Dog Community

crate training: 9wk chihuahua/maltese mix

Posted : 4/10/2006 10:46:46 PM

We just bought a new pup last week, had it for about 4 days now... i just now as of today started the crate training method. I bought a metal cage, the smallest one i could find, the pup takes up about half the room inside the cage... the thing is nobody is home when i go to work, i work from 9am to 5pm, so is it safe to but the water/food dish inside its cage before i go to work? its been whining a lot when i put him in there but after a few hours he goes to sleep, so im hoping this is a good sign that he's getting use to it. I dont want him to depend on me too much, like everytime he cries he expects me to go down or to take him out of the crate... im trying to train him to potty outside and to not whine when in the cage... for the 1st time today after letting him sleep in his cage for about 3-4 hours, i let him out in the back yard, and he finally potty, i was so proud... because he's been pooping and peeing all over our tile floor in our patio at night (thats where we keep him). I would put the cage inside our house, but he's too noisy with the whining and that will wake up a lot of ppl... so for now, we put the cage outside untli he's pottied train and house broken. Or is this a bad idea? Should i put the cage inside the house so he can be use to the house? I'm not sure what to do... we have a medium sized house, 2 floors... not even sure if he's ok to run/up down the stairs yet, he is only 9wks old... but 1st things first, he needs to be potty trained b4 i will let him roam free around our house. Its all carpeted!

How often should i let him out to potty if i crate train it?

Thanks!

Also what kind of treats work well for puppies like mine? Any treats or is there a certain treat that puppies die for? the treats i have now are like a bone, maybe2 inches wide by 1 inch... kinda too big for him t o eat so i try to break it into small pieces... not sure if i should give him the entire treat, or only a part of it?

Julie Beveridge

Posted : 4/11/2006 2:05:04 AM

The puppy needs to be on a schedule much like a baby. It is way to young to sleep outside in a crate, day or night.
It is also way too young to go all day without being out to potty you are going to just have a mess on your hands soon.
I would wake up take the dog out to potty and then let the pup play while you are getting ready for work. Put the pup in the crate and go to work, but someone needs to come home mid day to feed and walk the puppy, then back to the crate.
When you come home take him out to potty, play time, dinner and walk. Then more play and one more potty trip, back into the crate for the night in the house.
Do not take the pup out if it is whining or crying, she will learn that if it does this you will get it out, only take it out when it is quiet.
You can find puppy sized treats at any pet store, just get the smallest ones you can find.
I hope this helps.

Matt Blanco

Posted : 4/11/2006 2:20:20 AM

you mentioned that its way too young to sleep in a crate? then what am i suppose to do? i cant let it run free inside the house... we have a room that we built behind the house and i leave the crate there and thats where we put him... im waiting before he's 100% potty trained before i let him roam free inside...

but im confused on where im suppose to keep the puppy now? i just went downstairs to get something to eat in the kitchen, i guess the noise i made woke it up, it started whining and going hysterical, so i went out there to check the crate, sure enough there was poop inside, i then open it up and let him out to run for a bit while i cleaned the crate and filled it up with a fresh batch of newspaper, brought it back inside and put him back inside the crate and told him to go to sleep and shut the light off and walked back in, he started whining again like usual, so i ignored it and went back upstairs...

Mic

Posted : 4/11/2006 7:03:07 AM

I think you may have misread the above post.

momtomany said

It is way to young to sleep outside in a crate

The dog should still be crated, but inside teh house.

glenmar

Posted : 4/11/2006 7:16:03 AM

I read that as "this pup is too young to be expected NOT to have to go when crated for that many hours"

Julie Beveridge

Posted : 4/11/2006 10:00:36 AM

Not too young to sleep in the crate. Sorry, maybe I did not get my point accross correctly.
A puppy of this age is not old enough to be in a crate for 8 hours without having an accident.
It is too young and too small to sleep outside with a crate or not.
It is going to whine when in the crate at the beginning, that is normal, just have to learn to ignore it.
Sorry if I was not clear.
Julie

Matt Blanco

Posted : 4/11/2006 12:42:11 PM

i would bring the crate inside the house, but he would wake the whole house up... and nobody would get any rest... so t hats why we leave him in the patio... dont think of our patio as an outside porch, its just another room we added to the back of the house, its still connnected to our house...

Julie Beveridge

Posted : 4/11/2006 12:52:37 PM

After awhile he would settle down and not wake up the entire house. This is an animal that you want to be part of your family and you have to do that from the start. A new baby would not have to sleep in the patio room would it? It would wake up the whole house too, but trust me after a few days, maybe on a weekend it will settle right down and go to sleep you might be suprised how fast.

Julie

glenmar

Posted : 4/11/2006 12:55:23 PM

The BEST way to crate train is to put the crate right beside your bed on a chair or table so the pup can SEE you and you can reach out a soothing hand in the nite.