12 weeks old sheltie.. how long can he be left in a cage?

[Prime12]

hello everyone, my very first post . I have a question regarding the newest addition to our family, a 12 weeks old male sheltie.

How long can a sheltie puppy left in his crate safely? I am a college student living with my parents, and I have to look after him three days per week when they are both at work. As much I'd like to spend the whole day looking after the puppy, I have a grad school entrance exam coming up in February, which is taking up a lot of my time.

I have to study at least 3 hours in one sitting. Is that too long of a time for the puppy to be confined in his crate? He is usually OK with being left in his crate; he whimpers for a minute when I shut the door but quites down soon after.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[corbinam]

I have always heard that the "rule of thumb" is your dog's age (in month's) plus 1 is the amount of hours that they can hold it.

So for your pup, 3 hours maximum would be fine. When we had our pup at 12 weeks, we would leave her from 8-10, then let her out, and put her back from 11-2, and she was fine. Just make sure that you take him out as soon as you get home.