General Question Free Roaming Around the House

[Omarable]

At what age did you let your puppies walk around the house freely? We currently have baby gates downstairs so he can't go into the dining room, basement, or upstairs alone. I don't know when I can take them down and start trusting him that he won't have accidents around the house or get into things he shouldn't. I don't trust him yet, his behavior clearly shows it but at what age is normal to allow that freedom?

 

[Manydogs]

Puppies become potty trained at different ages. Even if they are potty trained, and trustworthy about not having accidents in the house,some dogs can not be trusted having free roam because they like to swallow things, such as socks, toys, etc. It all depends on your particular dog. My youngest wasn't completely trustworthy about things until she was 10 months. They still will eat junk outside-sticks, sometimes a leaf, or cat poo(stupid cats sneak over here at night!)They have 18 acres and come on this side of the fence!!AARGH!

 

[TyTysmom]

I agree with Lynn on being 100% sure there isn't anything they can get into & swallow. That is #1! What we did with Tyson is slowly allow the free time in increments. So we started leaving him out for short periods of time (an hour or two) while we ran errands to see how he did. Then slowly increased it as we saw that he was okay... I think it really depends on each bulldog and their personality, but I would do short periods at a time for testing

 

[Cali Doll]

Bella is super good with housetraining. I pretty much trust her at this point. HOWEVER, I can only imagine the total distruction of my home if I gave her free roam. She still tries to put everything (wood trim, cords, curtains, remotes, pillows, etc) in her mouth. She's better than she was, but she is still pretty bad. LOL!

So, the advice you were given is good. You'll need to make sure your pup can be trusted to not potty and not destroy. Good luck!

 

[Enjoimangos]

Boris is currently 7 months old and has free roam of the living room while we are at work or running errands. We started off with leaving him in a puppy pen with his crate, toys and a pee pad and eventually removed the pen and just have his crate in the living room along with a pee pad. I also installed an IP camera above our TV that i can remote into and check on him with while I'm at work and 90% of the time he's just sleeping on the couch or staring out the window. I can't trust him with full foam of the house due to all the little items he'll find and try and eat. I do my best to keep everything off the floor, but humans always seem to make mistakes...

 

[Bella and Dozers Dad]

I keep my guys in a corral most of the time till one year old.

 

[Marine91]

We still have baby gates in our entry way and hallway to prevent Harlea from finiding the magic socks that appear out of no where regardless of how carefhl we are. During the day she has free roam of half the house but usually stays by me in my office. If we are going to be gone for more than an hour or so she goes in to her play pen.

 

[2BullyMama]

If I remember correctly, with my first two... they were about a year old when all the baby gates got placed in storage, but they remained crated till about 16-18 months when we were not at home. we never had issue with them doing anything they should not

However, the two we have now.... crated whenever we are not home

 

[Miss Lola]

Mine are 4 1/2 months and 6 months. They are potty trained and won't have accidents but they get into mischief if we left them alone. Chewing the couch, crown moulding, curtains ect. So they still have to be confined if we go out without them.

 

[Christie H]

Ours are almost 2 and we always let them roam but we always keep a close eye on their whereabouts. We kept a gate up below our stairs until recently.

 

[binxrexchubbs]

No roaming, he's always on the tether or in his crate (when we leave or if it's clear he needs a nap.) However, we did have a baby gate blocking him from going into the bedrooms. He would try to bring down the slider door curtains, omg, I thought it was gonna come crashing down on him.

 

[Donnam]

We have baby gates up, so whichever part of the house we are in, Winnie's in. My last 3 bullies all had the run of the house, but I can't remember how old they were when we trusted them--my guess is about a year. Winnie and Jack both stay in their crates with a stuffed Kong when we go out without them. At this point, I don't know when I'll be able to trust Winnie--she's my most untrustworthy bully so far!! Oh yeah, she can jump over the baby gates!!

 

[Cali Doll]

We have baby gates up, so whichever part of the house we are in, Winnie's in. My last 3 bullies all had the run of the house, but I can't remember how old they were when we trusted them--my guess is about a year. Winnie and Jack both stay in their crates with a stuffed Kong when we go out without them. At this point, I don't know when I'll be able to trust Winnie--she's my most untrustworthy bully so far!! Oh yeah, she can jump over the baby gates!!

Winnie.

 

[brutus77]

My answer is NEVER! My monsters need adult supervison at all times. If it is quiet and at least one bulldog is not in plain view, run for your life the house is probably on fire!!

 

[YHSublime]

Taco has free reign in the condo and we do not crate. We keep the bathroom doors shut as he loves the toilet/shower water. He jumped in the shower with me this morning while I was getting ready for work. Nothing like a wet bully while you are in a rush!