Joey... my friend...

I hear you asking the same questions over and over like you don't believe what people are telling you.

This is not rocket science. It might be equally as painful as rocket science, but it's a lot easier to understand.

Your pup should be in the crate all night. The location of the crate is irrelevant as long as it's a peaceful place for both you and the puppy, but I don't recommend your bedroom.

Set your alarm every couple hours to let him out. Yes, you're going to experience some sleep deprivation. Unfortunately, that's what you signed up for when you got a puppy. Add about a half hour each week between pee breaks. By the time most puppies are 16 weeks old, they can hold it for about 8 hours.

Puppies pee/poo after (1) exercise, (2) eating, and (3) sleeping. Take your puppy out immediately after each of these activities. If the puppy pees in the house, you can probably trace it back to one of these events.

When the puppy screams, ignore it. It's really that simple. You must ignore the puppy or he will learn that if he screams long enough, he will get attention. The screaming started at a certain level and it will get worse before it goes extinct. Ignore it. That is the ONLY thing you can do.

Do not allow your puppy to sleep on your bed. You are putting the puppy on equal pack rank status when you do this and can lead to dominant behavior. Also, you'll have a problem with the puppy jumping up on your bed uninvited when he gets old enough to do so.

To get the puppy to go with you, follow Alyssa's advice by using the leash, food, and encouraging voice. On top of that, try to run backwards away from the puppy (if you have room) while calling him to you. This will trigger his prey drive to chase you. Remember to use your voice. It's your most important training tool. Lots of praise when he's doing what you want.

Good luck!

Joey,

We live in a rambler. The family room is at one end of the house and the bedrooms are at the other. The crate was in the family room. So that's where he was whenever he was crated.

We brought him home in March just before our son's spring break. I work from home and my wife worked half time. During the day when it was just me and the dog at home he stayed in his crate. I'd let him out every couple of hours to pee and play, then back in the crate while I went back to work. When my wife got home, and my son got home, he'd come out of the crate and they'd play with him. The family room opens onto the kitchen with a doorway from the kitchen to the dining room. We put up a child gate to keep him in the kitchen/family room area.

When spring break came he was out of the crate almost all day while my son played with him. However, if for any reason we couldn't have eyes on him he went back into the crate.

He's three years old now. Just a few months ago we decided we could trust him in the house unsupervised and so he isn't crated at night or when we are out. While my son was home he'd sleep with my son, on his bed. Unless he was restless, then he'd be crated while we still used the crate or just thrown him out of the bedroom after we stopped using the crate. My wife and I are empty nesters now. We let Hans into the bedroom from time to time to visit, but it is by invitation only. He doesn't sleep with us. We have a blanket for him to sleep on and a dog bed.

I made a rule when he was a puppy that he could never be on the furniture. Then I proceeded to break the rule. So he sleeps on our couches at night or on his dog bed.

 Quote: Joey Harris

tommy what did you do with the puppy at night...my fear about the laundry room...(and it worked well last night)...is that i can hardly hear him whine...and dont want him to wait too long if he has to go out at night....

see the bed thing neither one of us mind...we had a 14 year old lab that we had put down in October...the best dog i have ever had....he slept at the foot of the bed every night...

all of this is just so new to us

Most of us want the dog at the extreme end of the house opposite our bedroom so we DON'T have to hear the dog whine. The dog is going to whine whether it has to potty or not. It almost hurts to hear them whine if you care but you can't give any positive reinforcement to yelping, whining, barking, nothing while in that crate. Do as they said, every few hours in the night, let the dog out to use the bathroom. If the dog has any sense, it won't want to smell it's own feces/urine in the crate so it will try to hold it as long as it can. Just make sure this isn't too long. Start with 2 hours, then 3, etc. Also take away water an hour or two before it's bed time for the dog. Pick up the water at your designated time, take the dog out to potty then again right before you put it down for the night in the crate. This will help. Every time you give into the dog whining you are just making your life worse in the long run. Quit worrying about the dog whining, that whining doesn't necessarily equal physical pain or needing to pee.

As far as the bedroom goes, that is up to you. Some people will let their dog sleep in the same bed with them, which I don't agree with at all. Some will place a crate in the bedroom for the dog to sleep in (not a fan of this either). And some will let the dog sleep on the floor. It's your dog so that is your decision but I wouldn't do anything to get in the way with me being pack leader. As was said by someone earlier, sleeping on the bed interferes with my pack training and until the dog is much older it doesn't need to be off the leash in the house unless you have full control, which is difficult with an untrained puppy off leash in the house.

Buy some of Ed's training DVD's. You are second guessing some good advice and maybe you need to see it in action before it'll click for you.

i have been absorbing all the information you guys have been telling us....we are ordering the DVD today....

we had a GREAT night last night....ate pooped peed played...he fell asleep around 6-630...on the floor....woke him up long enough to stand in front of his crate....he walked in laid down went to sleep till 730-8...long enough for us to eat give son a bath etc...he woke up...took hom out....(he is doing GREAT so far) about going outside to relieve himself....

woke up...took him out...great job on his part again...came in ...played...wife and i took turns getting ready for bed...took him out...around 10...came in...he played near his crate walked in on his own laid down and went to sleep....no whinning...got up with him a few times during the night...he did great...a little whinning but nothing major...

i told my wife this morning...if he can do that night in and night out id be a happy camper...

you think he may have learned from tuesday night to last night...that whinning is not getting him anywhere...just hope he can do it again tonight...keep my fingers crossed....

does the 8 week to 8 month video talk about being a pack leader....i listend to the podcast the other day and it has helped....i never thought that putting the dog on the bed to far asleep would violate that....

 Quote: Joey Harris

you think he may have learned from tuesday night to last night...that whinning is not getting him anywhere...just hope he can do it again tonight...keep my fingers crossed....

Yes! Just remember to NEVER let him out or acknowledge him when he's whining...Great job!

 Quote: Joey Harris

does the 8 week to 8 month video talk about being a pack leader....i listend to the podcast the other day and it has helped....i never thought that putting the dog on the bed to far asleep would violate that....

Yes, it covers a wide range of pertinent topics, including pack leadership and training tips...

Ed has 2 podcasts on pack structure. One is intended for adult dogs, the other for puppies. Both are good and worth listening to, but you just have to remember the nuances between adult and puppy pack structure establishment.

I also recommend you read his article (or listen to the podcast) entitled "Who Pets my Puppy?" I didn't do a good job of complying with my mal. He's 7 months old now and wants to run up to everyone he sees. Do yourself a favor and comply with Ed's advice in the article.

well its been 2 nights in a row that have gone pretty smoothly..i think that he is really starting to get it...

Excellent!!!!

8 week to 8 mo months is an info packed DVD. I have tons of leerbur DVDs but none impress me as much as this one. Definately worth the money.

I am so impressed with how hard you are trying to do right by your puppy. Refreshing.

Best of luck.

 Quote: Joey Harris

well its been 2 nights in a row that have gone pretty smoothly..i think that he is really starting to get it...

And, more to the point, I think you are getting it also!