Hi all!
I have poured over articles and forums looking for advice on this, and have yet to find anything that is helpful!
My almost-7-month old Tootsie is such a sweetie pie and we adore her.
During the work week, Tootsie is at home in her crate in the morning (8-12), I am home with her for an hour mid-day, and then she is crated again in the afternoon (1-5), and when we go to bed (10-6).
She is crate trained, and about a month ago we started leaving her alone, with the crate door OPEN in our secure/as-puppy-proofed-as-possible living room for 20-30 minute periods of time (while we ran across the street to the store, etc.) She has been an angel each time, barely moving from the spot where we left her.
My long-term hope for her is that as she is bigger and more mature/trustworthy, we will let her be at home with the crate door open during the day.
Can anyone share how they went about this process, of giving your dog more freedom, unsupervised at home? I would really appreciate it!
I have poured over articles and forums looking for advice on this, and have yet to find anything that is helpful!
My almost-7-month old Tootsie is such a sweetie pie and we adore her.
During the work week, Tootsie is at home in her crate in the morning (8-12), I am home with her for an hour mid-day, and then she is crated again in the afternoon (1-5), and when we go to bed (10-6).
She is crate trained, and about a month ago we started leaving her alone, with the crate door OPEN in our secure/as-puppy-proofed-as-possible living room for 20-30 minute periods of time (while we ran across the street to the store, etc.) She has been an angel each time, barely moving from the spot where we left her.
My long-term hope for her is that as she is bigger and more mature/trustworthy, we will let her be at home with the crate door open during the day.
Can anyone share how they went about this process, of giving your dog more freedom, unsupervised at home? I would really appreciate it!