Bulldogs World

He and our Boxer are double trouble when we are gone, they are not "bad" dogs but they do things they are not supposed to do and get into stuff so they are both crated, mainly for their safety and my sanity! LOL But if I am just making a quick run out they stay out. 

and it was almost two years before I gave him free rein.  I started him off in a bedroom....then used a baby gate and let him in the hallway as well....then the rest of the house. 

we'd leave her from time to time to run to the grocery store, or while out in the yard working, and we knew she was housebroken, due to no accidents in a long time, she was passed the teething and chewing stage.

I really think it depends upon the dog.  Vern will be 2 in November and has had free reign of the entire house for about 6/7 months.  It was a gradual process getting there....initially he was kenneled, then I allowed him to have free reign in my bedroom & master bathroom only (which he would be good for a week or so, then have an accident (always on the rug in front of the toilet)), then after several months (with no accidents) of that I would allow him to have free reign of the whole house (1 day at a time) and gradually trusted him enough to allow him to do it all the time.

He is fabulous - sleeps usually in a doggie bed or on my ottoman most of the day.  The last foster dog I had was probably about 4 or 5 years old and I never had to kennel him - he was perfect and I allowed him to have free reign of the house for the entire time he stayed with us.

Good luck - just go slow and give little bits of freedom as earned :)

I got Diesel at 3mo old and he basically potty trained himself, I would take him out let him potty and when he realized going outside made me happy that was all it took ... he had a crate to sleep in but I didn't have to close the door he would sleep in there and he was from day 1 the perfect little angel boy .... I got Molly at just about 9mo old (she was being held to see her show potential) she is 3yrs old now and I will sometimes but rarely leave her out if I am just going to the store and already know exactly what I'm after.  She can be a naughty girl from time to time and if she is in the wrong mood she will potty in the house just because or worse potty on my bed trying to assert her dominance so to keep it from happening, she is in her crate if I can't be home with them.

I also leave the crate doors open all day and they will go into them just to take a nap so the crate is their happy place, they both love them.

MacKenzie - My saint puppy was 6 months.  But I was home with him for a year so potty training was easy and he had a great start prior to coming to me at 9 weeks.  A breeder can be your best friend if they have started the puppies on potty training when they are 4 - 5 weeks. I had to pick up my magazine stack or Mackenzie would climb up on it and pee on it.  He was very well paper trained at 9 weeks.  I don;t recall he ever chewed anything he wasn't suppose to.  Or wait he did once chew on the siding on our house, but a quick lesson with Bitter Apple fixed that.

Norbert was never really crated at my house.  He went to doggie day care at my vets for the first 6 months of his life because I was working full time 30 minutes from my house so it was impossible for me to get home at noon to potty and feed him.  At 6 months he was in my laundry room and main level bath room for a few months, but was free roam before a year old.  The only thing I remember him chewing was a tiny corner of a Boss speaker. Once I used a sharpie you couldn't even notice it.

The girls have always been more trouble I think and when they come into season they can be naughty.  Once I had more then 2 I crated because I just don't trust 3 loose alone in the house, so my girls Cleo and Ester were both crated well past 1 year.  Ester got free roam and then lost her priviledges somewhere around 2 - 2 1/2 because she decided to destroy the side of a leather chair. I do give her free roam now, but most of the time her and Kohl go into their downstairs kennels during the day, except in the winter when it is too cold.  She has to keep him company. Sometimes they just go into their kennels and hang out when I'm home.  Their kennels are 5 x 5 aluminum powder coated panels 4' tall.  You can get them from Home Depo and they are very nice.  Petsmart carries them now and they are cheaper.  May have to order another one because MacKenzie is always trying to stay down with the other dogs.   I put stall matting on the floor and they have a crate with pad, another doggie bed (Kohls has a Bowser Donut Bed) and a blanket on top of the mat. They do not potty in their kennels during the day.  I think Kohl would be fine with free roam.  He has never chewed on anything but his toys and bones, not even my shoes and he is very house broke.  He barks to go out.

My hubby had "had it" with the big crate in our living room and he just folded it up and put it away.  She was fine.  Our only problem after that was keeping her out of our room at night - she wanted to sleep with us and we never allowed her (the ONLY good training habit we actually acquired, lol!).

Four years for PollyAnna...and for Olive...she is 10 months and if she keeps up the chewing...never..

Chester was a rescue when we got him, about 2 years old when we got him and Lily was  9 at that time, we were locking him up in the kitchen to separate them from each other for the first few weeks to make sure they are well integrated, one day i forgot to close one of the door and I came back and the two of them were snuggled in their beds in the living room happy as pigs having company.  well, that was the end of separating them :-)

I think it is all individual, I would make sure your house is "bulldog proof", nothing they can get into trouble that can hurt them, much like with a child.  i had Lily once chew remote control, she felt bad about it, not a big deal but freaked me out that she could hurt herself.  Once she ched my shoes. Then, as I laughed and called my husband, she was watching me intently and I swear, this dogg was more smart than Lassie, she never chewed anything else.