Free roam

[sophias mommy]

Don't worry... I wouldn't leave her alone until she stops trying to munch on the carpet or walls . I just hate putting her in her crate when we leave. She loves her crate, but I just hate that she's confined to that small thing. I'd feel better if she was able to free roam and play with her toys/sleep on the bed as she pleases. I have tons of baby gates that hook together, so I could leave her there to start. But, that wouldn't really help me because of the carpet munching.

[LovinOurYorkies]

Sounds like it might be time to upgrade to an x pen/play pen. That way she would have everything she wants/need in there with her and still be safe without being so confined
btw, is she chewing carpet only at the walls... in other places too?

[AmyD102]

Lola is 6 months and she has free roam of the house, we gave her free roam about a month ago when she stopped going to the bathroom when we weren't home. She is alone about 5 hrs M-F while I am at work and she has not had an accident once. I believe all she does while we are gone is stare out the window or sleep. She has never chewed anything or torn anything up either. My husband is a driver and drives by the house several times a day and says she is always laying up in the window. (We live on the second floor of a two family house and the back of the couch is even with the window, you can't even see her in the window unless you are looking for her) We have also trained her not to bark (the only time she does is when we are home and she hears someone at the door, I think she feels the need to "protect" us )

We have had Milo for 3 weeks now and he just graduated from his crate to the bathroom. He still has his crate in there, a pee pad and some toys. It has only been 2 days but he is doing good so far, goes on the pee pad while we are gone. Once he starts holding it while we are gone we will also give him more space to roam.

For DH and I, we let our pups earn the space they have. If Lola all of a sudden started having a ton of accidents or got into a lot of trouble while we were gone we would restrict her space again. But she has been very well behaved and we have not had any problems yet. It was the same with Kiwi, He had free roam at about 6 months as well(but his situation was a little different, he managed to "break out" of every space we tried to restrict him to so we eventually gave up..lol) and once he had free roam he never had any accidents either.

But again, I think every pup, every home and every situation is different so you need to find what works best with your family, good luck!

[KazzyK810]

ZoE's had free roam of the house since she was 5 months old. She'd been fully potty-trained for 2 1/2 months by that time.

I've set my home security camera to record while I've been gone to see if she gets up to anything interesting, but she just spends her time looking out the window occasionally barking at squirrels or passing cars, or she sleeps on the couch.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by gracielove

I buy the 12" bullies for Gracie and I throw them away when they get to be around 3". Dogs need to chew and in order to keep them from being destructive they need an outlet for that urge. The 12" bully sticks are about the same length as Gracie but she doesn't mind. It takes her about 2 weeks to chew one down.

Kaji doesn't chew on anything he shouldn't have. He's never done it. He occasionally would get a merricks wishbone, but he loses interest if he has one available everyday. The only time he's destructive is when he hasn't had enough exercise. I know he needs more play because that's when he gets into the trash can.

[southernbelle04]

Katie Scarlett is almost 7 months and we are testing out free roam for the first time this week. She loves it! She has only had 2 accidents so far this week. Other than those, she goes straight to the potty pad. We were confining her in the den with us but she was getting to where she would not go in the potty pad in that room. She would pee on the carpet. So I took down the baby gate and she now goes to the potty pad in our bedroom. 1 of the 2 accidents she did have was right in front of the potty pad so I am not sure if she couldn't make it or what, but I think giving her free roam is what is helping her to learn where to go even better. I actually worked today in my scrapbooking studio while she was free to do as she pleased and she was great. I am a stay at home wife though so I keep a pretty sharp eye on her.

[MikaTallulah]

Mine still don't have full access to the house. 4 yorkies, 1 golden, & 2 cats + entire house + no supervision = Big mess potential. All are housebroken. Cats have full access. Dogs get the kitchen, laundry room, and family room when I'm not home. I love my baby gates . I hate messes. The furniture in the family room is hand me downs from my grandfather.

[Britster]

Jackson was 5 months or so. He just always proved to be reliable when we weren't home. While we were not there, he'd just sleep the whole time (saw him on camera once lol). My dad was the one who left him out and I was all like "NO!" but got home to find nothing out of place. Rest is history.