Crate training questions

[Janie Grace]

We're going to be getting our puppy (8 weeks) soon and I have a few questions. I have read the DogStar stuff about crate training.

 

~ How long does the going-out-every-hour, playtime, back in crate last? I'm thinking it's til the dog is housebroken, right?

 

~ Do you have to set an alarm to get the dog up to pee at night? A friend of mine did this but I have never heard anyone else talk about it. Doesn't the dog just whine/wake you?

 

Thanks.

[Ellie]

We're going to be getting our puppy (8 weeks) soon and I have a few questions. I have read the DogStar stuff about crate training.

 

~ How long does the going-out-every-hour, playtime, back in crate last? I'm thinking it's til the dog is housebroken, right?

Right.

 

~ Do you have to set an alarm to get the dog up to pee at night? A friend of mine did this but I have never heard anyone else talk about it. Doesn't the dog just whine/wake you?

 

Not necessarily. Little puppies won't yet know they need to whine to go out yet, KWIM? They'll just...go.

[Shannon in TN]

I think needing the alarm depends entirely on how heavy you sleep. Chances are, the pup is going to make so much noise in the crate the first few nights, you might not get to sleep at all. If you are a heavy sleeper, or use some kind of white noise, you might need an alarm (or if you keep the crate in a room farther from the bedroom).

 

Our two dogs are around three years old and we have only just recently started leaving them loose in the house instead of crating them while we're gone, and only if it's less than a couple of hours. At night, they're with us now, instead of the crate. We have one that liked to chew things and the other took for.ev.er. to housebreak. I just didn't trust either to not get in trouble while gone.

 

The dogs will, generally, learn that the crate is their "safe place" and not give you a hard time about staying in there. It may take some time, but as long as you don't use the crate as punishment, it'll work out.

[mudboots]

Some of it depends on the prior training. If the puppies have been peeing outside where they were before, they may whine to go outside.

 

I haven't read DogStar, but I've trained several puppies. If you feed the puppy in its crate (and take any uneaten food out of the crate), the puppy will actually begin to like being its crate/home.

 

Be prepared for a pretty miserable first night or two of howling just because the puppy is in an unfamiliar place! We keep the crate next to our bed so we can let the puppy lick our fingers for reassurance.

[Shannon in TN]

Not necessarily. Little puppies won't yet know they need to whine to go out yet, KWIM? They'll just...go.

 

:iagree: Yep, this is totally true. Several times when our puppy was little, you'd hear him whine right after messing the crate, though. Or whine when they thought you were awake. Or whine when they were lonely.

 

Honestly, puppies are cute for a reason; I think it saved his life a few times at 3am.

[Michelle My Bell]

I have to say we got our puppy at 8 weeks and it has been very easy as long as we stayed on a schedule. The first two nights I did not deal with it all very well and he wailed and whined so I took care of him in the middle of the night. By the third night I said "no more!" and I let him whine for a solid 10 minutes when I put him in his crate for the night. He had already been out so I knew he was fine. After he stopped whining I went to bed and he left me alone until morning.

 

It has been a breeze ever since. He doesn't even whine when it is bedtime anymore. He just accepts it. I also have an enclosure around his crate so he can go in and out when he wants all day long unsupervised but at night I close his crate. In the morning, on schedule at 7:30am, he gives me one bark and waits. If I don't come fast enough he gives me another bark. He knows I'll take him right outside when I get him.

 

He has never had an accident in his crate or his enclosure. OH and feed him on a schedule. No water after a certain time in the evening. Maybe 7 or 8pm. Give him a potty break around 10 or 11 right before bed.

[annlaura]

What I did with our current dog was get her when I had a baby, so after every night nursing session, I took the puppy out. Not recommending this for everyone, though. ;) It may seem really rough at first, but your pup will be making it through the night before you know it.