Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 16 month old female BC, we crate her all day when we are at work (8-9 hours a day) and then at night.
I feel bad for her cause she's locked up all day.
Will this give her behaveral problems?
I am being told by a few people it will and I feel horrible about it.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Tricia

>>I have a 16 month old female BC, we crate her all day when we are at work (8-9 hours a day) and then at night.
>>I feel bad for her cause she's locked up all day.
>>Will this give her behaveral problems?
>>I am being told by a few people it will and I feel horrible about it.
>>Please let me know.
>>Thanks,
>>Tricia

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It depends on what you're doing with her at other times, and whether you're moving her training toward being able to be loose in the house when she's a little older. Crating to protect a dog for the first couple of years is necessary in many cases, but to be humane and to raise a happy and healthy dog it must be mixed with good training and lots of time spent with the dog when you're at home and awake. I would advise keeping the maximum time in the crate to 8 hours, no longer. If it's going to be longer, someone needs to come in and give her a potty break. Crating too long at a time can make a dog really neurotic, and can also cause kidney and bladder problems.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

BC's need to exercise their minds at least as much as their bodies. Have you done any training with her? If not, you should consider some activity that causes her to think- be it obedience, agility, flyball. And when you are home with her you should work on the training any way you can. Making a dog think wears them out at least as fast as chasing a ball or a frisbee and faster. BC's need to have a purpose- a job- whatever you want to call it. They need something to think about! You should be gradually working toward having her free in the house when you're not at home, but if left with nothing to do and nothing to look forward to, they can become very bored and very destructive and just crating them is not the answer. Keep in mind that BC's have the intelligence of a 3-4 yr. old human child. That is quite extraordinary but something you MUST consider. Get her into some activity where she is always learning something new and facing challenges that she must think about. And this goes on for their lifetime! My BC is & 7 yrs. and still learning new things all the time. This is part of the challenge of having a BC and somethng that needs to be seriously considered before acquiring one.
Nancy & Atticus

Just wanted to update everyone, Casey is doing EXCELLENT now we have been letting her have the run of the house when we are at work.
Yes, we work with her everyday, she runs with me, we also train daily.
She is yet to catch a frisby or a ball though. She for some reason does not want to catch anything. Which we are still working on. Any tips on this issue??
And she is SO MUCH HAPPIER now she's not in the crate. I can literally see it in her face and eyes...
What a different dog, she's so loving now and always wants to be hugged and kissed by mom...
We are also putting up a fence for her in the yard so she will have an acre to run...
Thanks for the advice and any tips on helping me teach her to catch would be great!!!

>>Just wanted to update everyone, Casey is doing EXCELLENT now we have been letting her have the run of the house when we are at work.
>>Yes, we work with her everyday, she runs with me, we also train daily.
>>She is yet to catch a frisby or a ball though. She for some reason does not want to catch anything. Which we are still working on. Any tips on this issue??
>>And she is SO MUCH HAPPIER now she's not in the crate. I can literally see it in her face and eyes...
>>What a different dog, she's so loving now and always wants to be hugged and kissed by mom...
>>We are also putting up a fence for her in the yard so she will have an acre to run...
>>Thanks for the advice and any tips on helping me teach her to catch would be great!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Catching things is a rather sophisticated eye/motor skill for dogs. They learn it so easily that we sometimes forget that. Before I tell you how to teach it, let me stress safety. Frisbees and carelessly-thrown balls have crippled dogs! Do not throw an object for your dog in such a way that she will jump up for it and land on just her hind legs. Dogs weren't built for this, and devastating injuries including paralysis have resulted. I know you see it done spectacularly on TV in Frisbee competitions, but seriously, it is very dangerous for your dog. Keep those throws low!

Okay, start with gentle, short tosses--just far enough for the dog to have time to see it coming--of treats to the dog. Take your time, practice in short sessions, and pretty soon your dog will be catching whatever she feels motivated to catch.

It's possible she won't find balls entertaining. If she enjoys chasing and fetching them, then likely she'll also develop an interest in catching them. You can teach a dog with gentle, gradual training (short sessions, just a little every day, over a period of a few months) to truly love retrieving, so if this is important to you, go for it. Just make sure it's comfortable for her in the teaching process, and at some point her instincts will kick in and she'll love it.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com