Nobody to be with Brody at night....help!

[Stephanie]

We just found out Sam's next CA trip is going to be next week (12th - 19th). I work nights, so Sam is the one who stays with Brody at night and takes him out to potty.

I don't really have any choice but to confine Brody in some way while I'm at work. I really don't want to have to keep him confined for that long. Maybe I can take a long lunch to come home and see him and take him potty. We're thinking while I'm at work we will use the kitchen to confine him, since the crate is just too small for that long of a time frame.

Sam leaves on the 12th and returns during the day on the 19th. I have two days off while he is out of town, but that still leaves Brody alone for 5 nights that week.

I'm not sure what I should do. We tried to confine him to the kitchen today while we went to pay rent. He was alone for *maybe* 10 minutes. When we got back he was nowhere to be found. When he heard our voices he started crying and yelping...we found him under the bed. The way he was acting you'd think we had been beating him. He wouldn't come out from under the bed...it took about 10 minutes for him to calm down.

So...we have decided to work on this until Sam leaves for CA...but I'm really worried about how this is going to go.

Any words of advice?

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Hi Stephanie!
How old is Brody? Is he crate trained currently? How long have you had him home with you? Would love to offer some suggestions, but looking for a bit more info.

[Stephanie]

Brody is now 10 weeks...we've had him home now for just over a week. He is not currently crate trained. We don't make him sleep in the crate at night because he wakes us up in the night to go out to potty...and because Sam and I have opposite schedules (one of us is home at all times) we haven't *had* to crate train him, although we've been working on it for the past couple days (not going so well!).

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Stephanie ~

Usually crate training is far more traumtic on us than it is on our furry babies. How often does Brody wake up through the night to potty? Maybe you could crate him in your bedroom so that he is still able to let you know that he needs to go out, but can also adjust to the crate.

Around here from the time our pups are weaned they are introduced to crates. We do not keep them 'caged', but the reality is most will become a family member in a home where they will be crated, often as a result of employment logistics ~ getting them ready for this makes the adjustment much easier. Generally by the time they are 8-12 weeks they are sleeping through the night (here, I realize this is not the case for everyone). When they do not or seem to have difficulty with crating it is usually because of how we have conditioned them. Try not to think of the crate as a negative thing, it is not just a matter of confinement but also one of safety when you are unable to watch him. You may just want to try putting him in there for very short periods of time when you are doing something that distracts you from him. Use the same enthusiasm and incentives that you for rewarding other desirable behaviors.

When you say it is not going well, what specifically is happening? Is he crying? Have you tried partially covering the crate? If you do not respond to his crying, how long until he settles in? Know many have gone before you in this task and many will come after, I am certain you will get a ton of great advice and one day very soon you will be the one sharing it with the next person that comes along with the same situation : )

[Tammy Stieren]

Stephanie,

My doodles are 10 months and I had the same feelings that you have about crate training. After a few items were destroyed because I did not put them in their crate, I gave it a try. They LOVE their crate.
It is true..I was the one with the hang up. When they were smaller I had several times when I would be
gone for 8 hours so I did come home for lunch and let them run around and play and them put them back in. I did leave a very small bowl of water for them. They still go in their crate and lay down on their own. It also works great for potty training. Good luck!

Tammy

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

Sounds like you will have to crate train which is not bad at all. My babies actually love their crates. I suggest trying that while you are both still home. Good luck.

[Ali]

Crating them is not a bad thing. They are more comfortable and less anxious when they are crated because it gives them a small room. You can see that they like small areas because your puppy went straight under the bed to become more comfortable in being in such a big house. For a puppy 10 weeks old it is better to crate them than to leave them in the kitchen.
I was having the same problems you will be running into soon. One day a week I was going to be gone for 8 hours! That is a long time for a puppy to be in a crate, but she did just fine. I left her plenty of toys, gave her a treat in the crate before I left, and filled a kong with peanut butter and froze it. This keeps them busy. But most of the time dogs will sleep 90 % of the time you are gone. Just be prepared to have a really hyper dog when you get home. You can also make them really tired an hour before you leave. Exhaust them physically and mentally, so do some training, go on a little walk, or play fetch.
They may cry right when you put them in there but they will stop very soon. My dog does not even cry anymore. She is so good. There are some tips to get them to really like their crate. While you are home you can feed your puppy in their, that way it gives them a positive association with the crate. Good Luck!

[Adina P]

You mentioned your crate is too small. A properly sized crate for a young pup should be ONLY big enough for him to stand up, turn around, and lie down. That's it. Sleeping is what he'd do anyway...and it doesn't take much room to sleep. As he matures and is potty trained fully you can buy him a larger crate.

[Stephanie]

His crate is plenty big enough for him, I was just a little worried about leaving him in for 9 hours. I have to leave at 10:45 and don't get back home until 7:30...so its close to 9 hours he would be in there. To me that seems too long, but maybe I'm just niave.

Sam is putting him in the crate tonight when they go to bed. So, we'll see how that goes over when I get home in the moring. I'll let you all know.

Thanks again for advice!

[Stephanie]

I forgot to add to my last post...

I'm also worried about him getting used to going 'potty' in his crate. We're at a critical time right now where he's finally getting the idea that he's supposed to go outside...and having to leave him in his crate for that long makes me wonder about how the potty training process will go after that. He wakes us up at night and has never pottied in the bedroom, and now he is crying or barking when he has to go out during the day (we only had one accident today!). Will he stop waking us up if for five days nobody lets him out when he cries to go potty??? I'm just a worried mama... And I don't want to have a huge setback because I left him in his crate for 9 hours (times 5 days).

Not to mention...he'll have to go potty in that 9 hours (I can't even hold it 9 hours)...then what if he gets dirty in it...I'll end up having to bathe him every morning...if I put him in the kitchen at least I would know that he'd have plenty of room so he didn't have to sleep in it.

Just more thoughts about the whole thing...anybody who has any ideas/thoughts...or can reassure me, please do!!

[1z3sk5oo4wcu7]

I had the worst time crate training because all River did was cry for the first two days she was in there so basically no sleep for me. But dog do not like to go where they sleep and if he gets used to that being his bed he will not go in it. He might have accidents right now because he's young but he will grow out of it. When I first started I would get up once a night and let him out. 9 hours is a little long for a puppy when it comes to the bathroom. It takes time. If you are able to leave work for lunch let him out to go and put him back in that might be better. Or you can do what we did we had a friend come and let her out once or twice but I'm sure that might be tough in the middle of the night. Crate training really is the best thing and I promise he will eventually not have accidents but that's just normal for puppies.

[Tamara & Giada]

Is there a posibilty you could have a friend say at the house while your husband is away?

[Stephanie]

Great idea about the adjustable pen! That would definitely satisfy my need to give him more space...even though I'm sure he won't really need it. No knobs in the kitchen...but he sure likes the woodwork throughout the house...so really good point there too!

All that makes me feel better about leaving him in his crate.

Thanks for the reassurance!!!