leaving them alone

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carbaugh

Boxer Pal
gus will be 2 at the end of July and we during the day he is in his kennel (during the school year) at night he stays out and has full roam of the house and does great. However, we have tried to leave him out for 30 minutes at a time and he will destory things. Once he dragged my pool wraft out of the laundry room into the family room and destroyed it. Does anyone have tips on leaving these guys out so that I can get where he doesn't have to be kennelled? He is a great dog durning the night and doesn't tear things up or potty anywhere but durning the day I have not found a way to leave him without being afraid he will destroy my furniture.
 

Lou.ise

Boxer Booster
gus will be 2 at the end of July and we during the day he is in his kennel (during the school year) at night he stays out and has full roam of the house and does great. However, we have tried to leave him out for 30 minutes at a time and he will destory things. Once he dragged my pool wraft out of the laundry room into the family room and destroyed it. Does anyone have tips on leaving these guys out so that I can get where he doesn't have to be kennelled? He is a great dog durning the night and doesn't tear things up or potty anywhere but durning the day I have not found a way to leave him without being afraid he will destroy my furniture.

I have one that has never been crated and he is great, then I have Lola!!! She has to be crated or she will chew everything (and even gets Rocco in on the act) The last time I tried she chewed my couch!! I would love to leave them out together to snuggle up like they do at night (and so that I could put the huge crate away) I have tried everything, they always get a good 2hour walk before I go out. When we have had our usual walks she sleeps like a log for hours but NOT if I go out and leave her in but out of her cage. I have put it down to she feels safe in her cage whilst I am out. I just wish she would tell me in a different manner :LOL:
Maybe they will get better as they get older (fingers crossed)
 

Jan

Reasonable Moderator
Staff member
Start small. Give him access to only one room when you are gone and gradually increase his space. Sometimes giving him access to the whole house can be just too much for them when you are not there. Make sure that your comings and goings are non-events. Just leave and don't make a big deal when you come home. Wait for 5 minutes before you even greet your dog.
 

carbaugh

Boxer Pal
leaving him alone

Thing that gets me is that he is great all night long without getting in anything but during the day he gets mad. I normally shut all the doors so he only has access to the family room and kitchen. I will start with a 15 minutes at a time and see how he does. Thanks
 

BetsyB

Boxer Insane
Thing that gets me is that he is great all night long without getting in anything but during the day he gets mad. I normally shut all the doors so he only has access to the family room and kitchen. I will start with a 15 minutes at a time and see how he does. Thanks

The difference is at night, you are home, and during the day when you leave him out you're gone. Also, his body is used to sleeping at night as yours is, and being active during the day. So in the daytime, he needs to expel some energy and be active. If there is nobody home, and nothing to keep him busy he starts to be destructive as a way to engage his body and mind, and fight boredom. I agree you should start with baby steps, like limit his space and only leave for a minute or two at a time to start gradually increasing his time out of crate when he behaves. You should also try to keep him busy by providing intellectually stimulating toys such as Buster cubes or other puzzle toys. Leave out plenty of chew toys too. 15 minute intervals may even be too long to start. Try a short trip to the mailbox, and work your way up.
 
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NJBXRLVR

Boxer Pal
We're still trying our baby out with this as well...
He's had full run of the house now for about 3 months, and everyday we still come home to an accident.... nothing destroyed, he doesnt chew up the furniture, he just pees, no matter how often he goes out before we leave, or how much we limit his water.......
We've had to put chairs across our bed as he started peeing there...
That worked well, however, my husband was home today, had to leave to pick me up, and left him here...
I came home only to find that once again (even with chairs on the bed) he managed to go on the bed!!!
We have also tried to gate him off in one room, only to come home to a carpet that he "dug up"!
What next?
Should we try putting him back in the crate???
 

Jan

Reasonable Moderator
Staff member
I would start with shutting your bedroom door. In fact shut all the doors that you can. Exercise him well before you go out and make sure that your leave him something to keep him occupied, like a Buster Ball or a stuffed Kong. Destructive behavior usually happens right after your leave, so the key is to keep him busy for a little while, so give him something to do.

Good luck!
 

carbaugh

Boxer Pal
leaving alone

Where do you get these Buster Cubes, Puzzle Toys and Kongs? How come when they are in the kennel all day they don't have accidents but the minute we try to do our best and leave them out they pee all over the place. Gus can hold it all day when in his kennel and all night when he is out but you leave him out 15 minutes in one room and he pees all over the kitchen. I think he does it out of anger towards us leaving. He destroys everything he chews on (his toys). His bed that he sleeps on every night and loves, my son thought he would put it in his kennel to give him somethign to lay on and he chewed it up and pulled all the stuffing out of.
 

NJBXRLVR

Boxer Pal
Ive gotten kongs at the local pet store, but buster cubes, I'm really not too sure!
Our baby will be 2 the beginning of August, and when we left him in his crate, he would go (only pee! ),
Now, he has full run of the house, does not destroy anything (chewing stuff up), he just goes pee!
In the beginning, he would go on the living room carpet, from there, he would go on the kitchen floor, now, its our bed (which he also sleeps on by the way)
Wish there were a way to be a full time stay at home boxer mom!
He's a great boy with everything else, I just dont know what else to do, or where to turn at this point.
We work about a half hour away, so coming home on our lunch break is not an option, nor is hiring a dog walker.....
I'm hoping that when he gets a little bit older, he will hold it until we get home, as it really is a long day for him!
 

carbaugh

Boxer Pal
have you tried puppy pads and leave them out in the kitchen to see if he will pee on them rather then the carpet?
 
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