Confined But Not Crated... Good Idea?

Willie is crated during the day while I work. He has a dog walker who visits twice a day -- about 11:30 and about 4:00. I'm almost always home before 6:00. We go for another walk then, and a final walk before bed. I don't have a fenced yard.

I think the last couple of afternoon hours in the crate -- after the second visit from the walker -- are hard for him. I'm sure he's wide awake then and unhappy with his confinement. He pulls the mat up and is sitting up waiting for me to get home.

I am thinking about putting up baby gates to confine him in the kitchen after that last afternoon walk. I'd also like to be able to do that when I go out for short errands instead of always having to crate him. He's almost 11 months old and less of a maniac than he was even four months ago when he came to live with me. Of course I'd move all cords, books, etc. from his reach.

What do you all think? Thanks.

I always prefer containment over crates, just my personal preference, especially for long days. Sophie (when she was little and a terror) had her own bathroom, and I'd put a couple of toys and nylabones in there. To this day, she goes in there on her own (no one else can go in there!) and it's a good place for her to calm down when she's too nuts.

Peachy and Moose are in the kitchen with baby gates. Bubba is in an exercise pen in the scrapbook room. It gives them a bit more room to move, but they are contained.

My first pug I kept in a crate, but it was harder on me than him. With Zoe, I have her set up in my guest bathroom with a baby gate. That way I know there's nothing in there that can get her in trouble and it's tile, so even accidents are ok. She's got her bed, water, a toy or 2 and a pee pee pad. Works like a charm!

My Skeeter is in a crate... but, he has always been the pug that loves his crate. The other two are confined to my bedroom. They just sleep all day.

I like the idea of being contained, rather than crated, but I also think it depends on the dog. If they are crated, I believe they need enough room to move around and have access to water in the crate.

I have a double xpen set up for the girls. I think they like it although I also think they sleep all day. When the beast (Izzy) was a youngster and an only child I used to give her some of her food in a buster cube to work off some energy. Could you have one waiting for the dog walker to give him after the walk so he has something to keep him entertained until you get home? Or a frozen Kong?

This is the buster cube in case you hadn't seen one. I think it's worth it's weight in gold to keep a puppy busy.

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Pets-Buster-Mini-Colors/dp/B0002ARQYQ

I've done both, but prefer confinement to crating if I can. My guys are confined to my kitchen and first floor hallway if I'm away. It's easy to clean up if anyone (hazel....) has an accident.

BBBob and Matilda stay gated in the kitchen when we're not home. I just prefer that they have room to move around, look out the window etc. If I put an old towel on the floor they'll pee on it - that works for me.

I really appreciate the responses. I have a folding fence/exercise pen that I use to keep Willie on the front porch if I'm out there. I think I'll use that to fence off the kitchen over the weekend when I run errands to see how he does. And the suggestion about a buster cube or kong is really good too. I bet he'll be fine. He's really maturing.

Millie'sMichael wrote: He's really maturing.

I say that about Sophie too...

I think he'll be fine and likely a little less crazy by the time you get home if he has some more room to stretch his legs and roam around during the day. I don't know what kind of gate you have but if you have the standard kind with the plastic-y criss cross stuff and he's a chewer, you may want to get something heartier. When Hoover was a puppy, we gated him in the kitchen and he chewed a hole in the gate and climbed through it. He had attacked all the mail that came through the slot by the time we got home.

Once we knew Otto was old enough (wise enough?) not to climb from the couch to the back of the couch to the bookcase shelves to take down carvings to chew on (I guess he was about 6 years old by then!), we gated off the living room. I moved everything that was low, made sure no electric cords were accessible and put a soft big bed in there along with his toys and let him have the run of the living room while we were out. His crate was in there, too, with the door opened. Lots of times when I'd come home, he'd be sacked out in the crate even though he didn't have to be. He liked his crate (we had to take it away when his mobility declined because he had trouble getting out of it when he couldn't get up without help) and would go into it on his own when we were busy doing house things.

Is Willie a climber? Otto was, so we had to contend with his walking along the back of the sofas and climbing from the sofa to the end tables. It was cute to watch, but we didn't want him to hurt himself.

Maryjo wrote:

Saira wrote:

Millie'sMichael wrote: He's really maturing.

I say that about Sophie too...

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And did you say that Sophie was a terror when she was little? Does that mean that she is not a terror now and that calm Sophie is not a major oxymoron?