We have arriving on Tuesday a very beautiful chocolate & white Border Collie pup named Banjo.
We have been on a waiting list for 6 months for a pup from this breeder & he is a very much planned for & much wanted family pet.
But, here is the deal, we plan on taking him everywhere with us that is possible, but of course, there are time when he is going to be left home alone (albeit these will probably only be a couple of hours at MOST & probably only happen 2 - 3 times per week, you know - swimming lessons, Kindergym, etc...). So, for these occassions when he is going to be left, I was planning on putting him into the playpen/exercise pen that we have for our bunnies.
It's actually a big hexagonal play pen (prob a little bit bigger than the baby playpens they sell in the baby stores), big enough for my 2 girls to get in there & freely run around chasing the bunnies in & it comes up to about the top of my leg, so I know that it won't be long until he figures out to how to jump over it - being the smart cookie he is going to be!
I would of course have it under shelter, have fresh water available, all the works, but my SIL told me she thinks it's illegal by RSPCA standards to do this? & that she thinks I am being mean to the pup, that he should have ownership of the entire back yard?
I'm only planning on doing it for his own safety & it will only be until he learns which are his toys & which are human toys - you know, outdoor furniture, sprinklers & that kind of thing, & then of course once he realises he can jump over the top - that will be history anyway.
IMO he needs to learn rules & boundaries of what he can do - like shred his toys & what he can't do - like chew my outdoor setting. All the smaller things, like the kids bikes & things are going to be placed up on the ledge of our barbecue so he can't get to them, until he knows what are his things & what are ours.
I'm definitely not doing it to keep him confined, he NEEDS to be able to run around the entire back garden but while he is a pup I was going to put him in the playpen while we went out, so that he is safe & our belongings are safe.
Any help would be appreciated!
Do you think this is mean? Or would the RSPCA not be happy with this?
There's actually a well documented training technique used with pups called "crate training" which is highly effective. If you look into it, you'll start using your play pen a lot more
Its not mean, in fact if you do it correctly, you can see that they will respond a lot better in obedience and house training.
Of course it doesn't mean they are in there all day, but that they learn how to be left alone in their space. I used crate training with my lab when she was a puppy while I was studying dog behaviour and it was awesome.
A friend of mine had a play pen inside for her dashund when a puppy as she didnt want her outside as was so tiny would get cold or get through any tiny gap. She put her in here when she went to work.
In play pen she had toys, water, biscuits, bed, newspaper.
It sounds like a reasonable enough idea to me, but then I've had to to to the extreme of putting one of those shock collars on my Jack Russell to stop her barking her head off at *everybody* that walks along our fence. So, I'm no expert. But I don't think putting a pup in a large playpen for a little while as part of training etc is going to hurt it
Enjoy your new pet!!
When my cavalier king charles spaniel was a puppy we left her in the house while we went out and found that she was very overwhelmed by the space. She actually preferred to be confined to a smaller space when we went out and left her - I think she was less scared. She was our second dog so it was convincing our older cavvy that being in a fenced off area was okay when he had been used to having rule of the house when we were out.
Cavvies are a bit smaller than border collies, but I imagine that puppies are all the same and like the security so a small space that is his might be very helpful to him feeling okay about you leaving him.
Here is a link to the RSPCA website with a heap of fact sheets about puppies. RSPCA Australia knowledgebase / Puppies If you look at the one called 'What should I do when I bring a new puppy home?' there are some suggestions for things you can do to get your puppy used to you leaving them at home on their own. Hope that helps.
Sounds like a good plan to me Jayne! It sounds as thought you've thought it through well, don't worry about what your SIL says . Crate training has lots of benefits, which you can always research and tell her about .
Have you done any obedience training before? I ask only because I hadn't when we got our puppy, so I went to a training school and it was the best thing I could have done. We ended up staying there for over a year, and going through a few levels, because I could see how good it was for our dog (for socialisation too), and because I learnt so, so much. I only stopped when I was pg with DS and too sick to go anymore. DH grew up around lots and lots of dogs and puppies (his parents bred them), but he found it very useful too, once we got past the beginner stages. I would really recommend it to anyone getting a puppy, particularly if you have kids . Our dog would have ended up walking all over me had we not done it, and as a result probably ended up thinking she ruled the kids in the household too. She certainly knows her place now though!
How exciting Jayne, I can't wait to hear all about Banjo!
sounds fine. as you say it's not like he's going to be left in there all the time. and he will probably be quite comfortable in there, a big bacyard can be quite overwhelming for a little puppy. i think thr rspca have a lot more to worry about than that, which i think would be a non-issue anyway as he won't be in there 24/7 and will have shelter and water. i wouldn't worry hun, just enjoy your new addition, he sounds gorgeous!
I think that you're being a very responsible person to plan for this! It's what I've done with all my dogs, and most people do it with theirs. The alternative is to crate-train the puppy which would be even less room for him.
So no, I don't think its cruel and I can't see the RSPCA having a problem with it. Although beware, our lab didn't even last a minute in the playpen until she worked out how to escape it!
Can I do this? Is this mean?
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