I am an inexperienced dog owner. I have a crate question, is it ok to leave the door open on the crate if he is in a confined area?

Question

I am a new and very inexperienced yet proud Yorkshire Terrier owner.  I came across your site from doing a google search.  After reading your advice regarding puppy training and crate training, I immediately went out and purchased a crate for our 7 week old Yorkie.  I have been keeping him in the crate with the door closed and only coming out to relieve himself, excersize & play and to eat & drink.  My question is... when my dog is in the crate, should the door be closed at all times or is it okay for the door to be left open (keep in mind that the crate is located in the laundry room with both entrances that lead to the laundry room gated off so that Sam has a good area for movement between the laundry room and the hallway).  I have a co-worker, who has a very similar layout for her pet as mine, and she says she keeps her Jack Terrier in a crate but with the door open.  I'm confused but I trust you and your judgment and would love to get your input.

    Also, when I purchased Sam our Yorkshire Terrier from the breeder, she stated that we should not put him on the ground (grass) until 3 days after his 3rd shot, in order to prevent Parvo, is this something that you've heard of?  Is there any truth to that regarding Yorkies?

    Any of your wisdom and expertise knowledge would greatly be appreciated for I have really fallen for this little guy and I want to right by him by all means.

    Thanks so much!

    Daphne

Accepted Answer

If you are using the crate for potty training, then I would put the puppy in and close the door. When he is out of the crate, he should be with you and supervised.

I would recommend you purchase the DVD titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.

Ed has owned and trained German Shepherds for 45 years. In the past 30 years we have bred over 350 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. We give this video to all of our puppy customers and we never get questions on how to raise a pup.

Read the description of this puppy DVD on the web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog.

You should also consider the 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience. The fact is you have much more to learn than your dog. I recommend the handlers start studying this DVD right away even though you won’t use some of this training material for several months (usually not until the pup is 4 to 6 months old).

I also recommend that you go to the web site and read the article on “Ed’s Philosophy of Dog Training.” I believe you will not only learn something about dog training, I hope you will also adopt the same philosophy on dog training.

As for the vaccinations and putting the puppy on the ground, I totally disagree with the breeder. As a breeder myself, I believe that in order for a puppy to be well socialized and well rounded they need to get out in the world. Use common sense, don’t take him to a dog park or a pet store or a vets office (places where large numbers of dogs go to the bathroom) there is nothing wrong with putting him in the grass outside or playing with him in the yard.

We don’t vaccinate our puppies at all, educating people about the side effects from vaccinations and the damage they can do is something we are very dedicated to. For information on vaccinations and the problems they cause please read our vaccinosis article.

I would also recommend these 2 books, Shock to the System and Vaccine Guide for Dogs & Cats.

For more information on natural health care and homeopathic treatment of your dogs (and cats), I highly recommend Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs and Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats.

Hope this helps.