curious to know what you all do...

My dogs are crated as youngsters until they can be trusted to not get in to things. Once I can trust them, they have free range of the house. If they slip up and get into something or have an accident, then I go back to restricting access to the house either by crating or putting up baby gates so they only have access to parts of the house, but not all.

My dogs earn freedom.  They start out crated. Coke hasn't been crated in a long time, several years.  I don't even have a crate setup for him anymore.  Nikon used to be crated during the day but free at night and has since graduated to being free during the day (or sometimes I put up a gate so he has the basement and kitchen).  Pan is crated during the day and crated at night.  If I'm only gone a short while, I don't crate anyone, they can all be free.  Usually when the dog turns 2 I stop crating at night.  Pan has been sleeping free at night in hotels so he should be fine once I take the crate out of our room.

Sheba and Tyler are not crated.  They are closed in the office since there isn't a gate high enough for them to NOT clear.  Sheba used to be crated with Thor, but after Thor went to the Bridge, she refused to be crated and completely destroyed two of them.  Everyone else is crated in separate rooms.

And yes, even Tyler, who has NEVER gotten into anything, will occassionally surprise me with some inappropriate chewing.

Right now both my dogs are crated while I am away.  Rummy often goes to a doggy daycare when I work long days.  Logan can never go to a doggy daycare so I have a pet sitter friend who also owns a beardie stop by my home.  She is really good with him and we trade work, I do dog massage for her and she pet-sits for me.

 seems like most of you all have several dogs.. id like to get another from the spca shelter at some point....geno would love the company im sure, but id like to get him squared away.... Lady that fostered him, said he was 100% crate trained with another little dog.....she said he liked a lot of things, but im finding out just the opposite.... i use gates. i have a big foyer and put gates in liv rm and dining rm entrances as well as the steps if im going to be gone real long.....left him alone all day on easter. he was gated. everything seemed fine, we came in the door and he was sooo excited...not sure if he just peed then or just before we came home. but it was on the floor...luckily its just linoleum thats old...i gave him the benefit of the doubt as he was alone from 1130am til 8pm....he goes all nite though fine....10pm out maybe 11 then thats it for the nite...then goes out around 730-8ish.. 1 time he actually came over to my pillow side and nudged me in the face and i figured he had to go out. glad he let me know. his bed is in our room by the way....

i need to get him to some training lessons.. looked into petsmarts classes and then private ones, they either come here or i take him to them...anything i should look for when trying to find somebody? most seem like 1x a week for 6 wks....he does sit well and stays.. he doesnt come when called though, and thats not good. and he pulls horribly when i walk him everyday....i even tried one of those gentle leader collars that claim to stop them from that pulling.....

My dogs have most of the house - there are a few gates up, to give the cats some dog free zones.  My dogs are small and are not counter surfers.  Now you know Geno can counter surf, you adapt (do NOT expect him to never go up there again!).  You put EVERYTHING edible behind a door, or in the fridge.  

My dogs are allowed on the furniture, but NOT the kitchen table or chairs.  That's OK, they are spoiled an are only interested in beds, sofas, soft comfy spots, lol.

I have never used a crate.  My Tasha is a puppy mill rescue, and I promised her she would never be in a cage again.  Not that I have any say in the matter,  no way she is going in a small confined space!   Even when she used to go to a groomer, she was leashed and tied to a door knob.

nancy361

i need to get him to some training lessons.. looked into petsmarts classes and then private ones, they either come here or i take him to them...anything i should look for when trying to find somebody? most seem like 1x a week for 6 wks....he does sit well and stays.. he doesnt come when called though, and thats not good. and he pulls horribly when i walk him everyday....i even tried one of those gentle leader collars that claim to stop them from that pulling.....

I'm sure there are some good trainers at places like petsmart and petco but most of the trainers take a course for a few weeks and then are called trainers. :( I've observed some classes at both places and can tell you I was glad I hadn't wasted my money.  The trainers were worse than clueless and gave out some very bad advice.  Find a class setting and look for trainers who use positive reinforcement methods.  Don't send your dog off to any trainer or company who claims they will train your dog.  Training is more about training you how to train.  Dogs are not like appliances that are broken and need to be fixed.  They speak dog and we don't so it's up to us to learn how they learn to make training easier and to make the time spent training fun rather than frustrating for dog and human.

Dogs have completely different ideas about food and furniture so punishing a dog for eating food left where he can reach it or getting on the furniture is pointless. Telling him "no" after the fact is confusing because as far as he knows you were telling him "no" for absolutely no reason. That makes him think you're sort of scary and unpredictable.  He's not being bad, he's being a dog. :) Good training is about learning how to communicate effectively with your dog to get the desired behavior.  I'd start crate training your dog ASAP to avoid him getting into trouble while your gone.  Search on this site for the best methods or google 'crate training using positive methods'.

 Well said, Jackie!

I don't ever suggest folks go to PetsMart or PetCo, either.  One of the trainers at the PetCo near me has NEVER owned a dog!  GEESH!

You can find a trainer near you using this link:

 http://www.apdt.com/petowners/ts/default.aspx

Talk with the person before you sign up.  You want someone who has dogs, who works with them in conformation, Agility, Flyball, herding, SOMETHING - this person will have extensive experience reading dog body language.  I personally only use positive reinforcement training facilities.

I strongly advocate group classes.  A dog doesn't learn much in a one hour class.  YOU learn, and then the practices and home work is critical. The place I attend, fees are per dog; the entire family (about age 8 and up) are encouraged to attend.  This means all of you are learning the same things, will use the same commands, and learn the dog.  You also will learn by watching the other members work with their dogs; and they will see things and make observations which are also helpful to you.

And if you think you teach the dog "sit" and then you are done, think again.  Do you remember the algebra you learned in high school?  Only if you have used it since!  The practice routines you get in class are things you will come back to over and over again, for the life of the dog.  Many of them are building blocks, so sit get repeated as you practice something else.

I have seldom found the need to spend the extra money for a one on one personal trainer. It is VERY costly.

 As a volunteer at my local SPCA the part I love best is what I call my "good manners training" with the 3-4 dogs I work with exclusively. I find working with the dogs strengthens the bond we have and since I don't have a dog at home I absolutely love it. Jackie hit it on the nail and if you don't want to train the dog yourself you might go to the largest AKC dog show in your area and you'll probably be able to get the names of some very qualified people.

Max (almost 8) is very mellow and laid back and seems to entertain himself when nobody is home.  I know he has a tendency to counter surf, so I make sure not to leave food on the kitchen counter.  He has his own doggy door that leads into a completely secure fenced yard so he goes out when he wants and comes in when he wants.  He plays with his squeaky toys, enjoys looking out the front window and takes lots of naps. He doesn't chew on the furniture or dig up the carpet - the only thing he shreds is his stuffed toys. He's totally reliable whether I'm gone for 10 minutes or most of the day.

Joyce

 Raju has earned his "freedom." He spends the night outside of the crate, and spends the day outside of it. Even when I was gone all day at work, he got free reign. I've had very little problems (except for that one time he ripped apart the corner of a mattress...but I'm trying to repress that from my memory.) VERY rarely these days, he will grab something and chew on it. Otherwise nothing is touched. Then again, he could be having a doggie frat party while I'm gone for 8 hrs. We will never know.

 When he was younger.. Yeah, he was crated at night and during the day. He would come out to potty, train and exercise and hang out, and then back in the crate. He was also living with another dog AND a cat at the time, both of which he did NOT enjoy--so crating was a safety thing as well.

As a side note: I know that some people say that crating a lot builds a dog's drive and desire to work. I don't know, though. My dog is free most of the time, and I've seen no decrease in his drive. Nowadays, the crate sits empty in my bedroom. It's a large, very ugly piece of furniture.

I also have babygates put up. I have no doubt in my mind that he can jump these with ease, but usually he doesn't put out the effort.

 Where you are located, you are not super far (45-60) minutes, from some super places for training. I haven't take classes at Y2K9s, but they are very good. You are about an hour from K9JYM, which I have taken classes at, and is also good. The Dog Training Club of Chester County has some excellent trainers there, though I haven't been there personally. Basically, in the Philadelphia suburbs, there are a ton of dog training opportunities, activities, and classes. There are some people who appear to be fairly close to you as well, but if you get interested in some other activities to do with your dog, those are several nice places you can check out.

 All dogs (2 big, 1 little) in my house are crated when we are gone.  We used to leave the big dogs outside if we were just going out to lunch or some other short trip but not really any more.  Kitchen is always off limits because the big dogs will help with the dishes, even if you weren't exactly done with the food  LOL, bathrooms are off limits because big dogs can reach to drink out of toilets and that is just gross, plus one has a thing for wet washrags...weird!!!  Everything else is free game...and they know it.  There are 3 adults in the house so the dogs do not usually have more than 6 hours of crate time when we are gone for work, sometimes not even that depending on our schedules.  If we all, by some miracle, have to be gone at the same time they are taken to day care or boarding depending on what is needed.  They all seem to love the crates and it isn't abnormal to find them just chillin' in the crate even when we are home and they have free reign of the house and the back yard.