Puppy At Home During The Work Day.

[Borneogoat]

I have recently put a down a deposit on a Staffordshire puppy born just a couple days ago. So, 10 weeks and counting! I have been absorbing lots info on this forum and will pick up some puppy books too. I'm sold on the concept of crate training for toilet business and night-time sleeping.

My question relates to methods of dealing with daytime routine for the puppy. I'm single and work a normal 08:30-17:00 job. Fortunately, work is only 10min away so I can come home at lunch for a toilet/play/feed. But what do you forumites recommend for the remaining day? In the crate between 08:15-13:10 and again between 13:50-17:10 seems a bit constrictive in my human mind. Or is it? What about setting up a pen or gated off area of the house on easy-to-clean flooring? I could put the open crate in the "day zone" and add those toilet pads & some toys. If it were summer, I'd go for a secure pen in the yard. However, I live in TAS and the puppy would be mighty cold!

My reservation about using an inside pen is that I would have to teach the puppy to use the toilet pad. But then I've taught him to toilet in the house, when the important long-term goal is to teach him the toilet is outside....

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Pretty Miss Emma]

My puppy is in a puppy pen with crate attached while I am at work. And I don't live close enough to be able to go home at lunch!!!

I'm really lucky, my pup frequently hangs on and waits til I get home to go to the toilet (I know freaky weird!!!). But he will also use a patch of fake grass I have put in his pen (with a puppy pad underneath) if he really needs to wee. He hasn't ever poo-ed in his pen.

But they do a lot of sleeping while they are babies, mind you once I get home it is full on playtime until we go to bed, but that's ok. They do fine in a pen just make sure it does have a bit of space and as I found out make sure it is more secure that you ever thought it should be!!!

[minimax]

My pup is in the kitchen when I'm at work, locked in with baby gates. I wouldn't leave crated all day.

My pup, now 8 months old, won't go to the bathroom during the day, she waits for me to get home and let her out despite the fact shes pee pad trained and is left with a pee pad.

Also, my pup is more than happy to pee on the pee pads if the back door is closed (ie: during the night or when its really cold, but if the backdoor is open she goes outside to bathroom, so training to go on pee pads doesn't mean they won't learn to go outside, it just takes longer and requires more patience for them to understand both is ok!

[NOCTRL]

At that age our Staffy pup was in the bathroom during the day with pee pads. (I also came out at lunch and let him out in the backyard for a toilet, play and generally tire him out).

Lots of toys. Lots of things pup is allowed to chew (otherwise you might find the wood on your bathroom door chewed )

I was worried about the pee pad in the day thing too, but it didn't seem to confuse him too much and he picked up on the whole toilet training outside on command pretty quick, and often held on during the morning and afternoon until i got home. By 13 weeks he was outside in a closed off section of the backyard (but we are blessed with lovely darwin weather!)

[Borneogoat]

Thank you for the advice everybody. I reckon I will set-up a pen in the kitchen/dinning area that has an easy-clean floor. I will put his crate, toys, chewies, food, and a toilet pad in the pen. So now that we've solved that...

The way to train a puppy to toilet outside is to catch him when his behavior indicates it's business time and rush him outside. Followed up with some praise of course. You would also do the same with toilet pads, just put him on the pad when it's business time. So my situation is, I want him to toilet outside and only use the pads when it's absolutely necessary. Eventually as he grows up and his bladder grows bigger, he will hopefully only go outside. Thus the question is: what do I do when he indicates business time? Rush him outside, over to the pad, or some mixture of the two options? I'm not sure how to teach him the primary toilet is outside, but he can use the back-up pad when I'm not home.

[minimax]

I trained my pup to pee on command, that makes it easier to teach them to go where you want them to go.

[LizT]

I have four week old puppies here at the moment and I have recently placed a piece of newspaper in the side of the whelping box and the little darlings have begun to toddle over and pee on the paper. This is the beginning of toilet training for these little ones. I will eventually put them in a puppy pen and place newspaper there for them to pee on. After a while I put the newpaper into a puppy toilet and after they have got the hang of peeing on that I replace the newspaper with pee pads and a piece of fake grassturf.

We take the pups outside when older to pee as often as possible, whether permitting, using a trigger word when they go to help encourage the act next time they go out.

This is where they are at when the new owners will take over. :)

Edited June 26, 2012 by LizT

[Danois]

Don't keep them in a bathroom if you do confine a puppy as they tend to be heat sinks and can get quite cold.