Help with Pit Puppy Training Issue

Hi. I'm new to this, I have an 8 week old American Staffordshire Terrier we just got. I'm trying to get this training right from the begining to avoid issues in the past I have had with poorly trained pets. We got a crate for her that we put her in every night, has a little bed, a shirt of mine, some toys and chews. I played with her the first couple days in the crate and gave her treats in it and for the most part thats worked well. She only whines at night usually when she has to go potty and after a week she has never gone potty in the crate. I work from home and setup a play pen for the day as I don't want to confine her in the crate all day and I can't keep a close enough eye on her. I keep the pen in my office and it has a small bed, piece of clothing and toys similar to the crate but its open and larger and she can see me from inside, about 4 feet from my desk. My schedule is pretty much feed at 7am, take out back to go potty and play for 10 minutes or so. Then into the crate from about 8-11am, I take her potty again, feed her again at noon and potty and play a bit, then back into play pen till about 3pm when I take her potty again, and out again at 5pm to eat dinner and potty, play out back a bit. From this point on I keep her out of the play pen and keep her near me in the same room so I can play with her, work on training, chewing, etc., till night time when I put her in the crate for the night.

All told she spends about 8 hours a day in the play pen not counting lunch, potty breaks, and a bit of playing after lunch.

My problem is after 4 days she still is screaming about 60% of the time she is in the play pen, and I mean screaming non stop until she falls asleep. If I get up it starts again. I always ignore her completely when she does this. Its heartbreaking and its head splitting. I had to get some Bose noise cancelling headphones so I can stay in the same room and work, as I heard being near is better for them. Am I doing this right, should I alter my schedule or setup on training for her? Or should I just wait this out as it takes a lot longer then I was hoping?

hopefully this isn't too much info. Her name is Gertrude by the way.

Any help is much appreciated.

Bill

Hi Weppler1978,

Congratulations on the new puppy! So far it sounds like you are doing very well in the training department. Owning a dog is a BIG responsibility, not to mention raising a puppy, as I'm sure you already know. This squealing problem your having with Gertrude is just what puppies do when they need something, just like a baby crying. She could be doing this for a number of reasons.

Dogs are social animals and always want to be with their owners. They thrive on physical contact. Even though you work from home and she is always in the same room with you, it seems like she spends a lot of time in the pen. Even though she is not technically "alone" she probably feels a little isolated. Understand in the wild a wolf pup spends the majority of the day snuggling and sleeping with mom. Since she sees you as the parent, being in the room is not enough, she'd rather be right by your side, or even better -on your lap! I know it's hard to concentrate and try to keep a eye on troublesome puppy, I think she would really benefit from more time with you. You could get her to sit on your lap, or give her a chewy while she sits beside you. I also like doing a technique called the "umbilical." Leash her than tie the leash around your waist. This way she stays out of trouble and can be with you, wile you still go on with your normal stuff. I'm not suggesting that you do this all day, but eight hours in a play pen is a lot, especially for a needy puppy. Maybe you could do some of these things than put her back in the pen for a rest for a hour or two. Also, puppy's have little spurts of energy. One or two long play periods would not be as useful as regular 1-2 min game of tug or fetch.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

I might add that the bully breeds in particular are "Velcro doggies", we adopted ours as adults and hardly a trace of independence. If Sophie, all sixty pounds of her, could fit in a baby carrier connected to me all day she would be blissful. I don't know from crates and playpens but perhaps a trainer could suggest a different plan?

No different plan is needed IMO. Took my Labrador mix puppy weeks to shut up totally when alone or trapped in his crate. But it happened eventually. As it has with all dogs I've seen with this problem.

Worst thing you can do is let her out when she is yelling or pay her any attention. So long as you are right there, the screaming is not likely to stop. If I were you, I'd leave the room when the yelling starts and come back in to let her out only once it has stopped.

Disagree with AThirdChance wholly, the last thing she needs is to become dependent on you for companionship at all times. You baby her and put her in your lap etc. and it will only further your problems. I'm nearly 100% sure of that.

8 hours per day is not a long time in a crate IMO, we normally sleep about 8 hours and puppy would be crated at night while you sleep. Not a big deal. Playing with her is important, though. When she has pottied or whatnot, let her run and play for quite a while before putting her back in her crate

If she spends her time outside the crate doing boring things (such as watching you work on your comp, laying around etc.) then it will make her a lot more restless while in her crate. But despite that, dogs must learn to live with us... and not the other way around. The best way to do this is to remain vigilant with rules and timing, so long as it is reasonable.

As a young puppy it is normal for her to cry like this... she will grow out of it. Some dogs take more time than others, but she will grow out of it. After only 4 days, I'd not think the crying would have stopped at all. Took my guy quite a bit longer than that to stop the crying... quite a few sleepless nights!

I think you're doing great if she isn't pottying in her crate and if she is getting enough exercise and playtime when she is out of hr crate.

Hi Bill,
My dog comes to work with me and has done since she was eight weeks old. She has a very big crate which she is in when I'm too busy to supervise her properly. The only advice I would add is to try and tire your pup before you need to work. This'll get easier when you can go out for walks but for now, throwing a ball for 20 - 30 mins or a similar activity might help you. It did for us - good luck.

Hi again,

I just wanted to point out that all the people who posted is right. It all really depends on what you want your dog to be. Everyone has different expectations and visions of what their "perfect dog" will be. It is really totally up to YOU.

For example, my dog has aggressive tendencies and I have and continue to search the ends of the worlds for possibilities to socialize him. However, many I've come along on have asked "why? My dog doesn't like any other dogs either. We just keep him away from other dogs. He doesn't have to like anyone else, he's just for the family to love." While this person just wanted a dog who the family could enjoy and being nice to everyone wasn't a priority or expectation I wanted a dog who could come everywhere with me and could behave respectfully. None of these are right or wrong, it all depends on what you want from your dog.

I agree that if you want one of these dogs who are more independent you should defiantly wait it out, as long as you provide him with adequate physical and mental exercise. However I also say since you work form home you would be one of these ideal candidates who could allow your dog to be a little more clingy. I did baby my dogs a little more and now at five years they will be happy to do whatever I'm doing. Whether it's going for hike, or sleeping at my feet while I'm working. It may be a little harder when he is a puppy but when he is older the loyalty will defiantly pay off.

Try talking to a qualified trainer near you if possible. And remember that it's really depends on what you image your "perfect dog" to be.

I think you are expecting far to much from this 8 week old pup...8 hrs a day in a pen is to long, even if you are in the same room as her, and please don't take the advice to leave her to cry, she is a baby and needs to be comforted and feel secure, that's why she is crying...leaving the room when a puppy is crying is not going to teach her anything other then to feel isolated.

Try to put yourself in her shoes , she's a baby she's been taken away from all she knows as comfort, then she is placed in isolation for 8 hrs being able to see but not touch her means of security ...

I am sure it is heartbreaking for her screaming herself to sleep , I think you need to change your routine to a more exceptable schedule to save your ears and her well being.

Leaving a puppy to cry is a very old way of training, things have moved on since those days, we have more understanding of their needs and cuddling her and making her feel secure is not going to turn her into a dog with separation issues, in fact what you are doing is more likely to create problems.

Find a better routine, maybe for a few weeks work less in the day and have her with you as much as possible.

You may find it's better to crate her out of the room for shorter periods and have time with her more often, she may settle better this way, tire her out, and put her to bed, as she gets older she will become more independant to you..

It took my puppy about 2 weeks to stop crying (maybe even more, it's hard to remember now). He was also 8 weeks old, and he would cry ALL THE TIME! the only thing you can do is play with her as much as you can, take her on walks, maybe jog with her. Every time I would go running with my pup he would come back so tired that he just couldn't make a sound and would just lay down or fall asleep.
I guess almost every puppy is like that, it's gonna get better soon, she's gonna get used to the new place=)

Remember though too much exercise in a young pup can cause a lot of joint problems in later life.
I believe generally the rule is 5 mins exercise per month of age until they are fully grown.

Good luck don't forget to let us know how you all get on

Hi. I did want to clarify as a couple of the replies make it seem as I put her in the pen for 8 hours continuously but that isn't what I said. She is in less then 3 then out for a bit, then an hour then out for probably 30-45 minutes, then 3 more hours then out again, then another hour or so then out for the night to play and socialize. Heck I figured this was much better then most people who work and can't stay home with there puppies. I tried leaving her out a bit today while I worked and she chewed a USB cord for my cell lol, so unsupervised time in the office just isn't in the cards until I have her better trained.

I have to admit I'm even more confused as I have advice coming form every angle, and not very consistent. So I guess for now I will stay the course and not deviate as it seemed to work for the crate, and every day seems a bit better with the play pen, maybe I just thought it might stop sooner but being better educated that it can take weeks settles my nerves some. Again thank you everyone for your opinions and advice, and I look forward to being a part of this community and will update this thread with how this plays out for future puppy parents. ~Bill