21:33:29 Fri
Mar 27 2009
| Re: Cage advice |
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GreigBonnie 14:19:05 Sun Mar 22 2009 |
We are looking for a bit of advice. When Bonnie was younger (she is now 5) she used to destroy everything that is including numerous electrical cables chewed completely through, so we got a large cage for her and she took to it straight away, this was a few years ago, she is still in the cage when we are at work from 8 am to 1 pm, she seems quite happy in the cage and goes in it no problem when it is time for us to leave. I was wondering if i should start to let her out or should i not change things, we are in army houses so we cannot afford for Bonnie to damage the house. Thanks in advance. Greig & Bonnie |
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bnsmith928 22:20:24 Tue Mar 24 2009 |
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Katiesnowflake 22:33:32 Tue Mar 24 2009 |
You get ready to go out, put Bonnie in her crate with the door open, then go out. Only stay out for 10 mins at the max. Come back in again and if she has stayed in her crate well and good. If she greets you at the door and no damage well and good. Tell her she is good. I would imagine for the first few times that you leave her she will most likely stay in the crate anyway. You need to be consistent with the wean off once you start it. Go out every day for a week for 10 mins or less. Second week you can stretch the time to 30 / 40 mins Third week 1 - 2 hours Fouth week 2 - 3 hours and go on from there. Be ready at any time to drop back the time left if she appears anxious. As long as you leave the crate up during the weaning off period you shouldn't have a problem. As she has been in it so long I would tend to leave the crate up for a couple of months once she is okay with the door open and being left while you are at work. Over a weekend when you are there, you can try taking it down but make sure you leave whatever bedding she had in it on the same spot the crate was. Try leaving her for about an hour or so at a time once the crate is down. I think you will be successful. They are an intelligent breed and catch on quite fast what is going on. Helen |
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GreigBonnie 14:01:43 Fri Mar 27 2009 |
Any advice? |
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Polo123 21:33:29 Fri Mar 27 2009 |
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jilldemo 03:09:59 Sat Mar 28 2009 |
Our cat would sit in it now and then, much to Daz's horror, or Puss would sit on the roof, with stillettos bared, baiting him to dare come close. Puss was and still is boss round here.(Puss 15, Daz 8.1/2) Once the "pecking order" was established, we had order and peace. |
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Katiesnowflake 00:53:27 Thu Apr 2 2009 |
Helen |
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SashasMum 20:19:05 Fri Apr 10 2009 |
I suppose I have been lucky, Tizzy has only chewed books, paper, the post, the carpet, pashminas and things like that - she hasn't been structural. That being said, she now has the run of the house when we are out and she is as good as gold. I would start work straight away and build up her time of being out of the crate. I would also work on the general guidelines for Separation anxiety for when you are in the house as most cases are destruction are down to SA. There is some information here, this is by no means all the information you need, but it might be a good start for you. Separation Anxiety Information 
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