Apartment Set Up And Puppy Pads

[JakeJ]

Hi All,

I am not new to dogs, but I am new to dogs in apartments.

We have a gorgeous cavalier king charles and I am wondering what the best set up is for when we are out. We have purchased a proper sized crate as well as a playpen.

One of the problems we have been having is that he has been chewing his pee pads. We had his crate inside his pen for a while, then gave him free roam of the balcony, and now I am thinking of making his space smaller again..

I am thinking that by keeping his space to crate, pad and small play area he will be less likely to tear up his pads.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

We crate him overnight and at 3 months old he is sleeping through the night for about 7 hours which is great.

My concern about crating him when we are out is that worse case scenario depending on my partner's schedule he could be crated for up to 7 hours during the day which feels long for a pup his size. We have been advised that at 3 months he should only really be crated for 4 hours at a time.

I look forward to all your suggestions. Many thanks!

[Addicted to Dogs]

Free access to the house or even larger areas needs to be earned. I'd suggest checking out the errorless housetraining strategy at http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/errorless-housetraining using a puppy playroom and crate as described at http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/puppy...m-amp-doggy-den. The approach was specifically devised for dogs kept indoors during the day in the USA so should suit your situation. A spin off can be getting your pup hooked on chewtoys like the Kong and therefore reducing barking, boredom and chewing issues and even the likelihood of them becoming anxious about being left home alone.

This approach uses not just the crate but also a play pen to start with - which you can expand to a small room or part of one (kitchen for instance) with using kiddy gates.

Go back a few steps now and get it sorted. Then start expanding the area and the time. Let us know how you go.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Addicted to Dogs

[Elsha_UK_AU]

I have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and they have the laundry plus a long hall way and back part of the house. It is all tiles. I put puppy pads down and they have 2 beds in different areas, plus kibble, 2 bowls of water and toys galore. My 15 week old puppy sometimes chews the puppy pads up.... but until I have a dog door installed, it is what it is. I don't crate mine...at night he sleeps in a crate (or sorts, I suppose) and will yap if he needs to go out for a toilet break. During the day if I am home, he will seek out the puppy pads and if they are not down in their usual spot will go outside to toilet....(99.9% of the time). He has been relatively easy to toilet train

I think 7 hours of crating in the day is too much. Mine sometimes miss the puppy pad or chew it up before use.... I just clean up and move on. They don't do it when we are home, they both know to go outside and the little one lets us know in the night if he needs to go out.

Good Luck

Susan

[DoodleBliss]

How abt getting one of those pee pad holders that has a frame and tray that holds down the pad? One of the main reason I think y pups chew on pee pads is because the pads r light, make noise when moved on the floor, have soft texture.. all these coupled w the pup's curiosity - perfect 'toy'.

Ozzie's potty trained indoor coz we leave in an apartment as well. His potty consist of a piece of fake lawn (purchased frm Bunnings) laid on top of sheets of newspaper (used to b pee pads but we figured it cause too much in the long run). Key reasons for the fake lawn was for it to be highly distinguishable for the pup in terms of look and texture when he's at home and also that he knows he can do his business when he's out on grass patches.

I know most will advise that u shld not mix indoor and outdoor potty training but thankfully so far Ozzie's doing well with what we've set up for him:) Hope this helps give u some options to consider.

[justlovedogz]

Hi Jake,

I too have a Cav puppy, "Smudge". I have him in the corner of the family room and he is next to the door with a doggy door. He sleeps in his crate, I have attached his playpen to the crate. I have used the compost bins that you can purchase from Bunnings about $25.00. I have newspaper inside for him and also on the veranadah. This seems to be working well, no 2's are under control. No 1's a work in progress. Night time he sleeps in his crate and I make the playpen area much smaller, just enough room for his water bowl and the newspaper for a wee, so far so good. I do like the artifical grass idea!!

Hope all goes well for you.