Un-Crate training

Can you leave them for just a half hour at first and see what happens? Then increase the time to an hour? Can you confine them just to a room at first to see how they do? I would provide lots of toys and chews for them.

I can leave both Batman and Amy loose in the house, but I so far I've only left them loose together for a few hours. Seperately I would trust either of them alone for the entire day, but together I worry that one will somehow find a treat or decide the cat looks fun and get into some kind of fight.

I did transition with Ojo.. I moved her crate in our room for awhile. Then I would put her in the crate but not lock the door (and close our room door). Then I would give her our room for a few hours. After she mastered our room, I did the same thing to transition her to the entire house. I would "hide" bones in different rooms around the house to see if she came out while I was gone and found them because she was always back in our room when I returned. FYI: Our trainer has told me that 99% of the time, dogs will not fight unless an owner is around -- that the natural order of things is understood without human intervention. I say that's up to some discussion but the theory is there.

that is good to know about the fighting. I'm probably more paranoid than most people. A college friend of mine, Diane, lost her significant other after Diane's two dogs killed her significant other's cats. The two dogs and two cats were ok together when people were home, but they kept the cats and dogs separated when no one was home because they knew the dogs liked to chase the cats. One day a door didn't get latched and the dogs (which were both small) got the cats and killed one and the other one was so injured it had to be put down. This was the end of that relationship. Whenever I leave the dogs alone with the cats I think about this story.

When I first got Deuce, he was accustomed to being in his crate about 18 hours a day. What I did was gated him into the kitchen during the day while I was gone and then let him roam the apartment when I was home. After two weeks, I gated off the bedrooms and hallway of the apartment and let him roam the living/dining and kitchen. After another two weeks, he had free reign and could go where ever he wanted. The only times he had an accident in the house is when I've actually been home and just couldn't get him outside for one reason or another. I got him when he was about 15 months old.

That is what we did/are doing with Nigel. He started out in a crate and then we moved to the kitchen blocked off with a baby gate - he has chews, toys and his bed in there. Next we blocked off the hallway leading to the living room so he can go down to the basement/tv room (where it is cooler and where he can lay on the couch if he wants). He's done pretty well although the first time we "expanded" to the basement (which also included the front door area) we came home to find our porperty tax assessment shredded. He didn't touch any other mail. I guess he was as annoyed with property taxes as we were :)

That is interesting about the fighting. I don't think it translates to their high prey drive, though. I don't leave the girls loose in the house with the cats because of that. While I don't think they would do more than chase them, if the 2 of them decided to pack up on one, I couldn't live with myself coming home to a dead or maimed cat.