Gone at work?

[jabenson]

My husband and I have a 9 month old boxer named Misha. She is a great dog and very well trained. We however have encoutered a problem. My husband goes to school and is gone all day, and my job has changed and I now have to work downtown, which is about a 30 minute drive. So our problem is we are trying to figure out what to do with misha while we are both gone.

She is crate trained, but we don't want to leave her in there are day long if we can't get home for lunch. We have been trying to keep her in the kitchen with a gate, but she either jumps it or knocks it down. While she is loose in the house she likes to find things to chew on. So far nothing too expensive but not something that we want to continue to happen. We looked into hiring a person to come and let her out during the day, but it is just more expensive then we can afford with only one income right now.

I had search and it seems that she has seperation anxiety. The destructive behavior when we are gone. I had also read in a training book, that having a kitty to keep the dog company can help. We have thought about this but are not sure if it is a good idea.

Are there anybody out there in a similar situation? if there are ow have you coped with it, and what do you think about the cat idea? Thanks so much.

 

[luckylucy]

I don't think my pup has a problem with separation anxiety, but she does like to chew...still at 2 years old! We have gone through trial and error, and have basically puppy-proofed the part of the house she stays in while we are gone...but it did take some trial-and-error. We close all the doors in our house so she only has the living room, kitchen and hall. Now I work 12 hour shifts, which usually isn't a problem unless my husband is out of town because I work nights and he works days. On those rare occasions that she has to be alone for a long time, a friend of mine comes to take her out and usually stays and plays for 1-1/2 hours. Not always feasible, but if your dog can have a daily "visitor" it may help.

Lucy had the same problem jumping the baby gate. That lasted about 2 weeks for us. She was still a small puppy but figured out how to climb over our TALL baby gate.

About the cat, It all depends on how your pup does with other animals. Lucy could be entertained all day by a cat, but the cat certainly wouldn't enjoy the experience.

 

[Boworld]

Hi!
Misha sounds lovely and very well trained.
We had a similar dilemma when deciding to get Jackson. I only work 3 days a week and can work 1 extra day from home but there still would of been 2 days a week when Jackson would of been on his own for 8 hours plus. We decided that this just wasn't fair on him but when I spoke to everyone at work they were happy for me to bring him in with me!
How long will you be leaving Misha? Here in the UK we have companies that will come and walk/play with your dog. They charge by the 1/2 day so will be with him for a good couple of hours. That may be an option if you only need to use the service occasionaly? Alternatively is there a neighbour or young responsible child local who would enjoy walking Misha and having a bit of play time? I really hope you can sort it out and I totally understand the dilemma you are in. With regards to getting a cat I don't know whether it's a good idea. We used to have labs and burmese cats and they got on like a house on fire, but we had them both from kittens and puppies.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
xx

 

[jabenson]

Thank you so much for your responses. Any bit of advice helps! Misha really is a wonderful, obedient boxer. She is our first dog and we have been so spoiled! The only problem, like I said before, is that she gets into trouble when she's left home alone. She is so good and won't touch anything she's not supposed to when we're home, but she goes nuts when left alone. It's so frustrating! What has helped this situation temporarily is that we have worked it out with some friends that Misha can go over and hang with their dog in their yard on days that we are gone for long hours. But now that it is getting colder, we can't let her stay outside all day so we need to come up with another solution. On the days when my husband and I are unable to come home for lunch, Misha will be home alone for about 9 hours- kind of a long time... I wish we didn't ever have to leave her for that long, but sometimes we have no choice. Anyway, I am almost positive that having another animal (either a cat or a dog) to keep her company while we are gone will help with her destructive separation anxiety problem. Does this sound like a reasonable solution? Do you think it will help the situation or make twice the trouble? As much as I would love to get another boxer, right now we are thinking that it would be easier and smarter to get a cat over another dog b/c we live in an apartment that might not be able to 2 boxers, but does anyone think that another dog would be better than a cat? Does anyone have any other ideas of how we can resolve this problem? Please Help!

 

[Joe Beam]

Get up 20 minutes earlier and take her for a long walk in the morning. Don't let her go back to bed while your getting ready for work.

You should be able to reinforce the gate so she can't get out. Maybe use a web cam or something similar to see how she is getting past the gate.

Maybe get some of those potty pads if she is going to the bathroom inside. Also, make sure there is a window in the room...my girl will stare out our window all day.

Good Luck.

 

[ehayes21]

Anyway, I am almost positive that having another animal (either a cat or a dog) to keep her company while we are gone will help with her destructive separation anxiety problem. Does this sound like a reasonable solution? Do you think it will help the situation or make twice the trouble?

I think you are asking for trouble . I wouldn't get another animal until you can get Misha under control while you are gone. It doesn't sound like she has true SA either - she sounds bored. I second the tiring her out part before leaving her. Also get some of those giant kongs and freeze them with peanut butter, yogurt or a mix of whatever she loves. These keep mine occupied for hours. Also have you checked into doggy daycare? It's usually pretty reasonable and even if you only take her 2-3 times a week, her off days she'll spend sleeping. Mine are always wiped out after 8-9 hours of playing with other dogs.

 

[DGPEREZ]

We are gone from work roughly 9 hrs. a day but we are currently coming home during lunch to let her out. My puppy is only 5 mo. old but what we have done to give her a little more breathing room so to speak is we attached with zipties a baby play pen to the end of the crate. The play pen is foldable and we actually used half of the play pen in the shape of a box that extends from the end of crate. The other half of the play pen we used as the roof so that she cannot jump out. The roof is attached by zipties also and bungee cords. This allows her to exit her crate and potty if she really has to (which she does not) and play around a little bit. We got the play pen from Babies R. Us. Each section comes apart and can be adjusted to form a circle or square pen. It works great to give her a little more room to walk outside her crate and still be confined in an area where she cant get into trouble.

 

[AnitaSue]

A Kind Neighbor??

My husband and I both work outside of the home. Yogi is only 6 months old and is crate trained. We both hated the idea of leaving him crated ALL day, with no way to potty, or run. A very kind neighbor said she would be willing to come over and let Yogi out into his fenced in yard everyday. She actually comes over twice a day and lets him out. His crate is also situated so he can watch out a window, and we leave a small TV turned on for company. (Animal Planet of course, educational!!)

 

[Daniel/Sarah]

Doggie Day Care

I use doggie day care for my Winston on days when someone will not be home for multiple hours. If you purchase a package, the daily rate can be as low as $12 to $15.00 per visit. Just be sure to check the credentials of the doggie day care, make sure they have enough employees and that they truly care for and love dogs. This also makes my Winston completely drained and tired for the next day.

 

[SonnyRoutt]

Alone all day...ahhhhh, poor baby.

Sounds like you have a lonely bored boxer who has potential to become a bad boxer. I have a similar absence and worked it out here though. I've learned that one of the biggest needs of the breed is boxers love to play...mostly with another companion. Frankly, I'm the one who has SA from my Monte when I'm gone for about 8 hours during the day. And I'm gone too early for a morning walk; it's hard to get him up (especially on cold mornings). But he (Monte is 18mos.) does have the routine down now; I let him out to do the potty thing and he comes right back in after his duty. I have a basket of toys that he's learned are "his" toys only. When he's bored, he plays with those or chews a bone when he's very frustrated. He does have the company of a cat or two...but he grew up with them and I had the cats first. It's much harder to get a cat after the dog, especially with a bored mature boxer that may chase and kill the cat. The front window is available for him to be entertained or watchful (he's very protective of the premises). And lastly, I have a few older kids that in their spare time, will drop by and play with him. I've found that he doesn't like to ever be left behind...whether it's 5 minutes when I'm gone or all day...he'll pout when I leave and bounces excitedly all over the place when I return. Boxers hate to be alone. I've decided to install a petdoor to the utility room so he has access to outside for more exercise during the day. Our walks are at early evening and he needs that play time with me, everyday. I hope some of these suggestions help...Tina & Monte