One of the things that I love about Blogging, and that keeps me going when I feel like I’ve done too much and it’s driving me insane, is that I always have a place to turn to for new ideas and a little bit of assistance. It’s a way to share learning and tips with people who I may never meet in person, but may be experiencing the exact same things that I am, right across the world!
A few weeks ago I started working full-time, 9-5. This was a big change not only for me, as I was previously working mostly afternoons, evenings and weekends, but also for Luna. She had to transition from nearly always having someone there with her, to being alone nearly all day. She is still only very young, and she is very attached to us.
I’ve tried a lot of different things to try and keep her occupied for the first say, half hour after we leave, as this is generally when she gets up to the most mischief. So far, she has dug up most of the lawn, destroyed a power cord, ripped the insulation off the copper pipes, pulled out 5 plants and destroyed a lot of the edging on the garden beds. As you can imagine, this is not really something we want to continue happening, especially as we are renting…
We have spoken to both our obedience and agility trainers, but I’d love to get some other ideas. We’ve tried a few things already, she has a clamshell pool with sand for her to dig in, she has a kong which I’ve packed to the brim with treats, we’ve tried the poo in the hole thing to stop her digging, but that’s just more fun for her and we’ve tried hiding treats and laying down a scent trail with stock, but she was too smart and found the treats in about 5 minutes.
She goes for a walk every morning before we both leave, and now does some obedience training in the morning, as this is more exhausting (according to our trainer).
What’s a guy to do? Anyone?
Met Our Men Love Dogs Too Editor and His Dog Luna
Kevin is 25, from Melbourne, Australia and a guy who loves dogs! Kevin lives with his partner Antonio and their puppy Luna who has her own blog at . He has been a dog person for as long as he can remember, he is allergic to cats, and now works for The Lost Dogs’ Home in Melbourne. When he’s not writing or blogging he is also an Actor
I crate my dogs while I am at work. I could totally trust one for the day but not necessarily the other. When mine was too young to be crated (couldnt hold it yet) he was in an xpen in the kitchen (i moved the table against the wall). I think teaching a dog about being crated is one of the most important things. Do I enjoy that they are crated all day? No but I have a webcam and check on them and honestly they sleep all day. They dont cry or bark or anything like that. If I had a laundry room or something with a dog door for outside or somewhere they could get in very little trouble I would put them in there but I would never leave them completely outside. They would have to be able to have in/out privileges.
One thing I can totally recommend is give the dog something that smells like you. If that means wrapping a sheet that you have slept on (and wont be upset if it gets destroyed) around their bed or something. It will help comfort them.