Scrubs and being out in the kitchen!

Another blog question from a loyal reader.

Allison asked about Scrubs' not needing his kennel anymore. Here's her question.

Will you talk a little about how you got Scrubs to this point? We have a very sweet lab who used to be able to be out of his kennel when we were gone but then had an incident. I would love to hear more about how you trained him to behave!

So this is funny to me because, well, the truth is, I never thought Scrubs would EVER not have to be kennelled when we left the house. We tried it when he was a young pup and then again when he was about 1.5. We left him in the laundry room. Both times with consequences. He chewed up his kennel, a wall, even the toy container we left in there. It was hopeless!

Or so we thought.

Around Thanksgiving, when he was about 2.5, we deiced to give it another whirl. Well, I did. John thought I was setting myself up for failure. However, one of the advantages to having a dog in the house is protection. He can't really protect our house if he's in his kennel now can he?

So, here's what we did:

• We started with just small periods of time. At first, it was under an hour. We did not cross into two hours until he had done one hour, consistently, about a dozen times. If we were going to be gone longer, we kennelled him.
• Before we left, we'd make sure he was well exercised. I'd take him for a run and THEN leave while you are practicing. I would throw the Frisbee in the yard a few times. That sort of thing.
• We gave him a Kong and then scattered dog food all over the kitchen. Gave him things to keep him busy. Coupled with the exercise, I don't think he had much in him to do more before we got back. Especially when our departure time was so short.
• We rewarded him when we got home with a treat or some play outside. Something that told him that when we got back, good things would happen.
• We decided NOT to give him full run of the house. We decided to just allow him the kitchen (which is very big in our case.) There are still things he could get into but not with as disastrous of consequences.We think that he could handle the whole house but have decided to not test the waters until he has done well with his small area for a long time.
• We enforced rules while we were home. For instance, Scrubs is not allowed to put his paws up on ANY surface except windowsills. He cannot put them up on the counter or on any furniture. He cannot eat food off of counters or high chair trays or tables, etc. We enforce those rules with "bitter yuck" spray -- spraying him in the mouth when he takes something he is not supposed to. (We really never have to spray him anymore.)
• Early on, we removed temptations. I made sure that the garbage can was put up and that there was no food left on the counters, etc.
• Now, we will leave him for up to 4-5 hours by himself. I still try to make sure he is well exercised (when I can) and I try to remove temptations if possible just to help him stay on the right track.

I had a friend with a lab. He was out all the time by himself and then one day, he just chewed up their Asian rug. No warning. I also dog sit for a pair of labs on occasion. Sometimes when their owners are gone for an extended period of time, they will randomly chew something that they never have before. I have heard that labs will do this because they are mad at you. I think when Scrubs does it, it is because he is bored.

My honest opinion is that if the incident with your lab was just one incident, he probably just "had a bad day." He probably can still do it but just maybe needs to be backed up a bit. If I were you, I would incorporate a gate of some kind and keep his area smaller for the time being. Remove any temptations, exercise him well before you leave, shorten the lengths of time you are gone in the beginning (kennel him if the time is going to be too long), and give him plenty to do while you are gone.

I hope this helps a bit! Please note that I am in NO WAY a dog professional. I hope this helps! Please feel free to follow up with any other questions or other dog owners out there -- chime in!