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This is a subject I haven't quite got my head around as it's generally not something done here in Ireland and I personally haven't used it before.  I like the idea of minimising the possibility of unwelcome behaviour and reinforcing the positive behaviours and I can see where the crate comes into it's own on that score.  I also like that a Dog has a place where he can feel safe and have time out.  So here is my question. 

I'm really not sure how to make the puppy enjoy the crate from the start.  I  will sleep beside the crate for the first few nights so he will not be alone. (though I will be buying earplugs and will probably have a glass of brandy to steady the old nerves!)  I'm also taking a full week or two off work.  Do I put the puppy in the crate( after he has eaten and played and been outside) for an hour and repeat this throughout the day and night? I'm just a little unclear about the routine which once I know it I will write it on a notice board. It seems that the Crate is more than a tool for toilet training? Am I correct in that.  Sometimes the more I read the more confused I become!!!

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Nicky, We have tons of discussions on crating and you are going to get lots of advice. I am a homemaker, so I was able to be with my dogs when they were puppies. I crated at night (not long with either) and only crated in the day when I left the house. I started from day one leaving for short periods of time and crating. I always leave the TV on, a fan to mute noises, place a kong with peanut butter inside and maybe a couple of treats. I never make a big deal about coming of going, but just walk out the door. When Fudge was going through the puppy biting stage, I would crate when she needed a time out. Puppies need lots of sleep and can be very naughty when tired. Sometimes placing them in their crate helps them calm down and get some sleep.

I know others tether the dog to them during the day and use the crate for nap time. All those things work for some people.

Vern likes his crate and actually had a bit of a hard time when I tried to stop crating when I left the house, but now is doing really well. Fudge only goes in her crate when she has to, but I will catch Vern in there during the day sleeping.

I think a crate is a very valuable tool for puppy training. You will do fine. Do what feels right to you. My biggest advice is decide ahead of time what you want to use the crate for and stick to it and be consistent.

Join the puppy group here on DK too.

 

Based on what I read here on DK, different pups have different crate experiences - probably (at least in part) due to the fact that their people have different feelings regarding the use of crates.  With Sedona, she rode home from the breeder in a "just her size" crate (actually one we'd used to transport our cats to and from the vet).  We kept the door open do she could come out if she wanted to, but she clearly felt safer in the crate.  That night, we put a few treats, a T-shirt that smelled like my husband, and her Cuddle Puppy that had the scent of her mommy and her litter-mates into the crate.  She willingly went in.  We got her up several times to pee/poop, but then she went back into the crate.  She did very little complaining, but if she did, we did NOT let her out.  For the first week or so, I'd start the night on the floor next to the crate. Soon, she was sleeping through the night and I no longer started on the floor.  As she grew, we bought a crate big enough for her predicted adult size and did the partition method.  Sedona will be two in August.  She still sleeps in her crate - and actually "asks" to go in each night.

 

On a side note - we did not use the crate for potty training.  My husband is retired so he could be home all day, every day so we had less to worry about.  We did use a "pen" if he couldn't watch her. 

When it comes to toilet training it is useful to teach pup to hold it while indoors. So as long as you remember that puppies often potty after naps, after/during playing, after chewing, after eating and after drinking...and you know you can't take keep both eyes on them 24/7 then they need to be crated whenever those two eyes of yours need a break to do something else. When that 'break time' comes take them out for a potty then take them back to the crate. When you're ready to set your puppy free again take them out to potty first.

I use the crate throughout the day even though I may be home most of the day. Boca sleeps in our room on a dog bed. She wakes up with me but before Clark. I let her out for potty and then crate her while I tend to our toddler, who, by then, is awake. I want quiet and peace in the morning and need to change, dress, and play with Natalie for a bit before I wake up Clark and pass her on to him so I can get ready for work. During that time Boca is crated and Rosco and Clark continue sleeping. When we're all fed and ready for the day she's let out again and hangs out until whenever Clark crates her during N's nap time. Then she's back out again and hangs out after N's nap until an hour before N's afternoon nap at which point I take Boca out for training and then return her to the crate for downtime. She's only crated again while we eat dinner and out for the rest of the night unless we all go out. So we crate FREQUENTLY and it has nothing to do with potty training because that's over and done with. If I didn't have a toddler she would be crated less often but sometimes I need to only focus on one critter at a time. Yesterday, Natalie wanted to play in the yard and so Boca was left in the house because she is just too fast and can easily hurt N since she can't help but do run-by hits to say hello.

Anyway that's how we use the crate. We use it for potty training but then chaos prevention. And it works for us. Rosco hasn't been crated since he was 2 y.o. Boca has at least another year to go before I trust her to now chew on things that aren't hers.

As to taking 1-2 weeks off...remember to acclimate puppy to your being away. Don't give her ALL day attention and then suddenly change that when you go back to work. Leave the house now and then so she knows that as normal.

Potty Schedule Example:
Wake up--go potty
Play a bit
Go potty
Breakfast
Go potty
Crate time for an hour
Go potty
Play a bit
go potty
Crate time for an hour
go potty
play a bit
eat lunch
go potty
crate time for an hour
and so on... Your schedule can dictate the duration of play, potty, crating, eating.
Thank you so much for all that. You went to so much trouble and I really appreciate it.  That's making sense to me now.  I will also not suddenly disappear after two weeks constantly being there.  I will do that slowly starting by leaving puppy in another room or while I go out for a very short time.

Yes, I did the same thing - took 1 week off when Peri came home.  After Day 1, I left her an hour in the morning, 1 hour afternoon.  Then worked up to 3-4 hours the last day. So when I went to work, she was fine with it.  I always came home during lunch to walk her and get her out of the crate.

 

And for what it is worth, I never did the play-potty-crate thing while I was home.  Since she was crated while I was at work, I felt WAY too bad leaving her in it when I got home. You will just see what works for you.  Instead, i took her out every 20 minutes for the first month at least. I know it sounds like a lot, but you avoid accidents that way.  Set your puppy up for sucess, not failure!  And have a huge party when he/she goes outside.  Give the pup treats, say "good girl" in high-pitched voices, etc... :)  It works. 

Yes you have to do what works for you, keeping in mind any habits you want to avoid when pup is grown.  I started off being very strict with schedules at 1st, I also used a play pen early on, etc.  And as Rosco was with us longer he was allowed more and more freedom.  I also mostly took him out every 15 min forever!  I could take him out MORE and he's pee and I'd still get accidents.  He was a tough pup to housebreak.  Boca, came to us at 16 weeks fully house-trained so after the 1st week she was allowed more and more house roaming privelages. Take the schedule, tweak it to fit your needs, then as you get to know your pup you can liberalize as needed.   
Here's a link posted by a breeder in a prior discussion that might be helpful....http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

Nicky...Rua took to her crate like a duck to water!  That is her DEN!  Dogs LOVE dens.  It is safe and secure. The first night she was in her forever home I put her in after she fell asleep on my lap.  I got up at 2AM to go potty because a thunderstorm woke me up.  Thinking it was only fair, I took her out.  She made a little fuss when I put her back, but I slept next to her crate until she fell back asleep, and the rest has been smooth sailing.  SHE IS AWESOME in her crate, travel kennel or carrier!  We got her on a Friday afternoon and I went back to work on Monday.  My DH would come home at lunch and I would come home at 4pm. 

 

Fast forward to almost 8 months old.  She still is crated during the day when we are gone.  She goes to daycare Tuesdays & Thursdays.  Because she doesn't jump down off of the bed, we have been letting her sleep with us for the past 3+ weeks.  If I end up having restless legs symdrome (RLS) and go downstairs so I can toss and turn, my DH usually has to put Rua back in her crate or bring her down to me.  Apparently she will start huffing and sighing.

 

During the first 4 months Rua was home, she took naps 2x times a day on weekends.  When it is time for us to leave in the morning, Rua RACES for her crate (OK...we give her a peanut butter kong)!  If we are going bye-bye, all I have to do is say "Rua - Kennel" and she dives into her travel kennel!

 

RIght night, Rua spends Monday, Wednesday, Friday in her crate from 7:30 to 12:30 and from 1:00 to 5:30 and sometimes part of night depending on how I AM SLEEPING! 

 

So, to make a long story short, the crate is MORE than a tool for potty training. It should be a place where your puppy feels safe and secure.  It can be confusing but all you can do is create your own routine based on what you want.  Just like kids, puppies are adaptable!!!  Can't wait for your puppy to arrive!!!

That's all really useful info thanks so much for taking the time to tell me all that.  My partner comes home at lunch time and I am home around four so a little similar to you. There is also a day care a short walk from the cottage which I'm going to use twice weekly and there are great walks on my doorstep.   I will be bringing a travel crate to collect the puppy so will continue to use that one until it's too small. I plan to sleep in the spare room with the crate beside my bed for the first few nights and then move the crate into the kitchen (or perhaps into our bedroom!)  I bought a larger wire one which i will divide until my pup is fully grown.  I think it will work out fine (I just hope my puppy doesn't cry at night because I'm such a softy.  I would have to get ear plugs!)  Just on the subject of the Kong.  Do you put loads of peanut butter into it and freeze it or do you just squish it around the edges inside.  I bought the mid size red one.  I don't like the look of the kong stuff they sell to use in it so I think I will just use regular peanut butter?) Sorry for all the questions I feel like I'm expecting a baby again!!!!! (though without the physical symptoms)  I'm posting one of those snuggle puppy things to the breeder to have it scent marked with mum and litter mates as soon as the puppy is born and am hoping that will make things a little easier in those first few nights at home. Exciting times ahead.....
No problem, Nicky, that is the great thing about DK.  What ever you do, don't give in to the crying.  I was lucky, Rua didn't other than a bit the first night.  But, just like a baby, if they cry and you pick them up (or in the case of a puppy, let them out), you are training them.  I didn't buy the Kong canned stuff either.  I buy organic peanut butter (the kind you have to stir first and refrigerate) because the only ingredient is peanuts (no salt or sugar added - my DH sampled it and while it might smell good, it doesn't taste as good as regular PB).  I would stuff the PB down into the kong (we have two of the small ones) and freeze.  Now, I don't bother with the freezing part because she isn't teething any more. 

Hi Nicky...

I came in on this conversation a bit late...and you already got lots of great information.

So...I won't go into a lot of the detail that I would usually do...Lol...

I used the same type of schedule that Adina recommended.

We have used a crate for Sasha since she came home to us...

It helped tremendously for "potty training"... it was her "safe place to sleep"... and she still Loves to sleep in her crate and happily goes into it at bedtime. 

 Her crate was the "safe place to stay" when we were away from home until just recently...and now she is being "trusted" in several confinied rooms that are "baby proofed". (safe from anything that can be harmful for her to get into).  She's getting to be a "Big Girl" now...  She will be two on April 4th.

We travel in the car on long trips with Sasha often (twice a month...12-13 hour drives both ways)...and she travels Very well and safely in a crate.  She is peaceful and content...and the trips are a pleasure for her and for us!

We use a crate if we stay in a hotel also...and she is a "happy and content Doodle!

I am a strong advocate of a crate...and I would say...so is Sasha...by her behavior.

It works for us...

I'm so excited for you...and can't wait to see the pics of your new Doodle!

Do you have a name choosen yet?

I know that's another Big decision!

Oh...So many decisions to make...what's a girl to do??!!  Lol...

 

Thank you all so much for this.   I have now purchased a travel crate that I think will be perfect for the journey home and the first while at night beside my bed.  I am much clearer now on how I will be using it for both potty training and safe den for when I need time out or need to leave for a short while.  I also bought a long lead (without a loop) for the times out of the crate when I need to keep an eye.  All in all I think I am now pretty much fully prepared so I will spend the next weeks getting fit and sleeping lots!

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