The Stay at Home Dog

Many families today have a pet of some sort. Dogs still remain one of the most popular choices because they are loyal and interactive family members. When was the last time your pet fish greated you at the door? Here are some suggestions on how to contain different personalities of dog’s when you must leave them home alone.

I have an adorable 12 week old small breed puppy that loves to get into anything and everything he possibly can. For this reason I am a long ways away from leaving him loose in the house unattended for both his safety and the safety of the house. He has a pet taxi that I use when I take him places and that he sometimes sleeps in at night (guilty plea, he sleeps in bed with me most nights!). However, I don’t feel it is fair to ask him to stay in the pet taxi all day or behind a shut door in the bathroom (the only room of the house we can shut off without making the cat mad). For these reasons I purchased him a play pen. It is actually marketed for use with both children and small animals. It works perfectly for my little guy because he doesn’t jump out of it. I have had dogs in the past that this would by no means be an option for because even though they were small, their little legs were springs and they could jump over anything! The play pen folds flat and has carrying straps for travel which is handy if you take your little family member with you different places or if you want to set it up outside on a nice day while the family is outside also. You can also buy extensions to make the pen larger which is another handy feature. The pen is plenty large enough for me to put a puppy pad tray, food bowl, water bowl, and bed, while still leaving room in the middle to keep the areas seperated and for him to wrestle with his toys. We joke that the pen is his doggie condo! I will note that due to the fact there is always a chance he may try to jump or climb out, I take his collar off when I leave him in the pen. There is nothing around that would obviously catch it, but I do not want to take any chances!

For the dogs that are escape artist another good idea is to purchase a crate to keep them in while you cannot watch them. I am a firm believer that all dogs should be crate trained. The perfect size crate for this purpose allows the dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably. However, dogs should not be left alone for extended periods of time in these crates. For extended periods of alone time play pens are a better option. If your dog escapes standard, open top playpens, you can purchase a second dog crate in a large enough size that you can put toys, water, a place to potty, etc in with your dog. I have had to do this with a few dogs and it worked just fine.

No matter what your perfect solution ends up being remember to keep the area clean and safe for your dog to be in. Check their toys daily for excess wear and tear to ensure they will not choke on pieces they get off. Also remember that dogs are social creatures. They need interaction just like children do so it is best to avoid leaving them alone for extended periods of time.


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