A local veterinarian referred a client to me earlier this morning. She called to tell me that her dog was urinating in the house. First, it was obvious that this woman may have been a little unbalanced… or maybe she’d just forgotten to take her medication… because the nature of her dog problem took a good 20 minutes to explain, when it should have only taken 2 minutes. And after 20 minutes, I still couldn’t understand her well enough to tell if she had:
1.) A housebreaking issue
or . . .
2.) A problem with the dog exhibiting submissive urination.
In any event, upon further questioning, I advised that she NEEDED to keep the dog in it’s crate ANY time she could not supervise the dog. Her response to me was that, “I don’t want to put him in the crate when I’m home.” “Why not?” I asked. “Because he’s in the crate all day!” she replied. “What do you mean all day?” I questioned. “All day. ELEVEN HOURS!” she stated. Well, as it turns out, this woman had been leaving her dog in the crate every day… for 11 hours… while she was at work without having anyone come to break up the dog’s day. She claimed that the breeder she’d gotten the dog from had told her that “this was the way these dogs had been raised, so it was ‘okay.'”
WAKE UP DOG OWNERS!
You cannot keep your dog in the crate during the day, day-in/day-out for 11 hours. And then come home and play with the dog for 20 minutes. And then go to bed. This is not a life for any dog, and eventually the dog will begin to exhibit strange behaviors. It is simply not a humane way to own a dog. MY ADVICE TO THIS WOMAN: Get rid of the dog. Find it a good home. If you continue this lifestyle for your dog, there is no doubt the dog will go stir crazy.
-Adam