Crate confinement for a new puppy...

[Kelly & Monty]

My puppy is almost 11 weeks old and we are crate training him.  I am home most of the time and let him out for awhile after he goes out to potty. Sometimes we hang out in the yard too. I feel bad putting him back in to get things done and would much rather have him near me.  He goes in his crate willingly but barks for a few minutes before settling down.  Sometimes he howls or barks on and off during the confinment.  This only happens when I'm leaving or doing things around the house.  Bedtime is not a problem.  He sleeps through the night.  Should I let my doodle roam with me around the house yet?

 

 

[Melissa]

We were also crate training but he didn't seem to like it that much during the day. So we bought http://www.amazon.com/Superyard-Play-North-States-Industries/dp/B00... a play pen of sorts. We were able to open it up and attach the separate sides so that it encloses an area in our kitchen by the back door. So that he could ring the bells if he needed to go and it also gave him a larger play area. He loves it and we sitll use it when we need to do stuff around the house or even run some errands, he is almost 6 months old. He isn't locked in the crate but also if he has an accident, it is easy to clean up. Hope that suggestion helps. Now the only time he goes into his crate is to sleep. And he does this automatically when I say time for bed. :)

[Leigh & Allie]

You could also tether him to you. get a little bit longer leash and attach it to your belt loop. Then he can follow you around and he will be right in eye sight. It might help give you a little bit more routine. Hope that helps.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree. Don't keep him in the crate so much if you can help it. He should be all right for some time, even untethered in the same room. I wouldn't let him roam around the house yet. Too many ways to get in trouble. But especially in rooms that are easy in terms of cleanup, like the kitchen perhaps, a little more freedom is good.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Tethering is a great alternative to the crate for part of the day. I also used portable baby gates so that the puppies could be with me in whatever room I was in....I just moved the gate with me. That also worked well because I could keep a close eye on them. Between the tether and the gates my guys wern't crated much during the day if I was at home.

[Leslie J]

We put a gate on the kitchen door and she spent lots of time in there when she was little. She didn't have accidents in the kitchen at all (I took her out to go potty every hour). By the time she was 10 weeks I tethered her to the couch leg when I was sitting on the couch. Little by little I allowed her more space (I kept her tethered to something in each room so that she couldn't run around the house).

The two recommendations regarding housetraining I found most helpful were to keep taking her out every hour or two so she wouldn't have accidents and to gradually give her more space so that each space is part of her den before adding more space. Cocoa is very regular and poops every morning and after she eats, so I knew at these times to keep her contained until she had pooped.

Tethering her to you is a great idea. I didn't try this because I have small kids I'm running after and having a puppy also attached to me would be too overwhelming- but it sounds like it would keep your puppy happy.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have crates for both my dogs, but I only crated Fudge at night for about 6 months and Vern was done with his crate after two weeks. Neither ever had any accidents during the night, but I am a very light sleeper and would take them out when I heard them moving about. When I am home, I can count on one hand the number of times I crated them when I was in the house. Almost never and I have never used a tether either, although many people recommend them on this site. I do, however, like to keep them in the room I am in and supervise closely. I try to keep chew toys, etc. to occupy them when I am doing something else. Once in a while, I have used the crate for time out when play is too rough or one of them was misbehaving. Also, when I leave the house, they always get crated. My goal is to get rid of both crates someday. Good luck!

[Kelly & Monty]

Thanks for the input. I'm trying the tether and so far so good.

[Kyoko]

I tethered Charlie around when she was a puppy, too. I also bought similar play yard as Melissa and sectioned out the corner of room - where ever - for her as well.