Crate training a new puppy

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Maybe I'm being too anal, but I'm trying to figure out how a typical day might go with our pup.
We pick him up in two weeks. We'll both be home for the first 5 days, then it will be my DH for a couple days at the beginning.
How did you guys do the crate training? Should I start the day by taking him out to pee, then play awhile, back into crate, out to pee, and repeat? Of course feeding three times a day with pee breaks just after. I've thought about tethering him to me while I'm home, but I wonder how this would help with crate training, then I hear he might not be used to leash right away, and may take time to get used to crate...

Just trying to envision our day. We haven't had a dog for a very long time and never used a crate before. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Tait & Finn]

Very exciting!! I let Finn wander free when I was home and took him out just about hourly. I kept a piece of paper & pen on the front door so I could keep track of meals & what he did outside (1 or 2). Then put him in the crate when I left and at night. We've been very lucky with Finn as he trained very quickly. I recommend using a bell at the door. It's very easy to train and a great help. He was completely out of his crate at around 4 months with no accidents and no naughtiness.

Good luck!

[Kris and Sawyer]

I kept Sawyer tethered, but when there were times I couldn't ave him tethered to me I crated him. And of course, crated at night. I strongly recommend the Snuggle Puppy. Worked wonders for Sawyer. He still sleeps with it every night.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

In the early days of having a puppy home, we used the crate for nap times, after a short training or play session. Any time the puppy came out of the crate we went out for a potty break. Puppies have a natural urge to go when they go from a smaller space to a larger space. We made crate training easier by starting out, day 1, with making the crate an inviting and comfortable place that was his and her (we've had 2 puppies in the last 4 yrs) private den. We covered the wire crates with beach towels and placed stuffed toys inside with both mama's scent and our scents on them. We also played a CD, 'While You're Away, Music Pets Love', anytime the puppy went in their crate. It became a signal to them that it was time to relax and sleep. The first day, though, I never shut the door on the crate (we did use a smaller crate next to our bed for bedtime, and we did shut the door on that crate). There's a lot more to potty training than crate training. What worked for us with both our doods was to keep them tethered to us when they were out of their crates. Bells hung by the potty door helped to train Lucy, but it had no effect on Oscar. To this day, his only signal is to stand by the door and stare. Lucy trained quickly, while Oscar took months. You learn their potty schedule after a while and learn to anticipate when to take them out (which can be a LOT in the first weeks). That was the hardest part of having puppies for me, but when they're finally trained it's such a wonderful thing!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Sorry, I got the name of that CD wrong. It's, 'While You Are Gone, Music Pets Love', by Bradley Joseph. He has several CD's for pets available. I found it invaluable.

[Missy]

oh how excited you must be!!! The best advice I received was to envision how I wanted life to be with the pup, and then train the pup to YOUR expectations. It is great that you are taking a week home with the pup initially, as it does take time to 'learn' the pups habits. for example the books state that the dogs should eliminate 20 minutes after meals, well, our didn't have to go up to an hour after the meals. I too kept a paper and pen and wrote down the times and such to learn the habits of our pup.  I used the potty bell, and left the collar on all the time so he would be used to it. It took about 2 days for him to not scratch at it.

at first with the crate training I made sure the pup was tired before putting him in it. then he always got a piece of a treat so he always thought of the crate as a positive thing.  the first month of nights, I got up with him about 2-4 am for a potty but put him right back in the crate. it is key that you don't respond to the barking as they will know that barking gets you back to them.

this forum is a great place to learn and I would read as much as possible now: once puppy is in your life, there will be NO time!!! 

oh the joys you are about to have!!

 

[Joanne and Preston]

Preston is almost 5 mons old and we followed a book called "How to housebreak your dog in 7 days" by Shirlee Kalstone. And it worked pretty good.  She has a schedule for feeding and crating for the 7 days.  Have fun with your new puppy.  They're a lot of work but worth it with the love they return.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Enzo loves her crate. We use it only at night or if we are going out for a few hrs. Early on, if we weren't able to watch her, ie, taking a shower or some chore. Other than that, she is free to roam. She learned the bells on the door trick very quickly. I also got her out every hr. She is now 4 months and very close to being housebroken. LOL...of course as soon as I say that...she has a accident. :p

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I know what you mean...lol... I had read somewhere that you can't consider your puppy fully potty trained until it has gone 28 days without an accident. I kept track of the days with Oscar, and there were so many times we'd get close to 28 days, and BAM!, he'd have an accident! We had a running joke around here that we had to, 'Reset to ZERO' after every accident. So frustrating!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

*sigh*. RESET that counter. .......

[Vivian & Mojo]

I made Mojo's create a positive place with toys and he always got a little treat going inside. When coming out of the create I took him right outside to potty. I kept my timer set at first for 20 minutes and than 30 as he got older than an hour.. After a while when he heard the timer ring he would go straight to the potty door. At one point when he was almost trained I stopped using the timer. His bells are hanging there by the door but he never had any interest in them and would turn away when I rang then or nudged them with his paw. He is now 18 months and just goes to the door when he needs to potty. In between create times and when I wasn't playing with him or training I had him tethered to me.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks for all the great info, I feel more "armed" and ready now!
I had been wondering about a smaller crate by my bed for nights, and another in the main part of the house. Mainly because I didn't want to carry it back and forth from the bedroom, it would so cumbersome. (It does have a divider in it also)

My other concern has been, on the days I am work if I should have an exercise pen to use in the house for him to be in. It would for his play time after he comes in from potty breaks. We would use it for play and only when we were pretty sure he wasn't going to pee for awhile when he's with DH. DH works from home in our den, but I know he won't have his eyes on him constantly while he's on phone with clients. Am I best off just using crate and concentrate more on the potty training than puppy having more room to roam?

[Vivian & Mojo]

When I first brought home my puppy at 8 weeks I had him in an  exercise pen at times when I was busy cooking or cleaning.( I'm retired so mostly home) I wasn't getting anywhere with potty training and he would pee in the pen at times. My trainer said not to use the pen until he was totally potty trained that I should have him in the create, loose right after going potty being watched, outside on a little walk or potty break or tethered to me. This worked wonderfully because I could see signs that he needed to go potty. The pen came in handy when he was trained however I only had him in it if I was home and could get to him as several times he wanted out when I was in another room and knocked the pen down by jumping on it.

I have 2 creates and one was besides my bed, it worked out great. The first week I had one create it was a pain moving it twice a day.

Good luck and have fun with your puppy and please give photos and updates.