Search2 Kennel Questions
Before I start developing bad habits, I want to know if there is an accaptable time limit for keeping Dakota in her kennel. Is every dog different, and should I look for signs? Or is there a set time frame? My neighbor has been letting her out mid-afternoon, and I want to know if we should keep doing this, or if she would be fine in her kennel. I leave at about 10, and my Steph gets out of work around 5. Steph lets Dakota out in the morning, around 7:10 or so, and I'm up by 8 at which point I pour my cup of coffee, get my poop bag and toys ready and take Dakota out. So from around 8:05 she's out until I go take a shower, about 9:45 or so. I take her out to do her business before I leave as well. Steph has her out when she gets home from work, puts her in the kennel to make dinner, and I let her out when I get home from work, between 8-9:30 and she's out with me until about 2am. So would she be ok in the afternoon, or should I continue with the neighbor or someone else letting her out?
Also, i'm a videographer, and if I don't have parties, I'm off on Fridays, Sat. & Sun. On these days when we're around all day, should I keep her out all day? Or should I keep her to the normal routine schedule she'll be doing for the rest of the week.
Thanks in advance!
Wow KevinK.. I almost started a new post re: ocean and boating
we took Sofia to Ensenada with us yesterday, to look at the port, walk the boardwalk and watch the huge seals who line the docks and beg for food..
She was in heaven.. she sniffed the air.. jumped up on the seawall and stared at the huge creatures who were barking even louder that she does.. She stretched her head up in the air trying to take in every scent she could and her smile was as wide as Texas!
My thoughts about taking Dakota are: go for it. All the different adventures you can expose her to will do nothing but help with her socialization. Walk her around the dock for a while and see what her response is.. Have fun.. and good fishing..
P.S. My husband teaches videography and television production at U.A.B.C. a university in Ensenada.
The general rule of thumb with puppies is that they can hold it / be crated for their age plus one. So, if puppy is 3 months then 4 hours, 4 months then 5 hours. Personally, if your neighbour doesn't mind letting out the puppy, I'd stick with it. Better safe than sorry.
As for the boat, my concern would be the sun. Is there any shade for her? Having taken a dog out on a boat before, I also think you might not get a lot of fishing done since you'll be on constant puppy patrol to make sure she is safe and behaving.
I'd be concerned about the sun, as well as making sure she has a life jacket on. Dobermans cn swim as well as people, but like athletic people they sink. But I imagine the last thing she'll be is board!
And I agree, it's good to get the puppy out in the middle of the day if you can. But don't feel bad about her being in the kennel for the better part of the day. As long as she gets to spend a few hours playing and being stimulated - it's similar to a situation in the wild. Wild puppies stay in the den most the day too, while the pack is out hunting food.
ok thanks guys, makes me feel much better. She's out of the kennel majority of the time we're home, unless we're in the shower or cooking or something like that and can't pay attention to her.
What about the weekend thing, is it ok to keep her out all day? Or should we keep her on her normal weekday schedule and take her out in the morning, put her to bed, then take her back out later in the day.
The only thing I can add about the crate is that schedules are important to dogs. They don't rationalize & say, "Ok, today is Saturday so I don't have to go into my crate." Days of the week don't matter to them. Maybe if you kept the crate door open??? I'll let others give advice on this one.
As for the boat: From personal experience this summer I can tell you that Dobies don't swim well! At least, my 2 don't!!! When we went to the lake Milady looked like a submarine with the periscope up (her eyes & muzzle showing - but everything else submerged!) & Brinks didn't swim - he flailed! In fact, Brinks flailed over to my daughter & tried to climb up her to sit on her head! All 90 pounds of him!!! So, I would definitely vote FOR a lifejacket in case of falling overboard or jumping out.
I am sure he would enjoy the trip, but you maybe not so much. Since I don't go boating, neither do mine. In fact, they have never seen a large body of water. I can't take them to the Scout Camp with it's lake, because it is populated by our ever present reptiles - Gators.
If you have a sunshade of sometype on the boat and have a travel crate where you can contain Dakota, you can all enjoy the trip. The travel crate if you have one should also be shadeded as the solid top can become very hot.
If you have someone to let her out in the afternoon, perhaps they can start making their visit later and later in the day until you get to the point where Dakota has gone the entire time you or your wife are gone.
As to the weekends, I always had mine out when I was home. They may not know it's Saturday, but they knew Alpha was home. In the wild, the hunting schedule varied by season, and how successful they were the day before. If they were very successful, then they gorged and laid around the next day.
I can go either way on the crating thing on the weekend. On the one hand, it sure doesn't hurt to establish that there will be times that you are at home and she will need to be crated, and she should be comfortable with the fact that you are there but not with you. On the other hand, why shouldn't she be out when you're home and able to supervise? I'd probably just mix it up and do some of both.
awesome, thanks guys, these are all great responses. Love our community here, so helpful.
Kevin
#1 While training Shelbi on the weekends I was with her almost all the time. Her area is our kitchen and we have a baby gate to keep her from the rest of the house until we are beyond the chewing stage at least then we will move her to the bedroom.
We are up and feed her at 5:30 am she would be out with us until I left at 7:45 am then she would be in her crate until our son got home at 3:00 pm. We would feed her in the evening at about 6:00, then would not put her back in her crate until 9:30 - 10:00 pm then she would be in there all night until we got back up at 5:30 am.
While out of her crate someone was with her or watching her. I believe I have said before that we used the Petsmart guide to potty training. Again this book worked extremely well for us. Within the first week she was telling us it was time to go outside, but you had to watch for the sign.
We left her crate door open and she began to use it when she chose to for naps or just to watch whatever we were doing.
When she was 5-9 weeks old there were a few crate accidents, but after we had established this schedule and she got older no more accidents. Now she is out of the crate and has the kitchen for her area and we have had no accidents outside of a small bout with diarhea, due to someone feeding people food in a very large quantity.(NOT ME)
#2 I would recommend a life jacket for any breed. Even those more apted to swim can get a muscle cramp. I do not let Shelbi swim in our pond because I have seen some snapping turtles that are bigger than a VW hubcap.
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Also, would she be ok to take on a boat if we go fishing? Or will that be very boring for her. Thanks again guys, everyone here is awesome.