May 08
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Mike E posted
How soon is too soon to crate train a puppy?
How soon is too soon to crate train a puppy?
i have a 12 week old bulldog and want to start crate training him. is he still too young? right now i have him in an excerise pen with an ajoining crate. he knows to go on the puppy pads but wont go outside when i walk him. any advise?
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May 8th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Posted by Bonsylar
It’s never too soon. Start from the begining, that way you don’t confuse the pup trying to retrain him later.
Cheers.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
start now. you should start as soon as you get the dog
May 10th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Posted by KB
There is no such thing as “too soon”
The only problem is getting a crate that is TOO BIG. if your dog can go to the bathroom on one side of the crate and then sleep on the other, then the crate is too big. They need to have enough room to stand up, turn around and lay down, but if they have so much room that peeing in their crate is something that they don’t have to live with, then the crate won’t do them any good.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I started crate training both of my puppies at around 8 weeks as my vet advised. The sooner they learn where their space is the better. But, you can’t leave them in the crate for very long when they are that young. The main thing is to get the puppy on a routine. They learn much faster that way.
They both took to it just fine and it made our lives easier. Now both my dogs love their crates and put themselves in there all on their own for naps or whatever.
When you take your puppy outside try taking a puppy pad along with you. Put it down where you want him to go. He’ll associate the pad with going. Then, after a while, you can stop using the pad outside. It won’t take long.
Google’ crate training’. There are a million resources on the web.
Good luck and grats on the new puppy!
May 11th, 2009 at 3:00 am
It’s not too early to start crate training your little guy. This is the perfect time to start.
Just make sure that you take him out frequently. He needs to go directly outside when you uncrate him. Once he goes potty, he can come back in the house for play time only while he’s supervised.
Any time that you can’t watch him, he needs to be in the crate.
If he has an accident while he’s out playing. With an urgent tone (not angry) give him the command for outside and rush him out the door.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
We began crate training our Border Collie right at 8 weeks. Tho they do still need potty runs during the nite time until 4-6 months depending on the dog. Ours was okay over nite by 4 months. A puppy at 3 months will still need to go out frequently tho, and crating for no more that a couple of hours each time is suggested as he can’t hold it much longer than that.
I personally have never used puppy pads as I’ve always done outdoor training for potty with my dogs. I’ve always thought that training for the pads and then getting them to go outside is confusing. So stick with the one you want to be permanent and only use the pads in your current set up if you must leave your puppy for more than a couple hours.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
You can start crate training him right now, but you have to realize that they still have to urinate more often than an adult dog..
If you are asking about ideas to have your dog go potty when you walk him… remember that puppies always have to go after naps, and about 30 minutes after they eat (just pay attention to how long after he eats that he goes potty)…
Sounds like you already have it good, with him going on the pads!! goodluck!
May 17th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Crate training is the best thing to do for your pup, and he’s ready.
Make the crate a happy and safe place for him. Never put him in for anything he did wrong. Place all his favorites in there when he goes in. Only allow him, no others including yourself into the crate.
This is very important because he will learn nothing will harm him there.
Don’t correct him for pottying in there..he’ll soon learn not to..dogs usually don’t go where they sleep.
Kongs filled with frozen peanut butter are a perfect treat, and will take hours to chew through.
It’s less fattening then biscuits and has more nutritional value them all the biscuits.
Make sure there are chew toys/rawhides too. This will teach him what to chew, and it’s ok to do it.
Praise him when going in and being good in the crate.
I work with retired racing greyhounds. They spend their life in crates while growing up and even after retirement.
When I first got my dog I left the door open, even when it wasn’t necessary. Evertime he was afraid, ex: thunderstorm, or my vacumn, he’d run to the safety of his crate.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
it is time now before he develops a habbit that will be hard to break
From switchplate2003
May 21st, 2009 at 9:24 am
This is a great time to start crate training your puppy. First you need to be consistent with him. Take him outside very often, even more than he needs to go, because this gets him in the habit of going on the grass. Bring treats with you every time you go out with him and only give him one when he has done his business and give him lots of praise every time he goes. Make sure the crate is small, you don’t want it too big, because then he won’t use the bathroom in it. It needs to be just big enough for him to turn around and lay down in. As soon as you wake up in the morning the first thing you do is let him out, since he’s been holding it all night. You also shouldn’t scold him after you find an accident because dogs have a really short memory and they won’t remember why your yelling at them. You will get better results with praise and rewarding with treats. Good luck!
May 21st, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Right now. It is not too soon. It will take time and patience. But he will come to know that crate as his home and love it and know it as his safe place if you do it right. By the way, start by taking a puppy pad out by a tree. And there is a spray that you can buy at pet stores that is a scent that is to attract dogs somehow to make male dogs want to pee there. I don’t know how it works but my dog had a similar problem and it worked for me. Good luck.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 am
Crate training begins as soon as the puppy comes home. It’s mother taught it to keep the nest/den clean so it’s already well versed in not soiling the living space. Just ensure that the puppy is regularly taken to your chosen place to pee/poo and give lots of praise for a result.
Except for a few accidents because I didn’t see the “signs”, my girl who is now 6 months old never makes a mess in the house.
As for not pee/pooing on a walk, I went through the same problem. I taught the dog to be clean in the back garden. No matter how long I kept her a way from home on a walk she refused to perform her business. But as soon as we got home, she would run to her spot and the floodgates would open. When she did eventually perform away from home she was very distressed, but with lots of praise and rewards she became more confidant. Now I have the opposite problem, she won’t perform near the house, which I assume is an extension of crate training and keeping the nest clean.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:48 am
as soon as you got your puppy you should have crate trained him cuz now he might think of a create as a bad thing instead of a good thing. and if u did do it when u got him now he would go outside when u walk him because dogs do not like to go to the bathroom where they sleep and if you take the dog right outside after you take the dog out of the create the dog will know to wait until you let it out. I have 3 dogs a 1 year old 3year old and a 7 year old even though they don’t need to be in a create anymore they go in it when i go out cuz they love it and they know when i say “Toby go to bed” he runs right into his create and he goes to sleep and when i let him out right after i get home he goes to the bathroom right away.
hope this info helps you out