Pet owners: where are your pets during the workday?

[brooke77]

I have a 65 lb dog and he has nearly complete access of the house, with the exception of the upstairs (bedrooms, bathroom). I can watch him on cameras via my phone and he is usually sleeping on the couch or his bed.

[M]

My two have the whole house with the exception of the bathroom because Hilo locks himself in there hoping we'll come home faster to rescue him. Silly pup.

[Susie]

Both of my dogs (3 and almost 9) are crated when we're not home. They like the security, and I like knowing that my house is safe from them, and they are safe from whatever they might dream up getting into in the house.

Both of them go in their crates on their own to rest even when we are home.

[Roc A Bee]

My dog has free reign when I'm not home but he's nearly 7. He was crated when we were away for the first year or so.

[explorer2001]

I feel like I should add Rocko can't be crated because he was crated 23 hours a day before going to the shelter where I rescued him. He even has issues with small rooms.

[AAM2012]

Jan 4, 2016 13:51:46 GMT -5 mysticmuffin said:

Both of our dogs are crated when we leave the house, both for their safety and to prevent destruction.

Ditto, it really does become their home and when we start getting ready to leave for work they automatically get in their crate.

[womet]

I wish our dog would be crated without trying to escape or pee in his crate. So he is gated I'm the middle floor or our townhouse where there is no carpet for him to pee on.

[spunkarella]

Or cats have the run of the whole house, but spend at least 90% of their lives sleeping and cuddling on our bed.

[hurricanedrunk]

Both dogs have free reign of the house when we're gone. This is a recent thing - my older dog (7) was diagnosed with arthritis in his hips 3 months ago and I wanted to give him options to lay on couches all day if he wanted vrs the hard kennel. We've been lucky so far and nothing big has been destroyed. It's usually something paperwise that gets chewed up.

[crashgizmo]

Jan 4, 2016 19:30:57 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

I feel like I should add Rocko can't be crated because he was crated 23 hours a day before going to the shelter where I rescued him. He even has issues with small rooms.

This is the same with Crash. He was born and raised at the pound, so he hates enclosed spaces. 

He has free reign of the house except our guest room, which we keep closed all the time. We have cameras in our bedroom and living room and can pretty much see him from everywhere. He's almost always asleep on our bed while we are gone. He's also almost 5 years old, and has a bladder of steel. So both of those things play a role in keeping him free. 

[compassrose]

Hallie (mini dachshund) comes to work with me every day and hangs out in my office. She has made friends around the building that we go visit for pats and treats.

[sarapocalypse]

Our dog is gated in our breakfast nook during the day and any time we are out.

[jerseyjaybird]

Ours have access to most of the house, although we shut the bedroom doors. They're all (three) adults or seniors. Even if we're home all day, they generally nap until the time we usually get home, then perk up/play.

[magpie]

my dog has free reign of the house. She has a doggie door to the backyard too. She's a wildling and pretty much likes to wander around and hang out on her own, surveying her various domains, while we're home too.

My old dog was the opposite. It didn't matter that he had the whole house and a doggie door to the backyard. He would not move from the couch the entire time we were gone.

[Deleted]

Our golden retriever has free reign and has been totally trustworthy thus far. She'll be six at the end of this month. We create-gained initially, but let her be a Free Dog in the house after 1.5 years.

She's either on her bed or laying on a sunny spot on the floor.

[mrsukyankee]

Barney has free rein when we're at work. Right now he's destroying the carpeting, but that's going away in the renovation (we'll get hardwood flooring which he doesn't scratch up).

[Deleted]

My greyhound has free run of the first floor. She used to have free run of the whole house, but likes to take her frozen yogurt Kong upstairs and I got tired of scrubbing yogurt out of the carpet so now I gate her. She's a greyhound, so she sleeps all day. She has two beds and a basket of toys. She never been one to jump on furniture and doesn't get into trouble, so this is what works for us. She was crated when she first came home and slowly gained more freedom.

[v]

Jan 5, 2016 6:01:20 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Barney has free rein when we're at work. Right now he's destroying the carpeting, but that's going away in the renovation (we'll get hardwood flooring which he doesn't scratch up).

(high5) :Y: (hug)

[LoveTrains]

My dog is crated. It is better for him this way. He can't get up on the sofa by himself anymore and can't jump down from the sofa either. He is blind and old.

[mpc]

We close all bedroom and bathroom doors, but other than that the cats can go where they please in the apartment.

[pinkdutchtulips]

My 2 dogs have free rein over the non carpeted areas of my house - we close the door to DD's room and put a gate in my door to keep them out of my room.

To prevent accidents - I've trained them to use a puppy pad in the bathroom.

[Mashara]

Jan 5, 2016 6:52:20 GMT -5 v said:

Jan 5, 2016 6:01:20 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Barney has free rein when we're at work. Right now he's destroying the carpeting, but that's going away in the renovation (we'll get hardwood flooring which he doesn't scratch up).

(high5) (hug)

LOL, I read this whole thread pondering whether "reign" could be argued as correct if everyone meant the pets wore little tiaras and ruled the house.

[momof2boys]

We have a tortoise, so he's in his tank all the time And he sleeps approximately 22 hours during a 24 hours period!

Is your kitty scooting and expressing anal glands or are they getting poop on their fur when they poop? If its anal glands you can have the vet express them, if its poop they can do a sanitary clip (basically shaving a "poop shoot" in their fur so when they poop the long hairs doesn't catch the poop. I would also throw an old blanket over your bed so they can sleep on it but if they leave a "surprise" you can just throw that in the wash.