# home alone



## nutmeg07 (Sep 14, 2013)

Hey all, 
I have a few issues leaving my 6 month-old vizsla girl alone. Normally she spends 24/7 with me, she comes to work with me, she spends the evenings cuddled up next to the couch and nights she sleeps in her crate in my bedroom. I love the lifestyle, the closeness and the bond I'm building with my dog. However, I think I'm creating a problem here, too. She is perfectly fine in her crate at night time and sleeps quietly through the night, but if I ever leave her there at any other time, she barks. I have only ever left her for 2 hours max, and only a few times, and she has always been rather tired. I live in an apartment and I find it hard to let her bark in there. However, I have never let her out while she's been barking. Obviously I very rarely need to leave her, but I guess sometimes every dog has to be left alone. She wont touch kongs or bones any treats or toys while in her crate, although at other times she loves them. I'm wondering if she would be better left out of the crate, although she still chews, so maybe thats not a good idea... 
Is this just a matter of age? Should I leave her alone more? Any ideas or experiences would be greatly appreciated


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## nutmeg07 (Sep 14, 2013)

I also wanted to know at what age your vizslas graduated out of the crate (if ever) to roam the house/room while you're away?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I spend a lot of time with mine, I'm retired.
I purposely crated them during the day while I was home for short periods. My reasoning is you never know what life is going to throw at you. Your pup needs to be prepared, and not stressing out when life takes a turn. It can be something small that makes you have to change you routine for a couple of days, or a major game changer.
You never know when a family/friend sickness, or funeral is headed your way. Mother nature can be wicked with fires, tornados, hurricanes. If there was a emergency, who would you board your pup with? Would this be the first time it had ever been crated/kenneled away from home?
Mine are older, and I still use crates.
Not because they chew but cause I need them to be able to rest in their crates while traveling, or if were staying away from home.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

Sad to say we have crating issues with our 9 month old girl. She suffers from crate anxiety. Often we will come home and find a soiled crate. Part of this is that I believe my husband and daughter were very lax and not very tolerant of barking, whining and not getting any sleep in the early stages. I do not believe that my husband felt the crate was always necessary. She will come and go in and out of her crate but does not ever just go there to crash. She does chew and eat things left lying around. She does sleep with us in our bed and is always Velcro as in being with us on the sofa or wherever we are. She goes in the car with us as much is possible too and is very good in general. The crate is a good place for safety and the reasons that TR mentioned. They should also learn that it is ok for them to be alone and be comfortable with it and that you will come back...... That being said- I am not sure what Dharma thinks of this and will she ever get it?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I know it can be hard to convince family members that the lack of sleep you get when the pup is young, will pay off later. I can only assume that its a even tougher job convincing neighbors, if you live in a apartment.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

We crate trained all three of our dogs as puppies and after their 6 month teething stint, we would let them out while we were gone. For all three of our dogs, this was a mistake because somewhere between 10-13 months, they all felt the need to chew again - on expensive things. My fault, completely. At 15 months, our Vizsla pup is just earning some freedom again.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

nutmeg07 - being alone is a skill. Savannah practices some alone time every single day. If I miss practicing one day, I can tell it is harder for her the next.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

I feel ya meandmy --- Lua is 9 months and just destroyed her first shoe when no one was looking. Back to the crate with her for the next several months, I think.


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