[Dailydrool] Crating vs. outdoors

[Jane Hay]

We have one hound who is crated at night and when I'm not here, one who has
her own "bedroom" and is gated in a bathroom off our family room and two
who have free run of the house when I'm gone and sleep wherever they want
in the family room at night. I personally think leaving your hound outside
all day is a very bad idea. People have been known to go into other
people's yards and steal their dogs. Plus, given the fact that bassets are
generally not quiet when they bark, you may be risking making your
neighbors more than a little irritated if your hound barks a lot. No, I
would not leave my hound outside all day. However, at six years old, if she
has never been crated, that may be pretty traumatic to her too. Baby gates
are wonderful things and we have them in several spots throughout the
house. Since you are able to get home mid-day, I would baby gate your hound
in a space that she'll be safe, make sure she has some toys and give her a
Kong with some treats in it to keep her busy. You may find in time that she
actually doesn't need to be confined and can have free roam of the house
while you're not there. The only reason Ginger is crated is because she's
destructive when I'm not here to supervise and Suzy goes in her "bedroom"
because she's incontinent. At some point when you know your new
hound better and she is used to your routine, just try leaving her loose
and see what happens. I think, at her age, it's a very good possibility
that she'll just sleep till someone gets home and it won't be a problem to
leave her loose.

We have also had hounds that vomit first thing in the morning and we give
everybody a couple of cookies at bedtime. Apparently it's too long a
time span between their supper meal and breakfast and their bellies just
get too empty. So they get a couple of bedtime cookies and they eat
immediately after their first morning outing. Believe me, none of them
would ever let me even have a cup of coffee before they're fed in the
morning!

Our foster hound, Sydney, moved on to her new home over the weekend. Every
hound has taken a chunk of my heart with them and it wasn't any different
this time. Her momperson said Syd threw a fit after we left and has been
sad since. I know she's in a perfect place and will be very well loved so
she'll perk up very soon. I have to say it gets harder and harder with
every hound we foster for us to let these guys move on.

The Houndettes are slinging get well and heart healing drool to all in
need. Please remember to vote every day in the Shelter Challenge!

Jane & the Houndettes
Jersey, Shadow, Suzy & Ginger
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20120828/ebb283cc/attachment.htm>