Safe to give a 4 month old free reign of a room?

[tblake]

My puppy just turned 4 months and I've been keeping her in a little playpen during the day while I'm at work (I come by and check on her so shes along ~4.5-5 hours at a time at most). For the first week she was great, but this week she's started to just go crazy and bark/whine during the day (I can hear her when I get off the elevator).

I live in a studio and aside from a few cords (which I can cover up) theres basically nothing she can destroy (or at least that I care about)..aside from maybe peeling paint off the walls?? Is it safe to just give her free reign of the apartment (the kitchen/bathroom can be shut off)? Any opinions?

And also any opinions about getting her to stop barking?!

[tblake]

Oh and she's currently trained to go on a wee-wee pad (she's probably > 95% accurate..had at most 2-3 mistakes so far) which is in her pen with her. Will it throw that hole system off you think? When I'm home and she is free to wander she is good about going back into her crate and going on the pad without any prompting.

[TLC]

IDK ~ when mine were home alone, they were contained to a small spare room, which was baby gated so they couldn't get out.

They didn't get FREE run (alone) until they were 1.5 years old....

At 4 months, I'd say keep her contained, as they DO regress....

Best Wishes

P.S. Mine DID peel the paint off the walls ~ Actually they started to chew on the moulding, the door frame and furniture legs (in that room they were contained to)...So I had to get a whole bunch of USPS priority mail boxes (bc they were free) and open them up to and tape them together to make a "chain of boxes" to line the walls in the room to stop them were chewing on the walls...Then they started to chew on the cardboard boxes, so I had to cover it all in fabric - hahahahahaha ~ don't miss those days....

...just wait until the day you come home to confetti (chewed up pee pads) hahahahaha ~ definalty don't miss that!!!

[ARCHIE]

Wow she is doing good. Good for her. If she's pad trained and your living
in a studio, not much to guard as far as rooms, she may be ok. As long
as there are no electrical cords around to chew on. Try it for a day and
see how she is. Can she get up on furniture? Leave her crate open,
hopefull she'll just go in there and hang out anyhow. YOu won't know
unless you try.
Buddy was 7 months when he had full roam. He did his fair share of chewing
but thank heavens it finally stopped. Only furniture and corner's of throw
rugs did he chew, and the end on the love seat. I threw a bleeping fit
that day and it was his last day of chewing. I think I scared the living
daylights out of him. Whatever it worked.

Good luck,

[yorkieusa]

If you don't put her in a playpen, does she bark when you leave or is it just when she's left in the playpen?

[tblake]

She whines/starts barking when I put her in it.

At first I thought it was just her getting excited as I opened the door with my keys, but today I could hear her barking when I first got off the elevator and long before she knew I or anybody was around (so presumably she had just been whining/barking alone!).

At night she is fine, I can plop her down, close the gate and she just goes to bed. That said, last night around 5AM she started whining/barking for about 15-20 mins (then thankfully stopped)

I'm going crazy she was so perfect for the first week we had her now she's going insane and I feel awful for having to leave her alone all day.

[tblake]

I haven't tried just leaving and not having her in her playpen yet, maybe I'll try it for a bit tomorrow and see if that helps... I just awnt to make sure the apartment is totally puppyproof so she doesn't hurt herself (mainly a few cords).

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by tblake

I haven't tried just leaving and not having her in her playpen yet, maybe I'll try it for a bit tomorrow and see if that helps... I just awnt to make sure the apartment is totally puppyproof so she doesn't hurt herself (mainly a few cords).

Yes. You want to make sure it's puppy-proof. She may not make such a fuss if she's out. They are all different.

[ARCHIE]

Originally Posted by tblake

I haven't tried just leaving and not having her in her playpen yet, maybe I'll try it for a bit tomorrow and see if that helps... I just awnt to make sure the apartment is totally puppyproof so she doesn't hurt herself (mainly a few cords).

She's lonely. They don't like being left. Try leaving the radio on too or
the tv for company. It will take time for her to adjust. Buddy still
whines when I leave and he's six now. Don't want to discourge you
you have to try different things. How about a kong toy filled with treats
to keep her busy when you leave? Anything to take her mind off you
leaving.
Good luck don't give up you just have to try different things.

[Bidda]

She's not barking because of being in a small area, she is barking because she is anxious and does not want to be alone. Actually, it's really your call on the pen vs free range thing. Puppies acutally feel more comfortable in their pens/cages. The small area makes them feel secure. My puppy never barked until I first let him roam free while I was away.

The best way to get her to stop barking while you are gone is to make sure she is well excercised and tired and to relive her anxiety. This exercise should work:

Repeatedly walk in and out of your apartment. Each time you leave, stay out a little longer than before (start with only being gone less than a minute). By doing this, you are showing her that there is nothing to be anxious about and that you WILL come back. Once you are bark free for two hours then you are golden (dogs don't really know how much time has gone by one you hit two hours).

Remember, lots of exercise.. a tired dog is a happy dog.

[tblake]

Yeah I've been trying to exercise her, sadly I live in Manhattan and she does NOT like going outside yet... so can't yet take he for long walks to get her exhausted.

She hates the leash (working on that) and in general being outside is pretty overwhelming I'm sure (I've tried talking her on little 1-2 minute walks in a bag just to get used to the sounds/smells and she is getting a little better but still shakes a bit/drools a TON haha.

[Bidda]

awww. yeah, it will take time.

i guess if i was that small and i lived in manhattan i would be a little scared too

[Britster]

I think if you know your dog, then it's OK. Jackson has never been a destroyer of anything when we're not home (when are home, different story...) lol. And has never once had an accident or chewed anything while we were away. So he's had free roam since 4 months old. We started in a crate, then moved to ex-pen, but he's just never bothered anything so it works for us. Some dogs aren't like this though.

[spiritwings1202]

Originally Posted by Britster

I think if you know your dog, then it's OK. Jackson has never been a destroyer of anything when we're not home (when are home, different story...) lol. And has never once had an accident or chewed anything while we were away. So he's had free roam since 4 months old. We started in a crate, then moved to ex-pen, but he's just never bothered anything so it works for us. Some dogs aren't like this though.

I agree that you need to know your dog. Daisy was like Jackson and I could leave her and she would be fine. Pixie looks for trouble and if I wasn't there she would find it.lol So I guess it depends on the dog