Opinions please starting to leave Duke out ??

[BabyDuke]

Hi guys.. Duke is 4 years old.. When we go out we leave him in the dining room in an octagon type play yard. he is a really good dog.. never chews etc. My husband wants to start to leave him out when we go out.. ( he also wants to buy a dining room set We tried today for 2 hours.. When I got home Duke was curled up on he loveseat snoring?? would like to get your guys opinion and also who leaves their Bullies out and who crates them etc?? I am a firm believer when they are young to keep them crated but not sure how I feel now? thanks everyone

 

[LariP]

HRH is out. We have just always left her out. We got a soft side crate when we first got her and she likes it but we only use it for travel now. She just doesn't bother anything or require being crated or penned.

 

[KMARINO]

Vegas loves his crate, I started when he was a little over a year leaving him out for short periods, until he proved himself. It has been way over a year and a half now and I never crate him and no accidents or chewing. 99% of the time when I come home from work he is laying in his crate, the other 1% he is on the loveseat. I too am a firm believer as pups to crate. I think he will be fine. Oh... I do lock his crate when it is night-night time, I do not want him sleeping with us and he sits and whines besides the bed if I don't lock his crate. Again he does not mind the crate. I say to him night-night and he goes straight in on his own.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Jake is OUT! Been out for about 4 months...always gets on furniture..but I'm okay with that..I'd let him test his wings before I got a new dining set...just in case!

 

[2BullyMama]

Nitschke and Banks got run of the house at the age of two.... never any issues

 

[Sherry]

We left our crew out for 4 hours today, testing the water so to speak. We went out for lunch and when we came home the only damage was done outside the house due to weather conditions. They made me proud, cause hubby doesn't want to leave them free yet. Phooy. Gotta give em a chance I say. If one of them mess's up, guess I'll look for the guilty face.

 

[BabyDuke]

oh I am sooooooo happy that you guys all do !!!! I am so ready to do this with Duke.. we feel so bad leaving him pent up and he is so good. I really don't think he would bother anything I will let you all know how goes.. I am going to try for a few hours at a time!!

 

[Davidh]

We crate ours when we are gone. Lucy Lu can't be trusted, she still likes to chew on things sometimes. BeBe is usually good but she goes into her crate on her own and usually sleeps in there on her own in the daytime when we are here. Buddy, I will leave him out sometimes when we are gone because he never bothers anything. I would test yours a little at a time to see how he does. He may do just fine.

 

[izstigspunks]

I'd do test runs first too. But most likely he'll do great.

We leave our two guys together now when we're not home. My sis told me that they'd be loud in the morning after we leave but eventually tire out after a half hour and sleep for the rest of the day. I had to move around some furniture though, to block the power cords and any corners so they won't accidentally bump into them when they're playing.

 

[LoveMyBullyBoy]

We leave Gravy out. He'll be 4 in January. The only time he's been destructive is when I've left him home while I took the kids to, or picked them up from school. He chewed up a flip flop because he was mad at me for not letting him ride with me. We give the dogs free reign of the front of the house, & gate the hallway back to the bedrooms. Pretty fair trade, I think. And that helps minimize the dog hair on my kids bedroom floors! When they don't sleep in the bed with me, they sleep in the living room on the couch.

Definitely do test runs! Short periods while you go to dinner, the grocery store, etc and be sure not to leave any temptation. Shoes in the closet (door closed!), magazines/newspapers/mail well out of reach, etc, etc. Even the best dog can sometimes backslide and chew up a yummy, tempting shoe left lying on the floor.

 

[Telly03]

We started with test runs... we had an initial issue with Moe taking the cushions of the couch. We were able to break that habit, and so far no other issues. The only time he gets crated, actually a playpen, is at night because he will get his noisy sister (Shih Tzu) all riled up early in the morning with play, waking everyone up.

 

[cowsmom]

sarah is 5 and ive never crated her. she has always been out. but she was already 1 when i got her. we used to put her in the pen outside with the boys but this summer was to hot and the one time we tried to put her out when it cooled off she made a quarter size hole in her booty from spinning i guess. so its back inside. she doesnt bother anything. just sleeps i guess all day.

 

[Suzy2]

Mine have never been crated, I used a playpen, when Dexter was a young puppy. They have free run of the house and I've found if they're not confined to one space, then they're not so bored and don't do any damage.

 

[cali~jenn]

Mine are all out all the time. I dont have crates for my kids. If your boy is 4 years old then I would think you should be fine. Cutty and Mugsy mellowed and stopped eating things while we were gone at about 2. Now with Miila here we are risking it but so far she has been very very good. We do close bedrooms cuz she loves to eat Sierras toys and stuffed animals that are on her bed.

 

[KristinMarie]

I think you are on the right track. Do small test runs and see how it goes. You might want to gate off parts of the house that you can't puppy proof, or close all the doors to the bedrooms. I have had mixed results with my 18 mo old bully. Sometimes he is an angle and sleeps in his crate on his own (door open) or on the cool tile floor while I'm gone, but sometimes I come home to all the couch cushions on the floor, his bed pulled out of his crate and chewed and shoes (if we forgot to put them away) chewed.

My bully was crate trained from the first day we brought him home so he sees his crate as his bed. We also have a very nice dog bed for him to sleep him as an alternative during the day. Most nights Rocco is in his crate (closed/locked) and he loves it. We all seem to sleep longer if he is crated. But I have him sleep with me when my husband travels for business (I like the company and his snoring helps me sleep because he sounds just like my husband!)

He is still pretty young (18 mo's) so he might grow out of the chewing phase. Good luck and keep us posted!
Rocco's mamma.