Crate & Potty Training Help!?!

[Doc and Ozzie]

Doc is almost 7 weeks. We were told to feed/water him at 6am and 6pm and no water after 7pm. When crated for the night cover crate with a blanket. Take him out ever 30-40 minutes during the day and crate no more than 4 hours at a time without potty break except at night. These were the breeders instructions. And we are following them. Although, I am taking him out more like every 20-30 mins.

Doc has already learned to "ask" for water by standing at the kitchen sink and looking up at it. I am wondering if we should be leaving his water bowl out all day or only at 6/6 feedings? He pees constantly. But at such a young age I feel he is already catching on to going outside pretty well. I have a 9 month old baby and feel like a jack-n-the-box carrying the baby on one hip and Doc in the other arm in and out all day. I understand this is a necessary evil for now =) But wondering if he needs water more frequently or if with holding it at times is ok during housebreaking?

His bedtime wire icrate is upstairs in my 14 year old daughter's room who oversee's him when she is home. She puts him in for the night around 9:30-10 covers it.. he cries starting at about 12:30 she takes him out to potty around 1-1:30 then crates for the rest of the night til 6am. He cries from 1:30- 3 or 4am! We have baby blankets and a stuffed bear that smells like his mom/siblings and a shirt of my daughters in there with him. Is it normal for him to cry so long? Should we take him out more than once per night? The breeder said he would be ok without ANY potty breaks overnight.. but he just seems to young to me to do that? So far he has not peed or pooped in the crate.

He has a "daytime" soft crate downstairs in our living room that he naps in and takes breaks in when I can't supervise him and the baby closely. I also have babygated the kitchen for safe playtimes. He is only upstairs at night at bedtime. Wondering if that could be why he is crying so much? It would be difficult for him to sleep downstairs though.. with me getting up twice per night already to nurse my daughter I am sure he would disturbed by that and my daughter would stay awake even longer. 

Ok, sorry, now that I have written a book.. I can only hope someone will take the time to read it =) If you have, thank you! Any tips or advice is welcome on the above issues or anyhting else you can offer me! 

Blessings, Stephanie "Roo" B.

[Doc and Ozzie]

Will do!! =) & AMEN! Thanks Joanne, we do feel that he is a God-send!

[Emily & Wispa]

Glad to hear she had a good home and cared for the puppies.. though why she planned to go out of town when she was expecting a litter I can't understand.

Just a quick concern about the shots.  According to my vet the immunity from the mum only starts to go away around the 8 weeks mark, at which point the first vaccines should be given.  Any earlier and the vaccine is attacked by the mum's antibodies instead of allowing the puppy to produce its own.  Just food for thought.  If your vet was happy to go ahead then obviously listen to him/her.  I suppose there could be different practices here in the UK.

I hope your little guy doesn't need surgery!  And as for feeling his bones, we could feel Wispa's.. You should always be able to feel their ribs, but not see them.  If you see their ribs, they're skinny, if you can't feel them they're fat.  Wispa was 6 kg when we got her and she gained 1 kg weekly for several weeks when we first got her.  And now at 5 months she's 19 kg!  They grow really fast to start out with, take lots of photos or it'll pass you right by!

[Doc and Ozzie]

His shots should be okay, on track. In my mind it's still really debatable if the breeder really had his first shot and worming(s) done anyway =(  So whatever the case I will talk it over with the vet at his 8 week appt, next week. I do know that human babies receive all of their vaccines during the first year of life and this is also when they are receiving immunity from their mother's breast milk. Could be different in puppies though.

To clarify about the breeder going out of town.. She wasn't "expecting" a litter BUT she DID have TWO litters under 6 weeks in her home. Still I wondered why she would leave too. She said that she was having help come and take care of everyone while they were away. 

Thanks for the stats on Wispa, she is ADORABLE by the way! I'm not sure how to "see" Doc's ribs..through all the HAIR, haha!! I can still feel his bones, he just feels a quite a bit heavier now and has definitely gotten bigger already! I will be taking plenty of pics and posting them here! Thanks again!

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

It sounds like you received a lot of very good advice.  Here is some information that may help with teaching bite inhibition since Doc is so young.  Good Luck

Have you ever watched how puppies play with each other while they're still with
their littermates? They love to bite each other, often on the face. If one puppy
bites another puppy too hard, the "victim" will yelp and run away to play with a
different pup. In essence, the biter gets a time-out for applying too much
pressure with those needle-sharp puppy teeth. If he makes this mistake a few
times, then he learns that biting too hard while playing makes his buddies run
away from him. Little by little each puppy learns to bite with less pressure to
keep his playmates from putting him into isolation. This is one reason that you
should not purchase a puppy before he or she is 8 weeks old. It is during the
6th & 7th weeks when puppies are educating each other about bite inhibition
with each other. When a puppy doesn't get that information from his littermates,
the pup then comes into the home and play-bites much harder with us leaving our
arms bruised and sore. You might be surprised to find that new puppy owners
sometimes get so frustrated when this happens that they begin talking about
giving up the puppy. That's not a good thing!

Yes, we need to teach puppies to inhibit their bites to prevent them from scarring our hands, arms,
ankles, and other body parts. But, there's another critical reason why we need
to work on this NOW. Dogs are animals! They come hard-wired knowing how to bite!
Every dog on the face of this planet is capable of biting a human or another
dog. If at sometime in your puppy's life he is ever provoked to use his adult
teeth on an individual, we want to make absolutely certain that if he chooses to
bite, he will do no damage. Dogs that bite hard and send people or dogs to the
emergency room have not learned bite inhibition! Dogs that bite without leaving
any marks on human or canine skin have learned bite inhibition.

So, how do we effectively deal with this problem? When puppy arrives you will begin to
see this play-biting behavior as he gets comfortable and starts to play with you
and your children. I find that puppies bite with harder pressure when (1) they
become overly excited about something, (2) someone, particularly a child, plays
on the floor at their facial level, (3) someone roughhouses with them, or (4)
they are just plain tired and need a nap. We can avoid having puppy bite too
hard by working to avoid having the behavior occur in the first place. So with
the 4 situations I've listed above, try to avoid getting puppy into any of those
situations as much as possible. Situation #2 should ALWAYS be avoided. Children
should NEVER be at the same facial level as a child to avoid all facial-bite
injuries! When your children play with your puppy, they should be sitting on a
sofa or chair or standing tall.

Okay, let's get down to business. We need to plan how we're going to use time-outs to teach puppy not to bite hard. Get into the habit of keeping a leash or dragline attached to your dog's harness
(yes, puppies should wear a harness, not a collar, for being leash-walked and
being tethered) throughout the day. This dragline should NOT be kept on unless
your puppy is being watched and supervised. The dragline should be removed
anytime he is put into his crate or left alone for any reason! Please do not
forget to remove the dragline when necessary. If you have a table-leg or chair
leg that is thick and heavy, you can use that as a good tethering area.
Sometimes people have a banister at the stairway that is thick enough to use as
a tether spot. You can also consider going to Home Depot and getting a thick
screw eye to put into the stud of a baseboard. You can then thread your dog's
leash through the screw-eye and have it ready at all times if you need to give
puppy a time-out. Don't worry, you can always spackle the baseboard when puppy
gets older. Take a leash and thread it either around that table/chair leg or
through the screw-eye. Thread the snap of the leash through the loop and pull it
straight out. Now you've got your tethering area prepared and ready to use.


Sit down and play with your puppy while he's tethered. The following is
going to be your protocol as to how to monitor how hard puppy is biting and how
to deal with each level of pressure he's using:

If puppy mouths you using his teeth, but it doesn't hurt, yelp "ouch!" in a normal tone of voice.
Immediately stand up and walk a little bit away from him. Do not talk to him, do
not look at him, completely ignore him for about 15-20 seconds. As long as he
remains quiet and doesn't bark, whine or carry on, you can return your attention
to him after that 15-20-second period. Go back to playing with him. If he
repeats his behavior, you then repeat your 20 second time-out.

If puppy mouths you, but it DOES hurt, yelp "OUCH!" in a much louder tone of voice.
Immediately, walk out of the room and leave puppy completely alone for 30
seconds. Your pup should not be able to see you, hear you or know that you're
anywhere nearby. If he remains quiet during that 30 seconds, you can return to
him and then begin interacting with him again. If he bites with hard pressure
again, repeat the 30-second time-out.

Keep in mind that you do not want to bring any emotional content into these exercises. Please do not use any
physical means of punishment to stop your puppy from play-biting. Your purpose
in doing time-outs is to teach puppy that when he bites hard, he creates a
switch that makes you disappear! Just as his littermates taught him, you will
now teach him that when he bites too hard, you will leave him isolated for a
short period of time. This stage of training will require a ton of patience on
your part, but your puppy will learn from it. Dogs learn by making associations.
Dogs are pack animals so they do not want to be alone and isolated.


Instruct all the members of your family to follow through with these
training exercises. If the family is together and puppy is with everyone, and
then he bites someone too hard, EVERYONE should get up and leave the room while
he remains tethered and alone! Support each other when this happens and it will
have a greater and more effective impact on your dog.

Little by little, you will notice that your puppy is biting with less pressure. That's a good
thing! Figure out what that hardest level of pressure is, and begin performing
the same routine of leaving him alone when he bites with THAT level of pressure.
Essentially, you are now creating levels of reduced pressure that will change
again. Each time you get rid of one level of pressure, begin focusing on the
next level, which will be softer and softer. Once your dog learns to have a soft
mouth, you can now use your 30-second time-out for the very least amount of
pressure for which he'd be using his teeth on your skin.

The end result of teaching bite inhibition is the puppy learns that teeth on skin is never
allowed - EVER! If you have children in the house and they are mature enough to
work on this training, make sure they are consistent and doing this only under
your supervision!

NOTE: If you have a dog that is 6 months or older, you do
not now have time to teach your dog to bite without pressure. Because your dog
is older and now has his adult teeth, it is imperative that you teach him not to
bite at all. He must learn that teeth on skin is NEVER allowed. No matter what
pressure your adult dog exerts on your skin with his teeth, you must yelp OUCH
and then leave him alone for 30 seconds. He must learn that anytime he places
his teeth on your skin, that behavior makes everyone leave him.

Patience, patience, patience! It will pay off. I promise!

This information was referenced from the following website link

http://www.morrco.com/tebiin.html

[Doc and Ozzie]

Tina,

Thank you!!!! This was wonderful information! And, right on time!!! Doc is 7.5 weeks old and really starting to nip at us. He is growling some too, and even bit at my 14 yr old daughter when she picked him up to bring him inside from outside potty time (we think he wanted to stay out longer) he seemed to be biting in protest rather than play. =( 

With having a 9 month old baby crawling about, and learning it is NEVER safe to have her on the floor with him( I ALWAYS have been right down there with them when they were in the same room on the floor).. I just hope training doesn't take long, I can't imagine how I will keep them separated at all times. I may have to use his crate more often than I would like to for now, at least during the day until my husband and older daughter get home from school to help. Doc really has been very well behaved so far with the baby, but, as I said before I NEVER take my eyes off of them and am ALWAYS within arms reach of them on the floor with them while we play. I suppose I can crate him during the day and bring him out to train and play twice a day during her nap times around 10 and then again around 2. Of course I can take him out just for quick potty breaks more frequently. Does that sound unreasonable for a young puppy? I don't want to crate him too often but, not sure how to manage from 7:30-3:30 while I am home alone with Doc and Raven. 

I read what you sent out loud to my family. We definitely will try the tethering. Do you know how long bite inhibition training usually takes? 

If you or anyone, has any suggestions or experience with training a pup and crawling baby please share. Thanks again!!

[Doc and Ozzie]

So, I have been reading some on the Dog Whisper's site. Getting good tips. I think Doc is doing really well so far, to be so young, and not having had his mama and litter mates during the 6-8 wk time period. He is picking up on bite inhibition training quickly. Crate training going well, housebreaking even better! I think the growling he has done is "puppy growling" not aggressive.

He's a good boy! Just wanted to update! =)

ps..  I have been informed by my sister that I may be "babying" him too much, bc I have not been letting him go up and down the 3 deck steps on his own.. I have been carrying him. I'm not sure how to teach him to go up and down them safely. He goes up them somewhat, with a little help but he is still afraid to try going down. 

[Midge and Gracie]

Hi Stephanie and Doc!  How is it going?  My little Gracie and I are thinking about you and hope all is well or at least as well as it can be with a new puppy!  My little Gracie turns one this weekend and we are over the moon excited.  We just love the little girl so much.  Please feel free to call me at 925 200-7172 at any time should you need a doodle friend on the spot.  My children are all grown and it's just my husband and I.  Lucky for us the kids live nearby and have dogs so we often have our grandogs over and Gracie can play.  It is a fun scene to experience.  I hope all is well.  Little Doc is a doll.  You are so lucky to have the DK world available  It is a godsend.

[Doc and Ozzie]

Awww HAPPY BIRTHDAY Gracie!!!!! = )

Thanks so much Midge, I am putting your number in my phone right now under "emergency doodle contacts"! = )

Everything is going well right now, Doc is adjusting to his crate and goes into it on his own now, I think he really likes it. He is potty training and down to only one peepee accident a day inside. All of the other times he does well going to the backdoor jingling the bell or barking at us. Not sure why he is still having the one accident a day, hopefully its not some kind of quota, lol! He will be going to the vet (first visit with us taking him) on Friday! We are excited and nervous about what we may hear there. Unknown is always a little scary. But, we are confident that everyone there will love Doc, he has certainly won our hearts!!!

Have fun this weekend celebrating Gracie!! 

[Tammie Miller]

Stephanie and Doc If he was your 9 month old you would listen to his cries. Listen to his cries. He is JUST a baby, a very young baby. Im sorry your breeder has given you such harsh advise. A puppy so young cant hold it this long and if your thirsty dont you get a drink? Do what your heart says is right. I hope for better success for both you and Doc

 

[Doc and Ozzie]

Hi Tammie, 

Thank you, Doc is doing MUCH better since the original post here. Thanks to all the wonderful advice and support I received as feedback! I have updated along the way. 

[Evelyn Sorensen]

We were lucky as Lexy only cried  for 2 nights when we got her . We feed Lexy  twice a day , 9:00 am then 6:30 pm , she gets all the water she wants untill  6:oo pm and after that if she is thirsty I give her a couple of ice cubes so she isn't up all night wanting to piddle .We walk  her twice a day , once in the morning and after supper we go again for about 30 min each time . The vet explained to us that thier bladders  are small and if they need to piddle through the night  take them . I know with lexy we would carry her out side and let her piddle then carry her back in and not say a work to her other that go pee. put her back in the her kennel and she was fine .

[Doc and Ozzie]

Sounds like a good plan to follow. Doc "only" cried the first 5 nights =(  After I posted here the fifth night, I got so many great tips that night he slept through. He sleeps in my daughters room next to her bed facing it. He can see her, and that helps. Gabby has been taking him out in the night if he needs to go, otherwise she lets him sleep. He rarely needs to go in the night now. She told me today that she has been letting him cuddle with her in bed after he gets up around 4 am to potty.. since she gets up at 6.. she just lets him snuggle til then. She said that now, at his 4 am potty time he runs to the door to go back in and "knows" its cuddle time, he is very excited about it but settles down nicely after they get in bed. My daughter loves it!

We learning his eating habits and I believe he prefers to eat several small meals a day. We tried feeding him 3 x but, he was only half eating his portion. So, I figure maybe he is getting hungry faster. I give him no more than 3 cups a day (per what the bag says for his age/weight) he usually eats around 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 4pm.. then sometimes a little at 6 pm. basically, when he looks up at the counter where his dish is I let him have it, so far, he hasn't eaten more than the 3 cups in all. He gets water all day until 7.