Strangely Mellow BC & Leaving 1 Yr. Old Dog Home Alone

[moosikins]

Callie's been doing really well with staying at home uncaged while we're out for a few hours (we've gone up to 5 hours now). We put a camera up to see what she's up to, and she's always either curled up on the couch or looking out of the window.

 

My husband and I feel really bad leaving her caged all day while we're at work (~8 hours) so we've decided that it's time to train her to be without it. It's a huge crate for a 45 lb dog (full grown mastiff sized) and it would be nice to pack it up and put it away so we have more space in the living room for everyone too (she'd still have her small kennel in the bedroom accessible for snoozing and getting away from anything/anyone she doesn't want to interact with).

 

What do you do to entertain or encourage the dog to play appropriately during the day? I obviously want her to behave and have an appropriate outlet for her energies during the day, but I also feel like because she was crate trained from the very beginning (8 weeks old), we've sucked the fun out of her when she's alone. When left alone, she doesn't play, doesn't gnaw on her toys, and usually doesn't eat her food (until we come back). She will drink water. As a side note, I don't think it's separation anxiety preventing her from doing dog things because she knows our routine well, goes into the crate willingly, and is never anxious when we leave or come home...She knows we'll always return and I think she also knows approximately when too because if we check the camera she stirs around 5:30 and looks around for us. I think she's just too used to laying in the crate all day, snoozing and stretching.

 

It seems so uncharacteristic of the breed that she's so mellow and subdued during the week and the opposite on weekends - it's go-go-go and playtime all day. She'll even do her own thing when we're home, it's not like she requires our constant attention - she chews bones, runs around throwing balls and toys for herself, nose pokes us to play tug, starts games of tag by crouching with her head down and butt up, snarfs down her food as soon as it's set down, and lays on our feet to rest too!

 

Could she be tired out during the week because we do many interactive things on the weekends and in the evenings? We always actively play with her when we come home, she comes along for trips to any non-food stores, our friends' houses, etc. and we've been going to the beach a lot too! She also gets multiple walks every evening too. I always thought young dogs and BCs in particular would be so much more active and troublesome. Did we just get super lucky with her temperament?!?!

 

What would you do to encourage her to be a dog while she's alone and not crated? She's not a fan of the stuffed/frozen Kong and just lets it melt into the carpet. Last night I tried to hide treats all over the house and she got maybe half of them and the rest are just sitting there like she got bored finding them. She enjoys the windows, so I'm going to make sure those are accessible and the blinds are up and she also loves her Kong Wobbler, but like I mentioned before, she won't eat if we're not home. It'll sit untouched until we come home and then she goes back to it once she's greeted us.

 

Any ideas you may have are appreciated! And any other suggestions regarding leaving a 1 year old dog home alone (because I know that she does get her occasional mischievous streak and she's bound to do something naughty when we're gone at some point - what are the sneaky things you never expected your loose dog to do or get into while home alone?).

 

ETA - She does have a whole basket of toys in the living room that she normally digs through and pulls out her favorites. They're untouched when she's home alone, even if we take them out for her beforehand.

[Maralynn]

Sounds like you have a perfect dog - why try to change her?

 

My dogs just hang out when I'm gone. Or when I need the to just hang out. It's one of the things I love about them.

 

ETA - I think you're projecting your emotion on the situation. It's not a bad thing that she just chills. It's not abnormal or a sign that you've done something wrong. It's a pretty normal dog thing to just hang out - high energy dog or not. You've done a good job training her and now she happily chills while you're at work and happily does stuff with you when you're home

[simba]

I'd agree with Maralynn. She sounds like she's behaving appropriately. And I don't think it's because she's crated- I have never used a crate, and that seems to be mostly what mine do/have done as well, though I haven't used a camera on them. They're bred for human companionship, they take the opportunity for down-time when it presents itself.

 

She might like having that little rest- not because you're overworking her or anything. We all like a rest, of whatever kind, and we all like something to occupy us provided the two are kept in balance. She might enjoy the 'no people' time and then enjoy hanging out and having fun.

[GentleLake]

I agree with Mara. I think her behavior when she's alone is pretty normal. No one to interact with so she just chills.

 

Thank your lucky stars she's so good.

 

p.s. I've had dogs who didn't even drink when I wasn't home. They'd all run to the water bowl to top up after they'd said hello. I even suspected it was a way to control their need to pee when there was no one to let them out, but of course that's merely conjecture.

[gcv-border]

I agree with the above 3 posters. You haven't "sucked the fun out of her". She is behaving like the perfect dog. She doesn't NEED to play with toys, etc. while you are gone. It sounds like she is getting plenty of activity and interactive time with you while you are at home.

 

She is willing to go-go-go with you when you want? And then will chill nicely while you are away? Perfect dog.

 

That is what I love about border collies. They are usually 'instant on' when you want to do something - no cajoling necessary. And if trained appropriately, they will also chill when necessary.

 

An example: my dog knows that when I take him out of his crate at our agility lesson, he will be running and he is mentally ready to blast off. I do walk/jog him around a bit to get his muscles loosened up, but his mind is ready to go. Several other classmates have to take their dog out of the crate 5-10 minutes before their run and play with them (toy, tugging, treating, running around, etc.) to get their dog motivated to run the course. I am not a good motivator, so I prefer the dog that wants to do something. I would rather train for control, than work on motivation.

[moosikins]

I got the warm fuzzies reading all your comments - I'm so glad that she's normal by experienced dog owner standards! We do very much enjoy her personality and range of activity levels. She's very well behaved and with our recent focus on training, she's quite literally the perfect dog (or at least we think so...my husband and I frequently discuss how lucky and thankful we are to have had her come into our lives).

 

I was just worried, and likely projecting my emotions onto her as Maralynn said, that she needed more fun during the day. We'll try going cageless sometime this week (not packing it up yet, just leaving it unlocked) and I'll probably post an update. Hopefully she'll enjoy snoozing on the couch and being able to look out of the window to her heart's content.

 

I just have to move the hamster into a different room, I think, because who knows when she might overcome her fear of him to investigate his smelliness further (she's beyond terrified of the dwarf hamster currently...he gets taken out of his cage for cuddles, and she wants nothing to do with any of that).

[Gloria Atwater]

I'll agree with all the above. Unless you see something that seems like genuine depression or lethargic-ness, I'd not worry a bit. My dogs left alone rarely do much of anything, (though the 8 month old pup may dig a little hole) and then when I or my husband come home, it's PARTY TIME! When I'm home all day they have far more bouts of zoominess than when I leave them to themselves and stay gone several hours.

She sounds perfect, so I'd say let her be! And count your blessings, not your worries.


~ Gloria

[mbc1963]

Yeah, I was reading your post and thinking, "THEY WON THE DOGGIE LOTTERY!!"

 

My dog used to bark at noises on the street (postman, etc.) when I was home, but my neighbor insists that he never barked when I wasn't home. Like it was 8-hour nap time for him, off-duty time, break time.

[alligande]

Yeah, I was reading your post and thinking, "THEY WON THE DOGGIE LOTTERY!!"

My dog used to bark at noises on the street (postman, etc.) when I was home, but my neighbor insists that he never barked when I wasn't home. Like it was 8-hour nap time for him, off-duty time, break time.

I agree, my dog is just like yours was, home alone he sleeps, usually on our bed, when we get home it is back to barking at random things.

[moosikins]

I have to admit that I love the alert barking. We live in a one floor townhouse and I've never had bedrooms on the first floor before. It makes me nervous so my husband sleeps closer to the window, we installed alarms on the windows, and he always checks the doors before we go to bed.

Ever since we got Callie last year and she's really started to become a "big" dog, I've felt completely at ease at home (I was also used to having a dog around and living in a tiny apartment by myself prior to getting married without one was miserable...I've literally had dogs my entire life) because she alerts me to people and strange noises. She has her different types of barks including the "omg I see the neighbor girl and I MUST PLAY WITH HER" which is an excited sounding bark and she also has her "Get away from my house or I'll eat you" bark that seriously sounds like it's coming from a GSD or some other biiiiiiig dog.

 

We've had neighbors ask if we ever dog sit for a big dog because they can't believe that bark comes out of our little 45 lb BC who throws herself on the ground and presents her belly for rubs immediately upon meeting someone friendly enough to want to pet her (except our one creepy neighbor...she hates him and growls deep in her throat...and gets a whispered "good girl" every time because he's really a creepy guy).

[borasaurus]

p.s. I've had dogs who didn't even drink when I wasn't home. They'd all run to the water bowl to top up after they'd said hello. I even suspected it was a way to control their need to pee when there was no one to let them out, but of course that's merely conjecture.

 

That's what Kieran does and I always thought he was a bit of an oddball for it. I used to leave his water dish with him when, but he'd just throw his toys or blanket into it. One time I actually caught him trying to pull the towel the bowl was set on when I had to come back in because I forgot something. He was so caught up in getting it into the bowl he didn't notice me enter the room. He never used it for actual drinking. Then when I came home he'd greet me and after that drink his water.

[moosikins]

Cal is home alone today! She seemed super confused this morning when I was heading out and even started walking towards her crate and then paused and looked at me like "Wait, don't I go in here?". So far, she's slept on the couch, crawled under the coffee table and laid there, sat at both accessible windows to stare outside, slept by the front door (under the AC vent), slept in her dog bed, walked around and sniffed everything in sight, and is currently asleep on top of our shoes (she's not a shoe chewer and we don't have a great place to hide them, so we're risking it and left the loose shoes out).

 

That's more activity than I was expecting given what she does when we're just out for short periods of time. Somehow, I think she knows she'll be out for a long time today since she's familiar with our routine and probably knows today's a work day.

 

So far, so good... I called my husband on my way to work and we had a "we're so proud of our fur baby" moment because we didn't think we'd be able to have a house dog instead of a crate dog this soon!

[moosikins]

Update: Friday went spectacularly as did the entire weekend when we needed to go out! She earned a brand new chew toy and hopefully she'll play with it a bit today while she's out again. I think if this week goes well, we'll go ahead and fold up the huge wire crate in the living room and put it in the garage!

 

I'm so proud of my baby dog...and you all are right, we're SO lucky that she's naturally this good on top of responding really well to her training!