# Transitioning Vizsla to whole house



## Rivers Momma (Jul 21, 2013)

My husband and I have a 15 week old Vizsla and are currently spending most of the day with her as we are both teachers and have the summer off. When we were working we had set up a 4x4 pen attached to her crate and she seemed fine while we were gone. We left the house around 6:30, my mom came by to let her out and give her a little exercise around 11 and then my husband was home to take her with him to track or cross country practice around 1:45. We did this for about 3 weeks and she never had a problem. 

Since then we've kind of spoiled her. She has free roam of the house with us all day and usually goes with us whenever we leave. She still sleeps in her crate in our room. Our concern is that with summer coming to a close, we want to start preparing her for when we go back to work so we've been trying to leave her for a couple of hours again like we did in the beginning. We leave her in the pen with her toys a soft dog bed and her water, but when we return we usually find she has grabbed the bottom of the pen and pulled it inwards making it more like a 2x2 area. I feel awful, but we need to have somewhere to keep her when we're gone and I'd hat to just keep pretending that we're not going to go back to work in September. 

Like I said, she is 15 weeks. We have started her in a puppy class and feel that overall she is taking to the training very well. She sits, stays, lays down, we're working on come and leave it, but overall she is really responding well. She will occasionally chew on a shoe if we leave it out, but other than that she hasn't been very destructive. Would it be possible to start transitioning her to stay in the whole house by the time we go back to work? We have plans of putting in a dog door, but haven't yet because we have a coyote problem that is currently being taken care of (Animal Control is working on trapping). For now, I don't feel comfortable leaving her outside unattended. 

What are your ideas or suggestions for either transitioning her to have the house to herself, maybe a portion of the house to herself, or some other solution for when we return to work? We'd like to start working with her on whatever solution we come up with as soon as possible to make it a smooth transition for her.

Thanks for your help!


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## Reeka The Vizsla (Jul 10, 2013)

Hey Rivers,

Vizsla's have a way of sneaking out of places relatively easy lol. Vizslas get lonely pretty quickly so if you let her have free roam of the house I am guessing there will be quite a bit of destruction when you come home, their "velcro dog" nickname suits them well. My girl Reeka (who is 11 months) is a wrecking ball if you don't watch her around the house, but she loves her kennel. I'd introduce kennel training to her ASAP if you plan on staying away from her for extended periods of time. From my experience it seems like they are more comfortable in small areas for an extended amount of time. Just make sure you give her a good exercise or play time in the morning (atleast an hour).

I could just have bad experiences but transitioning to the whole house may be a little rough with how much energy these dogs have. Especially with how young your puppy is, it would be a good time to kennel train her. Does your puppy whine at all at night when she is in the kennel besides when she has to go potty?


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

15 weeks is way too early and she can get into a lot of trouble.
Think of it his way, how old were you when you first started to drive? Certainly not at two years old. 

I know this sounds harsh a bit but we crated our boy even though we're around 24/7. 
At around 4-5 months I had him tethered to me everywhere around the house. Trained him while on tether. Later, had him on a day doggie day bed leashed (stake-out). At around 16 months we could trust him off leash in the house. Still he was not mature enough and could accidentally chew things. 

He is 2.4 years old and we crate him when left alone. 

The end result of all this tethering and training... He is intact, never marks indoors anywhere, never disobedient and everyone likes him... 

Moral.. Do not expect a three year old to make adult decisions unless you are willing to live with the consequences. These are dogs, LOL


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## Rivers Momma (Jul 21, 2013)

She stays in her kennel the whole night and doesnt cry or whine at all. She'll let out a couple soft barks in the morning to let us know she's awake and ready to go out. Her kennel is only 36" L X 25" W X 27" H, so I feel bad leaving her in it all night as well as during the day. Is this the type of kennel you are using as well or is it larger? Ours is hard plastic and den-like, not like the wire crates. The metal exercise pen we were using is much larger, 4'L X 4'W X4'H, but she has started pulling it in towards her at the joints. I guess I'm really just asking if there is another sort of kennel or exercise pen that works anyone out there for longer periods of time. I know she loves her night kennel, but I don't think she'd enjoy being cramped in it for 7 hours a day and all night. Anyone have those types of suggestions?


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## Reeka The Vizsla (Jul 10, 2013)

Hey Rivers,

The key is to just make them feel comfortable in it (feed them in it), make sure they know its a good place. The exercise crate is probably worse than an actual enclosed crate. The dog would be enticed just to walk around for the next 7 hours in a circle rather than just lay down and sleep. Your crate is good right now in my opinion. I would just upgrade it when she gets a little older.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I would leave in crate for sure. She's a puppy, she will adapt. She's too young to be in a whole house alone she could hurt herself. Our older V is very non destructive and mellow in the house with exercise and we waited 8 months to start transitioning to whole house. Our pup is a little mischief maker and I see him being in a crate for a few yrs.


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## Rivers Momma (Jul 21, 2013)

Thanks for the replies everyone! datacan what is the size of the crate you have for your dog? I think crating is probably the best solution, but I'd like to get one a bit larger for her since she's already getting cramped in the one we use now. Also, what do you leave in the crate when leaving for over 4 hours?


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## Reeka The Vizsla (Jul 10, 2013)

They have food trays/water trays that connect to the wire on a kennel. It's a good buy, otherwise they'll knock their bowls over more than likely. I'd put a nice bed in there and a durable toy for her to teeth on.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Is there any individual room in your house that could be made dog-safe? I used to use my laundry room for this purpose, with everything put safely out of reach. The only things accessible to the puppy were her bed, food and water, and a couple of toys. It worked very nicely for me. I was also able to come home for lunch every day, and I think that helped a lot. Remember, though -- "They chew 'til they're two!" ;D ;D ;D


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

datacan said:


> 15 weeks is way too early and she can get into a lot of trouble.
> Think of it his way, how old were you when you first started to drive? Certainly not at two years old.
> 
> I know this sounds harsh a bit but we crated our boy even though we're around 24/7.
> ...


 Darcy is now 2 years and is still in her crate when we go to work,she is never in it for more than a couple of hours...she loves the crate so much, it's her little private sanctuary. I want to take it away because it's so large but she just enjoys being in it, I doubt she will ever be without it..


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Try something like this.... Who knows, may work...

But I would not force her out of the crate


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

datacan said:


> Try something like this.... Who knows, may work...
> 
> But I would not force her out of the crate




When she is out of her crate, this is what Darcy get's up to..


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Freedom @ 15 weeks? Oh, my.. ???

Listen, let's separate your guilt from her needs. She needs security, and her crate plus the extra space plus the walks sounds like she's getting her needs met, even if they're not by you. If she has more space, she will likely feel your absence more, get anxious, and get into *whatever*. I have worked with people who have felt as you have and have had the walls in their home literally dug out and the furniture chewed to pieces...by their beloved V's. I did more therapy with the people than the dog, ("Anger management", I felt like Jack Nicholson himself, although I might not be as rich or famous I am hella better looking, although that's not saying much). If you do not think that coming home to destruction affects the relationship, let me tell you it does. And it is not pretty. Don't do it, you'll know when she's ready for it and needs it.


Try putting a blanket in the crate, they like to nest (that's what she might be trying to do with the mat), and since she's out for a walk a couple hours after you put her in there, leave the water out, she might be stressed b/c she needs to urinate (they often do that digging thing in the crate as a response to stress). And dont feel guilty, you're doing nothing wrong. her needs as a Vizsla and a dog are different than ours.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

At almost 1.5 years our boy still has to be crated because he doesn't have respect for things in the house and I'm not willing to allow him to destroy things when we aren't home. He's been left out for 10-15 minute intervals as a test and each time he chewed something up. Unfortunately a crate isn't a fun place to put them, it's a tool to help keep them safe and sound while you're away.

At 15 weeks I would absolutely, completely and whole heartedly urge you to crate your pup unless you want bigger problems. The crate will become their safe place and will keep them from destroying your house and hurting themselves. I'll tell you 2 quick stories to think about while deciding what to do with your pup:

1) We recently met a 2 year old V who their owner allows to stay out of the crate. Although she's been good for the most part (house was dog proofed) she occasionally surprises them. The other day they come home to find that she had learned to opened cabinet doors with her paws and had opened every cabinet in the kitchen- including the one where they store cleaning supplies and chemicals. Not expecting her to ever open a door they felt as though the supplies were safely put away. WRONG! She chewed on a few of the bottles but luckily didn't seem to have anything spill out. They watched her for odd signs for a few days but were panicked for quite some time about what could have happened. Now all of their cabinets have child-proof locks for the dog.

2) At the end of high school I did a senior project at our local vet. A younger girl (high school age) brought in her weim puppy who was about 4 months old. The pup had been left alone and chewed on a cord resulting in severe damage to her mouth- dead tissue, exposed jaw bone and loss of teeth. Despite attempts to save the jaw and correct what had happened the pup ultimately had to be put down due to the severity of her injuries. The girl had thought she had disconnected all cords but someone in her family accidentally left the cord plugged in and the puppy (around the same age as yours and in a chewing phase) found it to be a toy.

Your best bet is to safe secure your pup. It will give you peace of mind and will help allow the time to create boundaries which pups need to be left alone. Once your pup is older, more mature and out of the chewing phase (remember, they chew 'til they're 2) then I'd try leaving your pup alone for small increments and build up from there.


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## Sf49ersy5 (Jan 5, 2013)

We are in a similar situation. Our girl wasn't taking well to her crate with the door closed but would settle down like an angel in a larger 6 x 6 pen that we bought for her. I invested in some zip ties and used some dumbbells to stabilize the hinge points in the pen to keep her from moving it like your pup is doing. Just because we keep her in a pen doesn't mean she can't escape. Here is what a 17 1/2 week old Vizsla escaping from her pen looks like. You can also see my zip tie and dumbbell set up in the clip as well. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and hasn't tried to escape again. http://youtu.be/YScQzu2xL8s
Good Luck


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Poor, Sydney. She looks terrified of the noises going on.

I suppose another thing to consider: when scared, a V will do anything to get away and feel safe. If your pup is afraid of storms, fireworks, etc make sure they are as secure as you can get them during those things if you are unable to be home. Also, daycare may be a good options for those days.


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## Rivers Momma (Jul 21, 2013)

Oh my gosh! I would have never thought a dog could/would do that! Our pen is wry similar to that, just a little smaller. I'm pretty much settled on retiring the pen now. I ordered an extra large, sturdy wire crate online last night as well as a crate pad to go inside. I'm really starting to see how I have to be the responsible parent in this situation and provide my girl with a safe place where she won't be ridden with anxiety and anticipation, but rather just enjoy her alone time until we return. We have the perfect place for this crate in our living room so she can easily feel a part of the family and voluntarily go inside even when we are home. I'm hoping this solution helps our situation and she is well adjusted by the time we return to school.

Thanks for all the great advice and stories everyone!


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## Sf49ersy5 (Jan 5, 2013)

If you don't have one already I would highly recommend a web cam. We bought a Dropcam and it has been our best purchase other than our vizsla. I can keep an eye on our girl at any time day or night from my computer or phone which gives me tremendous piece of mind. We can review the camera history to see what our pup did during the day, which has helped us learn alot about her behaviors. You can set it up to view your pup's crate for now and relocate if necessary when you give him/her free roam of the house or room.


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