Ripped off my dog walker? Advice please...

Lifeisbutadream

gettingready wrote: »

Zara had a create when I was in a bigger flat and she LOVED it.... she made it her treasure chest, dragged all her "precious" things (nicked from us - soft toys, shoes etc) into there, slept there.

There is nothing wrong with a crate for a dog.

I read all the posts, I am not saying I agree with dog being in a crate 8 hours per day as I do not BUT saying the said dog would be better still in a shelter with no hope to ever get uot is a nonsense.

I agree - the way I see it is that it is not a long term plan for the dog to be in a crate forever - whilst it is not ideal for it to be crated 8 hours a day, surely that is better for all than the dog being in a pound and/or the OP being stressed at their things being destroyed whilst they are out at work.

arbroath_lass

For gods' sakes it is NOT about the crates. As long as the door is open most of the time they're "ok" I suppose (still don't like them/wouldn't have one). It is about animals being locked in cages for hours at a time. There is no justification for that. I can't understand why they've suddenly become a "necessity" for some dog owners. And, yes, I have known dog owners who use crates - where do you think I got my opinion from?

tango

arbroath_lass wrote: »

For gods' sakes it is NOT about the crates. As long as the door is open most of the time they're "ok" I suppose (still don't like them/wouldn't have one). It is about animals being locked in cages for hours at a time. There is no justification for that. I can't understand why they've suddenly become a "necessity" for some dog owners. And, yes, I have known dog owners who use crates - where do you think I got my opinion from?

Oh dear ...... do you want to step of your soapbox

Pitlanepiglet

IMO crates are a good thing, they are often a way of making a dog feel secure and of making sure that they don't cause damage to themselves whilst left alone

BUT I think 8 hours a day with a 30 minute interval is much too long for a dog to be crated especially if it is for 5 days a week. Given the requirements to take shoes off, rub down the dog, change toys, get kongs etc. I can see why the dog is only getting a 20 minute walk - the OP is paying for 30 minutes of time and that is what they are getting.

OP I think you need to talk in an adult fashion with your dog walker, they came recommended to you so have the sensible conversation with them. To me the answer is that you need to pay for more time to enable your dog to have a longer walk and for the other things that are important to you to be done.

I also think you need to move to being able to leave the dog out of the crate ASAP. As suggested try one room and remove precious items but please try to get the dog to a stage where it is less bored. I can't imagine how dreadful our dog would be if crated for this length of time - she'd be an absolute nightmare when let out.

Incidentally, whilst we crate trained initially, our dog hated being crated, she didn't ever love her crate despite our best efforts. She also hates being shut in - the only time she's ever caused chaos is when she was shut in the kitchen and she clearly got bored and knocked things flying. After that time we left her with the run of the house and she potters around when left and is no problem, she clear hates being shut in.

KiKi

gettingready wrote: »

Yeah yeah yeah - blah blah blah..... Thanks to do goodies like you there are 3847503760674567476 dogs in rescues as they will not rehome to flats/people who work/people with kids etc.

Wake up from your coocoo land and face the reality - dogs locked in a shelter with no human company on concrete floor no walks and the only PROSPECT - lethal injection.

Yeah you are right, it should not be allowed to let peole adopt them, feed them well, walk them, take them to vets and parks etc because you say so... because living in a home with humans (who may work but still give the dog what the dog can not otherwise get as it will simply be killed) blah blah blah over.

No-one is suggesting that dogs shouldn't be adopted, nor that they should stay in shelters, so your sarcasm is misplaced.

Some posters have simply pointed out that 8 hours is a long time for a dog, and can have psychological effects, and that the OP could give the dog more room than one crate, that's all. Even other crate-using dog lovers have said 8 hours is a long time.

KiKi

arbroath_lass

tango wrote: »

Oh dear ...... do you want to step of your soapbox

Ok, perhaps I was a little het up over posters who appear to have deliberately "misunderstood" my posts but I'm still entitled to my opinion and I stand by it.

aliasojo

kiki wrote: »

no-one is suggesting that dogs shouldn't be adopted, nor that they should stay in shelters, so your sarcasm is misplaced.

some posters have simply pointed out that 8 hours is a long time for a dog, and can have psychological effects, and that the op could give the dog more room than one crate, that's all. even other crate-using dog lovers have said 8 hours is a long time.

Kiki

Well said.

It's a shame some posters have added heads and tails onto to the topic. It was never a case of 8 hours in a crate OR a life in kennels.

................

trudiha

I've never really liked the idea of crates, they look mean and nasty and I could never understand why anyone would want a dog and then lock it up. I knew that I could never do it to my dogs and, frankly, I looked down on people who did it to theirs.

Last year my Mastiff cross, Henry, had major surgery to both of his front legs and the surgeon insisted that part of his treatment was to be created 24 hours a day for the next ten weeks, to start with he was only allowed out for five minutes at a time six times a day, slowly built up to twenty minutes, six times a day. When he wasn't in the crate, he had to be on a lead, so he couldn't run or jump.

I can't tell you how much stress it caused me knowing that my beloved dog would have to be confined like this, especially when my other dog was going to be wondering around as usual. I was convinced that he'd feel that he was being punished. In the weeks leading up to the surgery, I felt sick every time I thought about it.

It turned out that Henry didn't share my feelings about crates and neither did my other dog. They both really liked the crate, to the point where I'd usually have to remove my other dog from it when Henry was finished having one of his prison yard walks in the garden. The only time that Henry showed any signs of wanting to get out of the crate was when someone new came into the house and he calmed down again as soon as they'd walked over to greet him.

Crates look awful to humans, like nasty little cages that we associate with punishment or being cruel but dogs or my dogs anyway, seem to see them as being safe hidey-holes that they are perfectly happy to spend their downtime in.

When Henry got the okay from his surgeon, the crate was folded up and put in the shed. Last month we discovered that a rat had taken up residence in the shed and everything had to be taken out and put on the patio while the rat problem was resolved. Both dogs attempted to reassemble the crate with their noses and when that didn't work, spent the afternoon sitting on the crate rather than on the warm grass. Neither have any negative associations with the crate.

So, the OP's dog probably needs a bit more exercise during the day and to have a bit of a chat with her dog walker, but I think that jumping down her throat about the crate issue is unwarranted. Even if she has made a mistake and the dog is in a crate for a bit too long, I don't think that there are many of us who, as new dog owners, haven't made a few howlers that we've later regretted.

Oliver14

gettingready wrote: »

I read all the posts, I am not saying I agree with dog being in a crate 8 hours per day as I do not BUT saying the said dog would be better still in a shelter with no hope to ever get uot is a nonsense.

So your saying a dog would be better in a crate for 8 hours a day. Getting lots of behavioral and psychological problems and generally having a poor quality of life. Rather than being in a shelter wher they will have space and the chance of being rehomed.

If i new of someone keeping a dog in a crate that lomg I would immediately report them. As much as it saddens me the dog would be better off if it was PTS rather than live that quality of life. Would you put a child in a space that size if you didn't have care?

Lifeisbutadream

Oliver14 wrote: »

So your saying a dog would be better in a crate for 8 hours a day. Getting lots of behavioral and psychological problems and generally having a poor quality of life. Rather than being in a shelter wher they will have space and the chance of being rehomed.

If i new of someone keeping a dog in a crate that lomg I would immediately report them. As much as it saddens me the dog would be better off if it was PTS rather than live that quality of life. Would you put a child in a space that size if you didn't have care?

Who would you report them to? genuine question, but who do you think would do anything about that?

Babies are in cots/confined for hours at a time ?