home alone

[shidea]

hello all, I am now back to work and Zeus is home alone! Today was the first day from 10 - 4 .I got home and he had the whole living room floor full of whatever he could get his little paws on and this is after I thought i put everything he could get into away. Anyways I was hoping some of you would have some help for me, 8-9 hours a day is to long for him to be in his crate isn't it? I have an unfinished basement with just the washer and dryer in it, I was thinking about putting him in there but will he think he is in trouble? He is nine months old and up until now I have always been with him.So any suggestions on what you guys maybe do would be appriciated. thanx.

 

[Barron's mom]

Barron didn't have full run of the house until he was one. You might want to try to limit the space available through the use of gates, and try leaving a radio, or television on while you are gone.

 

[tanya22]

Nine months should be old enough to hold it in the crate. Gates or crate is safest for the dog and house.:D

 

[buddy's_mom_29]

How about getting a baby gate and just giving him one room (totally puppy-proofed) to stay in? I use one with Buddy and it works great for us. I can totally sympathize with you, or will soon anyway. I've been at home with Buddy finishing up schooling since he came home at 8 weeks. He's now 14 months and I'll be graduating and be going back to work full-time in a month. I feel worse for him than me, he isn't going to know what to think :(

 

[shidea]

thanx for responding so fast, I have a gate at the top of the basement stairs and all the doors are shut up stairs so he is only on the main floor during the day. He sleeps in his crate everynight with no problems. Maybe I will put him in there tomorrow and try to come home at lunch and see how he is I just feel so bad if thats what its going to have to come down to.

 

[LauraJean623]

I think the idea of the basement isn't a bad one. Go in the basement and play with your baby so he knows it is a "good" place and not a bad one. We have just started leaving Harley loose in the house and we close all the doors to all rooms possible to limit where she can go. We have found that she spends most of her day on the couch...

If you are going to leave him in the crate during the day I think you should definitely go home for lunch. Luckily I work close to home and am able to do that. I would just feel so terribly guilty leaving her for 8-9 hours in such a confined space, what kind of fun is that for her.

Try making the basement "Zeus friendly" or like his playground. Put a radio down there, some blankets and toys and see what happens...

 

[nancyred]

Boomer is 7 months old and we leave him alone in the kitchen for 6 hours a day. We put up baby gates and leave him lots of bones. We have been doing this for about a month an he has been great. Good luck!:p

 

[Gus’s Mom]

We never leave Murray alone for more than 2-3 hours. However, we find that when we do, confining him to just a couple of rooms seems to work best. We close all the other doors and he has full run of the kitchen, living room and front porch (enclosed and finished). I make sure that everything is "childproofed" and there is nothing he could hurt himself with or destroy. We also leave the TV on (Nickelodeon because he loves Sponge Bob Squarepants) and the shade open so he can look out. In the mornings he likes to watch all the kids waiting for the schoolbus.

Linda

 

[Slugger6969]

Maddux is in his crate while we're at work. Some days we can get home at lunch but for the most part, he's in there and just fine.

If we're gone for a few hours or so we now trust him but block him off with baby gates.

 

[kflanaga]

on an unrelated note....

...for Slugger. From Atlanta with a dog named Maddux? Hmm. You must not be so happy with his namesake so far this season!