Crate/House Training - any advice or suggestions please?

I have bought a medium sized Rosewood dog crate in preparation for the arrival of our Jack Russell puppy (hopefully) at the end of next week. Obviously this is going to be a bit too big to confine her in line with 'how you do' crate training - I do also have a smaller plastic cat/small dog carrier and so I was wondering if it would be better to use this to start with and move up to the crate when she gets bigger?

I thought the crate method was a good idea for us as we have a 15-year old cat who can be quite nasty to dogs and so I thought if Millie has the crate as her den, at least I know that she will be safe from the cat in there!

We have got a gravelled area to the side of the house that I'd like to designate as the dog toilet area to try and avoid the burnt patches on the grass really.

Has anyone got any tips or suggestions about crate training or housetraining in general?

Many thanks!

Hi Terri her is an article on crate training you may find of help..

http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=15552
Now to housetraining ..

The moment you arrive home with a new puppy take it into the garden to relieve itself. From now on always take it to the same spot to ‘be clean’, you need to do this after every meal/ sleep/play/excitement/first thing in the morning/last thing at night/when it 'circles' or appears to want to go out and about once every hour during the day. Whenever the puppy performs give lots of praise and a treat ( a tiny bit of kibble/chicken/cheese) so the experience is rewarding, then take it straight back into the house so that it associates going out to that particular spot with one purpose only. Many puppies won't soil on gravel, they prefer soft ground like grass so you may have to sacrifice a bit of lawn for now but it should grow back.

I believe the fewer times a puppy soils in the house the better and the more chance you have of teaching it that the only place to ‘be clean' is outside. Everyone expects a small baby to cry during the night and they attend to it knowing this particular stage in the baby’s development won’t last very long. To me puppies are no different from babies in this respect and I like to give them the same consideration, to do this will mean a bit of inconvenience and getting up in the night a few times so that their daytime routine remains unbroken and there is less opportunity to soil in the house. Most dogs don’t begin to gain bladder and bowel control until around four months of age, so what you are in fact doing is preventing the puppy from soiling in the house until it has matured sufficiently to wait to go out.

Having established a daytime routine, when it comes to bedtime take the puppy upstairs and have it near you in a small box containing a blanket, a jumper with your ‘scent’ on, a small drinking bowl and a soft toy, it should go to sleep quite quickly in the dark and the sound of your breathing will be very comforting. Remember it has only just left its mother and littermates and is now started to bond with you, having you near will help to bond/ build trust between you. If it needs to go out it should cry to alert you not wanting to soil in the small bed. If it wakes pick the puppy up gently, take it outside, place it on the ‘usual spot then give lots of praise when it performs. Then take it back to the box with the minimum of fuss.

When the puppy has got used to this routine and has gained a little confidence you may wish to progress to leaving it in the kitchen during the night. Set an alarm clock for the time it usually wakes and take it out at that time, every couple of nights add a few minutes to the time you go to take it out. Don’t be surprised if there is the odd set back and the puppy has an accident or wakes and cries to go out early, this can happen although some are really good and hardly wake much at all. Alternatively, you may wish to continue having the puppy in the bedroom with you, it's a matter of personal choice.

Until house trained it is best to restrict your little dog's access to one room only like the kitchen, if there are any accidents quickly clean them up with the minimum of fuss and without speaking to or looking at the culprit.

If I catch a pup in 'the act' of having an accident I never shout or punish it and don’t even acknowledge the incident has happened at all . It is easy to get angry and shout but in so doing you will make the puppy fearful and afraid to 'be clean' in your presence. Some people say 'you can’t just say nothing because the puppy will do it in the same place again' but why should it, this was an accident and if you are vigilant accidents won’t happen very often if at all. I prefer to ignore the incident completely, by doing this it should soon be forgotten, and as far as the puppy is concerned it bought no reward whereas 'going' in the right place brings praise. Instead of saying anything I take the puppy outside to the 'spot' in silence, this reinforcing the fact that this is where it should go, then I clean up the soiled place thoroughly and carry on as before.

If you are intending to use a crate upstairs for night time training you will need to section it off so that the area in which the puppy sleeps is kept to a minimum to deter soiling, one way to do this is to put a small box in the front of the crate allowing room for the bed only and no space in which to soil. Even when using a crate in the day time I found it easier to have a small carboard box by my bed for the night.

For some people getting up during the night may seem like a lot of effort particularly when they may have to get up early to go to work, but I think it is well worth the trouble and in no time at all you should have a clean and happy dog that can be taken anywhere.

If you decide to leave the puppy downstairs overnight in all probability it will need to relieve itself so you need to either get up and take it out, leave the crate door open, or to make a separate soiling /sleeping area within the crate. If you don't do this and the puppy is forced to soil in its bed then soiling in the crate can become a habit and the puppy may eat its feces , a natural way of keeping the sleeping area clean .

Thank you very much Meg - that is really good and comprehensive advice. I think I need to get a few good strong cardboard boxes over the next few days - the 'breeder' (well, she's not really a breeder as such - she's the mum of one of the boys in my son's class) has already bought each of the puppies a cuddly toy so that they can take it to their new homes with them with the smell of their dam and litter mates.

It's not that long since I had to do the whole getting up at night thing for my daughter so it shouldn't be too hard getting used to taking Millie out - in fact I'm still trying to night-time toilet train my daughter so perhaps I will be able to combine the two!

Thanks!
Terri

PS I did wonder about the gravel being too uncomfortable to use for a puppy - there's a corner of the grass that I can use instead (I use the word grass advisedly as 'lawn' would be far too grand for the mossy boggy patch we have out the back!)

Sorry to hijack - i wondered, is it worth crate training an older puppy? We'd decided to crate train Cain (8 months) so that he had a safe area while he settled in. However since getting castrated he had a cone on his head so can't fit in the crate so we haven't really bothered with it. The kitchen is where he sleeps and he seems settled. Is there any benefit in crate training him now? He's fully house trained.

Hi Terri not so much uncomfortable as the puppy won't use it which will make house training more difficult, the boggy patch will be ideal

Can I also recommend to you this little booklet written by two APDT trainers, it will get you off to the best start..


http://www.dog-games.co.uk/shop/dog-...vival-kit.html

Hi Amanda you have answered your own question really.

As Cain is a new rescue and has not yet fully adapted to his new surroundings and as you say has settled in the kitchen, I would not wish to upset him or make him fearful by introducing a crate at this stage.

However if you already have a crate and the room to have one up it is useful for a dog to get used to one.
To achieve this I would make a cosy bed for Cain in the crate leaving the door open and persuade him to go in by drooping treats through the bars/throwing toys and treats in from a distance and praising him when he goes inside.

After a few days of doing this if Cane is happy to go in and out of the crate I would close the door for a few moments. I would take him outside first to make sure he is 'empty' and give him a kong or chew toy.Only leave the door closed for a short time to begin with. If he is happy extend the time.


I don't use a crate at all now for Chloe and doubt I will ever need to do so again but she is used to a crate.

Hi Terri thats good, however it is important to make sure the cuddly toy is as 'safe' as possible. This means no removable eyes/nose and not filled with beads.

I buy cuddly baby toys from the charity shops and don't leave a puppy with them unsupervised for long periods of time in case they chew it up..

Chloe, a happy puppy with her toys and cosy crate she chose to go in with a door which was left open most of the time ..

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it realizes it has to go, and when it can't wait any longer is a matter of seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive enough to avoid all accidents. There is no sense punishing the puppy for your inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean it up if you didn't have the puppy outside in time.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have a crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire grid in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. It helps block off part of the crate for the smaller puppy. If you already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start out in crates as little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose in the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting the dog have its crate all its life. A crate needs to be just big enough for a dog to stretch out in. Use the smaller one or block off the bigger one. We have housebroken a new puppy every year since 1991. We started the earlier ones in a 36'' crate with no problems. However, that doesn't always work. We now start with a 24'' one partly blocked off.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays, the less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it to the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. Sometimes you need to walk it around to stimulate its body to eliminate. If it does anything, praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it, and maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it, but it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine. Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the house until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating, drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older. How successful you are depends on how attentive you are.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if they go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts to going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it even gets near the door. When you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and take it out. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving it and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with the other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet. This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam. Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

I dread to say again Labman, why do you think it is okay to use wire grid for the bottom of your crate, and no bedding. I know you are a self proclaimed expert but you never answer these questions people ask and wonder why they always get upset with your methods.
As it is cruel to leave a pup in a crate with no bedding, toys, water, or only leaving a pup on wire. How is this not cruel? than denying an pup who needs stimulation in a bear mesh grid lined cage? How is that ever going to make a pup look at a crate as anything other than torture? It has never been recommended by anyone other than you to use this method.
Yes you believe you are the educated minority on hereYes you think it is out dated methods we use, but you state the year 1991 that is 19yrs ago, hmmmmmm me thinks your practices might be out dated.
I know but I had to ask again.


3 months is not a very accurate picture most trainers and studies show that it is not going to be reliable until AT LEAST six months of age and some breeds are harder to toilet train than others, especially smaller breeds and you should also look into research your breed of dog as that also has an effect on difficulties in learning

To the OP please understand Labman, has the same response to all problems, you will find it is word for word on many threads here and other places on the net, I advise caution in using his methods due to the fact, no where have I or many others ever read or seen his methods being used as they are not widely regarded tools in dog ownership. Of course the choice is yours
I have always found Minihaha's information very useful and practical and can be backed up by trainers, dog owners and books that Labmans ever has.

Why wont a puppy toilet on gravel?