Crate Training My 6 Week Pup

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

i thought the general rule was age of pup in months x 1 hour?

[Tralee]

i thought the general rule was age of pup in months x 1 hour?

Well I used to allow four hours until the pet sitter came when my dog was 2 months old and no reports of soiling were made, or any observed.

[koalathebear]

chellz: There is a lot of information to read and sometimes it can be overwhelming but we just kept it simple:

1. crate door was left open during the day with treats and toys inside to make it tempting

2. we took the puppies out to toilet very promptly after meals and drinking

3. we go to bed at around midnight so in the early days, we'd wake up every 2 hours - 2am, 4am, 6am - in the early days of Elbie we didn't sleep much past 6am

4. Then it was 3am, 6am and then just 4am. Eventually we just toileted them at bedtime and they would sleep through the night. There are mixed views about drinking at night. Some people say the pups should always have access to water, some say no water after 9 or 10pm until they can hold. For a while, I was withholding water from Elbie after 9.30pm or so, but OH is tender-hearted and always gave him water and it didn't really matter given that we were taking him out to toilet regularly anyway.

Apart from night times, the other ways we used the crate:

1. When the puppy was young and we didn't want to leave the puppy in the yard alone, it was crated if we went out - but we made sure we didn't go out for more than an hour or two. Admittedly, I always had a secret worry that we'd have an accident or something and poor Elbie would be trapped in his crate. These days, the puppies (11 months and 6 months) are always left in the yard alone when we go out, even if it's raining.

2. Sometimes when guests come over, the puppies are crated initially so that they get over their excitement - then they can come out to play.

3. Crates aren't supposed to be used as punishment but our puppies can sometimes wind each other up when playing and be a bit boisterous so we actually use crates as a sin-bin/time out sometimes ... one pup gets popped in a crate and the other continues to play. It calms them both down - the one in the crate usually snoozes. For us, because we have two young dogs, it's good to separate them regularly so that they don't bond with each other more than they bond with us.

Hoover's still zipped into his crate at night but with Elbie, he has the run of the study and kitchen and he can choose between the crate or his dog bed. Mostly he sleeps in his crate. Both our dogs love their crates and will chill out in them during the day when they want to have a snooze.

As for the age of your pup - six weeks is very young and it isn't ideal, but some things can't be helped. Our family dog when I was a kid was brought home at 6 weeks and he lived a long, happy, healthy life. A girl at work was forced by the breeder to take her Great Dane puppy home at five weeks and he's totally fine. Of course it would have been best to have the puppy with its litter until it was at least 8 weeks, but what's done is done ...

[chellz]

chellz: There is a lot of information to read and sometimes it can be overwhelming but we just kept it simple:

1. crate door was left open during the day with treats and toys inside to make it tempting

2. we took the puppies out to toilet very promptly after meals and drinking

3. we go to bed at around midnight so in the early days, we'd wake up every 2 hours - 2am, 4am, 6am - in the early days of Elbie we didn't sleep much past 6am

4. Then it was 3am, 6am and then just 4am. Eventually we just toileted them at bedtime and they would sleep through the night. There are mixed views about drinking at night. Some people say the pups should always have access to water, some say no water after 9 or 10pm until they can hold. For a while, I was withholding water from Elbie after 9.30pm or so, but OH is tender-hearted and always gave him water and it didn't really matter given that we were taking him out to toilet regularly anyway.

Apart from night times, the other ways we used the crate:

1. When the puppy was young and we didn't want to leave the puppy in the yard alone, it was crated if we went out - but we made sure we didn't go out for more than an hour or two. Admittedly, I always had a secret worry that we'd have an accident or something and poor Elbie would be trapped in his crate. These days, the puppies (11 months and 6 months) are always left in the yard alone when we go out, even if it's raining.

2. Sometimes when guests come over, the puppies are crated initially so that they get over their excitement - then they can come out to play.

3. Crates aren't supposed to be used as punishment but our puppies can sometimes wind each other up when playing and be a bit boisterous so we actually use crates as a sin-bin/time out sometimes ... one pup gets popped in a crate and the other continues to play. It calms them both down - the one in the crate usually snoozes. For us, because we have two young dogs, it's good to separate them regularly so that they don't bond with each other more than they bond with us.

Hoover's still zipped into his crate at night but with Elbie, he has the run of the study and kitchen and he can choose between the crate or his dog bed. Mostly he sleeps in his crate. Both our dogs love their crates and will chill out in them during the day when they want to have a snooze.

As for the age of your pup - six weeks is very young and it isn't ideal, but some things can't be helped. Our family dog when I was a kid was brought home at 6 weeks and he lived a long, happy, healthy life. A girl at work was forced by the breeder to take her Great Dane puppy home at five weeks and he's totally fine. Of course it would have been best to have the puppy with its litter until it was at least 8 weeks, but what's done is done ...

thankyou, that was very helpful.. I do agree our pup was too young and under circumstance it couldnt of been helped( i wish it did) the older the better but we will make sure she is nutured and socialized and hope she will do just fine..