# When did you leave your GSD out of the crate full time?



## HankGSD

Hank is crated for 9 hours when I am at work. He has slept out of his crate in my room with me at night almost since the first week I brought him home with no problems at all. Last month when he was 10 months I started leaving him out an hour here and there when I left the house and worked up to 3 hours one day again with no problems except he seemed a little overexcited when we got home. When he is in the crate and I come home he just lays there and watches me calmly until I open the crate door. Anyway, I decided a few weeks ago to leave him out when I went to work and it lasted about 4 hours until I got a call from ADT that my alarm was going off. Of all things to get into, he had nibbled the wires on the teeny tiny alarm sensor on the sliding glass door. So back in the crate he went. My question is what is the average age members of this forum left their dogs out of the crate full time? My goal was to have him out by one year. Thanks for any input!


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## Wolfiesmom

Wolfie is a little older than Hank and I am just starting to leave him out of his crate at night. I haven't tried to leave him alone in the house yet. I still think he's too immature, and he has never given me a reason not to trust him.


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## KZoppa

Riley is 6 years old and the only way we can leave him out of the crate when we're gone is if we hide everything in the kitchen, rearrange all the trashcans in the house behind closed doors and lock child lock the fridge lol. he hasnt slept out of his crate in a few months either but thats because he prefers sleeping in there now than outside it. Shasta is 14 months old and still not reliable outside her crate at night so i'm REALLY not chancing it while we're gone and wont hear her getting into her mischief.


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## cta

when he was a baby he slept in his cage until about 9 or 10 months. out of the cage all day...14 or 15 months. but EVERYTHING needs to be out of his reach and he only has access to the kitchen and bedroom. i tried when he was a little over a year and he ate a hole in the drywall in the kitchen, so after that it was back to the cage for a while. mine was also crated during the day while we worked and it just got to the point that he and i both hated it (as soon i turned on my blow dryer to do my hair he would hide under the table), so i gave it a little more time and then tried again. ever since then he's been good. but believe me...these dogs will find something you don't even think twice about and get into it. gotta love 'em. good luck!


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## onyx'girl

Both Onyx and Karlo were crate free at around 7 months. 
But my dogs have all proven themselves not to be destructive and are good when left alone. 
They do have accidents now and then...not sure who but our lower level is the destination. We had severe storms roll thru the other night and in the morning there was a potty spot. Luckily I have a good steam cleaner. I think it was Kacie as she is storm fearful. Karlo would have shot it all over, and he has never ever marked in the house.
I would do the short segments of time and see how it goes. I did the overnight cratefree too before leaving the pups alone when we work. 

I have three dogs, so it gets a bit more complicated when there may be some 'feeding off each other' w/ naughty behaviors. I also worried a bit about fighting, but my dogs only posture or show attitude when I'm around. They never do it when my husband is watching them. Same goes for my African Grey, he makes a horrid noise when I'm home, never does it when I'm gone(I was away all last week and my husband said he didn't do it once!)
I also keep garbages in cabinets, no food left on counters, but we have a basket with chips and snacks, the dogs have never tore into them whatsoever. 
They have gotten into the room where the cat food is, that is about the extent of their naughty behaviors and it doesn't happen very often.


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## Bunch of Rascals

Frankie is within a few weeks of Hank and I definitely don't leave him out yet. I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home all day with him and the kids so the only time he is in his crate is when we go to the store and at night. He just chews things he knows he's not supposed to. He won't do it when we are home but I have tried to leave him for an hour or so and I almost always come home to chewed up toys or my flip flops...he has chewed up all but one pair. Not a happy mama. Also dangerous for him. I have recently started letting him sleep in our room during the night and am going to leave it at that for awhile...with the baby gate up at the door. I am curious to hear the average others have let theirs roam free.

Edit: I have tried to pick up anything that I think he will get into but he will get into the "goodie" baskets.


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## Stosh

I stopped crating Stosh at night or when I left when he was 11 mos, but it was when he had gotten shot in the face and he was snorting blood out of his nostril. I was afraid to keep him confined and not able to get in the proper position to sneeze or snort. He was in no shape to misbehave but he hadn't been destructive ever before.


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## GSDAlphaMom

All of mine were able to sleep out of crate at night at 5 months. Out of crate during the day (alone) is a different story. I test them at a year but typically for mine it's around 15 - 18 months before they are fully trust worthy alone all day.


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## Emoore

Kopper was able to stay out of the crate with us gone at five months, but I have a very strong suspicion that Rocky keeps him in line and regulates if he tries to tear up anything. I've never heard of another pup being left out that young, and Rocky's bossy like that.


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## TheNamesNelson

I stopped crating my pup at 4 months or so. Only had a couple incidents, once he chewed on a chair and once he chewed up his dog bed. He is 17 months about and I leave him for 9 hours in my apartment while I am at work and he is just fine. He also isn't a chewer and he has a very mild temperament indoors.


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## dogfaeries

My girls are 14 months and 18 months and we finally leave them out at night. The first night they seemed really confused, and Carly kept prowling around, but they seem fine now.


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## HankGSD

Emoore said:


> Kopper was able to stay out of the crate with us gone at five months, but I have a very strong suspicion that Rocky keeps him in line and regulates if he tries to tear up anything. I've never heard of another pup being left out that young, and Rocky's bossy like that.


That's funny! 

Sounds like Hank's doing great as far as having been out of the crate at night for so long. Sometimes I actually have to make him get his butt up to go outside for a potty around 6 a.m.; he still wants to sleep!

I am thinking I will try another day at work perhaps when he turns a year. The areas of the house he has access to are pretty much dog proofed (cabinets with trash and chemicals are baby proofed, and no food, etc., left out) but there is always the couch, kitchen table (or alarm sensors) to chomp on.


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## stolibaby

Stoli is just about 14 mos and we are now working on him being left alone on his own....he hasn't slept in a crate ever sinc I got him at 3 mos so that has always been nice... but as of now we're at about an hour with him being left alone with ALL the doors shut and his toys spread out lol


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## Anja1Blue

Conor was 6 months old when we adopted him. He only stayed in a crate at night for about a week, and we never had a problem after that. As far as leaving him in a crate when we weren't there to supervise, that probably went on until he was about a year old. He was never left there for more than a couple of hours at a time however, I'm not a fan of crating dogs for long periods and have never done it.
_________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD 
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## LaRen616

A couple of days after he turned 2 years old.


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## DnP

Dakota was around 6 months old when he was sleeping outside of the crate at night. He was about 13-14 months old when he was out of the crate during the day. I started the process when he was a year old, giving him one room at a time.


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## PaddyD

Abby was out of her crate at night at around 5 months. She was out of her crate during the day at around 6 months. Only one chewing incident that was no biggie and no mistakes.


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## Backwoodz_ACO

Jerry Lee is three years old and now fully out of his crate....night and day. He was housebroken right at 1 year but he still had chewing issues and would tear up shoes, screens, wires, etc. basically whatever he could get his mouth on. If he doesn't get enough exercise or if he is bored he will still chew things, which is why I give him a lot of toys when I leave for the day.

The best advice I can give you is to keep trying him/her out in small areas of your house and only leave for an hour at a time and praise him/her whenever you come home and nothing is chewed up. Also when you leave the house don't make it a big deal because then your dog could begin suffering from seperation anxiety, which will cause you to never to be able to leave your dog out of the crate without something being chewed when you come back. 

Good Luck


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## snoop

Mine has been sleeping out of the crate since he was 3 months, no accidents or anything yet and he doesn't wake me up unitl I get up.

I crate him when I'm not home though.


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## doggiedad

i think being left out of the crate depends on the
individual dog and their training. my pup had free run 
the house from day one (we live in a small house).
even though my pup had free run of the house
he was never in a room alone. we kept him in our sight.
he was crated at night or whenever we couldn't watch
him. i started leaving him out of the crate when we weren't
home at 4 months old. everything >>> was fine untill
he turned 8 months old.<<<< at 8 months old he decided
to eat the house and everything in it. so we crated him
again. at 8 months old he was only crated when we weren't home.
he was crated from 8 months old to 1 yr old or maybe longer.
after that everything has been fine.


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## Daisy

My girl is 3 and she is still crated when we are at work. She does great out of the kennel; we think she hangs out on the sofa or by the front door. However, whenever we try to keep her out of the kennel permanently, by day 3, she'll find something to destroy or eat. Just last week when we tried again, b/t the time I left for work and when my daughter got up (a 15 minute timeframe) she grabbed a pillow off of the sofa and destroyed it. So, unfortunately, we leave her crated.

Are there any safe toys that can be left out with them all day?


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## kiya

I confined my pups in the kitchen when I'm at work, crate for bedtime. I started leaving the crate door open at night probably around 6months old. We took the crate down shortly after. Lakota's been free at night since then. I still confine her to the kitchen if I'm going to be gone for any lenght of time, she has destructive tendencys so I don't trust her 100% short outtings are fine but I wouldn't leave her loose in my house for anything longer than a few hours.


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## HankGSD

Thanks for all the responses. It certainly does seem to depend on the individual dog. I will continue the short periods and maybe try another work day when he is around a year. He will be gated or shut out of all but two rooms and a hallway, all of which are relatively dog-proofed, but there are still chair legs and couches and molding, etc., he could destroy. He has rarely been destructive and often seems to only start gnawing on something to get attention; such as getting after the couch when I am watching TV or getting after a table leg when we're trying to eat dinner.

I still feel guilt having to confine him to a crate, and I have felt guilt ever since he was a pup and screamed when I put him in. Now, though, I do know he doesn't mind his crate and in fact considers it a his "place." The one day I did try to leave him out for work and had the incident with the alarm sensor, he had actually run into his crate when he saw me in my work clothes. 

Yesterday I left him for about an hour while I did errands. When I came home, he was lying down right next to the gate at the back door waiting for me. The floor was quite warm where he had been so I think he was there the whole time waiting for me.


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## JanaeUlva

I think it sounds like you are doing a good job of assessing your situation because, as you and others already stated, it depends on the dog. Minka started sleeping out of her crate at 5 months. Leaving her home while I was gone started soon after and for short periods of time. Eventually the time is extended. The one thing I always made sure of was that she was well exercised prior to being left alone. We get up every morning before work and train/play. Then she seems content to rest until I or my hubby gets home. The house is dog proofed, and in the beginning I closed off certain rooms like the room with all the plants. I do have a nice (really rugged) kennel outside with a homemade really rugged dog house that she stays in on nice days, while I'm gone. It is obvious to me that there was a little chewing on the dog house platform, but otherwise all is good. She never had a potty accident in the house but an old dog bed was ripped up, twice. Guess she didn't like the old beds  she leaves the new one alone. I have to say I love the kennel for transitioning to being alone and out of a crate during the day. Stimulating view with no ability to practice bad behavior in the house.


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## spidermilk

Dax is 1.5 now and gets to stay out of his crate but in our room at night, and is left free in our house during the day. However, me, my roomies, and my DH have different schedules so the time he is actually alone is minimal. We worked up to it by letting him out of his crate for a few minutes while we stepped out but staying in our room with the door closed. Then a few hours in the room, then all day, now he can do all day in our home.

However, if we are going on a day trip and can't take him I keep him in our room or crate- I worry that he will get too bored/restless and get in trouble (one of the roomies can take him out a few times). Or if I know that one of our room mates is going to have company over- I don't trust strangers to be smart about dog body language (too many people have come over and barked at my dog!). Additionally, Dax has never had a problem with chewing furniture, wires, getting in the trash, etc. (I guess he is just too spoiled with lots of toys...)


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## 1sttimeforgsd

My boy Ace was never crated at night, from the time he came to live with us at 8 wks he slept on his bed on the floor beside my bed. I had a baby gate across the bedroom door to confine him to my room. The only time I used a crate was when we had to be gone and he stayed in a crate then. He graduated from the crate to being free in the bedroom at 9-10 mo, then after that he had free run of the house from 10 mo on. The only bad thing that he has done is that he clawed runs in a throw rug while I was at the hospital when my DH had a stent put in. He is now almost 14 mo old and so far no accidents or marking. Of course I think it helps to have 2 older sisters to keep him in line when I'm gone.


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## Redhawk

Tav was left out the crate when I leave the house at 10 weeks old.

She is gated into the dining room though, as its the only room in the house without electrical wires. From the day she came home I had already sprayed the dining room chair, table legs, chair cushions and baseboards with bitter apple as a proactive measure, so she never got a chance to chew them. I gave a few verbal corrections the first week she was home and she ignores them all now, just chews her bully stick. Having said that, I'm only ever gone a few hours and I walk her immediately before hand, so I'm pretty sure she just sleeps when I'm gone anyway.

The bitter apple you have to renew every week or 5 days I think. I haven't left her out in any other room by herself as there are wires and that is always my biggest concern. I imagine it will be quite some time before I feel comfortable with that. She is crated at night because of wires in the bedroom.

RH


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## JakodaCD OA

I'll go thru my past and now pack Jake & Kodi never crated them tho they were crate trained..Got Sami, 12 weeks old, flunked nightime crating, but I kept her crated when no one was home until oh, maybe 5mths of age,,she earned her freedom

Dodge, again, flunked nighttime crate training,,he was crated when no one home until he was around 6 months.

Jynx aussie>>down to three dogs when I got her, crated until she was around a year.

Masi, FIRST one I night time crated in my room..Only because Dodge was elderly by then, she would have bugged him all nite long She was crated when I was gone until Dodge passed, about a year later,,hasn't been since..

I now just have Masi, Jynx who are loose always,,Jag (male aussie) who is almost 11, he is NEVER loose and ALWAYS crated when no one is home, he has displaced aggression, and goes bonkers if someone comes around..So while he doesn't destroy anything (nor have any of my uncrated dogs),, it's safer for him and the girls if he is crated while unsupervised.

So on average, all my dogs(xcept Jag) have earned free roam of the house when no one is home at around 6 months of age..I have been lucky to have not had destructive dogs


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## Caledon

Dakota just turned 3 and she has been out of her crate at night for about 6 months. We leave her out during the day when we are gone on short trips.

If we did not have cats we would have done this a lot sooner. It took a long time for her to become best friends with one of them, and the second one shows no signs of friendship. Dakota has proven reliable not to go upstairs (cats free haven) so this freedom from the crate will be extended.


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## HankGSD

I thought I would give an update; Hank has been out of his crate full time since last week with no problems at all. I actually think he sleeps on the couch right next to his crate for a majority of the time.


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## WarrantsWifey

Killian is 13 months and he can't be trusted. He won't be trusted out of his kennel till he's geriatric. LMBO!! He has too much energy and he NEEDS to be watched all the time!!


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## VaBeachFamily

Cullen is almost 21 months old, and I think he has been left out of the crate when we sleep since he was... well about 6 months. He was always good about sleeping near someone's bed all night. Since he was about 7-8 months, we would leave him for SHORT times ( run to the post office, grocery, etc). In February ( I guess he was about 14 months old) we started leaving him out when we went to work, and we had a few small incidents ( chewing rug corner, tearing up his bed, getting into the sink ( yes, he can turn the faucet on and get his own water, but hasn't learned to turn it OFF when done). Only took a few " what have you done" looks, and he is now perfect! We actually packed up his crate since then, only using it when we visited Illinois last month because they also have dogs, but otherwise he hasn't been in one for quite some time, though I think Panzer will be QUITE a bit older when we trust her that much. I think it just depends on the individual!


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## HankGSD

VaBeachFamily said:


> getting into the sink ( yes, he can turn the faucet on and get his own water, but hasn't learned to turn it OFF when done).


That is funny!


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## paulag1955

Shasta is okay out of her crate a night when she sleeps on our bed. The bedroom door is open and she never goes anywhere else. We've never tried leaving her home alone, though. She would probably be fine but I'd rather be safe than have to be upset because she'd ruined something valuable.


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## hunterisgreat

I test if they are ready at 1 year of age... Jager did fine and hasn't been back sense, Katya struggled with freedom at first, but has finally learned to behave, and Aska is currently crated when I'm not home b/c she's an adult, and... 2 bitches ya know.. I don't want to risk any trouble while I'm gone. Freedom is earned through trust in my house. She'll be free soon once I am comfortable with the dogs socialization


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## ninemaplefarm

We leave our 4 month old out of crate during the day from 2 to 8 hours alone but we have a dog door so she can go in and out at will into large fenced in backyard (where there are more of her toys). She has never had an accident or chewed anything inappropriate. BUT- we leave tons of her chew toys on the floor inside and leave her with a bully stick....


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## SunCzarina

Otto eats in his crate but he's rarely been in otherwise since he was 5 months old. He's been allowed free in the kitchen since about 5 months. Chewed up a couple pairs of glasses and some homework but did no real damage. He was barely 1 when I started letting him 'pull guard' - meaning free reign of the house except the kitchen. 

I keep my dogs separated when I'm not home. Not that I don't trust them together, I just don't like coming home to find the rugs all thrown around.

Morgan is a totally different story. I kept her crated when I wasn't home until she was 3. She used to enjoy doing home un-improvement. 

We kept trying to see if she was ready - 

Stripped the tiles off my kitchen floor one day. Another time we tried to leave her alone, she took one of my plants and played with the container. 

Yet another time we left her alone in the kitchen with a sunday paper and half a box of hostess donuts. We had no idea how she made such a mess in such a short time. Sticky goey donut papermache all over the beadboard. Ripped a cassette out of the portable radio - competely wrecked the radio. Yanked the phone off of the wall, ate the receiver and the cord. Sticky donut goop all over the fridge handle. 

It was such a mess and since she'd already ripped the tile off the floor, we had to reno the kitchen!


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## VaBeachFamily

HankGSD said:


> That is funny!


Sometimes, it is LOL. My family and friends think it is hilarious, but we have since had to teach him to stay OUT of the kitchen, or we will wake up to a faucet that has been on all night, or come home to it! He is smart, sometimes TOO smart!


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## HankGSD

I find it humorous that now that Hank is out he sleeps right next to his crate while I am at work. The door is open for him if he wants to go in, but he obviously prefers the comfy couch. I have to think he does get up and get some water now and then, but fortunately no mischief (knock on wood!)

Funny how their behavior at age one does seem to change almost overnight.


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## tjzick

u have to train ur dog so well to trust them. if theres one thing i know about GSDs. theyll eat anything if they think they can get by with it... drywall, sheetrock, tables, chuihahas, shoes, rugs.


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## VaBeachFamily

tjzick said:


> u have to train ur dog so well to trust them. if theres one thing i know about GSDs. theyll eat anything if they think they can get by with it... drywall, sheetrock, tables, chuihahas, shoes, rugs.


LOL at Chihuahuas!


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## tjzick

VaBeachFamily said:


> LOL at Chihuahuas!


seriously my mother has a chihauha named miguel. my 5 month old gsd will try and play nice with it and the lil rat will get nasty with him and bite him. one of these days tony will put him in his mouth and ill do the jig. i love dogs... just not all of em lol.


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## JLOCKHART29

Auron is 15 months and I am now leting him out at night with the crate door open to keep watch over the house while we sleep. Only accident he ever had was not an accident. Got mad at the cat because he ran under the bed and just hiked his leg up at him and let it rip!! Never been a chewer except his toys. He is and all ways will be kept in crate or pen when we are gone somewhere not to keep him from destroying something but to keep the boundaries understood that this is MY house YOUR crate. Your freedom comes from me when and how I decide. Saves on lots of problems.


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## MicheleMarie

my boy is 8 months and i don't trust him yet...not even for an hour. they are with me all day at work NOT crated...he is pretty much only crated at night...so 7-8 hours. sometimes before i go to sleep he'll go in there and lay down.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Mine are 6 years old and nearly 3, and they still sleep in crates in our bedroom. They're both reliable, but they like their crates and we like being able to decide what time they get up in the morning! We're up early on work days, but I like to sleep in on the weekend, and they stay quiet in their crates until I let them out. Keefer has been out of his crate at night a few times, and he likes to come over to the bed and stick his nose in my eye to make sure I'm still there and everything's okay. :wub: 

I'll probably never let them loose in the house when we're not there, that's the cats' domain. The dogs have an enclosure in the garage with a dog door to an outside run.


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## Dooney's Mom

Dooney is almost 8 months, and if I didn't have cats I could trust her to be out of her crate during the day i think. In fact I did have her out until she got into the wine bottle chasing the cats through the house (that story is posted under another thread) i sure do hope I can leave her out of her crate soon. Today i came home and she had busted the lock on the bottom of her crate, but the top one stayed locked- so she got her head out of the bottom and proceeded to eat the carpet by her cage, so now we have a NICE BIG hole in the carpet.... I don't know what i am going to do with her! Maybe i will crate the cats and give her free roam, LOL. I wish i didn't have such an open floorplan of a house because i would love to gate her in one room- pretty sure she would just jump the gate though.

Some of you have given me hope that one day she can be trusted, others of you have me petrified she will be have to be crated into old age- LOL


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## steven

It it not somewhat cruel to confine a full grown GSD to a small "cage" when you are out at work all day? 9 hours in a confined box where they can basically only lie down just seems cruel to me?

Why not gate off a dog friendly room so they can at least stand up, move around and feel like they have SOME freedom ?


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## Emoore

steven said:


> It it not somewhat cruel to confine a full grown GSD to a small "cage" when you are out at work all day? 9 hours in a confined box where they can basically only lie down just seems cruel to me?
> 
> Why not gate off a dog friendly room so they can at least stand up, move around and feel like they have SOME freedom ?


I tend to agree with you. After 9 years of dog ownership, our house is _very_ dog-friendly. Hard-surface floors everywhere except the bedrooms and everything fragile or valuable is locked away. My dogs have access to the whole non-carpeted area while I'm gone. There's just not much out that they can get into. The trash is locked in the pantry, shoes are in the closets, etc. I make sure to leave bones and stuff lying around that's more fun to chew on than the carpets. Once they don't pee on the floor or gnaw on the furniture, they're free.


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## steven

I think this may be a cultural thing but in Australia most dog owners leave there dogs in the backyard throughout the day... it seem's this isn't a common practice in the US?

I plan on crating my puppy till she is old enough to be outside (6-7 months) our backyard will be secure and she will have room to run around and play with toys as well as an outside bed kennel to sleep in.


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## Emoore

steven said:


> I think this may be a cultural thing but in Australia most dog owners leave there dogs in the backyard throughout the day... it seem's this isn't a common practice in the US?
> 
> I plan on crating my puppy till she is old enough to be outside (6-7 months) our backyard will be secure and she will have room to run around and play with toys as well as an outside bed kennel to sleep in.


I think it depends _a lot_ on a) where you live and b) how you perceive the dog.

I don't know what part of Australia you're in, but here in Texas it's pretty much unbearable outside from May to September. We just recently broke 50 days of over 100 degrees f (about 38 celcius) and no rain. A couple of dogs in my neighborhood died in the heat because there aren't many trees. 

It's also important to remember that outside dogs get stinky. There's no way around it. If you intend to spend a lot of time with the dog and make her a member of your family, keeping her inside is important, because if she's outside 8 or 9 hours a day she will smell and be more likely to pick up fleas and ticks. 

Many of my neighbors have outside dogs, but they're not really part of the family. They don't come in the house when the owners are home, and nobody really does anything with them. Because they stink. And because when you _do_ finally let them inside, they go crazy and knock over the kids and the furniture. And, well, outside dogs have a bad habit of dying when it's over 110f (43 celcius) and there's no shade.


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## UConnGSD

At night: We removed Wolfie's crate on his second birthday and he pretty much sleeps most nights on our bed. Thankfully, he wakes up when I wake up, so this is not a problem.

During the daytime: I haven't crated him since he was 3 months old. What I did instead was corral him in a puppy-proofed kitchen using these massive barriers from Orvis. I made sure I wasn't leaving him alone for too long. Barring a few accidents, he held his pee and poop. 

These barriers were movable. So, I could increase his freedom based on the accidents. Accident-free for a week: barriers move out a little bit. Otherwise: barriers get adjusted inwards. We did have a few jail breaks though because I didn't set up the barriers right. Eventually, he had the whole kitchen to himself. 

Then I did the same thing for the adjoining den. Soon, he had the run of the kitchen and den. Sure, we sacrificed a few things (TV remotes, books, napkin holder, water jug, a bag of tomatoes, a few pretzels) along the way but they were just things, all replaceable and we made sure there were nothing deadly. The baseboards were liberally sprayed with bitter apple, as were the barriers.


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## GSDkid

Abby started sleeping outside of her crate at night since she was 6 months. She's been great. I attempted to leave her in the house a few times by herself, just for a small amount of time (15 minutes). First attempt, we went shopping and came back. We were just searching for something gone wrong but she did great. Second attempt, came back home and the trash can was tipped over. 3 times a charm right? Third attempt, she climbed on our couch and chewed on a bunch of things on our shelf. Haven't left her out since. lol. Maybe she was just confused for the first time. Afterwards, she must've been like, "Mom and Dad's not home! Let's party!!!"


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## Lenny

Lenny is 9 and I think we started leaving her out and having free run around 2-ish. She never really chewed thing so we've been pretty lucky.


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## Stella's Mom

Stella is 9 months and we started leaving her out of the crate full time about 4-5 weeks ago. We were only putting her in at bed time, but we stopped doing that too. Now she only goes in the crate when the house is being cleaned by 2 girls that come every 2 weeks. One is pregnant and Stella always wants to jump on her.

We have 2 cats and I trust her with them too. They like her a lot and she is good with them.


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## Discoetheque

Discoe began sleeping crate-free around 6 months old. At that time, I would leave the crate door open but shut the door to my room so that she had free reign of the room. Eventually, I would shut off the doors to the living room, bathroom and third bedroom and leave the bedroom door open at night, and she would have the bedroom and hallway open (as in the summer, the marble tile is cooler to lay on than the rug in my room.
I started leaving her uncrated while I ran short errands at around fourteen or fifteen months, and would block off the kitchen and the bedrooms that aren't mine so that she would have my room, the hallway and the living room free to roam. She never touched anything, so we began slowly extending that time that she would be left loose. An hour or two spent shopping, a three or four hour short shift at work. Eventually, I would leave her loose for full shifts at work and she's been crate-free ever since. As far as I can tell, she doesn't do much when she's home by herself besides haul all her toys to the back room and apparently have a party with them there.


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## Daisy

Our girl has been out of her crate when nobody is home full-time since August. No problems except if we don't give her enough exercise, then she'll find something to do like pull something down from the counter in the kitchen, etc. But she's been great thus far. The only reason we've kept her crate out is b/c that is where she eats so I can keep her separate from our other dog during meal time (but I don't shut her in there, she goes in eats, then leaves it). Other than that, she never goes near her crate. She's almost 3 1/2.


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## Cammotwin

Harley is 7mo and in the crate at night and while we're at work. She was left out of the crate with the bedroom door closed with my fiancee while I was out for the night. By 1am she chomped 3 inches off the corner of my nightstand while he slept soundly beside her. I doubt she will ever have freedom. It seems she has to have something in her mouth at all times. 
4 yo Sidney was free since quite young at has old house. Unfortunately after throwing himself a 3rd birthday party with my new Nordstroms leather boots, a few Partylight candles, a giant Reesies peanutbutter heart, Runts, Gobstoppers, and Mike & Ikes all of which he opened the boxes of each item himself better than I could, he's put in the crate anytime we leave the house. The few times we tried to let him gave freedom, he searched out bread products and marshmallows to play with then stuff in the couch hole. If he gets sugar, he has horrible accidents 24hrs later. I feel its better to prevent than to have the house destroyed. Now they sleep during the day outside of the crates on the weekends because its the schedule they're used to.


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## WyndRyder

I brought Ryder home when he was 8 weeks, I was lucky enough to have been unemployment for 6 months when he became a part of my family. I started crateing him immediately, at night and for short periods during the day. Ryder would be locked up for up to 4 hrs until he could make it all day. I always walk him twice a day, this helps for any and almost all behavior problems. A sleepy dog is a good dog. The first few times he was left unattended he had some small incidents a pair of shoe laces fell victim to the jaws of the GSD. We only had a couple issues, with yelping from in the crate, and actualy he loves his crate now. He sleeps in the crate at night in my room beside the bed door open, sometimes on the floor. We will have a 30-45 min walk in the morning, I'm off to work for 8 to 10 hrs while Ryder stays home unattended with access to the full house about 6 months old, and he will generally sleep in his crate all day while I work. Although he has access to the whole house he chooses to sleep in his crate, this is because te crate is his safe place, he feels secure there. When I come home he comes charging from my room and his crate to greet me an we go for another walk some fetch and play time. Again expending energy he's not pent up, he's able to relax. Hope this helps


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## jae

My 6mo boy has been uncrated since 4.5mo, albeit, in his own room. I am out of the house for at least half a day, so I can't come back to let him out; there is a door to go outside. 

I tried leaving the door shut when I was able to get someone to come midday, and he pooped everywhere in the second room, thankfully was marble but still got in the grout . 

He now knows very well what he should be chewing, doesn't mean he won't get to some papers once in a while; but he will leave the food tub alone, it's right next to his crate. I think he does nothing for the most part, his water is left mostly untouched and the minute I get home he goes straight for it. But now, he has access to 3 rooms if I am out sometimes. I've also started letting him roam the 3 at night, but he'll just stay in my bedroom.


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## GraceLiu91

I've been crating my pup since I brought him home. I still crate him til this very day and he is a 1 1/2 now. He loves his crate, but as soon as I leave the house, he goes bonkers. He chews at the crate, everything around it, and manages to move the crate out of the room... He has the worst separation anxiety and I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. Tried everything, and the thing is when everyone's home he is independent he stays in rooms by himself.


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## katdog5911

STella, 14 months, is always in the crate when no one is home. Fortunately that means not often. I am home till 4 PM and my dh gets home between 4 and 6 usually. She has done a 4 hour stretch every now and then. She sleeps free in the bedroom. I was thinking of trying to leave her loose for a short time but after reading some of the posts, I am rethinking that! She will find things to chew if she is bored....mostly she just moves my shoes around and there are these 2 wooden coasters she does not want on my coffee table...And she has had it in for a wicker napkin holder....she finally got it the other night....and beware any cardboard boxes or napkins on the counter.


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## rooandtree

I've been lucky that my pup has been great and out of the crate since about 4.5 months ... Of course my dogs are only left alone 3 to 4 hours a day so maybe that's why we've been lucky


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## KatsMuse

As soon as they are potty trained, which is pretty quick and top priority.
I'm able to work from home so I haven't had any real issues.


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## Shaolin

Unfortunately, our boy is not allowed out of the kennel when we are not around. A very unfortunate situation with a very bad dog sitter stopped that...for now... We got him to about a year old when we would leave him out at night. After that, he did fine on his own. We left his kennel door open, but the kennel was covered, so he could go in and out as he pleased. It wasn't uncommon to have him enter his kennel at night when we all went to bed and not hear him leave it until either we woke up or he needed to go out.

Now, the only mandatory kennel times are when we aren't going to be home for longer than an hour, which is a huge improvement for something we struggled with in the beginning. At night, he lays at the top of the stairs, or in the room with my husband and I, or with my mother-in-law.


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## prockerb

Mine at 7 months when I was shure that he would never get in trouble!


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