Ok so i am a 14 year old girl, my parents have finally said i can get a dog, and I want to rescue an adult labrador. (obv.my family would adopt it) but my parents work full time, and I go to school. I was thinking, in the spring/summer (in the uk) he could stay outside in the garden becausse no-one would be home to let it out for the potty. I would come home and take the dog to the park down the street (it has a dog park) after school, for 1-2 hours, and a 30 min walk before school. My parents said we could leave the dog inside in winter, but hire a dog walker, only for the winter/autmn months, as a dog walker isnt cheap, so my dad said a dog walker for 6 months a year only. And he would build a dog run and kennel, like this:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1681954/Trail/searchtext>DOG+KENNEL.htm

except it would be more secure, and the kennel area will be air-conditioned as it may get hot. He will have food and water (a bowl of water frozen when its a hot day. The kennel and run will have a roof to keep the dog dry too…. Would this be ok?
I would also leave chew toys, and a kong and things…I mean, people crate train dogs, so is there much difference between crate training and this? Because dogs love to be outside, so i would think this would be better as they can go in and out as they please. Of course I would slowly build up the time that the dog is in there, which is why im planning on getting it during the 6 week holliday… What do you think?

It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this, and it seems like you’ve got a good plan set out. The only thing I would suggest is that in both summer and winter have him sleep inside the house. Dogs are pack animals and bond with the people who they spend time with, if it’s only a few hour after school (and the summer holidays are followed by a long winter don’t forget), he may be more inclined to develop a bond with the walker. Dogs that are left outside are friendly, but do not tend to develop strong bonds with people, which can be disappointing for the owners, and I think you would like to develop this bond with your new dog. Many people prefer to have a dog as part of their family (me included), but others just prefer to keep them as pets, as long as they’re kept happy and healthy though I do not see a problem with either.

And it’s good to hear that you’re adopting a dog, there are already too many strays and other abandoned dogs in this world, so it’s nice to see that there are still some people trying to support and help them.

I hope this helps, and good luck with your new dog. I hope you both have many happy times together!

Filed under: Labrador Crate Training

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