new puppy

[hilary]

hi everyone,

new to this site, just got a chow mix pup on saturday. maggie is 10 weeks old. this is my first puppy ever. would welcome any tips or comments especially on training her in the crate. right now she's doing everything in the crate - eating, sleeping, eliminating. she has lots of room - is this good?

thanks,
hilary

[Karen]

Can you make the crate smaller? She shouldn't want to eliminate in the crate, that's teaching her it's okay to do it in the house! Glad she likes her crate, though. How long at a time is she in there?

[hilary]

thanks Karen. the place where i adopted her said she can't go outside until she gets her rabies shot - in 2 more weeks. so where should she go?

right now i'm keeping her in the crate 2-3 hours. then i let her play in the kitchen for an hour and back to the crate.

[micki76]

She can go outside. Just keep her away from other dogs. Has she had all of her other shots? Never allow your puppy to potty in the house! When you attempt to housetrain her she's going to be very confused and housebreaking will just take longer. Don't allow her to potty in the crate like Karen said, either. Take her outside on a leash if you don't have a fenced in yard.
Good luck!!

[binka_nugget]

Yep, micki and karen have some good advice. She shouldn't potty in her crate because dogs have instincts to not soil their den. If she does, that may mean that she has too much room. But, if she's a pet store pup, she just may have been confused for the first few nights because being in a cage 24/7 tends to take over the instincts for a couple nights.

About the housebreaking, remember, all dogs are different. Never hit your pup no matter how slowly you two are moving along. Hitting your pup will only teach her to fear you. It took my pup AGES to be reliable in the house. He wasn't reliable until he was 9-10 months! We weren't consistant in the beggining though, and that's something you want. If she does soil in the house, say a stern "NO!" then take her outside. Everytime she soils outside, you go crazy. Pretend you just won the lottery or something. Maybe even a little treat? Kai got a little nibble everytime he went outside. When she does soil, remember to absolutely clean the spot and scent. I like to clean with any cleaner safe for animals then cover it with half water half vinegar. The vinegar covers the scent making sure that she won't soil on the same spot.

Our vet told us that if she sees you cleaning it, she'll make it a game for the two of you. I've never heard of that until he told us so it may be something to consider.

Oh yes, you should take her out of her crate more. Since the pup is recent new addition to the family, now may be a good time to let her bond with you. Kai only went in his crate at night and when I could absolutely not watch him. It's fine to let her out as long as you keep her in your eyesight. Many people attach their leashes to their belts and keep their dog close to them. That way, they're always there to correct any soiling.

As for going outside, like micki said, it's alright to go outside as long as you don't meet other dogs. Staying in your yard should be fine.

Anyways, good luck!

[reils]

I agree 100% with the previous posts. Also, make sure you are taking your pup out frequenlty. When I first go my pups they were 4 months old (shelter pups). I was taking them out to pee every hour. My male learned very quickly. I didn't even need to shorten his crate. However, my female took a lot longer. She needed to have her crate shorten and once "I thought" she had learned- I started to make it bigger little by little. If she messed in the crate I put it back to the size it was when she wasn't messing. It will take time. Be patient, your pup will get it.

[ILuvLilPuppies]

Hey I have addvice..... K your puppy is gonna be crying all night so you won't be able to get any sleep LOL....... And give lots of attention to her/him and give it lots of toys because it is just getting it's teeth in...... they need lot's of excersise so give it lot's of walks.... thats what I did with my beagle and I am sorry but I don't have a lot of addvise to give you but good luck!!!!!! ruff ruff





~~~~Amanda