My dog is crated all day. Is this okay? How to keep him stimulated?

Question

My golden retriever has been locked in a cage from the time we got him. The cage is huge and inside there are toys (which he never uses), water and a big dog house. It's well protected from rain and sun. The problem is that he is locked in there for the majority of the day. He gets out 3 times a day, in the morning to eat, noon to play and late afternoon for a walk. Overall around 2 hours a day out of that cage.. The cage is far from the house since the garden is huge. Is this wrong treatment? Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | neutered | 3 years and 2 months old | 88 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

More and more people are allowing dogs to be in their house with them, but dogs sleep about 14 hours a day, so it really doesn't matter where they are during those 14 hours. They key is to have the remaining 10 hours involve good quality time. Depending on the dog, that may involve walks, playing with toys, playing with other dogs, or playing with humans. If you have having behavior problems with Edgar because he seems bored, then I would certainly try to find ways to stimulate him more either inside or outside his cage. One thing that people think of first is treats that keep them busy for a longer period of time. You can use long lasting treats like a Kong filled with peanut butter, yogurt, treats, etc and frozen so it takes longer for him to eat. My dog also really like Bully Sticks which I also freeze to make them last a little longer. Keep him mentally and physically busy during meal times. I love using a feeding balls like a Buster Cube or Tricky Treat ball to feed meals in. It keeps dogs busy for at least 5-10 minutes at each meal and requires them to work. There are also a number of interactive dog games and toys available now. Outward Hound makes a number of toys that your dog has to figure out a puzzle of some type before they get a treats. Here are some ideas for those. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/dog/dog-toys/interactive-dog-toys/dog-puzzle-toys-and-games I hope that answers your question and was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

My dog is crated all day. Is this okay? How to keep him stimulated?

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