When Can I Start Leaving My Dog Out of the Crate?
Generally, you will want use the crate until your dog’s at least one year old.
But it largely depends on your dog’s behavior and characteristics.
I started leaving my dog home alone without a crate pretty early and she never had a problem with it.
She actually preferred being able to roam around the apartment to have a better overview.
Your dog’s behavior should be stable and he needs to clearly understand what his toys are and what he is not allowed to do.
If he’s getting into trouble while you’re at home, don’t let him out of the crate yet.
Let’s go into more detail of crating during the day vs. night.
Leaving Your Dog Out of the Crate During the Day
You don’t want your dog to get to all the rooms of your house at once.
Start with a single room your dog is already very familiar with like the living room.
Restrict access to all the other rooms by either closing doors or setting up baby gates.
Important: Any time you leave your dog at home, make sure that he is physically and mentally exercised beforehand.
This way, he’ll sleep most of the time without being interrupted by the need to pee.
When leaving your dog outside of his crate for the first time, start in your room of choice and only leave for a couple of minutes.
If he seems to be fine after a few tries, you can gradually increase the duration.
Take a step back if your dog fails and try to determine what caused him to fail.
After he graduated one room, you may want to give him access to more rooms in the house.
If you are uncomfortable with your dog being in certain rooms then you can still restrict access to those.
Some dog owners keep their adult dog crated during the day until 2 years of age.
Personally, I got rid of the crate when my puppy was 6 months and never looked back.
Not a single thing destroyed in the house because she already knew the rules.
How Long Should a Dog/Puppy Be in a Crate?
Most owners wonder how long should a puppy be in a crate. See the table below to help you determine how long you can crate your dog, based on their age.
| Dog’s age | Maximum time in a crate |
|---|---|
| 8-10 weeks | 30-60 minutes |
| 11-14 weeks | 1-3 hours |
| 15-16 weeks | 3-4 hours |
| 17+ weeks | 4-5 hours |
| Adult healthy dogs | 8 hours |
The table above is an aid and not a definitive guide for many reasons.
First of all, young puppies demand a lot of attention, and they can’t hold their bladder very long. Give them lots of attention and play time. Also, make sure you potty train them and take them outside more often.
If you have to work an 8-hour shift, your puppy can’t stay in the crate that long. Try to figure out a way to give them a mid-day break from the crate. Take them out for a walk so they can stretch their legs and do their business. If you can’t do this yourself, see if someone else can do it for you or consider hiring a dog walker.
If your furry friend is sick and can’t hold it in, crate time should go down.
Most adult, healthy dogs can stay in a crate for up to 8 hours. Still, it’s not the best practice to leave them alone for this long everyday. Give them lots of love and exercise while you are home and make sure take them somewhere nice on weekends.
How long is too long in crate to leave a dog in a crate? Crate Train
All pet parents ponder over what to do with their dog or puppy while at work. Your furry friends can get lonely or anxious and make a big mess. You can keep your pooch safe and comfortable while you’re at work by crate training a dog or a puppy.
Many people don’t prefer this method and consider it cruel. Yet, when done right, puppy crate training can be a solution for leaving a dog home alone.
Have you ever wondered how your pup is doing, left at home all alone while you are miles away? Now you can watch your pup, talk to them and even hear them bark back with a Petcube pet camera.