Hi,

So I want to be sure once i pick up my puppy that I start off correctly right away.

I read a few websites and one I read said that I should have the dog crated, take it outside and wait 5 min, if he doesn't go put him back in the crate and then in 10-15min take him out again and keep repeating until he goes. Once he actually goes then you can play with him inside.

Is this a good method? Also if it is, once he goes and I play with him do I just take him out again in 30min or 1 hour and then repeat the process of crating him until he goes? But how often am I supposed to take him out and expect him to go? Sounds like if I follow this he will be crated all the time and at 8-10 weeks that's alot of crate time.

Is it not okay to just crate him up when I'm not watching him. And take him out every hour. If I am able to watch him can't I keep him out...even if I take him out and he doesn't go if I can watch him can I keep him out or do I have to crate him until he goes?

Also I want to train using a bell. And want to train my current dog to do this too. So is a good method to have them sit by the door. Hit the bell then go outside?

Thanks!

I don't know about this part: "have the dog crated, take it outside and wait 5 min, if he doesn't go put him back in the crate and then in 10-15min take him out again and keep repeating until he goes. Once he actually goes then you can play with him inside."

I'd give him longer than 5 minutes. And every 10-15 minutes till he potties sounds like a pain in the neck.

And "Also if it is, once he goes and I play with him do I just take him out again in 30min or 1 hour and then repeat the process of crating him until he goes?" No, just take him out every 2-3 hours for potty. Make sure his crate is not too big so he won't be tempted to potty inside it.

"Is it not okay to just crate him up when I'm not watching him. And take him out every hour. If I am able to watch him can't I keep him out..." Absolutely you can keep him out whenever you want, and you should keep him out of the crate as much as you and the pup can handle (it starts teaching him how to behave inside the house). Just remember a very young puppy needs to sleep a lot, and crates are good for that. They can only play so long, then they tucker out.

You can also take him outside to potty when he's hanging out in the house, doesn't have to be from the crate to outside.

ok good because this one website said if you take the dog outside and he doesn't go and them let him play inside the house that he will not train. That you can't play with them until they actually go.

So it's okay to just crate him up when I can't watch him. And just let him in the house and take him out every 1-2 hours to see if he can go rite?

Thanks!

 Quote: lovella lagdaan

ok good because this one website said if you take the dog outside and he doesn't go and them let him play inside the house that he will not train. That you can't play with them until they actually go.

So it's okay to just crate him up when I can't watch him. And just let him in the house and take him out every 1-2 hours to see if he can go rite?

Thanks!

From my experience and I am sure people will agree, the general rule is to take the pup out after eating and playtime and when they are waking up after napping. Then the pup either A) comes back in and goes into the crate for rest time after playing or B) gets put on a leash and is watched carefully for signs of having to go out again. My general rule is, if I am at home and watching TV, working on the computer or reading, then the pup is out on lead so that when they get restless I can take them out and not give them a chance to go in the house. If I am cleaning, talking on the phone or napping myself, then the pup goes in the crate. It all depends on what you are doing and if you can keep a good eye on the pup.
Puppies usually eliminate after eating, when first waking up and after playtime. This gives you a good guideline to follow, but remember, it is a guideline and pups differ slightly sometimes. Yes, every 1-2 hours is a good timeline, but watch for signs that pup has to go also. And as always, it is a BIG party of "good potty" when they do go.

So when the puppy is not in the crate I should have it on a leash? You eventually take them off the leash once trained?

Hi Lovella:

I have a 14 week old pup and he's finally gotten a clue. I can confirm what Connie has said. The pup will most likely go pee immediately upon waking from any nap; during play-time; after eating/drinking; and other moments.

My pup is finally holding it, but not that long ago, in the afternoons he would literally go every 30 minutes. And he only started making it through the night at 12 Weeks, ironically which is when I stopped restricting water and having it down and available to him all the time (in the form of a bowl of ice cubes).

It does sound like they are in the crate a lot, but they do sleep a lot too. (15) minutes of play might result in a (2) hour nap.

My pup isn't crated at home too much during the day, as I am at home and working on the computer. So he is confined to the kitchen either by leash or by gates, while I am at home. If I cannot supervise then into the crate he goes, or if it is nice outside then I'll put him outside for some fresh air.

We're on the go alot, so he's in the crate in the vehicle if I am by myself.

Trust me, get your pup used to the CRATE Early On. And here's the tip that I found useful for the nighttime crating process.

Bring home towels scented with the pups littermates. I'd personally bring home one or two. When you put your pup in the crate for the night, give him one of the towels. As my pup peed on his, he only got his for one night, as I only brought home one towel.

My pup is ready to go to bed at about 7 p.m. and starts snoozing then. As soon as we go out for our bedtime potty trip, he is ready to hit the stairs and go to bed, and he goes right into his crate. He would prefer that I didn't close/latch the door, but I don't feel that I can trust him no to wander the house, chase the cat, get in the litter box, et cetera. So he gets locked in for the night. We go to bed about 9 p.m. and he's up for a potty break about 5 a.m., but he goes back to the crate until 7 a.m. without a fuss.

Sometimes you can throw a treat into the crate, to facilitate the pup going in on his own. My pup willingly goes in after the treats! Also, I started to feed my pup in the Kitchen Crate, to get him "okay" with that one. For some reason, he didn't like the kitchen crate and used to attack and bark at the door. I even removed the door for a while. It's hard to get into their heads ... but now that he eats in the crate, he goes in and out and ignores the door.

Good Luck with your new pup!

Louanne

How about crate size??? They say to get a crate that is only big enough for a dog to turn around in but not enough to give it room to relieve itself. But since they are smaller as a puppy do you buy a small one and then go buy a big one later? Or just put them in the big one now?

Thanks!

Oh and is it necessary to wake up at night and take it out for a potty? How/When do you ween them off this?

You can either buy the big one now and put something in there so that it's smaller, or yes, buy 2.

 Quote:

Oh and is it necessary to wake up at night and take it out for a potty? How/When do you ween them off this?

It's necessary if your dog can't hold it. You will have to do this until he's old enough that he can hold it all night. I would assume it varies with every dog.

Hi Lovella:

I fortunate enough that I already own four crates of various sizes. You want to be as small as possible, while allowing room for the pup to be able to turn around.

Since Crates can be expensive, you could just go to the large size and put something in to make it smaller. If you go with the all wire cage (I don't like it, I don't think it is den-like enough), then you can use a spider web arrangement of bungie cords to make it smaller. If you use the plastic ones, then you can put some sort of plastic tote/bucket in there to take up the floor space.

My pup started out in our hard plastic kitty crate. I would have used the Sherpa Bag, but was afraid he would chew it up. He outgrew the kitty crate at 12 weeks. I only used the kitty crate during the daytime and in the vehicle and at my mom's house. Now we have sized up a couple of sizes, as he will grow fast and now that housebreaking is going better, I don't mind him having the extra room (day or night).

At $50 to $200 per crate, you have to do what works best for your budget. Also, check for used Crates, and maybe you can save some money there.

Yes! If they cannot hold it, you need to take them out.

If my pup wakes me up, he goes outside immediately. From week 7 to week 12 he didn't wake me to go pee, only poop. My vet suggested that I set the alarm and take him out every hour. I opted not to do that. IMHO, that just sets him up to leave the crate every hour and is not conducive to a good nights sleep for either of us, and doesn't necessarily teach him to HOLD IT for any length of time.

Ironically, it was a bout of diahreah that fast-tracked the potty training, and we were up and outside every 30 to 60 minutes all night long for about a week straight. The difference was, it was at the pups need/request and not some pre-set time.

I'm trying to teach him to ring the jingle bells, but at least he will stand near the door sometimes. If he barks, he goes outside and usually poops. If he whines, he goes outside and usually pees. If he gets nippy and doesn't want to stop, he goes outside and usually does both.

Everytime he goes outside, I say outside and ring the bells. Once he comes back in, I tell him good outside. Once he is outside the door, I tell him to go pee and he usually does. I haven't succeeded in the poop on command, yet though. But that could be as there were less issues on housetraining there.

I'm still pretty new at this, as my last puppy was (10) years ago and she came to me housebroken by her mother. I was a wee bit spoiled by that.

But as I'm in the throes of puppy-hood, I'll be happy to share my (limited) experiences, where I can.

I read the book by the Monks, and I thought it was very good. Since the current pup is a Golden Retriever, I also read the "Complete Idiots Guide to Golden Retrievers", as well. I haven't gotten Ed's DVD's yet ... (limited funding right now) but they are at the top of the budget for the next time I get a commission check ... but from the sounds of it, they come highly recommended.

Cheers!