About a month and a half ago, Matt came home from work with a picture of a cute, brindle and white pit-bull puppy. He claimed that this was the dog that he had always wanted and since I love dogs I agreed to get him! I picked him up that weekend and quickly noticed that he was going to keep us on our toes! When we got him he was three months old and already a pretty big puppy with HUGE feet that he was going to grow into. Within the first night he was already testing my patience; but that was okay because he was just a puppy and it was his first night in a new home with new rules. The next day we introduced him to my 3 year old Blue Heeler, Dove. She was not a fan at first but within a few days they were playing together with less and less issues. By Sunday evening we decided to name him Flank in honor of my husband’s bull riding addiction.
Then Monday rolled around and Matt and I were back to work. We both work at least 10 hours a day and that meant the puppy was going to spend those 10 hours in his crate. I did not think much of it because that’s what people all over the country do with their dogs while they are off to work, right? When we got home from work we would let him out and feed him and play with him inside and outside. We worked on teaching him his name and basic manners such as how to come when called and to leave the farm animals alone.
A few evenings later some issues started to arise. Flank didn’t want to sleep at night. He started to potty on the floor when we weren’t looking right after he had just been outside. His attention span decreased and we struggled with getting him to listen to us. I tried a few tricks such as giving him a toy to chew on or taking him out every half hour to get a few minutes exercise but none of them seemed to work. Finally, I tried playing what I call the “dinner game”. This is where I keep a pocket-full of dog food with me and the dog must earn each single piece of kibble. The game worked to keep him busy and to give his brain a good workout but it sure was time consuming!
The issues continued and I soon came to the realization that this lifestyle does not fit an active puppy. We were asking him to be locked up in his crate for 10 hours each day then to be let out to play for four or five hours just to go back into his crate for bed. This means that he was spending 18+ hours a day in his crate! What kind of life is that for a puppy?
The lesson that I learned is that dogs NEED to be dogs. They need to play, explore, learn, interact, etc. A dog can barely do any of those things while locked up in a crate for 90% of the day. When dogs are cooped up they have tons of stored up energy that they need to let out. It is our responsibility to understand that the dog is just being a dog, not necessarily a bad dog.
Our solution for now is to keep him in an outdoor kennel while we are at work. The kennel has plenty of shade, toys, fresh water, and food. We make sure that we spend plenty of time exercising and playing in the evenings. On the weekends we try our best to stay home and not lock him up for more than an hour at a time.
However, this is not my preferred method but it will work for now. I would rather be able to spend 90% of my days with Flank. Sadly though, I work a full time job that does not allow me to do so. What I would suggest for anyone else in the same dilemma would be to set up an outdoor kennel, hire a pet sitter, find a doggy day-care, etc. Hopefully my lessons learned can help someone else out who is having a similar issue. Remember, bad behavior in dogs is often not because of the dog but rather it is because of the owner.
Then Monday rolled around and Matt and I were back to work. We both work at least 10 hours a day and that meant the puppy was going to spend those 10 hours in his crate. I did not think much of it because that’s what people all over the country do with their dogs while they are off to work, right? When we got home from work we would let him out and feed him and play with him inside and outside. We worked on teaching him his name and basic manners such as how to come when called and to leave the farm animals alone.
A few evenings later some issues started to arise. Flank didn’t want to sleep at night. He started to potty on the floor when we weren’t looking right after he had just been outside. His attention span decreased and we struggled with getting him to listen to us. I tried a few tricks such as giving him a toy to chew on or taking him out every half hour to get a few minutes exercise but none of them seemed to work. Finally, I tried playing what I call the “dinner game”. This is where I keep a pocket-full of dog food with me and the dog must earn each single piece of kibble. The game worked to keep him busy and to give his brain a good workout but it sure was time consuming!
The issues continued and I soon came to the realization that this lifestyle does not fit an active puppy. We were asking him to be locked up in his crate for 10 hours each day then to be let out to play for four or five hours just to go back into his crate for bed. This means that he was spending 18+ hours a day in his crate! What kind of life is that for a puppy?
The lesson that I learned is that dogs NEED to be dogs. They need to play, explore, learn, interact, etc. A dog can barely do any of those things while locked up in a crate for 90% of the day. When dogs are cooped up they have tons of stored up energy that they need to let out. It is our responsibility to understand that the dog is just being a dog, not necessarily a bad dog.
Our solution for now is to keep him in an outdoor kennel while we are at work. The kennel has plenty of shade, toys, fresh water, and food. We make sure that we spend plenty of time exercising and playing in the evenings. On the weekends we try our best to stay home and not lock him up for more than an hour at a time.
However, this is not my preferred method but it will work for now. I would rather be able to spend 90% of my days with Flank. Sadly though, I work a full time job that does not allow me to do so. What I would suggest for anyone else in the same dilemma would be to set up an outdoor kennel, hire a pet sitter, find a doggy day-care, etc. Hopefully my lessons learned can help someone else out who is having a similar issue. Remember, bad behavior in dogs is often not because of the dog but rather it is because of the owner.