# Long Term Confinement



## Moose7755 (Feb 10, 2013)

Hi everyone, my girlfriend and I are picking up Finley, our first V, on April 20th and are super excited. This is my first post but I have been reading this forum for several months and have gotten so much great information and ideas, so thank you all. 

We have decided to use Dr. Ian Dunbar's long term confinement idea for holding the puppy while we are at work. He will be left alone for about 5 hours during the day. For those of you unfamiliar with this approach it involves blocking off a small puppy play area on linoleum, which has his crate, plenty of chew toys, food, water, and an area for him to go potty. The potty area will be a bin or cat litter box that will have soil and a roll of sod inside of it, this is supposed to help develop a substrate preference for going to the bathroom on the grass.

I have used the search feature but didn't see any posts about this type of confinement. I was wondering if anyone has had success or failure using this method? I do not want to use wee wee pads since it makes house breaking harder, but I am worried this method will make house breaking harder as well? I think 5 hours is too long to keep him in his crate at 7 weeks old, any thoughts?


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

I think in an ideal world less "long term" the better but sometimes people dont have a choice. I think five hours is probably the maximum and really at 7 weeks that is stretching it. I would recommend taking a week off to get him adjusted to your enviornment first. Since you're having him in a little pen area I think its much better than being crated for 5 hours (guaranteed accidents if that was the case at 7 weeks). The sod idea is good. Assuming he uses it, i would probably move it around the pen area every so often so he knows its the grass and not the spot. We are having that problem with our 5 month old. We used wee wee pads in one corner of the apartment (we are on the 12th floor) and now if he has to go he just goes in that spot, whether there is a wee wee pad or not. 

Good luck with Finley!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Moose!

In general, puppies can hold their bladder for 1 hour per month of age. Using this philosophy at 7 weeks your pup should be able to hold her bladder for 1.75 hours so leaving her home for 5 hours will definitely result in her having to go to the bathroom while you are away. With the plan you have set up I would believe (I'm no expert) that IF you can train your pup to go in bin/litter area she will go in it once and then will piddle elsewhere after that. It is a good idea to give her somewhere to go that is away from her sleeping area, however, I think once she goes in the bin that she will find another area to go later on to avoid getting into her prior messes.

I'm curious to see how this plan works for you as Vs can tend to be pretty good jumpers and can squirm their way out of the confines of a lot of areas. How do you plan on blocking off the play area? We always tried to use baby gates when we were home but by 10 weeks our boy was scaling them or had learned how to knock them out of position. We opted for the crate as it was our most secure option while we were away at work.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I wish you good luck, 
Moose...please post any relevant results. 
Love Dr. Dunbar's ideas but I found that sometimes they may need slight tweaking (and then some)...to fit "high power hunting dogs" 

Best approach is to have them around you...all the time, all their life. 
Wishful thinking, on the dog's part...


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I think this way may slow your potty training down because the puppy will have a whole play area to have an accident and you won't be there to correct him. I am a fan of crate training. We did 2 hour blocks the first week, then 4 hrs after that. We also got our puppy at 9 weeks so he was 2 weeks older than yours so bigger bladder. Keep us posted!


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## LifewithLouie (Jan 11, 2013)

My comment is along the lines of KB87, what do you plan to use to confine your pup? Before we fully committed to using the crate, we blocked off our dining room with a tall x-pen. Came home a couple times to a puppy outside of the dining room (we knew he hadn't been out long as we had set up a webcam to watch him). We discovered that Louie is an excellent climber. Try to choose something that is difficult to climb.


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## deanfootlong (May 21, 2012)

hello. My wife and I read dr ian dunbars books before we got our puppy. we thought the long term confinement was a great idea also until we ran it by our breeder. breeder recommended the crate while we were at work. and boy am I glad we did. potty training was a breeze. we starter her out with a tiny section of the crate so she wouldnt pee where she lives. worked out perfect. 

I disagree with the "puppys can generally hold their bladder one hour for each month they are old. out pup was holding it for four hours and never peed in her crate. we would leave her for 3-4 hours during the day while at work.

in short, I think its in your best interest in using the crate as opposed to ian dunbars long term confinement idea.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

It's a general rule, Dean. Unfortunately, our little boy could hold it a little less than average. At 12 weeks, he still couldn't really hold it three hours. We returned to a poopy crate and puppy two times before learning that lesson.  

We got a dog walker to take the boy out for potty and play with him a bit on the days where we couldn't return and help him ourselves. Keep us updated on the long term confinement! Congrats on your incoming V!!! You must be thrilled, you are in for quite a ride. 

EDITED: I think the rule I heard was redrover's, oops. That makes more sense.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I tried something similar, but with the pads. It did not go well. I came home from work in the middle of the day, so he was only crated for about 4 hours. If possible, I would recommend crating and then maybe have one of you come home late morning, and the other early afternoon. But I also understand this is not possible. You also don't want to stress the puppy by "making" it eliminate in it's crate, which is why I originally tried confinement with puppy pads. What others said up-thread is what happened--he would pee once on the pads, and then the next time somewhere else in his area. In the end I just had to let my boss know I'd be going home in the middle of the day. The confinement experiment lasted about three days. It was short, so it didn't impact his potty training at all, but it honestly just straight up didn't work for us.

The formula I was given was 1 hour for every month of age, plus 1 more hour. So at two months, the pup could hold it 3 hours, etc. Again, it's a general rule. Every dog is going to be different. Jasper developed bladder control really well, and can still hold it a long time. Other dogs take longer to develop it. And, especially as they get older and can hold it longer, try to remember that just because they _can_ hold it for 12 hours doesn't mean they _should_, at least on a regular basis. Imagine how uncomfortable you would feel after 12 hours of not peeing! 

If you can hire a dogwalker, either a professional or a retired neighbor or friend or family member, then that could also work well for you. In the summer, a trustworthy neighborhood kid might also be of help. 

Good luck, keep us updated on what you try and how it works! Congrats on your wiggly puppy! They are so much fun--and work--but you mostly only remember the fun.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Hello, Moose7755, and welcome to the forums!! 

My last two dogs have been rescues out of the dog pound as young adults, already trained. So... the last time I raised a puppy was quite a while back. She was not a Vizsla, she was a Bluetick Coonhound (Elly Mae).

Anyhow, with Elly Mae, I used the long-term confinement method you have described and it worked like a charm! She did, however, learn to jump over her baby gate at 15 weeks. Then I had to come up with a new way to confine her, and ended up using a big piece of plywood to block the doorway. It did the trick. Also, my job was not too far from home so I was able to come home for about 45 minutes every day at lunch time. The longest she ever spent alone was four hours. 

Wishing you the best with little Finley on April 20th. I'm sure you are excited!! Be prepared to get bitten and nipped for a while... Nevertheless, you will fall in love!! ;D ;D ;D


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## Moose7755 (Feb 10, 2013)

Thanks for the replies and the words of encouragement. I understand that being with the pup all the time is the best solution and I really wish I could do that but unfortunately we can't. We will rearrange our work schedules as much as possible to limit his alone time. Coming home at lunch will be difficult since we both work 30 min from home so I will look into getting a dog walker although letting a stranger into our house is kind of scary. 

I work at the NC State vet school so once he is up to date on all his shots, I will be able to bring him to work with me, so it is just these first few months that I am worried about. 

As the date draws closer I find myself getting less excited and more nervous. Did anyone else feel like this? We have been on a waiting list since July, and only decided to go on the waiting list after 4 months of research and discussions. This will be my first dog as an adult, which is why I think I'm so nervous. However I grew up with German short haired pointers, and from everything that I have observed and read, the two breeds have very similar exercise needs and personalities, which I love. My cousin is a professional dog trainer, who trains guide dogs for the blind, and I work at the NC State vet school so I think I have a good network of support and knowledge around me. 

Wish me luck, I'll post pictures and have a formal introduction of Finley when we bring him home the 20th


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## chrispycrunch (May 11, 2012)

Moose7755 said:


> As the date draws closer I find myself getting less excited and more nervous. Did anyone else feel like this? We have been on a waiting list since July, and only decided to go on the waiting list after 4 months of research and discussions. This will be my first dog as an adult, which is why I think I'm so nervous. However I grew up with German short haired pointers, and from everything that I have observed and read, the two breeds have very similar exercise needs and personalities, which I love. My cousin is a professional dog trainer, who trains guide dogs for the blind, and I work at the NC State vet school so I think I have a good network of support and knowledge around me.


I've also been on a waiting list since last July, I pick up my boy on May 25th.......and I have to say.......I am getting more and more nervous as the date approaches too. You're not at all alone. I grew up with mini dogs in my family (shih tzus, and a lhasa), so this will be my first REAL dog.....and on my own. I have been surround by large dogs my whole life though, just none as hyper and crafty as a vizsla.

You'll do great! We'll do great! lol (I hope)

I've also been trying to figure out what to do with the little sausage when I'm at work. Probably going to take a week off when he first comes.

.......as for long term confinement though, I'm not quite sure that's going to be the best approach for me. I think I will be doing the crate training and leave it at that. I figure the smaller the area, the better. I'll be able to pop home at lunch to check on him, walk him, relieve him, and feed him (not all in that order).


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

I took a week off when I got Darcy,I crate trained her and 2 years later she loves the crate so much I cant get rid of it, as for long confinement, Darcy is in her cage if we are at work, my wife works nights so the longest time she is in it is probably 3 hours a couple of times a week, I am very lucky as I work 3 miles from home so I get off at lunchtime every day to walk her and spend some time with her. I am off this week so she is spending all her time wearing me out, just as a Vizsla should...  her crate is the biggest one I could get 42x32x34 inches, so her food, toy's and bed are in it.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

I started working from home when ruby was 4 months old, but the first 2 months we had her she was created 3 days a week. I took the first week off work to help her get settled and bond to us. After that, she was crated for 4 hours till my husband came home from work for a lunch break, and then another 3 or 4 hours till I came home for the day. 

Personally, I preferred the crate over a larger contained area. I knew she was safe. If you have to be gone all day, I would do a dog walker midday before I would leave him alone in a larger area. Even if the pup has the space, he'll still greatly benefit from human interaction during the day.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

We brought our pup home right before Christmas, so with the holidays and long weekends, we were able to either be home or just go home and let him out. At 11 weeks, he was able to go about 4 hours in the crate w/o an accident -- which I found to be miraculous. We didn't leave him in there for that long regularly, but on occasion when we needed to be at work and couldn't get home before that, it helped. By 4 months, he could go 4.5 hours (we had a walker come in during the day and take him out) and now, at 6 months, he loves his crate and happily goes inside, provided he's exercised, etc. He sleeps all night in his crate still (from 10-7) without a peep. I'm so happy we crate trained him.


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## Moose7755 (Feb 10, 2013)

**Update from original poster**

I was very nervous about leaving Finley and crate training him when we got him and I know that some of you were curious as to how this long term confinement area would work out so I figured I would give an update. 

We have had Finley for 4 weeks now, and since we got him at 7 weeks we set up the long term confinement area for when we had to work. He was left for 4 hours and a few times 5 hours alone. When we are home we started with 30 min in the crate 30 min out of the crate and taking him outside to pee when we let him out of the crate. 

This has worked great for us and couldn't be happier. He has never pooped in the house at all. In his confinement area he has never peed in his crate or on the linoleum, so he is only going on the piece of sod, with puppy pads under it. He has had some pee accidents inside when we are home but only because we lost track of time and didn't bring him outside.

Right now he is going to the door and whining/pawing at the door when he needs to go potty, and he has not had an accident inside for the last week. Such a smart little booger. I know it won't work for everyone but the long term confinement area has worked great for us so far.


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