Border Terriers

Question
My family and i and thinking of buying a Border Terrier puppy but we have qite a small house and garden.And all of my family are out at school and work during the day and we don't want the dog to bark alot, be agressive or escape while we are out. Can puppies be unsupervised for that long. And will it escape our house as some of our fences aren't very high?
Lara


Answer
Hi Lara,

Puppies, (no matter the breed!) need more frequent attention than adult dogs, and can't be left alone all day long. Most puppies do not have much bowel or bladder control until around 4 months of age. A good way of judging the length of time a puppy can be left alone is to take the pup's age in months, and add one to it. By this formula, a 3 month old puppy would need to go outside about every 4 hours. This formula is only good for judging a young puppy's elimination schedule. Older puppies and adult dogs should not be expected to "hold it" for more than 7 hours, as an absolute maximum.

If nobody in your family can stop in on the puppy during the day to take it outside, then getting a puppy might not be the best idea. Instead, you should consider adopting an adult dog that's already been house trained.

Dogs and puppies who are alone too much or confined for long periods without supervised exercise need some outlet for their pent-up energy. A dog who is left alone all day is likely to take up barking as a hobby because no one is there to control him. In no time at all, barking becomes an enjoyable habit. And for many dogs, once they start barking, they tend to continue barking for the sheer fun of it. If you happen to have a fenced in garden area for your dog, this is not equal to having a well exercised dog. You may see your dog dashing madly around your garden, but he is not exercising. He is doing the doggy equivalent of pacing, fidgeting, or other human forms of nervous activity. Dogs require needs "social exercise". This means going on walks around the neighborhood, so he can investigate all the sounds and smells that tantalize him while he's is in the garden.

Puppies and adult dogs need to be trained to have proper manors, which includes not barking. It's helpful to give the dog or puppy a good long walk or run before you leave for the day. There's a saying amongst dog trainers: "A quiet dog is a tired dog", and it's true! Ensuring your dog or puppy gets enough exercise is important in controlling several undesirable behaviors (including barking), but the dog also needs to be trained to be quiet. You can read about how to train a dog or puppy not to bark, here:

http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Stopping_Puppy_Barking

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Train-A-Dog-Not-To-Bark&id=171879

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1886452/simple_ways_on_how_to_train_you...

http://www.perfectpaws.com/pupstuff.html


I hope I've been a help,
Best of luck,

Patti