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Pawbly | 9 years ago
I Have 3 Cats, 2 Dogs And A Small House With No Mud Room, Basement…

I have 3 cats, 2 dogs and a small house with no mud room, basement, hallways, separating doors, or dog or cat proof room. Yes, I know it wasn’t very good planning on my part. I am married and my husband goes to work, while I stay home.
I am a novice dog owner and even more novice at keeping cats as well. My bull breed mix is 80-100 pounds and is almost 2, and my rat terrier chihuahua mix is 9 months. Two of the cats are almost 2, and the senior one is 12.
I need help because it is icy and snowing with snow on the ground, and my dogs can no longer stay outside and wait for me to get to them. They’re unhappy inside their crates, and my eventual goal is to have them roam around the house with no issues with peeing or pooping, no issues of running around everywhere, and no issues of them bothering the cats because my husband doesn’t like it.
I can successfully keep them reasonably calm in the living room while I’m there, and I can get a glass of water or something from the kitchen if I tell them to stay. But issues of them just loose without me looking at both of them is that they will get into things and chew or eat them (stuffed pillows or other stuffed things, garbage, etc), eat cat poop, pee, or jump on the mattresses, which my husband doesn’t like.
The winter is much worse than last year, and keeping track of 5 pets is just so much. If they dogs and cats would get along somehow, I think that would help a lot. I just don’t know what to do concerning the litterbox, because my bull breed mix is very adamant about eating stuff from there unless I change it constantly. So when I let him out of his crate, I do change it, but I can’t trust him to roam around while I’m busy with something, or away. The little dog has issues with escaping her crate and peeing, and bothering the cats.

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  1. Carissa Knight

    Time, they will learn to coexist with each other.
    They may not be best friend but they will be able to be in the same room ect and tolerant each other.

  2. Chris Warnock

    We had 3 cats and then got a dog. Get a pet gate that also has a small door in the bigger gate. Approx $60 at pet smart. Use a strap or something to hold the small door open. Depending on the size of your dog if it can fit through the small door get a bungee cord and use it to make the small door smallerUse the gate to give the cats a totally separate space to “escape” from the dog. We did this and put the litter boxes in that room, and also used that room to feed them. It will take a while for the peace and harmony your hoping for. if your cat has claws I can’t help there ours do not, but I will tell you that your sweet little cat will probably make sounds that seem to be coming from the depths of hell towards the dog ours did. Our dog learned to back down from the cats so we didn’t worry about aggression towards the cats. Good luck and remember to pay equal attention to all of them to prevent jealousy.

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Pawbly | 9 years ago
My Girlfriend And I Are Getting 2 French Bulldog Puppies. How Long Do Use A…

My girlfriend and I are getting 2 french bulldog puppies. How long do use a crate after they are done housing training? I feel once they are house broken they should be free to roam. She feels they should always have it.

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  1. julie brader

    Hi Brian……..its your decision of course but I would never advise anyone to get two puppies at the same time. Wait until the first one is 18 months or so then get another one.

    Anyhow…..back to crates. Its really up to the individual whether you crate your dogs or not. They are very useful though. Never use them as a punishment, crates should be a happy place for dogs to go. If you cover them, leaving the door section uncovered they make a great “den” and dogs love dens.

    If you decide to carry on with the crates after housetraining you can leave the door open for the dog to go in and out as they wish. If you need to go out and make sure the dog is safe pop them in the crates. Its really not fair to leave a dog locked up for hours though. You can buy water bowls which clip on the crate so the dog has water too. 

    Unless you are absolutely certain your dogs will be safe to roam around the house, plants are gone so they can’t chew on them ect then I would definately keep the crates. 

    Good luck and have fun with your puppies! 

  2. Brian Adrian

    Why do you suggest waiting to get the second puppy? Our biggest fear is the puppy having seperation anxiety and feel with two puppies (siblings) they would comfort eachother.

    I leave work at 6 and am home by 4, my girlfriend leaves work at 8:30 and is home at 5:30 but plans to come home at noon to let them out. How long is too long to have them in the crate?

  3. julie brader

    Hi again Brian, I understand your logic of having two puppies if you both work. Make sure you get a nice big cage so they have room to move-and think of them as adults when you buy it.
    This is my personal opinion and I probably shouldn’t be airing it here lol
    Having a puppy is, believe me, like having a baby in the house. To care for one puppy, housetrain, basic training, socialising and financial costs (believe me there will be) is very hard work and time consuming. To do all this for two is twice all of the above.
    However, if you and your girlfriend are both prepared to dedicate a lot of time and effort to a puppy each it would work.
    As for how long to leave them in crates….I know people leave puppies and dogs in them day in day out. Yours would have to be in crates for quite a while as you both work.
    I guess its up to the owner but you may have problems with housetraining them….puppies ideally need to be put outside every hour or so for them to get the message.
    I’m probably the wrong person to ask about this as I wouldn’t let a puppy go to someone who works all day…..again my personal opinion.
    You seem to have given this a lot of thought and I’m sure it will all work out….it will be hard work for you both to start with though.
    So good luck and enjoy your dogs.. I hope you have many happy years together. ?