I've got a climber

[BaxterTLR]

So I use a crate for my pup at night. During the day when I leave, he stays in a crate/play pen combo (that way he can drink water, pee and poop at his leisure). I tried crating during the day once and he blew it up (nervous poops were not good). The last 4 out of 5 times I have left him in his pen, he has climbed out of the pen and has just free roamed around the house (and happy as can be I can add).

I am worried he is going to hurt himself jumping down from his climb, any suggestions on how to present this?

 

[joannaryan]

The safest place for your pup when you are gone is in their crate. Boxers are very michievious when alone and to have free roam of the house when no one is there could be very dangerous. They could easily tear your furniture, swallow something and get choked, chew electrical cords, almost anything they can find to do or get into they will. Toby sleeps in his crate at night and when we are not at home he is in his crate, it's the best place to keep them safe and out of harms way when no one is home. Boxers are climbers and jumpers too, he could possibly get his legs caught while climbing out and get hung there till someone returns home, anything is possible with those silly little critters. Your kennel/crate is the safest place for your furbaby to be. Thats just my opinion, good luck and I hope you find the answer that you are looking for

 

[Sansal]

I would probably crate him - but only if you can let him out every so often to relieve himself. I would not crate him while you are all day at work, if he has to relieve himself in the crate it might form a bad habit and delay house training. Do you have the option of hiring a dog walker (or asking a friend/family member) to stop by a couple of times a day to let him out (until he gets a little older and can hold it while you are at work?)

The other thing you could do is buy two baby gates (or even three) and stack them on top of each other in a doorway and that way only give him access to one room of the house - for example the bathroom/laundry room (obviously make sure it is safe, nothing he can get into etc). That's how we did it when we first got our puggle. We used heavy duty plastic gates. Personally I wouldn't do it that way again because allowing the puppy to relieve himself in the house (even if it's on a puppy pad) delays house training. I would always prefer to give the puppy enough opportunities throughout the day to relieve himself outside. But if you have no other option this is better than risking him getting injured when climbing out of the pen and roaming the house.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

 

[BaxterTLR]

All in all, he doesnt have issues being able to hold it, i think he still has separation anxiety issues, where he gets the nervous poops and blows up his crate/pen if/when left alone. The longest he is usually left alone is only around 4 hours. Would you still consider this too long to being crated, when considering that it may be more anxiety than being able to hold it? Thanks for all of the help.

 

[joannaryan]

In my opinion, now this is just my opinion 4 hours is a very long time for a 10 week old to be left in a crate at one time. Is there anyone that could stop by to let him out for a potty break? Thats a long time for him to be able to hold his pee/poop. Good luck in finding a solution

 

[BaxterTLR]

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This was the second time he did it. The first time took only about 20 seconds.

He always has access to the wee pads, he just chooses to not used them all of the time (even with the treats and praise when he gets it right).