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March 16, 2012

I will be bringing home a new pup shortly. I'm concerned that I might not always be able to break up the day with a trip home from work to give him a break. Do you have any suggestions?

Full Question:

I will be bringing home a puppy at the end of April. She is a merle Great Dane.

I want to crate train as we did our last dog (Rott / Mastiff). However, I have a bit of a concern that I might not always be able to break up the day with a trip home to break up his period in the crate.

Do you have suggestions? I will do everything I can to make it home to give him a 4/5 hour window in the crate, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Robert

Cindy's Answer:

I’d read the article Ed wrote on The Groundwork to Becoming your Puppy’s Pack Leader.

I’d also highly recommend the video Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months.

We show how we use the crate and exercise pen in and around our home.

If you can’t get a friend or dog walker to come in and give the pup a bathroom break, I’d set up a kennel with a bathroom area as opposed to setting the pup up to soil the crate. We have a section on the website about house training.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Rhodes

User Response:

Hi Cindy,

I have another question for you. I have poured through your FAQ and forums even on Google and have yet to find an answer. Here goes...

We live about a 30 min drive from work. So making it home during our lunch hour is almost impossible let alone two or 3 times a day. When we bring our puppy home in the middle of April, it will be spring and warming up but not very hot (we live in Canada). What do you think of crate training the puppy from my car?

We have a jeep, the side windows and roof can come off, I can cover the crate with a blanket so the puppy just lies down quietly. This allows me to see the puppy from my office window, it allows me to get her out of the crate as many times in a day as I like and allows me to socialize and bond with her while she is here at work.

This isn't set in stone and I know people can and will crate train puppies without going home all day. I was just trying to find and easier way for me and the puppy.

Thanks I appreciate your time,
Robert

Cindy's Answer:

I’ve crate trained multiple pups from the car. Even now when I need to be gone all day, I take my puppy (Border Terrier) with me so I don’t have to worry about accidents while I’m away.

It’s also great prep for traveling later, the puppy will become very comfortable hanging out in the crate in the vehicle.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Rhodes

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