crate

[Shawn & Bella]

Ok so I need some advice Bella stay's in a crate while I work.....Everyday when I come home she has shredded her puppy pad and newspaper in her crate.....The crate is huge so she can grown into but I am at my wits end with her tearing up all her pads each day?????????????????

[Adina P]

Get rid of the pads.  There shouldn't be a reason for a dog to poo/pee her crate.  How long does she have to be crated and what is her age now?

[Kim]

We never put any newspaper and/or puppy pads in the crate. I don't think Allie would have gone potty in her crate even if we did. How long is she in her crate for while you are at work? We also had the crate partitioned so that she didn't have much room for a few days until I felt bad enough to let her use all of the crate, but she still never had an accident in there.

[Janice Allocco-Ange]

The only thing I keep in my puppy's crate is a fleece bed (made for the crate) and something to chew. The whole purpose of crate training is for not giving your puppy a place to pee or poop. You might consider a penned in area with a litter box for your puppy to go if you're going to be gone longer than your puppy can hold it. This isn't ideal if you want to housebreak her. You might consider finding someone that can come to your house to let her out or putting her in doggie daycare until she's able to hold it the entire time you are gone.

[Adina P]

Also when you say the crate is 'huge' -- is it the kind with a divider? When crate training you're supposed to use the divider to make her area as small as possible...so only enough room to stand up, turn around, and lie down again. Once she's reliably house-broken she can have the full space.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

I had the same problem with Murphy the first few days. A friend told me to toss the pads and get a smaller crate. After I did that we had no more problems. A puppy can only hold it so long though so I still go home at lunch or have a friend give him a potty break during the day. Not to mention it makes my afternoon at work much better when I can get doodle kisses during the day!

[Melissa]

I agree with everyone that the said the crate needs to be smaller to have just enough space to stand, turn around and lay down. Also if you are leaving the puppy unsupervised I would not put anything in there as our Buddy liked (and still does) to chew things and try to eat them. For some time we did not even have anything in the crate and Buddy did just fine lying on the plastic tray. I eventually put a towel in there after he stopped having accidents. Now we are ablet o have a anclosed area for him and he only uses the crate to sleep. Good Luck!

[Kelly & Monty]

I too, agree with keeping the crate smaller. We used towels for comfort but just purchased a lambs wool pad and that's working out fine. As far as toys and/or bones or chewys, make sure they cannot fit through or under any spaces. The first week we had our dog, his nyla bone went through the crate slate, and he stuck his snout through to get it and he got stuck and started 'crying' desparately for help. Thankfully, I was nearby to release him. Another note, do not put the dog in with his ID tag on, that too can get stuck in the slates.

Maybe you could offer a special large toy that only she can have in her crate when you're not with her.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Don't put pads in the crate. Put a bone or a kong or something for her to chew on.

[Christine & Shelby]

I agree with everyone else. I crated Shelby while at work, but made sure to come home every day at lunch and let her out to potty and play a bit. She did great and there was only 1 accident - she was clearly ill (no need for icky details). No puppy pads. I left a towel or blanket and a toy or two (rubber only) in the crate with her. She did great and potty training was a breeze. If you rely on puppy pads, you'll then have to transition her from pads to outside. I think it's best to work on outdoor pottying from the beginning. Good luck.... and by the way.... Bella is adorable!