I have already posted once this evening but we have another question...
Where should we leave our pup when we go out or go to bed?
At the moment Charlie (8weeks old) has his 'pen' in the dinning room, this has a bed, water and newspaper in it.
At night (or whenever his pen door is closed for that matter) he whines etc Come morning/ when we return he has only used the newspaper to toilet on, so thats not the problem.
I'm just wondering if we should give him more space now he uses the paper effectively? EG the whole of the dining room.
If so should we do so at night and when we go out or just the when we go out?
I realise he is probably just whining for our attention but perhaps if he had more room to play with toys he would be more entertained and so less enclined to do so.
Help-not long till bedtime!
Thanks
Where should we put our pup when we need to go out/to bed
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Post as many times as you like 
Honestly - I would have him in your room with you at night.
Now that probably goes against everything you have heard but... my reasons for this are as follows:
*He will not learn, or get chance to practice, whining/crying/barking because he is bored/alone/needs the toilet.
*You will hear him stir BEFORE he starts the above so you can whisk him outside to the toilet and back in again, before either of you truly wake up.
*He already spends some time alone when you are out... adding a further 8 hours whilst you sleep to that isnt necessary... or fair if you are at work!
This doesnt mean he has to sleep in yoru room forever!... What it means is, right now him learning to toilet outside and him NOT learning to yell like a banshee are really important lessons. Learning to be confident and trust you guys is a top priority.. sharing the same space at night will help with that.
Teaching him to sleep elsewhere and cope alone for longer periods is easier done when he doesnt have to wake up in the night to go potty, and when he is more confident and more relaxed in your household.
This also doesnt mean he has to be IN your bed, IN the middle under the duvet with a little fleecey pj set on.... In a crate beside your bed will do!
Pick your 'battles' wisely... theres no need to dump him in at the deep end coping alone, in a new place, expected to be quiet.... etc etc, all at once.
There IS something to be said for 'starting as you mean to go on' but that has to be tempered with common sense and leaving a pup to cry, or to figure out how to party all night shredding up bedding or digging or chewing... just isnt a great plan.
Interestingly, toilet training is one better off done 'in at the deep end' than gradually... straight outside, every hour on the hour and after meals, snacks, games, drinks, sleep, etc... outside with him, reward him for going and when you come back in, watch like a hawk in case he needs to go again. Puppies do the 'double whammy pee/poo'... go outsde (or not) come in. go again. Be ready and prepared to whiz back outside again the second you come in!
Doing that will help you have a toilet trained pup really quick, where using paper will mean you have to retrain him to go outside later on... which is VERY hard to do.
Honestly - I would have him in your room with you at night.
Now that probably goes against everything you have heard but... my reasons for this are as follows:
*He will not learn, or get chance to practice, whining/crying/barking because he is bored/alone/needs the toilet.
*You will hear him stir BEFORE he starts the above so you can whisk him outside to the toilet and back in again, before either of you truly wake up.
*He already spends some time alone when you are out... adding a further 8 hours whilst you sleep to that isnt necessary... or fair if you are at work!
This doesnt mean he has to sleep in yoru room forever!... What it means is, right now him learning to toilet outside and him NOT learning to yell like a banshee are really important lessons. Learning to be confident and trust you guys is a top priority.. sharing the same space at night will help with that.
Teaching him to sleep elsewhere and cope alone for longer periods is easier done when he doesnt have to wake up in the night to go potty, and when he is more confident and more relaxed in your household.
This also doesnt mean he has to be IN your bed, IN the middle under the duvet with a little fleecey pj set on.... In a crate beside your bed will do!
Pick your 'battles' wisely... theres no need to dump him in at the deep end coping alone, in a new place, expected to be quiet.... etc etc, all at once.
There IS something to be said for 'starting as you mean to go on' but that has to be tempered with common sense and leaving a pup to cry, or to figure out how to party all night shredding up bedding or digging or chewing... just isnt a great plan.
Interestingly, toilet training is one better off done 'in at the deep end' than gradually... straight outside, every hour on the hour and after meals, snacks, games, drinks, sleep, etc... outside with him, reward him for going and when you come back in, watch like a hawk in case he needs to go again. Puppies do the 'double whammy pee/poo'... go outsde (or not) come in. go again. Be ready and prepared to whiz back outside again the second you come in!
Doing that will help you have a toilet trained pup really quick, where using paper will mean you have to retrain him to go outside later on... which is VERY hard to do.
Last edited by emmabeth on Mon Dec 07, 2009 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I think that's a personal choice. My two dachshunds start their evening out in their own bed, but will usually get under my bed when I fall asleep. My beagle gets crated at night in our bedroom, but he's always had a crate since we got him at 6 weeks. His crate is just for sleeping, not time out, not punishment. Just big enough for him to lay out and stretch.
If we have to leave and it's not bedtime then the dachshunds will get gated off in the kitchen and the beagle will again be in his crate (this is only for bad weather--good weather they're outside).
I think if it's bedtime give the puppy a smaller crate he can be in (if that's what you want). The pen sounds fine for when you're gone. How long during the day is he penned?
If we have to leave and it's not bedtime then the dachshunds will get gated off in the kitchen and the beagle will again be in his crate (this is only for bad weather--good weather they're outside).
I think if it's bedtime give the puppy a smaller crate he can be in (if that's what you want). The pen sounds fine for when you're gone. How long during the day is he penned?
Thanks for your advice.
It true that we are a worried about letting him sleep in our room because as you say everyone has told us to do just the opposite: put him in a bed leave him there and ignore his crys.
He is being paper trained because again that what we were told by others to do, he was very quick to catch on and even when he had diarrhea yesterday and today he only had two accidents! not bad.
His bed/indoor kennel is pretty big so I think if we shut him in he would still go to the toilet at the opposite and to where he is sleeping if he is desperate.
We didnt know about crate training when we bought it and cant really afford another at least untill payday at the end of the month.
If we leave his kennel open in our room with he be able to sniff out his newspaper?!
I am off work until wednesday after which he will be left alone for 3hours then he will have a walk (or play while he cant go out) with me/partner/my mum/sister for an hour or so then he will have just over another 3 hours alone until I get home from work.
I am off work for christmas from the 18th so will have two weeks with him then, my plan was to teach him to go outside in this time.
Eventually we would like him to come to work with us ( my partners workplace has a kennel and I will be working in a home for adults with autism...they encourage the bringing of dogs to work) but he isnt trained enough or have the jabs for that yet.
Thanks for your help!!
bed time in an hour and we still dont know what to do
It true that we are a worried about letting him sleep in our room because as you say everyone has told us to do just the opposite: put him in a bed leave him there and ignore his crys.
He is being paper trained because again that what we were told by others to do, he was very quick to catch on and even when he had diarrhea yesterday and today he only had two accidents! not bad.
His bed/indoor kennel is pretty big so I think if we shut him in he would still go to the toilet at the opposite and to where he is sleeping if he is desperate.
We didnt know about crate training when we bought it and cant really afford another at least untill payday at the end of the month.
If we leave his kennel open in our room with he be able to sniff out his newspaper?!
I am off work until wednesday after which he will be left alone for 3hours then he will have a walk (or play while he cant go out) with me/partner/my mum/sister for an hour or so then he will have just over another 3 hours alone until I get home from work.
I am off work for christmas from the 18th so will have two weeks with him then, my plan was to teach him to go outside in this time.
Eventually we would like him to come to work with us ( my partners workplace has a kennel and I will be working in a home for adults with autism...they encourage the bringing of dogs to work) but he isnt trained enough or have the jabs for that yet.
Thanks for your help!!
bed time in an hour and we still dont know what to do
Try him in your room in his crate - dont put any newspaper in there just a blanky.
The chances are pretty slim of him waking up, scuffling about trying to clear a spot to 'go' in or having a whimper (as most pups will when they wake and its dark and theres no litter mates around), without you also waking up..
So if you hear him stir in the night, leap up... sprint out (ok ok, stagger out...) and get him outside to the toilet.
You can use his current food as a reward for now though as soon as he can have other food, get better rewards (fuss and praise is good too though doesnt have to be food unless thats really his thing).
With a bigger crate yes there is a chance he will use one end but if you are on the ball and sleep lightly (and most folk with a pup in the room will sleep lightly), he should wake you.
If you are going to have to leave him 3 hours at a time then you have no option but to leave paper down for him whilst you are gone. So do that... but ONLY when you are gone... the rest of the time, keep at least half an eye on the pup (shut doors so he cant be in a room you arent in!) and be ready to whisk him outside when he needs to go.
I cant emphasise enough, the sooner they learn to go out the better, the easier the job is and the more 'solid' their toilet training will be for life.
The chances are pretty slim of him waking up, scuffling about trying to clear a spot to 'go' in or having a whimper (as most pups will when they wake and its dark and theres no litter mates around), without you also waking up..
So if you hear him stir in the night, leap up... sprint out (ok ok, stagger out...
) and get him outside to the toilet.You can use his current food as a reward for now though as soon as he can have other food, get better rewards (fuss and praise is good too though doesnt have to be food unless thats really his thing).
With a bigger crate yes there is a chance he will use one end but if you are on the ball and sleep lightly (and most folk with a pup in the room will sleep lightly), he should wake you.
If you are going to have to leave him 3 hours at a time then you have no option but to leave paper down for him whilst you are gone. So do that... but ONLY when you are gone... the rest of the time, keep at least half an eye on the pup (shut doors so he cant be in a room you arent in!) and be ready to whisk him outside when he needs to go.
I cant emphasise enough, the sooner they learn to go out the better, the easier the job is and the more 'solid' their toilet training will be for life.
We did put him in our room in the end, but the problem came when as soon as we shut his crate he whined and whined. After 2 sleepless hours and shouting neighbours (who we had already spoken to to prepare them for the puppy's whines) we had decided to open the door because Matt needed to get some sleep before work-he had to be there for 5.
Charlie then settled down coming out to find the newspaper (I got up and directed him there)
I place him in his crate about 15mins ago with a kong filled with food and then shut the door while he was distracted, he is asleep at the moment-with his crate door shut.
Should I work up to haveing the crate shut at night?
I have puppy proofed the dining room with his pen stretched out to block of the living room. I have had it like that all day and he seems ok with it, but I have been in the dining room to-not playing with him, just sat there. Hopefully he will feel better then alone in the room rather than in his pen (which as far as he is concerned is only shut when we go away).
My next plan is to spray perfume when I am about to return so he learns to associate it with me and then eventually spray it when I leave so he can connect that with me coming back. -Ive just read this in Victoria's book and anything is worth a try.
What are your thoughts on this, does it sound ok? If not what would you do differently?
Charlie then settled down coming out to find the newspaper (I got up and directed him there)
I place him in his crate about 15mins ago with a kong filled with food and then shut the door while he was distracted, he is asleep at the moment-with his crate door shut.
Should I work up to haveing the crate shut at night?
I have puppy proofed the dining room with his pen stretched out to block of the living room. I have had it like that all day and he seems ok with it, but I have been in the dining room to-not playing with him, just sat there. Hopefully he will feel better then alone in the room rather than in his pen (which as far as he is concerned is only shut when we go away).
My next plan is to spray perfume when I am about to return so he learns to associate it with me and then eventually spray it when I leave so he can connect that with me coming back. -Ive just read this in Victoria's book and anything is worth a try.
What are your thoughts on this, does it sound ok? If not what would you do differently?