Asking for trouble ? We'll see

[Leatherneck]

Tonight we are trying something different. Instead of keeping the guys in their crates to sleep we are letting them have the run of the house. We put their toys away, played with them and let them out for their evening constitution. Now I have lights off,TV on and pretty much ignoring them, hoping they will just lay down and sleep. Hopefully we won't wake to any surprises !

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Just remember...we WILL expect pictures!

 

[christyjulene]

at your house!

 

[Ftse 100]

Yes we sure do need pictures.

 

[RazrRila99]

I almost did this last weekend (4/12 - 4/14) as Colossus was keeping me awake. Then I put a comforter in his kennel that worked, up til last night (4/18). Kept me awake again. Let me know how your event goes! I just dont think Colossus likes the bars.

 

[Baconator]

[MENTION=8521]Leatherneck[/MENTION] how did it go?

 

[2BullyMama]

Well..... is the house still standing and did you get to sleep in your bed with a few visitors?

 

[Leatherneck]

Evidently you all figured it would not work didn t you? Well, I have news for you................it didn't. Things were rough at first, they didn't know what to think. Kept roaming around room to room, you could hear their noses where they didn't belong, but they did eventually settle down. Thought it would be great, but after about an hour I heard the familiar chewing sounds and I got up to find Vince gnawing on the bottom of the love seat, where he usually hides his toy. So I got up and put them in their crates. But I'm not giving up on them. I think if I let them roam more maybe they'll adjust. And if not, well the love seat wasn't that expensive, and it is a few years old.

 

[rksuski]

I think its a great tactic for when you want new furniture Guinness is foot loose and fancy free at night...but he has two boys who always stake their claim on him the very minute 'five minutes til bed time' is declared...he has a 'spot' on each bed and once he is snuggled in he is good....he won't even come upstairs until we have all gone up before him

 

[cali baker]

How about allowing them out of their crates but restricting their roaming area instead of giving them carte blanche to the whole house? Then u can work your way up to more rooms once they've shown they're behaving.

 

[dalmatina38]

I too have been sucker punched into thinking Amber was ready for free roam and she was ok for a little while but soon earned her spot back in the crate when unsupervised. Now, I will say she does extremely well during the night. She roams free on the front side of the house and does great, there is nothing up there for her to destroy but if we put a new bed or anything in there different she will destroy it. In the day unsupervised she is in the crate because she will eat through curtains to look out the window and terrorize the house when she hears something. Ruby is contained when unsuperivsed either way because she is just a pup and doesn't know the rules of the road/house yet. Amber knows the rules of the house..........she just chooses to ignore them. Good luck.

 

[bluesteelapd]

Sorry this didn't work out. Keep working towards it. Glad no one was hurt
Mona, as most of you know, pretty much sleeps on the couch until bed time, then she sleeps in the bed with us....

 

[anatess]

I have a suggestion (what I usually do)...

When the dogs are young, they sleep in the crate with the door closed as part of their potty training. Once they're potty trained, I still do the "put them in the crate" routine but I leave the door open. Maybe this will help?

Okay, in my set-up, the dog crates are in my bedroom and we all go to bed together. So, they get put in the crate when we ourselves go to bed. Okay, there's a TV in our bedroom so we don't necessarily go to bed, we just "retire" to the bedroom to watch movies, etc. Okay, sorry, my thoughts are scattered today. The dogs usually sleep in their crates even when the doors are open.

 

[cowsmom]

i dont have a crate but sarah was 1 when we got her so we didnt need one but you could try leaving the door open and see what happens one night. perhaps not the whole house a room or two to start. let us know how it goes.

 

[Leatherneck]

Tonight I am going to leave their crates open, which are in the kitchen, and they will have access to the kitchen and living room. I am not going to put them in crates for bed but leave the doors open so they can go if they want. I will put their toys away and just leave their morrow bone in each cage. They are settling down now so hopefully it'll work! If not there's always tomorrow!