housebreaking: Crate, Xpen or full room acess
 

When housebreaking a dog, theres so much choices, and we must choose wisely, it can be confusing to know which is the best method (or even, if theres a best method) to train.

I was mostly curious to know which one do you like more.

As some of you know, I'm getting my puppy in two weeks and I'm still hesitant about which housebreaking method I'll use.

Cheers

G.

i had great success with crate training.

i posted a thread for PUP#1 below that has great links in this forum, its a few below.

start there and good luck!

I personally like the crate training method. it gives the dog a safe heaven and it can also give you a break from constantly watching him/her.

[QUOTE=kigndano;633186]i had great success with crate training.

i posted a thread for PUP#1 below that has great links in this forum, its a few below.

start there and good luck![/QUOTE]

yea I read them, one says "yay crate training" when the other says "noo crate are bad!" hehe

I crate trained my dog.

gotta show a bit of variety!

[QUOTE=ashtoreth;633194]yea I read them, one says "yay crate training" when the other says "noo crate are bad!" hehe[/QUOTE]

Definitely not full room access at first for a young pup, unless you enjoy pee on the carpet and mass destruction of your house:laughing:. What will your work schedule be? Will someone be home during the day, or will someone come home at lunch/breaks, or will he be alone all day? That's going to affect how you go about the potty training probably. Our pup was 12 weeks old when she came home and we had to do a gradual shift from paper/pad training to outdoor as she aged, as we were both at work all day.

I was COMPLETELY against crate training my dogs....hated the idea, how CRUEL to keep them locked up.....right??? WRONG!!!

I tried giving Buster free run of the house when I got him because I already had a 3 yr old dog who was sooooo easy to train and never had accidents. Well, after about 6 months of Buster doing his business on my living room carpets.....we ripped out the carpets, put in hardwood and I invested in a good size crate. Best thing I ever did for Buster and for ME!

If you don't want to crate your puppy (you need to start gradually and make it a good thing!), then get yourself an x-pen or baby gates to confine him in one area. (Baby gates aren't always the best as puppies LOVE to chew and will chew through a gate :D )

[QUOTE=bendyfoot;633256]Definitely not full room access at first for a young pup, unless you enjoy pee on the carpet and mass destruction of your house:laughing:. What will your work schedule be? Will someone be home during the day, or will someone come home at lunch/breaks, or will he be alone all day? That's going to affect how you go about the potty training probably. Our pup was 12 weeks old when she came home and we had to do a gradual shift from paper/pad training to outdoor as she aged, as we were both at work all day.[/QUOTE]

I'll definately come home during lunch break for 45 minutes yes

we both work 8-4
but i have a flexible schedule, so I can start at 9 and finish at 5 too

I crated Winston too! until he was 3 1/2..but he really liked his crate once he was used to sleeping in it! (takes a few days!) I would cover it for him or leave it open...I am pretty sure its his safe place! He is 8 1/2 now and crate is still in the basement and guess who still wanders down for a nap! I havent locked it in yrs now but he still feels at home in it.

Lots of great advice....its awesome you can come home at lunch! that will be good for puppy!

Since you work normal working hours the most effective way is crate training. This will provide the pup a 'safe' haven and keep him out of trouble while not being supervised.

I was not big on crate training due to the stigma - but I am now a believer. It will provide you with peace of mind while not at home, protect your pup from any dangers in the house hold, save your carpets and furnature and at the same time help your pup with bathroom habits.

Good luck and congrats on your new baby.

I tried all 3 with the puppy I have now.
 

Crate training was always on my no, no list until I got Zena who chewed on everything when I wasn't home. With Pippin I tried just crating him at night but, he wouldn't train that way, tried the X Pen but, he pooped in it every time. We realized that if we were going X pen we had to use paper or pads and teach him that way. I didn't want this so I ended up going crating training instead. It took him a while but eventually he got to the point where I didn't have to crate him except for at night. The biggest important thing is if you can't take the pup out often you need to at least use an x pen with a pad or crate him in a crate that doesn't have too much room in it. I found crating hard at first emotionally but it was worth it.

I wish I'd had my mutt as a baby when crate training would have been so much easier. Do it, you won't regret it. If nothing else it gives the dog a safe place to stay, where they won't chew anything dangerous when you are not in the house.

-C

Crates = :)
 

I am getting my first ever puppy late August, and I have decided on crate training. From books, TV doggie programmes, advice from people and advice from this site, i think it is definatly a gr8 thing to do.

Just wondering though, what do you do the very first night it is in the crate??

Thanx


Soter:D

First night and consecutive nights may be a little trying (depending of course but more than likely). Puppy will probably cry or whimper. The best thing is to try and ignore this, as hard as it may be. If you have a wire crate, place a towl or light blanket over it to give it a more secure feeling for the puppy. Ensure of course that there is plenty of ventilation.

[QUOTE=ashtoreth;633457]I'll definately come home during lunch break for 45 minutes yes

we both work 8-4
but i have a flexible schedule, so I can start at 9 and finish at 5 too[/QUOTE]

You might want to consider trying what we did, we had the same schedule. A pup should be able to hold it for about 3 hours while crated. We staggered our schedle so that one left later (9am) and one got home earlier (4) to shorten the amount of time alone.

Schedule:

1. wake up, take pup out of crate and out to potty immediately.
2. feed pup and take out to potty again after eating.
3. Play with pup (somewhere in there you gotta shower and stuff, so tag team it!:laughing:) and take out for one more potty right before the last person leaves.
4. crate pup.
5. lunch time, take pup out immediately, feed and play with pup, take out for one more pee, then crate pup just before leaving.
6. first person home takes pup out to pee immediately.
7. carry on with your normal evening routine, with one last pee just before bed.

The key is really to set up a reasonable and predictable routine, so that everyone including the pup knows what to expect. Make sure the crate is only big enough to lie down in and turn around so he can't pee on the far side of the crate away from where he's napping. Use a phrase like "bed time" or "crate time" when it's time to go in the crate. Ours started going in on command within a week or two.

Expect accidents for at least the first few months. It's just gonna happen no matter what you do.

Overall, the crates are wonderful tools.

i agree

take the pup out A LOT so he has no chance to make a mistake in the house.

the more praise he gets for going outside the more quickly the process goes!

after he goes outside reward him with some sniffing time and a lil romp around the yard.

[QUOTE=kigndano;635393]i agree

take the pup out A LOT so he has no chance to make a mistake in the house.

the more praise he gets for going outside the more quickly the process goes!

after he goes outside reward him with some sniffing time and a lil romp around the yard.[/QUOTE]

yea

would it be best if I used the week schedule with him even during the weekends?
sure it would mean me waking up early in the weekends, but hey, its the deal when you get a pup ;)

yes for sure!

consistency is the key for a dog, they need to know when things are going to happen consistently!

waking up early stinks at first, but you get to enjoy each and every day outside (even if its raining/snowing/cold :D)

If your pup is anything like ours was, there was NO sleeping in on the weekend!!! She was up and rearing to go long before we wanted to be! He still needs to go out first thing in the morning on the weekend...a few extra hours of sleep for you might mean a crate accident for him, which you definitely don't want. Routine is best, at least until he's older. Now our girl is 18 months old or so and doesn't mind giving us an extra hour or two of sleep.:D

ETA: it's entirely possible that pup might need to go out once in the middle of the night, too, depending on how late or early you go to bed. Keep an ear open for whining or signals that he needs to go. It's only for a few months, until he's able to better control his urine...but in the meantime, pup potty time is pretty time consuming stuff!

yea, i'm getting him either Thursday (14) evening or Friday morning (15)...

the scary thing is that we're getting him one day before we move all of our stuff in the new place, so I'll sleep in the new apartment (viva camping gear ^^) with the pup, to then leave early in the morning to move things anyway (but I'll return during lunch anyhow, as I would do during the week)

This will be hell, but his crate is already set and all I need are the toys (food was ordered and all) blankets and what not. I already had most stuff (I never was able to throw them away after Eben, nostalgia maybe, or the fact I knew deep down I would get another dog one day and those toys would make him happy ^^ )