Crate him While Im away at work?

Question
Hi there, I have a 13 wk chi puppy, male. I loved your advice so Im going to ask another question. In your opinion, should I leave my puppy in his crate when Im away at work? As of now my schedule is: I get up at 6 or 630 and take him to pee pee pad, feed him, sometimes take him out and if not i will play with him, all this takes total half hour. then i go to work by 800am and i have him in his crate. i come home for lunch at 1130, take him out to peepee pad, feed him, take him out around the block, sometimes he goes outside but he likes peepee pad, play with him. all this takes 30-40 minutes. 530 pm i come home and repeat but play with him hour then put him in crate while i do my home errands then take him out later around 8pm for one last play or 11pm when i go to bed for one last peepee pad event.  he still has not gotten peepee pad 100% but he is getting there.

please tell me if i can put him in a fenced area where i dont have to have my work affected so much by coming home for two hours (and i need to do my work!) or if i can do anything to give my self less of a headache coming home for lunch, but if it makes the puppy sad then i wont break the 3x a day visits to him. i dont want him to be upset; its just that i worry that if i fence him in he will completely be upset in the bathroom area or he will pee on my carpet if i make his fenced off area bigger bc his peepee pad is in the bathroom and thats where he knows it to be....i think...he does go in the house sometimes, although rarely bc im always watching him. most of the time he goes on the patio when were out there together bc he thinks its outside, and bc i dont wipe the pee off the concrete.

what do you think jo ann?
thx for your efforts in answering so many questions!
rita

Answer
Hi again Rita!!

I'm glad that you asked me about this because I do think that your pup is crated far too much.  I like the idea of crates for a short period of time and for dogs to have as their safe place, but he's spending more time in the crate than out of it and it's just not "normal".  I'm wondering what you consider a crate?  Is it a cage or a dog carrier?  I'm also wondering how large it is?

It's difficult when you have a little Chi pup and work because they really need a lot of attention and affection and a little pup like this needs to empty it's bladder more often than an adult and when you work, that's really tough.  I always want to advise that people have two dogs if they work and are going to be away from home for long periods, but that isn't always practical due to veterinary costs (which seem to get higher and higher all the time), etc.

Let's start with how you're keeping him first:  I'd like to see you use an exercise pen for him when you're at work or doing chores.  Here's a website that shows you a variety of exercise pens http://www.mightypets.com/subcat.asp?0=522  The one I have is a white plastic and I've gotten a lot of use out of it as you can take it with you when visiting or even for just a SAFE trip to the park.  You can protect your rugs and floors by either putting a heavy piece of plastic down as a floor to the exercise pen or you can even have a piece of linoleum cut to size.  Within the exercise pen you can have a bed, toys, food & water and even their crate (safe place) if it isn't too large.  Oh, and you can have the pee pee pad.  

Rita, I have a five year old Chi that is quite fragile who must be kept in a play pen when we can't watch her and she has a pee pee pad in there and there's also a pee pee pad in the bathroom for all three dogs.  She will ask to be put in the play pen to use the pee pee pad or she will go use the pad in the bathroom.  So, I don't think you need to worry about your boy forgetting about using the pad in the bathroom if he has another pad in his enclosed area.  As he matures, his attention span will increase and he'll do fine.  It'll be awhile before he can be left out on his own and be able to just use the bathroom pee pad though.

I'd like to suggest that you google "meetup.com" and see if there is a Chihuahua meetup group in your area.  While your boy is not ready to meet with other Chis right now (the vaccine issue), he soon will be and I think that a group like that would be beneficial to you as you may meet people that would doggie sit for you or who run a doggie day care and your little guy wouldn't have to be alone for such long periods.

Don't take me wrong when I say this, but you did take on the responsibility of a puppy and you did choose a breed that's extremely devoted to their owners.  The time you're investing now by going home and seeing to his needs and playing with him is really minimal when you consider that he has no other outlet for his psychological or physical needs.  The time you spend now will show up later with how he develops both physically and psychologically.  He can have bladder problems or be prone to stones if he's been made to hold his urine too long.  Dogs that have no litter mates to play with and are without human companionship for long periods often exhibit behavioral issues.  Now that I know how much time he spends alone crated, that pretty much answers the question you asked about the biting. Again, I'm not saying this to upset you, but if the time you're spending with him now gives you a headache, I would consider maybe finding him another home and getting a pup later when you're better able to devote time to a pup (I know, OUCH) OR better able to explore alternatives like doggy daycare or a meetup group where someone you trust can come check on him at lunch some days, etc.  I should add here that I find you to be extremely responsible and I think you ask really good questions and I in no way find you to be an irresponsible person - not even slightly. I think that you're SMART to ask questions and you already have a good "feel" for ethical training methods - like how you would ignore him if he bit your hand and I appreciate how you're worried about if he's crated too much. I just want you to consider the investment in time and effort and ask yourself some serious questions NOW while he's still very young and more placeable than an older dog would be.    

This little guy wants to be your companion and your friend and the time you invest, while difficult right now, is important for both of you.

Jo Ann