Dear Dog Lady,
I adopted Griselda, a nine pound female spayed rat terrier mix, from the SPCA about one month ago. She’s two or three years old. I leave her home with Gus, my five-year-old male rat terrier, for about nine hours a day from Monday to Friday. The little female is left in a crate and, on most days, she messes in the crate while I am gone. She has also had two to three accidents outside of the crate and those were my fault for not keeping closer tabs on her. There have also been two or three times when the crate was clean at the end of the day. She does not mess anything during the night. Am I expecting too much too soon from her?
Patty
A: Yes, you’re expecting too much and you’re not giving Griselda a chance to be successful. By keeping her in the crate for nine hours at a stretch without a break, you assume your rat terrier has a bionic bladder and bowels. You give her little choice but to soil her new digs.
For dogs, crate training is a college education. And we can assume she’s still working her way through kindergarten. You should hire someone responsible and trustworthy who can come in and take your dogs out during the day. The break will do them a world of good. In the meantime, read up about crate training.
One Response to “Patience Results In Happy Dog”
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Categories: Columns, Dog in the House
Posted on: Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 at 10:18 am
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Wow. NINE HOURS!!! Hire a dog walker. You are terrible. Might as well have left the dog at the SPCA.