chellz Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Hi everyone we brought a crate for our 6 week old labrador pup 'holly' yesterday and we brought holly 3 days ago and she already loves it! She hops in and out and she already accociated it with sleep.. sometimes she barks to get out not realizing the crate door is open Anyway at night we tried to put her in our room in her crate she woke up 3-4 times and was hard to ignore as our kids room is close by.. im thinking of moving her to the lounge room tonight, hope it works When she wakes up she winges to get out but my question is when do i shut the crate door? and when i do shut it if she crys do i just let her cry it out? Im worried she will accociate it as a bad place if she hates being trapped in there? how would i ease her into having the door shut? Edited January 9, 2011 by chellz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Six weeks is very young for a breeder to let a puppy go to it's new home. Curious as to why you got it so young When it cries are you taking it out to toilet, as I imagine at that age it would want to toilet quite often during the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Chellz: Anyway at night we tried to put her in our room in her crate she woke up 3-4 times and was hard to ignore as our kids room is close by.. You're not supposed to ignore it. If she wakes and whines you should take her outside. At her age, she needs to be toileted during the night. Any accident in her crate totally defeats the purpose of using one for house training. 6 weeks old. Edited January 9, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Thanx im new to the whole crate thing.. I know 6 weeks is too young for her to be in a new home.. its a long story but the girl was going to give her to the pound. If you have any crate training advice I would really appreciate it thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrotpea Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Hi there I'm pretty new to crate training too, but when my pup starts to whimper during the night, if she's already been to the toilet, I give her a pat or just rest my hand on her and she goes back off to sleep. From my understanding, the best way for them to have a good association with the crate is to always put them in there with some food, after they have had a play and are sleepy. I haven't left my girl's door on her crate open at all (unless it's inside the puppy pen) and she has been fine. If I'm going to be in one room for a period of time I bring her and her crate in the room with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 You can't expect a puppy to last all night with out a toilet trip till they're around 14 to 18 weeks. So if she's up, take her out, be boring while she does her thing (say a word that you'd like to associate with the act eg train her to go on command) and then take her back in and put her back in the crate. I think at 6 weeks old - leaving her in the lounge room will just stress her and she will present you with a horrible mess every morning and she will be harder to house train over all because she would be forced to pee in her own bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 You can't expect a puppy to last all night with out a toilet trip till they're around 14 to 18 weeks. So if she's up, take her out, be boring while she does her thing (say a word that you'd like to associate with the act eg train her to go on command) and then take her back in and put her back in the crate.I think at 6 weeks old - leaving her in the lounge room will just stress her and she will present you with a horrible mess every morning and she will be harder to house train over all because she would be forced to pee in her own bedroom. Thanx heaps so do you suggest to leave her in my bedroom at night? and when she winges take her out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Hi thereI'm pretty new to crate training too, but when my pup starts to whimper during the night, if she's already been to the toilet, I give her a pat or just rest my hand on her and she goes back off to sleep. From my understanding, the best way for them to have a good association with the crate is to always put them in there with some food, after they have had a play and are sleepy. I haven't left my girl's door on her crate open at all (unless it's inside the puppy pen) and she has been fine. If I'm going to be in one room for a period of time I bring her and her crate in the room with me. wow thats great.. through the day im trying to close it when she is sleeping but when she is winging i have been told to ignore it till she is quite or do I go to get and let her out? Its hard to pin the behaviour if its to go to the toilet or just cause she wants my attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 You can't expect a puppy to last all night with out a toilet trip till they're around 14 to 18 weeks. So if she's up, take her out, be boring while she does her thing (say a word that you'd like to associate with the act eg train her to go on command) and then take her back in and put her back in the crate.I think at 6 weeks old - leaving her in the lounge room will just stress her and she will present you with a horrible mess every morning and she will be harder to house train over all because she would be forced to pee in her own bedroom. Thanx heaps so do you suggest to leave her in my bedroom at night? and when she winges take her out? Yes, leave her in your bedroom so that you can hear when she needs to go out. If she's crying, take her out and see if it's because she wants to go to the toilet. Wait a few minutes until she has gone, if she doesn't go after awhile, put her back to bed and try again when she cries next time. She'd really be missing her litter mates at the moment. You could try giving her one of those toys that make a heartbeat sound to reassure her and help her sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Check out http://dogstardaily.com/ Plenty of info on crate training in there - look under the training textbook section. At her age I'd certainly keep her crated in the bedroom at night. Apart from the fact that she will feel a whole lot more secure you need to be able to hear the puppy and take her out immediately when she wakes to housetrain her effectively. This may be every couple of hours for the first few weeks. Once she has gained confidence and is sleeping through the night without the need to be taken out to the toilet you can slowly move the crate to whichever area of the house you prefer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Check out http://dogstardaily.com/Plenty of info on crate training in there - look under the training textbook section. At her age I'd certainly keep her crated in the bedroom at night. Apart from the fact that she will feel a whole lot more secure you need to be able to hear the puppy and take her out immediately when she wakes to housetrain her effectively. This may be every couple of hours for the first few weeks. Once she has gained confidence and is sleeping through the night without the need to be taken out to the toilet you can slowly move the crate to whichever area of the house you prefer Thankyou kindly for the link.. that was alot of information to take in.. One thing I dont get, I think I read it awhile ago is do people use the crate for their dog all day? Im trying to say is that I know you use the crate for teaching your pup to go when to go to the toilet and if you need to go out you can confine your dog but I remember reading somewhere they use it so the dog dosent have free run of the house and chew things? But does that mean the pup is crated all day unless outside doing a wee? would a puppy last that long without being bored even if it did have toys or is it tempory confinement so when puppy is abit older it wont go on a rampage of the house so it then can be let free? I dont understand how confinement will stop that or is it till the pup grows out of it?? Sorry hope that makes sense Edited January 10, 2011 by chellz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 One thing I dont get, I think I read it awhile ago is do people use the crate for their dog all day? Im trying to say is that I know you use the crate for teaching your pup to go when to go to the toilet and if you need to go out you can confine your dog but I remember reading somewhere they use it so the dog dosent have free run of the house and chew things? But does that mean the pup is crated all day unless outside doing a wee? would a puppy last that long without being bored even if it did have toys or is it tempory confinement so when puppy is abit older it wont go on a rampage of the house so it then can be let free? I dont understand how confinement will stop that or is it till the pup grows out of it?? Sorry hope that makes sense No and I'd not personally recommend it. There's a point at which a crate does become a prison and confining the dog to a crate for 10 hours a day crosses that line IMO. This is a relatively more common practice in the USA I gather but they deal with greater extremes of weather and far more serious animal threats to dogs than we do. I still don't like it though. I'd confine a dog to a room or pen before I'd use a crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I used to put my puppy in a crate when I needed to go out. So that nothing would be chewed or messed on. Puppy used to shred the paper I put in there but never made a mess. Eventually she would just sleep while I was out - no shredding. And now I can leave her free run of the house and she doesn't chew anything she shouldn't. I have a crate she can use like an indoor kennel at the moment, I don't shut the door but I want her to feel like it's a good place to be - if I need to put her somewhere safe at competitions or friends houses or on holidays etc. I think if you have no secure place in the house to leave a tiny puppy while you're at work, then a crate is a good option. As long as you have a decent walk/play session before work and after work. Rule of thumb - 5 minutes exercise per month of age. So yours would max out on 10 minutes at the moment, if that. I mostly work from home so I don't need to leave her on her own for 10 hours at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) One thing I dont get, I think I read it awhile ago is do people use the crate for their dog all day? Im trying to say is that I know you use the crate for teaching your pup to go when to go to the toilet and if you need to go out you can confine your dog but I remember reading somewhere they use it so the dog dosent have free run of the house and chew things? But does that mean the pup is crated all day unless outside doing a wee? would a puppy last that long without being bored even if it did have toys or is it tempory confinement so when puppy is abit older it wont go on a rampage of the house so it then can be let free? I dont understand how confinement will stop that or is it till the pup grows out of it?? Sorry hope that makes sense No and I'd not personally recommend it. There's a point at which a crate does become a prison and confining the dog to a crate for 10 hours a day crosses that line IMO. This is a relatively more common practice in the USA I gather but they deal with greater extremes of weather and far more serious animal threats to dogs than we do. I still don't like it though. I'd confine a dog to a room or pen before I'd use a crate. ohh okay.. thanx I was confused why they said they did this as it didnt make sense..yeh it seems abit silly crating all day Edited January 10, 2011 by chellz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I used to put my puppy in a crate when I needed to go out. So that nothing would be chewed or messed on. Puppy used to shred the paper I put in there but never made a mess. Eventually she would just sleep while I was out - no shredding. And now I can leave her free run of the house and she doesn't chew anything she shouldn't. I have a crate she can use like an indoor kennel at the moment, I don't shut the door but I want her to feel like it's a good place to be - if I need to put her somewhere safe at competitions or friends houses or on holidays etc. I think if you have no secure place in the house to leave a tiny puppy while you're at work, then a crate is a good option. As long as you have a decent walk/play session before work and after work. Rule of thumb - 5 minutes exercise per month of age. So yours would max out on 10 minutes at the moment, if that. I mostly work from home so I don't need to leave her on her own for 10 hours at a time. I dont work all day i do afternoon shifts but my hubby is home by then but it is a great idea if I have to duck out to do shopping especially as she is taking to it really well to the crate(i love it, shes playing in their quietly now) .. That is great that your pup dosent tear the house apart.. I think all dog owners wish that for their own dog..lol Thankyou everyone for taking your time to reply.. I really appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I used to put my puppy in a crate when I needed to go out. So that nothing would be chewed or messed on. Puppy used to shred the paper I put in there but never made a mess. Eventually she would just sleep while I was out - no shredding. And now I can leave her free run of the house and she doesn't chew anything she shouldn't. I have a crate she can use like an indoor kennel at the moment, I don't shut the door but I want her to feel like it's a good place to be - if I need to put her somewhere safe at competitions or friends houses or on holidays etc. I think if you have no secure place in the house to leave a tiny puppy while you're at work, then a crate is a good option. As long as you have a decent walk/play session before work and after work. Rule of thumb - 5 minutes exercise per month of age. So yours would max out on 10 minutes at the moment, if that. I mostly work from home so I don't need to leave her on her own for 10 hours at a time. I dont work all day i do afternoon shifts but my hubby is home by then but it is a great idea if I have to duck out to do shopping especially as she is taking to it really well to the crate(i love it, shes playing in their quietly now) .. That is great that your pup dosent tear the house apart.. I think all dog owners wish that for their own dog..lol Thankyou everyone for taking your time to reply.. I really appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I used to put my puppy in a crate when I needed to go out. So that nothing would be chewed or messed on. Puppy used to shred the paper I put in there but never made a mess. Eventually she would just sleep while I was out - no shredding. And now I can leave her free run of the house and she doesn't chew anything she shouldn't. I have a crate she can use like an indoor kennel at the moment, I don't shut the door but I want her to feel like it's a good place to be - if I need to put her somewhere safe at competitions or friends houses or on holidays etc. I think if you have no secure place in the house to leave a tiny puppy while you're at work, then a crate is a good option. As long as you have a decent walk/play session before work and after work. Rule of thumb - 5 minutes exercise per month of age. So yours would max out on 10 minutes at the moment, if that. I mostly work from home so I don't need to leave her on her own for 10 hours at a time. I dont work all day i do afternoon shifts but my hubby is home by then but it is a great idea if I have to duck out to do shopping especially as she is taking to it really well to the crate(i love it, shes playing in their quietly now) .. That is great that your pup dosent tear the house apart.. I think all dog owners wish that for their own dog..lol Thankyou everyone for taking your time to reply.. I really appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Patience Chellz Your first click worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chellz Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Patience ChellzYour first click worked. opps didnt realize i did that thanx rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tralee Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Six weeks old is a whole different dynamic. The formula for pups toileting is: Every (age of dog in months x 2) hours. You need to restore the conditions of being nursed. Perhaps you could have convinced the person to keep the dogs together a little longer, or return the pup for a few weeks. My pups don't leave until 10 weeks, and they know their place with other dogs when they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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