ralfthelab

Ok, I've taken everybodys input and also have spoken to a Vet who was recommended to me. I've decided the following. 1. Crate him during the night getting up every 3 hours to bring him outside to the toilet. So far, this is working very well and he has not soiled his crate since the very first night. 2. Crate him at meal times. 3. When somebody is home, he is left to roam the house (under supervision) or outside if somebody can't keep an eye on him 4. When at work, he will stay outside - from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm when somebody will come home, feed him, have a little play and then leave him for the rest of the day. Somebody is usually home by 5.30 at which time he is let back inside. This has worked well for the last 2 days. Also, I think i may be slighly confusing him because when we take him out of his crate, we take him out the front of the house where there is lots of grass so he can relieve himself (and its easy to clean after he finishes). However, during the day, we leave him out the back which only has a very small strip of dirt (no grass) and mostly concrete. We can't give him access to the same area because he will definately get stolen out the front. Yesterday i had him out the back with the door open, and he puposely came inside to wee.......he didn't head for the front door or anything but he came into the kitchen and wee'd on the floor. I know this is not ideal but its my only choice. Can anybody recommend ways to make sure he knows that both these spots are his toilet area (the front grass and the back dirt i mean) Should i be sharing the front and back equally when we take him out at night to toilet? Its so much harder out the back because he has such a small area to use as his toilet (the dirt strip is about 2 meters long by 30cm deep) Out the front, i can just walk him around and he goes by himself, usually fairly quickly. Thanks again everybody

Jed, thanks for the reply. I understand your point but i thought that letting him use the puppy pads sort of defeats the purpose of useing the crate method ? If it doesn't have this effect then i'm very happy to take your suggestion on board. Also, the crate i am using is actually a sectioned off toilet room (tiled) Its about 1 meter by 1 meter so it has a bit of space and isn't so confining. If we come home twice a day and spend 30 minutes with him excersing etc. do you think this is ok ? That means he will be in his (largish) crate during the night, for 3 hours in the morning, for 3 hours in the afternoon, and then back in at night time (around 11pm). We also get up twice per night to take him to the toilet. Is this ok or do you still think we should make his crate area even bigger and use the puppy pads ? Thanks again everybody.....its great to know my puppy is going to get the best advice

Thanks again for the replies. My problem is there is SO much conflicting information. Some say crating, others say not to during the day. Its hard to know what to do with so many opinions. Anyway, it gives me some perspective on my options. Importantly, i need to make sure that when i am home, he is always going to the toilet outside. This has been hard to 2nd guess as the whole 'after meals and after play time' doesn't always bring him to the point where he needs to go to the toilet, so i end up waiting outside with him for ages and he starts to sleep or play which i know is the wrong message for him. So my questions are: 1. Should i just go outside, give him a few minutes without paying him any attention and if he doesn't do anything bring him back in for another 30 minutes ? 2. Is he OK to roam free with me during this period back inside or should i crate him until bringing him out again ? 3. Should i be letting him out of his crate straight after eating ? Thanks again everybody

I try and take him out at all the apripiate times (after sleeping, playing, eating etc) But sometimes (like now) I take him outside and he doesn't do anything. How long should i wait ? The problem i have is as i wait longer, he sometimes thinks its a great time to have another sleep etc. Should i take him inside if this happens ? Is 5-10 minutes enought time ? thanks again...this is so useful

Thanks for the advice. We leave for work at 830am in the morning. Do you think it is OK to keep him crated until around 11-11.30 and then come home and bring him out to the toilet and a feed ? Then put him back in his crate, head back to work and come back in the arvo to give him another toilet visit (say around 2-30), then put him back until we get home from work around 5.30-6 Obviously when we get home he out of the crate for the rest of the night until bedtime (about 11pm) Is this method Ok ? I'm assuming as he gets older i can reduce the visits home to 1 at lunchtime ? I'm worried that this is a long time to spend in a crate ? thanks again for the help I'll post some pics a little later...

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and so far it has made for very useful and interesting reading. I have just brought home a 8 w/o Lab who i'd like to house train immediately by crate training. Both my partner and I work during the day so we're planning on keeping him outside during the day and inside with us when we're home. We also are keeping him in his crate while we sleep but are getting up every 2-3 hours to bring him outside to go to the toilet. This worked last night but he has once already soiled his crate (pooping and weeing). When he's inside he will wee just about anywhere he pleases. When i walk him he will usally go to the toilet which is great, but getting him to go in our own back yard is a struggle. He just goes inside when we're around. We try and keep and eye on him but just as soon as i look away, he's peeing ! Do i just need to persist and continue doing what i'm doing. We leave the outside door open and i've brought him to his toilet spot straight after his inside mistakes. I've also brought some of the mess that i've cleaned to the toilet spot and try and praise him in that spot. I also try and praise him when he goes to the toilet and we're out for a short walk. Does this sound ok ? Should i just persist and assume he will get it eventually. Its only been a few days so far but i just want to make sure i'm going about things the right way. Are we going to be OK to leave the puppy in the back-yard during the day (i've obviously secured it so its safe) One of us will definately come home at lunch time to feed and walk him but he will be outside and away from his crate....does this default the whole purpose of the crate training ? We just want to make sure we're going about things the right way. Thanks for the help