Crate Training Puppies...

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nikkiARNGwife

New member
I'm all set..I've studied this method..got all the things I think we'll need..anyone have advice with this? I'm determined to minimize accidents with this new pup as much as possible..I realize that he's a baby and there will be accidents, but I want to take control of it as much as possible.

We've set his crate up in the dining room..it's right off the family room so even when he's in there he'll be able to see/hear us. He's going to be limited to just the dining room and kitchen to start with. We have hardwood/ceramic tile throughout the entire downstairs (except for rugs) so at least when he does have an accident it'll be an easier cleanup.

But I've never done this method so if anyone had I'd love some tips?
 
If you are doing the food and water dish inside the crate, be careful with the supports (the kind that hooks onto the crate that you can put your dish in) that you can buy to have them hang on the crate. Our little guy got it around his neck one day when he knocked his water bowl out of the support and put his head through the support.

My hubby swears by this tip. Put one of your socks in the crate so that it smells like you in there. He's going to be part of your "pack" so it will help him adjust to being in there alone.
 
I would not recommend putting the food and water dishes inside the crate right away. If you do, he might drink drink drink drink drink and then have accidents inside the crate. Where do you plan on keeping his food and water? Personally, I've always fed our dogs in the kitchen, so that's where food and water is ALWAYS given. Consistency is important.

He's going to whine. You're going to put him in there at night, and then go to bed, and he's going to WHINE (well, most do, he might not). Do NOT let him out because you get sick of hearing the whining. That will only teach him that whining = I get what I want. If he gets super whiney, put a blanket over the crate. That helps a lot of dogs calm down, I had to do it with Tiger (who is the queen of all whining, lol).

He's YOUNG, so if you want to minimize accidents, you need to maximize time outside. He's going to have to go every 2 hours or so (even through the night). Until they get older, puppies can only "hold it" the number of months that they are old. So 2 months = 2 hours. Go outside, and do not come back in until he's done SOMETHING. And when he does do his business, praise him like CRAZY. Make it like it's a huge party that he did his business outside, and give him a little treat. Growing up with dogs, if you went outside and did your business, you got a treat when you came back in. If you didn't do your business, no treat. I don't really do it for Tiger like that anymore, but I did start out that way.

Sorry, those are mostly house breaking tips. Um, as far as crate training goes, make the crate an inviting place to be. Put a blanket in there that smells like you guys (Tiger used to drag out dirty laundry into a pile to sleep in when we were gone - they find comfort in our smells). Leave the crate door open all day long, and only close the door when he's going to be inside it and you want him to stay in there. If it's open all day and that's the only bed for him (which I would recommend for now), he'll learn to go lay down in his crate when he wants to rest, and it will become his home. I used to always find Tiger curled up in her crate sleeping, when she wasn't required to be in it. That is a GOOD thing.

To start out, don't use the crate for punishment. He's too little, and it will confused him. If he does something wrong (such as having an accident) just tell him no, and let it be. When he gets older, you may use the crate for punishment. He will still associate it as him own space, and it won't confuse him because he will KNOW by then that he did soemthing wrong. I liken it to sending a child to their room for disobeying you. They KNOW they should not have done it, and their punishment is to be sent to their room, away from everyone else and what is going on (aka away from the pack).
 
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Yes he'll be fed in the kitchen and I'm prepared for the whining lol...I'm a big CIOer with my kids so I don't expect that to bother me except for the keeping me awake part lol. Good to know about the blanket..I'll have to try that if he gets too loud.

DH is actually on his way to get him RIGHT NOW! lol We were supposed to pick him up tomorrow but they keep saying we'll have snow so we get him a day early. The kids have no idea...can't wait to get pics :)
 
That's so exciting Nikki!!
I can't wait to get a puppy one day. That's a long way off, but I dream of it :)
 
Most advice I have has already been given.

Make sure the crate isn't too big, otherwise they can lay in one end & go to the bathroom on the other. I've only had lab puppies, and we would go through 3 sizes of crates. I also wouldn't put food & water in the crate. I believe I read it was about 45 minutes after eating & drinking they are ready to go and should be taken back outside. Its hard to do that if they can eat whenever they want. I always take them directly outside when coming out of the crate. Try not to use the crate as punishment, but put them in the crate at the end of fun times. I've always put old tshirts in the crate that I have slept in for a few nights before giving to them.

Depending on the puppies personality, some have done better when the crate was kept in the family room where they are part of the activity, while other puppies I've had have done better off in the laundry room. And some did better being able to see us, while others I had a blanket over their crate all the time, they like the cozy den type feeling and it makes them feel more secure.
 
Aww have fun :) We still use Haggis's crate for him when he has to stay in the house by himself. It's quite large as I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I bought it so we built a little dividing wall for when he was a baby as he could just get out of his nest and wee at the other end.

When we were training Haggis we spent a lot of time playing in his crate with me lying on the floor with my arm through the doorway just so that he knew it was a nice place to be and for a while if he took a fancy to one of our socks then we let him have them in there so that there were people smells. He never eats or drinks in there, that's a kitchen job.
 
I am literally in ♥love♥! He is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. And he hasn't stopped whining since we brought him in the door lol! Oh but the sweetness makes up for it!

DS was so funny...we put him in a box and let him open it and he just sat and looked at it for a second and then said very calmly "there's a puppy in this box" lol! i don't think he was really registering what it was lol.

I am dying from the cuteness!!

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nikkiARNGwife said:
I am literally in ♥love♥! He is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. And he hasn't stopped whining since we brought him in the door lol! Oh but the sweetness makes up for it!

DS was so funny...we put him in a box and let him open it and he just sat and looked at it for a second and then said very calmly "there's a puppy in this box" lol! i don't think he was really registering what it was lol.

I am dying from the cuteness!!
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OMG, OMG, OMG!!! These photos make me want to crawl in the computer to get him :wub::wub::wub:
 
Adorable! We also included one of my socks in the crate. I kept soft music (classical) playing at night or when we were gone and it seemed to help. But the breeder also had music playing.

I also would not let her out everytime she whined at night. Since she wasn't able to get a drink I knew she did not need to potty that frequently. I think it was every 3 hours of so for a couple weeks and then we were able to get down to once a night. After she was about 16 weeks old she was able to go all night. And after she was spayed she was able to sleep out of her crate. She still goes in there to nap and when we are only gone for an hour or two. If we are gone longer then that we put a baby gate up in the kitchen and she hangs out in there.
 
aw, he is PRECIOUS!! :wub: I have no advice as I am still reading all the Dog Whisper books and need to learn more. Keep us updated on his adjustment into the family!
 
I have no advice on the training. But...

OH MY WORD!!!!!! He is SOOOOOO cute!!!!!!!! I just wanna love all over him! :wub:
 
Well we survived our first night. He whined a lot but he did sleep a good bit too. From about 2-3 was the worst b/c he whined pretty much an hour straight lol But I took him out every couple of hours and he did his business...so far we've not had an accident (knock on wood) He's been up since 5:30 though so I finally just got up with him. I'm exhausted, but seeing him scuttle across the kitchen floor and trip on his own ears makes it all worth it I think :)
 
Oh man, you totally need to get a video of that Nikki! Lol!
The first few nights are always the worst. He's away from his momma and siblings for the first time, he's in a strange place, etc etc. You'll get into a routine soon enough and it'll get easier :)

Now. I demand more pics!!!
 
Oh, Nikki, he's so cute! More photos, pleeeeeease!

We've got our puppy for one month at home now, he's 3 months old. He sleeps through the whole night with no accidents (knock knock). At the beginning I took him outside everytime he woke up, after the meal or whenever I thought it could be "that". Mostly it was. And like Col writes "praise him like crazy", that's exactly what I did, so it must have been a great view for our neighbors. :)
 
Puppies that are handled and petted correctly by humans regularly during the first two months of life are much more amenable to being trained and living in human household. It is advisable that puppies are placed in their permanent homes between 8-10 weeks of age. So this is the best time to start crate training puppies because they will be more fearful of new things between the periods of 10-12 weeks.
 
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haha i was reading this and was like what you are getting a new puppy? and it is supposed to snow?! hahahaha
 
We did this and it was SO hard for me. The whining and crying kills me because I want to coddle them, but my only advice is do NOT give in! This really worked for us and was SO worth it in the end. Now when we need to send Ginger to her cage, we say "Cage" and off she goes and sits and waits for us to latch it. Sometimes she goes in there when she wants to be alone and just cuddles up, she feels really safe in there.
 
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