sanctuary. He is now three and able to roam the house freely but we have started the crating process all over again with his 9 week old brother Gus.

 

[krayne]

We had a 9 1/2 year old boxer who destroyed our house when we moved. She has since passed and we now have two four month old boxer puppies. They reside during the day in our bathroom so that they will not destroy our house. However they have destroyed our bathroom instead. Our male ate the bathroom vanity and the female found a weak spot in the wall and put a hole. Our female has since started to eat the drywall around the hole. They have food and water, and a ton of toys but this did not help. Everyone tells me to put them in a crate but like you I feel that would be horrible all day while we are at work. So instead of fixing an entire house I have to fix one room after they get out of their destructive stage.

We're prepared for the possiblity that we may have some destruction, too!!!

 

[nikasha]

We got Toby when he was 1-1/2. We had to deal with a lot of destruction in the house, even though he was confined to two rooms, and had the other dogs with him for company. Sometimes his toys would keep him busy, other times we had destroyed chairs, window sill, books, cds, defecating everywhere, etc.

The trainer told us to get a crate- that he has to earn the ability to be free while we're gone. We did that. After a few weeks of being crated while we were gone, we would let him be out if we were gone for a short while. If he did something bad, it was back to using the crate for a few days. We worked up to being out, and we no longer have that problem with him.

 

[kathysboxer]

I too always felt like a crate was like a jail for dogs. Boy did I change my mind! When he was about 4months old, he totally destroyed a rubber tree plant in my living room. Not to mention the total mess, this came from my grandmother's funeral. Well, I cleaned it up went straight to Walmart and purchased a cage. I watch him now and he is so happy in there. It is like his own little place. He will just go in and play in there. When he wants to be alone, he goes in there. It has really been my saving grace. I would now recommend anyone getting one. My best friend called yesterday to inform me they are getting their daughter a puppy for Christmas (not a boxer, a shitzu, what's wrong with her anyway? :D) and the first thing out of my mouth was get a crate. I also give Tyson fronzen RMB to chew on while I'm at work to keep him busy. I also do the Kong and freeze it on other days.

 

[Firerobin]

Does anyone else have a "dog room" set up? If so, does it work for you?

I have a dog room and it worked fine for about two weeks, until Stryker ate his way thru the door (picture in gallery). He was in there with 3 other dogs and a dog door to the outside. Now they have full run of the house.

 

[mikeandtyson]

Tyson (5 months) is left in his crate for 4 hours at a time, at first he has a blanket and tons of toys including a kong, his blanket turned into a peice of swiss cheese, and his poops contained the missing peices of the blanket, i ended up taking the blanket out of his crate and then he started moving his crate( don't ask me how, boxers might be the smartest dogs ever) any ways he would move his crate to something that he can chew, the other day he knocked over a fake tree with christmas lights on it, the tree was shreded when i got home, it worries me. i ended up getting him the biggest crate i could find, hopfully this helps out the situation

 

[AbbeyRoad]

Just be careful, leaving them unattended in a room for a long time. This might seem more humane to many people than a crate, but it isn't just the fact that they can be destructive to the room while you are gone, but some of the things that they might get into could be harmful to them as well.

You'll see comments all over this site about dogs ripping through doors, drywall, carpet, floor tiles, and trim/molding, etc., etc., etc., but if you look you'll also see comments about trips to the vet for emergency surgery to remove foriegn bodies from their stomachs and intestines.

I really think crating is much "safer," and I would have to advise that the $30-$40/week (you said you are gone 3-4 days) to have a dog walker stop by to play with her and let her out would probably be less expensive than major surgery to remove something she ingested while you were gone and far less tramatic than the possibility of losing your baby.

I don't know how long you are gone in a typical day, but some of these costs will protentially lessen as your puppy gets older too, plus you don't have to crate for life, but at least until they have proven that they can be responsible when left out and are housebroken. Neighbors, family, and friends are also much more likely to help out with a new puppy because it is cute and cuddly. Granted this help might not be a long term solution but might be something you can use in the beginning when the puppy needs to be let out more often. Maybe a neighbors kid would be willing to let her out for $20/wk? Kids get into puppies too and if you teach them how to work on training the puppy I've found that they can be pretty responsible because they feel like they are contributing.

As the other poster said maybe look into getting a large crate that you can have a potty area & sleep area in.

If you have a puppy that has already shown that it can be destructive when left alone, I'd just hate for something bad to happen. Keep in mind if she gets into something harmful in hour 2 and you don't come home for 6 more hours it could be too late by the time you even get to her. Crates aren't just for our benefit and training they are also for your dogs safety.