Bulldogs World

Gizmo just turned 2 years old earlier this month, and she 'finally' has run of the house -

It only takes 2 minutes for a baby to get into something they shouldnt, or it could be 8 hours until they do.

Crate or some type of  X-pen -  if you give a puppy too much space (X-pen) it will have an area to 'go' and have messes -

We've had people post 'Help my puppy is tearing up my house' and they didnt want to Crate train because they felt it was cruel -  however - Dogs by nature like DEN'S    exactly what a crate is, a small area that they feel safe in.You are protecting the Puppy from the house, and the house from the puppy.

Do not feel guilty when you need to run errands, and you put your baby is in his crate - as they get older, you can 'trust' them a bit more give them a bit more freedom etc.

But for your answer - We never left Gizmo 'out and about' for several hours.  It was 30 minutes while I'm in the yard working (peeking in the windows to make sure she isnt up to no good) then it was 'quick run to pick up chinese'   and it progressed from there (slowly)  but again, she isnt really a 'puppy' anymore - no sharp teeth, and no destructive chewing (If I jixned myself I'm gonna blame you :P  ha ha ha) for a while.

i was actually lucky w/my archie...he was over a year when i got him...so leaving

him for a few hrs was not an issue...mind you i had guilty pleasure when he did see

me back he acted like it was years hevhadn't seen me...lol

We have a 19 week old also.  We leave him alone in his crate for about 4-5 hours at a time, 3 days a week.  He does good with that schedule.  Anymore than 3 days a week and he starts acting out.

we got Dozer when he was 9 weeks old. luckily enough that first week we had those HORRIBLE snow storms from the day after chistmas for that entire week,, i work almost an hour away from my home and the roads were really bad so needless to stay i was home with him his first week. BUT

at first we felt really bad too like he wasnt going to have enough room or anything being in the crate... so we gated him in the bathroom..Toys peepee pads EVEEYTHING. But then th little stubborn ass that he is, was a little monkey and actually would shimmy up the gate and climb over!!!!.. one time he did it wasnt a big deal, my husband ran out for a few mins, came back and was watvhing him come over the fence.. at first we thought ehhh no big deal but then.one night i came home from work and our apartment was a RECK! paper towels were every where he ripped everything he could! I found him in his huge bag of dog food out like a light!. he ripped threw the bag, and just ate and ate.. he ate himself to sleep in the bag, his tum tum was so swollen i cried and called the vet and cried, i had to keep watch on him for a few hours to make sure he didnt get sick, and luckily enough he never got sick, ooo but he looked like a little piggy :(...

after that we crated him all the time. i always felt so bad, but after seeing that he almost got so sick or almost could have died eating that much food i got so scared that i just crated hime.. I keep the radio and the light on for him. i kept his blanky and a soft toy and a hard bone imn there for him. and hes just fine in there, ive learned that believe it or not, they LIKE to be in there, its a security thing for them as well as it is for u.. Now if he gets sacred or hes tired or were just hanging out hell just go right in his crate!. he knows its his home and noone ( except for me) goes in there not even my husband its his safe and happy place. Eventually the " feeling bad " feeling will go away and youll be happy that u crate him :).. also one day when i was a work, and i kept him in the bathroom we had a bad storm and the lights went out and he was like a little chicken without a head, just running aroudn the bathroom looking for a safe spot... Weve recently have had the same issues, but hes been in his crate and he just sleeps right threw it!.... 

goodluck and deff crate him it will be better for thr both of u in the end!

sorry for the novel!. I love to share my Dozey storeis :)

Nicole and Dozer.

4-5 hours shouldn't be a problem.  We got Oliver when he was 8 weeks old.  My girlfriend was on vacation so she was home for the first 2 weeks.  We tried crating him during the day for 1-2 hours.  Then after that we had to crate him for 4-5 hours at a time out of necessity.  Definitely felt guilty about keeping him in there but like you said, he is going to be sleeping anyways so better to keep him out of danger and work on the house training.  We actually ended up getting a baby cam that lets us watch from the internet/iphone for peace of mind and he slept 95% of the time.  Once he is completely housetrained you can think about letting him out during the day.  I think we started doing that when he was about 7 months old.

short trips just to let him know you are coming back and don't make a big deal of leaving and coming back. go out for 5-10 minutes at a time and increase.......i hate leaving tillie mae, but working nights, i know she is sleeping. good luck and hugs to your baby!

She gets out of the kennel when Paul gets up at 5:30

Back in when I leave the house at 7:30

Son gets up at 12 and lets her out

Son leaves for work at 2, back in

Daughter home at 3:30

Bedtime at 10ish

Son home at 11:45, gets up with him

Son to bed at 2ish, back to bed

Then back up at 5:30

Actually--I look at that and think-WOW she really does not get a full nights sleep.  But she seems to really thrive on this schedule.  IF we are gone during the weekend on a rare occation that we cannot take her then the longest she would be in there is 5 hours. And on the weekend she is in bed from 11pm till 6am without interruption.  Never a mess in the kennel, and we leave the door open, she often goes in there and wigs out--flips and flops and growls and barks, then comes out like nothing happened.....weirdo!