When did you first allow your dog free run of the house? My pup is 10 weeks old, is litter trained, and we keep him in a wire pen 10-feet by 6-feet when not directly supervised. But he's curious and chews on anything in sight, so I don't think he's ready to have access to the house.
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- Thread starter harry gilbert
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My puppy has had free rein over the house since probably 10 or 12 weeks old (unless we weren't home). He had his accidents up until 3 or 4 months old, but over all did extremely well with house training. I can only think of two things he chewed up as a puppy: A $20 bill (which thankfully the bank replaced) and he chewed on the recliner handle a smidge.
ETA: I say puppy, but he's 6 years old now.
ETA: I say puppy, but he's 6 years old now.
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Get him chew toys that will help a lot. You just have to firmly correct him when he chews on stuff then give him his chew toy and praise him for chewing that. You can get the kind of toy that you can put treat in that helps too.
Out of curiosity, what kind of pup do you have, Harry?
Doing that now. Unfortunately, I let him chew on my hands the first few weeks, but I'm breaking him of that habit. He is always so gentle with me that I really don't mind, but more knowledgeable people said not to allow it. Got him 5 different chew toys that vary in hardness, and some squeak when chewed. He loves to play fetch with a squeaky small basketball.
Get some Bitter Apple spray. Works great.
Mine (Boston Terrier) was 2 years old before I gave him free reign of the house. At first he was crate trained. Slowly after the first year I started leaving him out for short periods of time when I left. At about age 3 I could stop worrying about him destroying anything and being gone for long periods of time.
This. The first time our puppy picked up one of my shoes, he found out it would swat him in the nose. The only thing he chewed that he wasn't supposed to was a stuffed animal one of the cats must have knocked off the shelf, and since most of his toys were stuffed animals I can't really blame him for not knowing the difference. This was a Lab, btw.
Mine has ran free since I brought him home at 8 weeks. I just kept a close eye on him until 10 weeks b/c his bladder was so small. He's 15 wks now and he's great . I've never crated my dogs either
We let ours have the run of the house as long as someone is home. If she is going to be home alone for a short period we have gates we put up that keeps her to the living room and dining room. for longer periods she is in her oversize crate with a couple of toys. she has been doing this since about 10 weeks or so
I think the rule of thumb if I remember reading correctly is they need to be able to go 45 Days straight without going #1/#2 in the house.
I wanna say we waited a good 6 months maybe more. You'll know when your dog is ready though.
I wanna say we waited a good 6 months maybe more. You'll know when your dog is ready though.
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Put a gate up, so he has the run of the den (with 30 year old carpet) and the kitchen (with linoleum floor). We'll see how he does there first. Thanks everyone for your advice.
Wait wait wait a second! Your dog ate a 20 dollar bill and you got your bank to replace it? how does that work?
My lab is 11 months now and we are slowly leaving him out for longer periods of time. hes up to 2.5 hours now. We tried leaving him out at 7 months with about a DOZEN chew toys and bones. 8 hours later I came home from work to a 2'X3' hole in my carpet in my bedroom. We also have a 3-4 month old puppy that will not be left alone for another several months until he is completely over the chewing phase. I did leave him unsupervised for about 20 mins and he had already pulled the carpet in my living room up off the floor....my dogs live in crates when Im not home.
Edit: BTW, my last dog ate my linoleum in my kitchen so just be warned, a semi large dog will have no problem getting that stuff off the concrete and scattering it all over your house.
Edit: BTW, my last dog ate my linoleum in my kitchen so just be warned, a semi large dog will have no problem getting that stuff off the concrete and scattering it all over your house.
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Gizmo weighed 4.1 pounds last week, and will probably top out under 10...
I gave him laxative and waited until he shit it out, how else?....
I kid, I kid. He didn't eat it, he just mangled it pretty badly.
I let my shepard run free in the house at 6 weeks old. I went for a 7 mile walk and came home, my couch was everywhere. She did not eat my couch till she was 8 months old. After that she never did anything again.Other then stuffed animals and things no big deal. As soon as I get dogs I teach them the house rules, no different from having a kid. You teach them what not to touch etc. Mistakes happen and you move on
if he is the breed I think he is 12 is more like it. he looks like a shih tzu mix. Actually looks a lot like ours which is a coton tzu ... (hybrid)
You're 63 and asking such a question?
Get a cat.
Get a cat.
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