1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 So - we brought home the new puppy today!:D She's adorable, sweet, fun, beautiful - etc. etc. etc. And wonder of wonders - she even went "poo" outside tonight! We've read up on crate training, house training, and are ready to go. So here is my question - Thanks to Mrs. Readsalot (you've got mail, Karen!) we have a great plan for a puppy schedule to start tomorrow. So far today, puppy has taken 2 naps on her rug in the family room. The crate is in our laundry room, off the kitchen - My dds have coaxed her into the crate with treats twice. Soooooo - What do we do tonight? I know she'll need to go out in the middle of the night for another week or two. Do we leave the crate in the laundry room, and have someone sleep on a sofa near so we can hear if she needs to get up? (We're hoping to borrow a baby monitor?) Or, like some have suggested, do we move the crate to our bedroom for the first two weeks, so I can hear when she has to go outside. Next questions: Assuming we leave the crate in the laundry room - do we coax her in the crate, say good night, and shut the crate door? Or do we coax her in the crate, leave the door to the crate open, gate off the laundry room door, and hope she falls asleep in there on her own? Should we move her napping rug into the crate, or have her sleep on a towel we rubbed on her Momma and some newspaper? And - can you tell we've never owned a dog before????? (This is fun, though!) Thanks for any and all help - and on a Saturday night, no less! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 We bring the crate to our room at night. We take her out before we go to bed, put her in the crate with harness off, close the door. At the first sound of her standing up, we taker her outside. The first night, she cried a good 30 minutes before settling down even with a knotted towel in the crate as a buddy. The first week she woke up halfway through the night to go out. We would take her out, tell her to go potty, give a kibble, bring back in to her crate without fussing over her. We were lucky in that she hasn't gone potty in her crate at night so after a week we started putting her sleeping mat inside her crate at night. Since we did that she's slept thought the night. The only thing different for us is that we had the crate in the living room. I slept on the sofa. Dh is allergic to animals so we didn't want the dog in our bedroom at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Thanks, ladies! Dh has her outside right now - he's the man, and volunteered to sleep on the sofa tonight to listen for her. He also just does NOT want puppy in the bedroom! So I think dh, dd16 and I will take turns this week. Any more brilliant words of wisdom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 What do we do tonight? I know she'll need to go out in the middle of the night for another week or two. Do we leave the crate in the laundry room, and have someone sleep on a sofa near so we can hear if she needs to get up? (We're hoping to borrow a baby monitor?) Or, like some have suggested, do we move the crate to our bedroom for the first two weeks, so I can hear when she has to go outside. I would definitely move the crate to a place where you will be able to hear her. When one of our pups wants out you would think that the ruff is falling in but to start you definitely want to get to her asap. Assuming we leave the crate in the laundry room - do we coax her in the crate, say good night, and shut the crate door? Or do we coax her in the crate, leave the door to the crate open, gate off the laundry room door, and hope she falls asleep in there on her own? Should we move her napping rug into the crate, or have her sleep on a towel we rubbed on her Momma and some newspaper?If you have a towel with her momma's sent on it I would put that in the crate with her. With any pup we have had it seems like they cry for a time when you put them in so the faster the better? We have crate trained several puppies and have never had one mess in the crate unless they are sick. Being gentle with changing their food is important if you are not going to feed what the breeder used long term. (This is fun, though!) They are fun. One of our pups came in yesterday while I was working at the computer and just leaned against me. I rubbed his ears and he left for a short time but came back for more. He has such sad, happy, mischievous, loving, all around fun eyes. He can simply melt your hear(or make you want to do him bodily harm) with one look. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hmm, don't know if I would be altering my sleep place. Your DH will probably not get ANY sleep because she will know he is near and cry to be let out to be with him. We just brought a Lab puppy home last week, although we have had several puppies over the years. First, don't just put her in the laundry room with crate open....at this point, she hasn't really realized the crate is her sanctuary. So she will probably stand at the laundry room door and cry. Plus this gives her plenty of room to find a bathroom spot, not good. Second, put the crate where you want it, and leave it there. Do not move it around temparorily for night purposes, as she will expect that forever. Third, put her out to pee, put her to bed. Be done with it. If she wakes up to pee, she will let you know. If you wont' be able to hear her from your bedroom, the baby monitor is good. Our puppy goes to bed around 10p, and wakes up around 630a crying, so we take her out then. We do not make a sleep schedule around her bathroom, as far as waking up in the middle of the night. We do let our dogs into our bedroom, and like it when they sleep with us or DC, but they are only allowed that once they are 100% potty trained. Remember, you have to train her, not let her train you. She is going to cry the first week in the crate, don't give in. She will soon adjust and she will be fine with the crate. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 We didn't realize we were doing this but we trained our dog where to "go" in our yard. When the pup was little, I'd get ready first and then pick up the pup and not put him down till we were way out in the back near the woods. When the dog got too big, I'd still get ready first, then leash the dog and then take it out of the crate and run it down and out and across the yard to the woods and then stop and wait. Every time. Eventually, I just opened the back door and the dog just ran to the back near the woods to "go". We never had to clean our backyard! (Good thing too, this was a 90-100 lb German Shepherd!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandellie4 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Our dogs have always done better when with their "people pack" rather than in an isolated part of the house. We have one of our daughters sleep on the couch for the first week or so. Some of our puppies have taken longer to adjust than others. One used to wake up intermittently all night! We found that it helped with him when our daughter slept with her hand right next to the crate door. He stopped the racket and would just inch up and sniff and kiss her fingers to reassure himself. For another of our dogs, it was sufficient to put one of our girls' used socks in the crate with the puppy. The smell of her (he followed her around all day) made her seem near, I guess. Crate training can make for some rough nights, but then it's like a "light" goes off in the puppy's head and they "get it." We have four dogs, all of which are crate trained. Good luck! Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Our dogs sleep in my dds shared room on doggie beds. When they were pups, they slept in a crate in my room. (Not at the same time; one dog is 3 years older) . I found it much easier to respond that way, Our dogs were trained quickly and painlessly. They each liked the crate for about a year, and as pups we'd put them when we left the house. I can't say enough about how crates take the pain out of puppy traiing and puppy destruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 We have a new puppy this week too. We had another puppy a few years ago that we didn't do so well with. He hated his crate, howled and cried... so I did a lot of reading to determine what we would do differently with this puppy. And so far (we're a week-in) it's working like a charm. :D Her crate is in one of our front rooms. We walk by, make normal noises, etc. I cover her crate with a light blanket. She would wake up when dh got up for work, but when I started covering her crate, she doesn't wake up any more. I feed her in her crate. It is the ONLY place she gets food and water, so she is starting to see it as a GOOD place to be. :) She'll walk herself right in there now. Make sure the crate is JUST big enough for puppy to lay down in, basically. Any bigger, they'll find a way to potty. (This is what happened with our last puppy - and OOOOHHHHH trying to break them of that habit is nearly impossible!!! We wound up re-homing him over a year ago due to this, and other reasons.) We don't move the puppy's sleeping place. Also - we're not letting her sleep/nap anywhere but in her crate. I really want it to be a good place to be for her and I'm afraid if she's used to napping on our laps, or on the couch, etc - she will begin to hate her crate. So, we take her potty, play with her a lot, take her potty again, and pop her back into her crate when either a) she starts to look/act sleepy or b) we need to put her up for whatever reason. Right now, she doesn't even whine anymore - except in the morning when we all wake up and she NEEDS to go to the bathroom. lol Other than that, she's perfectly content with hanging out in her crate when we're too busy or otherwise occupied. (Our older dog has full run of the house and sleeps on my dd's bed at night. We hope that Apple will be able to do the same thing in a year or so - but until then - until she's outgrown the chew-on-everything-stage - she'll be in her crate quite a bit. That's why it was so important for me to encourage her to LIKE it there! LOL) I wouldn't put the puppy in a bedroom - I'd put her somewhere where the family won't wake up when she starts to whine. Then, if I needed to take the puppy out in the middle of the night, I'd just set my alarm and let it wake me up, go get the puppy and take her out (instead of the puppy waking me up a gazillion times a night). She needs to learn that YOU are the one who decides when she comes out of her crate - not the other way around (ie. her whining causing YOU to come rescue her and take her out). Our pup is 12 weeks old now (we got her at 11 wks) and we put her in her bed for the final time between 9-10 pm). The first few days, I took her out again around 1 am, but now I just let her sleep. We take her out in the morning between 7-8 am and she's not had a single accident in her crate. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I would ALWAYS have the crate in a main family area, off to the side somewhere but....but as long as you're crate training, she still needs to feel part of the family. I put the crate by my bed (or couch if I slept there) at first in order to discipline. Whining led to an "earthquake." IMO, there is no where that whining wouldn't wake someone up. Dogs can be VERY loud. It's better just to make them stop from the get go. I also don't bribe dogs to listen. There are all sorts of issues with doing so. I set the dog in front of the kennel, say "bed," then help them to whatever degree necessary until they do it on their own. I praise them for being in "bed." Anyway, I'm not very good at dog training generally, but kennel behavior is something I really got down. We had had trouble years ago and I just wasn't going to deal with that. This last puppy did BEAUTIFULLY. It is IMPORTANT to realize that though she's your "baby" especially right now that you are laying the groundwork for her behavior of next week, next month, next year. Unlike a kid that you can later reason with, encourage differently, etc, a dog is simply gonna take your lead (or take it from you). It's kinda like a new teacher. You can love on 'em, but you better be firm and consistent if you don't want a year of trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I just have to share this story with everyone I can. The first night we had our little puppy home we took he into our bedroom to sleep. This was 6 months after we married, very much newlyweds, even though we had been together for 7 years already. At 3 a.m. little livvie began to wimper. DH just immediately jumped out of bed took her downstairs & outside. I just lay in bed listening to him scoop her up & quietly shiffle out of the house with her, put her back in her crate and softly back into bed. I knew right at that moment he would be the best husband/ father in the world. 6 years later, I was SOOOO right! Thanks for letting me share! On the topic- Enjoy that little puppy! Put something comforting like a shirt or towel that smells familiar in there with your pup. Robyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jenny Flint Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I am not sure if someone else addressed this angle, but do not leave the crate open at night for your puppy to wander in the gated laundry room. The crate needs to be closed, and small enough that she won't want to mess it up and then sleep there, kwim? If she can poo in an area separate from where she sleeps, training her to go outside will take much longer. Good luck! It should get easier fairly quickly, although if she is a tiny breed she will have more need to go during the night for a longer period of time than a larger breed dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Wow - thank you all SO much! Care to try with a couple more questions? We moved her crate into the family room last night. Dh slept on the sofa, and took her out at 12:30 - she did her business, and he brought her back in and crated her. She whined off and on through the night, but dh did not let her out. I got up and took her out - she was immediately successful. Here are our questions: First - she's in her crate now for a "nap". Well, she hasn't napped (even though she was stretching out on the rug and looking very sleepy before!), she's just been whining. We're ignoring her. Couple of things: my dd16 is concerned that, even though we toss treats in, she won't go. Could we have the divider set too small? And, she'd really like to feed her in her crate, but how do you fit the food bowls in there when there's only enough room for her to lie down, stand up, and turn once? Second - have we made a mistake by "forcing" her to be in her crate? Yesterday, she started going in for treats, but now she won't even go in for those. She has been raised as a purely outside pup - her mother belonged to our friends, who lives on a farm, so she has been outside all her little life. Could that explain the difficulty of the transition? Thanks so much - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 You've had her a day. Discipline (or ignore, but I personally would go nuts so chose to discipline) the whining. Of course she wants her way. You will regret if you give into her whining now though. Just like a child at the grocery store, if you teach her that hesitating to get in her kennel or whining to get out works, she'll ALWAYS do it. She'll have YOU trained rather than her being trained. Will you appreciate the cuteness of that after 5 years of it? She really doesn't need more room, it doesn't sound like. You could set it to be a little larger to feed her in there if you wanted. Just be careful to not make it too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 we have had our new puppy almost a week now. I was kind of perplexed about the crate, too. It sounded all good to read about, but how do you 'do' it? We struggled with the forcing her/making it feel like a punishment in the crate- thing. We settled with not forcing her to go in it until bedtime, the first 3 days. We put treats in and left the door open, and we also fed her all her meals in it, with the door open. Also a few times I took her meal to the crate, put it in and closed the door with the puppy on the outside/food on the inside and made her wait longingly for a few minutes before I let her in. We praised her for being in the crate often. At bedtime we put her in and shut the door, and the first few nights all 4 kids slept next to her on the floor. After 3 days we began to put her in and close the door during naptime during the day, we also move it around, if we are watching a movie, her crate is there next to us, her in it. she does really great at night now, sleeps all night till 6 am, and then she whines to go out. She doesn't go to the bathroom in the crate at night at all. We are still having a problem with leaving her to go somewhere, she does wet the crate a little then. the kids will be going back to there beds tonight, and we will move the crate to our room where it will be from now on. Good luck with it, I am reading this thread with interest.:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 You need to call the crate something... I say "kennel" and my dog goes straight in. I also would not leave any cushy thing in the crate, because when they're little...they tend to chew it up...and if it gets ingested...you're in for a HUGE vet bill. Of course, they need to chew on something while being watched, I feed raw food...and so chewing isn't as much of an issue. (HE has to chew all his food...) Raw dogs bones that are doggy safe are great for getting the chewing out. (I think mine eats knuckly bones?? I just ask at the butcher's) The trainer that I had said....play hard (not to the extreme:-) and kennel...and if out....on a leash...so that accidents don't happen. Prevention is easier than fixing a problem. Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Jen - Sounds like we're in the same boat - or crate, as the case may be ;) You've given me some good suggestions - and we are going to start feeding her in her crate. She did great so far today - dh stayed home with her, took her outside for "business" - crated her. I got home about 10 or so, she was quiet and resting in the crate. Took her out, she went right away. We've played with her outside, she went some more, and now she's inside sleeping in the hallway. I too am stymied by the whole, "train her to go in her crate" and "Well, it's bedtime, too bad you're not trained to love it, go in!" Although I think with our puppy, it's going to be a gradual process. SO. . . . .continue to work on getting her willingly in the crate, but "assist" her to go in with lots of praise - when we have to go out or for bedtime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 One more question - When we've been outside, puppy has been nibbling on grass, and trying to eat it. That's bad, right? I've been telling her "aaack!" and distracting her with a toy - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 He hasn't had an accident in the crate, yet. We move it from child's room to child's room at night--depending who's on duty to take him out--and if he whines, initially, one of them (or my husband) lay/sit down next to the crate for a few minutes, and that calms him. (He'll sleep in their rooms, eventually.) We've also put a dirty t-shirt in with him (that one of us has been wearing). That helps, too. Something else we did was put a bell on a line, by the back door, and we ring it every time we take him out. He goes and rings it himself now. (Not one hundred percent of the time, but a lot). Our puppy has about the same sleep schedule as someone else mentioned; roughly 10:00 to 6:00. Good luck! They're a great blessing, but also a lot of work! Almost like having another little baby! (But...I never crate trained my babies, lol. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Jen - I too am stymied by the whole, "train her to go in her crate" and "Well, it's bedtime, too bad you're not trained to love it, go in!" Although I think with our puppy, it's going to be a gradual process. SO. . . . .continue to work on getting her willingly in the crate, but "assist" her to go in with lots of praise - when we have to go out or for bedtime? I would just pick her up...say "kennel" or whatever....and stick her in the crate and lock the door. I'd leave her in there for a few minutes (15 or so??) and then let her out to play outside. (with you) and then do this a few times. At night, I'd pick her up and put her in. My current dog, I got at 1 1/2 years from a Humane Society about 4 hrs away. By the time we got home...it was 11pm. No time for gentle. I shoved him in (he wouldn't go) and said...good boy.... And went to bed. In the morning, I let him out....(Remember...don't get excited...unless you want them to pee all over) just casually let them out...and take them straight outside. After trying about 4 times or so...he goes straight in... The whole...don't get excited thing is really important....so that they can maintain control of their little bladders (when puppies:-) As an adult, I can let him out..and he can wait a couple of hours sometimes before he needs to go out.... Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I'm coming in a little late in this conversation, and it sounds like you did okay with the first night (and that's the hardest one- you just want to put them in the bed with you and end the whining!) A couple of things that have worked for us in the past: A warm-water bottle wrapped in a baby blanket or towel reminds the pup of his litter-mates and gives him something to snuggle with. When ours were pups, I set an alarm to go off every three hours the first week. As soon as the timer went off- night or day- I took the pup outside and waited for him to do his thing. Even if he only managed a little dribble, he immediately got a treat. The second week, I bumped the time between potty breaks up to 6 hours. Worked like a charm! Good luck with your new addition! You have lots of good advice here! -Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 I'm coming in a little late in this conversation, and it sounds like you did okay with the first night (and that's the hardest one- you just want to put them in the bed with you and end the whining!) You know, that's why it was SO great that dh took puppy duty - he just frankly ignored her. Just a bit ago, after playtime she was bushed and starting to nap on the floor. Dh put a biscuit in the crate, picked pup up, said, "Crate time!" and put her down. She slept for an hour. Then dd took her outside and she did her business. I am seriously, SERIOUSLY liking this crate deal! Thanks for all the advice - I feel like y'all are holding my new-puppy-owner hand! Now, I just have to get her used to hearing my bassoon ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Now, when I talk about using a crate...I'm only using it at night, or when we have to go somewhere without him (we take him quite a few places, because we want to keep his comfort level with riding in the car high). Are you guys using it for more than that? Is there something more involved when you're talking "crate training" than simply having them sleep in a crate at night until they're fully housebroken? 'Cause that's all I'm meaning. Just wanted to know if it was a term that meant more than that. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Now, I just have to get her used to hearing my bassoon ;) Have your video camera on standby!:D -Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Now, when I talk about using a crate...I'm only using it at night, or when we have to go somewhere without him (we take him quite a few places, because we want to keep his comfort level with riding in the car high). Are you guys using it for more than that? Is there something more involved when you're talking "crate training" than simply having them sleep in a crate at night until they're fully housebroken? 'Cause that's all I'm meaning. Just wanted to know if it was a term that meant more than that. :001_huh: I guess, for us, we mean having a comfortable, safe place puppy can go and call her very own. At first, yes, it helps soooo much with the housetraining. As in, I can't believe that in 1 day, she's had only 1 accident! But we need to be able to say to doggie, "Crate up!" when we're having a family of lots of littles come over, or some such situation. We do intend on her sleeping in the crate at night, even once she's housebroken. But, what do I know? This is our first dog, excluding the psycho-poodle I had as a kid! ;) Have your video camera on standby!:D -Robin Robin, you're going to love this. I just went to the store. While I was gone, one of my dds was playing piano, and I guess it made puppy pretty nervous! So we're going to have to work on that, since the piano goes almost non-stop here. . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.