If in doubt, put the dog away
If you are not actively supervising your puppy, your young dog, your new dog or your dog that is in training for some sort of behavioural challenge, just put them away. This could look like a crate, a puppy pen, a kennel and run or just a secure room in the house away from things they could get into mischief with.
When your dog is in their crate, kennel and run, puppy pen or other secure area they are not learning how to:
👠 Chew your shoes
🚽 Toilet on your carpet
🚨 Bark at people passing by at the window or fence
🚧 Dig in the garden
🍔 Jump on the counter
🗑️ Eat things they shouldn’t
🐕 Roam the neighbourhood
☠️ Chase the cat/chickens/stock
All of these things are self reinforcing behaviours. This means the dog enjoys it, and if allowed then they’re just going to keep doing it. With each repetition, the behaviour gets stronger - meaning more friction for your relationship, potential health risks for your dog and a more challenging issue to try correct later.
By putting the dog away when we aren’t watching them, they are safely contained out of mischief. Then when you are actively supervising, with your eyes on the dog and a way to enforce your boundaries (ie a leash), you can shift them away from these activities and into behaviours they should be practicing instead to create more appropriate habits.
❓“But isn’t it cruel to lock my dog up? I wouldn’t want to be in a cage!”❓
If that’s the dogs whole life, then yes - being in there all day every single day with little to no fulfilment in sight is cruel. That’s not how dogs are made to live and presents a genuine welfare issue long term which can also create behavioural issues. Containment isn’t a replacement for the effort and responsibilities of dog ownership, it’s a part of it.
If you’re putting the time into your dog to ensure they are actually living the fulfilled life they were born for while you are supervising - that’s mental work (training!) and physical exercise - then having downtime in the containment area while you’re not actively watching is the opposite of cruel. It’s keeping them physically safe, preventing rehearsal of these unwanted behaviours, teaching them to chill out & preserving your relationship without the additional fallout from these frustrating and expensive but preventable behavioural challenges. Everyone wins.
Helpfully, dogs natural sleep/wake cycles have them as most active around dawn-dusk, with natural rest time in between. If you’ve fulfilled your dog then they should be ready to chill most of the time you’re gone.
However if you are worried about how long they’re being contained, set up your containment area to allow for their needs to be met while you’re away (eg a kennel outside with access to grass, a laundry crate to pen outside situation, or a kennel and run) and/or try popping home at lunch to let them out if that’s possible, having a friend/family member come check on them or engaging the services of a pet sitter or dog walker to support you - especially with young pups still adjusting to toileting schedules. There are ways to make it work in any situation, they really don’t need free run of the house and garden unsupervised.
🎓Gradually you might give them more freedom as they are trusted with well established good habits in place, which is a lot easier and more pleasant for everyone than trying to restrict and correct once an issue has already been established and well practiced. 🏆
If in doubt, just put the dog away and prevent the issues before they even start.
