Dog Information

Is it normal to leave your pet dog in a crate while you go to work?

I've never owned a pet, so I was wondering if this was a common practice or if you think it's animal abuse. Someone goes to work, and leaves their dog in a crate (from 830am to 5pm) because they are afraid the dog will chew up the house. Is this normal?

Public Comments

1. Crate training is the easiest way to housetrain dogs, and it also teaches them how to settle down and entertain themselves when you're gone. However, crates won't work if they're used to punish a dog or keep him "out of sight, out of mind." Use the crate only when necessary, give your dog plenty of breaks to stretch his legs and to play and bond with you, and make crate time more pleasant by stocking it with toys. http://dogtime.com/housetraining-crate-training.html
2. I think it's normal if the dog is a puppy and he/she isn't trained yet. An older dog should be fine but it's best to get a dog walker or bring the dog to a day care if it has to be left alone for more than 8 hours.
3. I'm sure some people do. I wouldn't do that to any of my dogs. My dogs have the run of the house when I leave and they behave. They are trained to hold it until I get home but they also have toys and chew stuff to keep them occupied.
4. A dog should be left in a crate for a maximum of 4 hours... Instead of leaving the dog in a crate why not baby gate an area free from anything the dog could chew on or put the dog in an indoor exercise pen.
5. Some people may think it's normal, but I consider it abuse, just as I consider it abuse to leave a dog tied up living its life on a chain outside all the time. Unfortunately, it is a common practice. Why bother to have a dog at all?
6. yes its normal, but if you have a neighbor or someone who can check on them halfway through the day might help, because that is quite a long time to be locked up everyday
7. yes but you should come home and go and give it some attention after work just to make it feel good!
8. Plenty of people do it, I don't consider it abusive, as long as the dogs are getting adequate attention when people aren't working. Some people do abuse their dogs by leaving their dogs in crates for excessive periods of time and not meeting their exercise and socialization needs.
9. It is normal, but you need to make sure you have someone to let your puppy out to potty and eat because that is too long to keep a puppy crated by itself. Its not abuse because you are being responsible. It is much better for your dog to be safe in its crate than roaming around eating things that could kill it.
10. Afraid of chewing up things..so they crate him/her? No, sorry that's not normal. There are other ways of puppy proofing rooms- baby gates, bathroom,etc to help prevent a puppy getting into something dangerous.That's what a responsible owner does. What IS normal, when it comes to dog crates, is house training. Crate training is a method of house training. Puppies have a uncontrollable bladders, it can't be helped. They shouldn't be left alone in a crate for more then 4 hours at a time. When they are successfully house trained- no messy dos in the kitchen..bathroom..etc- then its okay to let them out while someone's gone. There are sprays to spray on things that you don't want your dog chewing on. My mother in law works about 9 hours- 1 hour lunch though- and her inside dog is comepletely house trained. She's let out before she goes to work and then again at her lunch. Then when she's home again from work, she's let out and sometimes my husband and I go over there and let her out in between breaks. Of course she's not a puppy- she's almost 4 years old- so she has a good control on her bladder. Now when she was a puppy, it was a different story. We came over every 4 or so hours to let her out until my mother in law got home.
11. I think that leaving a dog crated for 8 1/2 hours is bordering on cruelty. Plus it is unhealthy for older dogs who may have problems with arthritis and incontinence. I feel that if an adult dog needs to be crated it should be let out every 4-5 hours. Dogs that are properly trained and exercised can be left alone in the house.
12. I agree with sofia
13. i don't think you should do this for long or for that long during the day, he spends most of the day in there. get him some toys to chew on while your gone and house train him if he isn't already. i don't think its fair to him that's 8 and half hrs.
14. well if it is a lil dog in a big crate then no but lil in lil or big in big then yes its wrong i mean just lock them in the bathroom or a different room where they cant get to anything i did that to 3 of my dogs and it worked
15. Properly used (not for punishment and not to confine a dog for long periods because you're too lazy to exercise, train, or socialize it) it is not only not abuse, it's an essential and normal tool for a well-trained, house trained dog. Dogs get destructive when they are bored and/or anxious. "Someone" can fix both problems by giving the dog plenty of exercise before they leave for the day, having a dog walker come to give it another bout of exercise, attention and relief mid-day (this is critical for youngsters and high-energy breeds) and/or taking it to doggie daycare a few days each week. Crating a dog for behavioral issues instead of addressing the *reasons* for those issues is simply cruel and irresponsible. My own dogs were all crate-trained but after they were reliably housebroken when I am not home they are separated into different rooms by metal hinged baby gates. They don't chew things or soil but their play can get very rambunctious and needs to be supervised. This way they have more freedom of movement, can watch out windows and the two eldest can snooze on the couch together without being harassed by the young'uns. Even when they were in crates they very rarely ever confined more than four hours at a stretch and I personally would not crate any dog for eight or more hours, let alone for such a long time every day, and I don't understand those who do.
16. I, personally, don't see anything wrong with it. My pup is just fine in his crate. For the most part, he is only in there a maximum of four hours at a time, because my fiance and I work different schedules, but sometimes our schedules do coincide, and when that happens, the only choice is crate Cujo for the day. I cannot let him have run of the apartment because he's awfully anxious and tears into EVERYTHING. We are currently working on that but for the time being the safest place for him when we aren't around is his crate. Not everyone can come home during their lunch (I get a half hour, and work 22 minutes from home...wouldn't work). Its just not feasible. But as long as the dog is getting adequate attention when people are home (mine does), there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.
17. Animal abuse!? Hardly! Many dog owners leave their dogs in the crates when they aren't there; as long as your dog is potty trained, there isn't anything wrong with it! 'Someone goes to work, and leaves their dog in a crate (from 830am to 5pm) because they are afraid the dog will chew up the house. Is this normal?" >Yup... that's normal. It is a bit long, almost 10 hours, but, I imagine that a lot of people do that and their dogs survive just fine. It would probably be best to have a neighbor come along and let them out to stretch their legs & use the bathroom. Small dogs can't hold their bladders as long as large dogs, though, so they have to relieve themselfs more often.
18. It is fine to leave a dog in it's crate during the work day. It keeps your belongings safe from the dog and the dog safe from your belongings (getting electrocuted from chewing on cords, choking on a toy or rawhide, etc). And if you have multiple dogs, especially if they are different sizes, it keeps them safe from each other. My dogs are crated during the day. And even when I was unemployed, you know what the dogs did all day? Even with the option to roam around, they spent most of the day asleep in their crates, crate doors wide open. A crate is a dog's safe place. It's their "den". As far as the dogs using the bathroom, when I got my first papillon, I mentioned to the vet I was thinking about litter-training her because I work full-time. My vet's response? "Can she make it through the night without going outside? Then she can hold it through the work day." .
19. Many people do this. It has its place. There are a variety of reasons to do it, and no, I don't consider it cruel at all as long as the dog gets sufficent exercise and attention at other times. Crating a dog is a lot less cruel than allowing it the freedom to chew on electric cables, for instance, which some dogs will do when left alone. As far as needing to relieve itself, most dogs(mine for sure) go through an entire night while everyone is asleep without needing to pee and that's at least that long.
20. i have a neighbor come over and let my pups out at least twice if i have to work late and my husbands gone hunting....adults need to be let out at least once during that time...