During the day?

[mpoier]

I have a question for everyone:

I have a yellow lab puppy who is now 8 months old and normally during the day while my husband and I are at work, we put him in a comfy space in the garage.

My husband has now built a new kennel/run and doghouse for Ceebers and I'm concerned about leaving him outside all day long!

Is he old enough to be outside, he has enough space, nice doghouse, etc...???

I worry about my baby of course!

CB's mom

[Kfamr]

Where do you live? Is it normally hot during the day? Is there shade for him? Will you leave food and water for him?

[mpoier]

We live in the Seattle area, so its still pretty rainy right now. He has plenty of undercover space, along with his new house. We will definately leave food and water out. The area is a mix of shade and sun during the day...

We are planning on letting him stay out during the day at/near the end of the month when the weather gets better.

[Porcy]

One thing: gotta think if someone would steal him.You gotta watch out.

[tatsxxx11]

I work with Lab rescue, and while many of the applicants mean well, anyone who plans on leaving their dog outdoors, unsupervised, even in a kennel, for any lengthy period of time is automatically rejected. Is your pup crate trained? I'm just wondering if he is still unable to be left alone during the day? Why must he be confined to a garage???? If he has puppy issues with being destructive/not housebroken, those issues need to be worked on now, and crating will help, along with obedience. Most resuce groups would encourage you to either come home at midday during lunch for a quick outie, or ask a neighbor or hire a dog walker, to come and take your dog out for a short walk, midday etc. Dogs left outdoors alone, unsupervised, especially an anxious puppy, is subject to injury and may in fact become more frantic, knocking over his water bowl, food, spending countless hours barking. And many dogs left outdoors, even in kennels, are stolen. Whatever you do, DO NOT leave your dog on a cable run or tie out. Many dogs have been found dead, strangled by their lead, or wrapped around a tree; especially Labs who are easily tempted to chase the scurrying squirrel! If you dog is not permitted, or unable to behave appropriately given free roam of the house, I would suggest trying crate training, or confining him to a safe, clean area of your home where he can do little damage and hire someone to come walk him. Labs are high energy dogs that do not do well with countless hours of inactivity/confinement. Most of our surrenders are from families who "don't have the time," or the energy to deal with an active Labbie. Labs are NOT "hyper;" they are high energy sporting dogs that need a lot of exercise! Just wondering why he cannot be left alone indoors yet?? If he has behavioral issues, like not being housebroken, destructive, you need to deal with them NOW! I know you want the best for your dear Ceebers! Just wanted to share my experience! Good luck and let us know how it goes! Sandra

[mpoier]

Ceebers is crate trained
my husband and I come home everyday during lunch and let him out to play for an hour and go potty

He is in the garage because we want to set him up for success, rather than a possibility of being distructive during the day, and we allow him in the house when he can be supervised at all times (my dog trainer told me that, I trust his judgement)....believe me, his space in the garage is not a bad one....has a huge bed, plenty of toys, a heater, a TV, etc...and no damage has been done. As a matter of fact, he's so well trained that we say, "kennel" and he will go in any of the 3 beds that we have made for him to be safe and comfy.

I think I'm further along in the training process than has been assumed.

I would NEVER tie up my baby or put him in harms way......and if you think about it, any dog can be stolen if outside, right? We microchip our dogs to help keep them safe...?????? its OUR responsibility to keep our dogs safe.

Sorry for the defensive reply, but I really am thinking in the best interests of my dog, not me.

Thanks for your input.

M

[wolfsoul]

Didn't sound defensive to me

If he's so good in the garage, then why can't he just stay there? Is he having puppy accidents? Or are you just looking for a change of environment for him?

and if you think about it, any dog can be stolen if outside, right? We microchip our dogs to help keep them safe...??????

I've heard horror stories about people stealing dogs, cutting them open and getting the chip All they need is this special scanner thing that will tell them where it is

[aly]

If he's crate trained and not destructive in the garage, could you leave him in the house?

I start all my babies in the crate then start leaving them in a bedroom while I'm gone. If they do okay with that for awhile, they then have free run of the house.

[mpoier]

Wow, I had no idea that there were people out there sick enough to do those things.....

Anyway, I might try the one room thing, then graduate him as he is trusted.....he's at a point now where he can literally chew CARPET apart from the floor of our house...I have more toys to keep him occupied though, so that helps.

Thanks for all of your ideas and support.

[aly]

Have you tried stuffed kongs or buster cubes or any of those kind of toys? They work wonders

There's even receipe sites for them.

[mpoier]

I have this molecule ball that is awesome! It fits like 2 cups of food in it! I feed him that way sometimes! He loves his kongs too. I'll keep using those and go from there!

[Logan]

Good luck to you, whatever you decide. I think it totally depends on where you are as to how much you can trust your dog outside, and the people around you.

I am fortunate enough to have a home office these days, and have for about 3 1/2 years now. So I'm home most of the time. But, I will admit, at the risk of angering some of my best Pet Talk friends, that I did leave my dogs outdoors a lot at my previous house, when I worked in an office (always came home at lunch) and when I ran errands or went out for a few hours. My two Golden Retrievers never tried to leave the yard, and there was no high incident of dog thefts in our area, so I never worried about that either. One of them definitely preferred to be outdoors, and it just made sense to do it. Of course, when there was inclimate weather, I didn't leave them outdoors. But I did this even when Lilly was a young puppy. In hind sight, I might have done it a little bit differently.

Bottom line is that you need to trust your judgement. My situation was different because I had two, always, to entertain each other, not just one dog. I still leave my dogs out on occasion, but only when the weather is simply so gorgeous that I think they need to be outside! Today, I'm at home, and I have one of the sliding glass doors open and they can come and go as they please. Guess what? They are all inside, sleeping right here beside me! LOL!!!

[mpoier]

How sweet, I can't wait for Ceebers to be a little bit older so he can do what he pleases, right now I just worry about the little guy so much that I just want to do the right thing.

what I might do is wait until a sunny weekend, put him outside (while I am inside) and observe how he does. That may be a good way to test it.

[tatsxxx11]

Gosh, sorry to have upset you so! I certainly didn't mean to! You said you were concerned about leaving him outdoors, and asked for support/suggestions so I just wanted to relate to you my experiences and some problems others I know have had when deciding whether or not to leave their dogs outdoors, i.e using cable runs, tie outs, etc. I never said you intended to. It was just a general remark, as many who mean well, don't realize that they can be dangerous. As for the garage, just wondering if he was having issues, like chewing, etc. Sounds like he's in Labbie heaven in there. Sounds like you've got things well under control, have a plan that's working, have a great trainer you trust and a pup that's making great strides in obedience. I'm sure you'll do great!

[mpoier]

Thanks for your reply!

My feelings aren't hurt. I just want what's best for my Ceebers....we learn something new everyday, and I learn from HIM much more than he could ever learn from me!

Dogs are so in tune with us! I never thought the connection would be so great when I first got him, but it sure didn't take long for him to become my life-long companion (besides my husband of course!) .

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Michelle