[TNGSD]

We have had our new pup Radar almost a week. To prepare for his homecoming I read as many books as I could get my hands on, websites and many posts! I actually have 3 questions, but I will post each one on a new post!

Crate training... he is doing very well! My two daughters 10yrs and 13yrs have been on Spring break and they will play with him with a puppy tug until he is ready for a break and I think that has helped him adjust to the crate very quickly. After the second night no more crying and he seems to like going in there for a rest. He has never had an accident in his crate. I usually get up once during the night to take him out.

So, here is my question.... He's doing so well in his routine of going from crate to outside, then to play for a short time and then back into the crate that I am starting to worry about him staying in the crate too long and not bonding with us. Should I worry about this?

The girls went back to school today and I work mostly at home. I feel guilty leaving him in his crate too much and I want to make sure his schedule for crate time and play/bonding is balanced. I'm assuming that if he is 8 weeks old we will need to be strict about the crate (for housebreaking) for at least a month before he can have run of the house with supervision...right?

By the way, as I was typing this I tried to keep him tethered to me I caught him just as he was starting to pee and had to run him outside. I'm not sure he is ready for tethering yet.

 

[tracyc]

Quote:I caught him just as he was starting to pee and had to run him outside. I'm not sure he is ready for tethering yet.

That's what tethering is for!

I think one of the best benefits is that ability to "interrupt" the pee attempt (or notice just as they get into position) and then you can hurry outside.

I'd say if you're home, and can actively watch the pup or have him tethered to you then he can be out of the crate. Otherwise, the crate is the place for him.

 

[JKlatsky]

This is going to probably sound weird, but a puppy needs to have a few accidents in the house, and you have to be there when they happen! It's been my experience that our puppy wasn't really house trained until he not only knew to go when taken outside, but to NOT go inside.

Showing them what not to do is almost as important as showing them what to do. If you can interrupt them a couple of times and rush them outside, they learn that inside is NOT the place to go. I guess the best way to sum it up is that puppies learn from their mistakes!

 

[BlackGSD]

I agree with Tracy. (Maybe because that is my name too!.)

One thing I worry about is that if the pup is crated most of the time, he may learn that the crate is the ONLY, place to rest and be the type that will NOT rest unless crated.

And the longer he has to wait to be out of the crate and explore, the longer it will take to house break him. I would invest in baby gates and close doors to room you don't want him to go into. He is learning to NOT "go" in the crate, but he is NOT learning not to "go" in the rest of the house.

For instance if you are in the kitchen, use baby gates to keep him in there with you. (You just HAVE to watch him.) Or if the family is in the living room at night, same thing. If you have to, you can each take turns watching him. If he is to be a family pet, he needs to learn to be part of the family. This can start as soon as you bring the puppy home, not wait until you think he is housebroke.