Am I doing everything right?

[OurFirstPup]

Hello,

I wanted to get some reassurance to see if I am doing everything correctly with my almost 9 week old boxer girl. I could not be more proud of her – she’s a great puppy, I just want to be sure I am teaching her the right things and preventing her from learning bad behavior. She has had very few accidents at home and potties outside in one spot. At first, she ran to me for cuddles/praise after peeing/pooping (I don’t use treats yet), but now that she’s gotten the hang of it, she doesn’t ask for cuddles anymore, goes on running around the yard, I just tell her “Good girl” when I see her in action.

My first question is: The first night with us, she slept on our bed. My husband’s boxers slept in his bed before, and he has no problems with that. She slept all through the night like a little rock, didn’t ask to go potty, didn’t mess the bed. I, however, thought it was better if she is crated, so we got a crate the next day. That night, we put the crate in a room across our bedroom; she whined and cried all night, incessantly, non-stop. We moved the crate to our bedroom, by my side of the bed. Now, when I put her in the crate, she whimpers for a few minutes, I say a firm and calm “Shh!!!”, she calms down and goes to sleep. My first question is when and how can we move her crate out of our bedroom? I would like to move the crate downstairs eventually.

Second question is this: we put her water up about 1.5 hours before bedtime, and take her out potty before taking her to her crate routinely. I put her in the crate around 10pm, she wakes me up to go potty (or at least I think so?) by fussing around 2am and then again at 5am. I carry her out, set her on the ground, she pees/poops and goes straight home – she does not play in the yard at night. Will this stop as she grows older or will she think it’s OK to do so even when she’s able to hold it through the night? She has never had an accident in the crate, even when crated during the day (when both of us were out of the house).

Third question – so sorry for long post: after her potty break at 5am, I have been putting her at the foot of our bed for the last hour of sleep before I have to be up for work at 6:30. She has never messed the bed and stays in one spot. Is this a bad thing to do? When she wakes up around 8, she wakes my husband up by mouthing on him/poking him with her nose to get fed/go potty/start playing. When she's older, I plan on her sleeping on a pillow by our bed, and getting on our bed only when given permission.

Thank you so much and I really appreciate your time for reading this! If there is a better way to do things, please let me know.

 

[mueltrain]

I would say if you ultimately want the crate to be downstairs to move it there as soon as possible. I realize that your pup needs to wake you up during the night to go out but maybe you could just set your alarm and take her out at certain intervals. If she is having trouble adjusting to the crate not being in your room at night you could get her these toys called.... cuddle buddies or something like that. You put the inside of the toy in the microwave and it heats the whole thing up and then the pup snuggles up to it and goes to sleep. Anyways that toy seemed to really help my puppy adjust. As far as your dog getting into a routine of waking up in the night, that shouldnt happen, As your puppy is better able to "hold it", he will start sleeping longer and eventually sleep through the night.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

Firstly, congrats on the potty training, sounds like you've got a handle on it but don't be disappointed if she starts to have a few more accidents....

Your second question confused me a bit but I assume you are wondering if she's always going to wake you up at 2 and 5am and the answer is no but it'll take a (possibly long) while. Kona is 11mths now and every now and then she'll wake me around 4am to go potty but it's probably only 1 or 2 times a month. Kilby though will sleep for a good 12 hours before going out (I think that has a lot to do with it being Winter here though!).

The best advice I can give you with putting puppy on your bed is to start how you mean to finish..... If you want her to ask permission to get on there later on then start teaching it now (simply by saying "up" or whatever commend you want to use and eventually she'll put the 2 together). Why not get her her pillow by your bed now if that's where you plan on her sleeping? We did that straight away with both our girls.

Never used a crate though so afraid I can't be much help there.

 

[LILYLARUE]

The best advice I ever got in raising anything was from my pediatrician.

"Don't start anything once without being prepared to do it for another 18 years".

This is SO TRUE!!! It is best to start a routine immediately. It avoids having to re-train later.

Puppies really can't hold it all night, most of the time. So potty breaks mid-sleep is pretty normal. It will dwindle off as they get older. A few months is expected.

I think you are on the right track with your training so far. Sounds like you really are prepared for being a puppy parent. Kudos to you!!! More owners should be so diligent. You will have trained quite a perfect member of your family by doing all that you are doing. Keep it up!!!

 

[OurFirstPup]

Thank you so much for encouraging words! It really helps
We went for a walk last night, she did beautifully with a harness (bought a small "jacket" like harness for small dogs), walked by my heels as if she was trained! I was hoping she'd be tired enough to sleep well, but she woke me up once for a potty break. The second time she wakes me up, I've figured it out - she wants to play! She grabs her toy when I open the crate and goes to the couch. I think, starting tonight, I will move the crate downstairs and see how it goes. I wish she'd sleep on a pillow, but I'm afraid she'll wake up and potty in the house while we're asleep.

One more thing - is it normal for a dog to eat sticks/maple "helicopter" seeds? She eats them outside. I have her on Blue Buffalo, although she eats very little, maybe 2 cups all day at most. She's 9 weeks and 7 pounds, I really want for her to gain weight.

One last thing - she's been with us almost two weeks, and does not even try to go to the door when she needs to go out. Instead, for some reason, she runs to the hallway (opposite direction from the door) and tries to do her business there. What gives? :( I am going to get a bell and start patting it with her paw whenever I take her potty, hopefully it'll make a connection with her ears.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

she's been with us almost two weeks, and does not even try to go to the door when she needs to go out. Instead, for some reason, she runs to the hallway (opposite direction from the door) and tries to do her business there. What gives? :( I am going to get a bell and start patting it with her paw whenever I take her potty, hopefully it'll make a connection with her ears.

When we were training Kilby instead of picking her up and taking her out to potty we tried to usher her to the door and just followed very closely behind in case she wasn't gonna make it and we'd pick her up then and carry her the rest of the way.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Thank you so much for encouraging words! It really helps
We went for a walk last night, she did beautifully with a harness (bought a small "jacket" like harness for small dogs), walked by my heels as if she was trained! I was hoping she'd be tired enough to sleep well, but she woke me up once for a potty break. The second time she wakes me up, I've figured it out - she wants to play! She grabs her toy when I open the crate and goes to the couch. I think, starting tonight, I will move the crate downstairs and see how it goes. I wish she'd sleep on a pillow, but I'm afraid she'll wake up and potty in the house while we're asleep.

One more thing - is it normal for a dog to eat sticks/maple "helicopter" seeds? She eats them outside. I have her on Blue Buffalo, although she eats very little, maybe 2 cups all day at most. She's 9 weeks and 7 pounds, I really want for her to gain weight.

One last thing - she's been with us almost two weeks, and does not even try to go to the door when she needs to go out. Instead, for some reason, she runs to the hallway (opposite direction from the door) and tries to do her business there. What gives? :( I am going to get a bell and start patting it with her paw whenever I take her potty, hopefully it'll make a connection with her ears.

Personally I'd wait to take her on a walk off of your property for awhile. She is still VERY young and not protected against diseases. No reason you cannot walk her around the house or the backyard if you want to get leash experience in I suppose, but at this point IMO simply playing with her is probably the best and most effective (and safest) way to burn energy.

Yes it's normal for puppies to want to eat sticks, rocks, etc. Until she grows out of that watch her closely so that she doesn't ingest those things, but it is completely normal, no different than a 6 month old human child putting everything in their mouths.

Don't expect the world on pottying. It takes quite awhile for them to learn to go to the door when they have to go out. At this point just be glad you are catching her before she has accidents in the house. Most dogs aren't trained until a MINIMUM of 6 months old, so at 9 weeks, she's doing just fine and try not to expect too much outo f her at such a young age.

On feeding, how many times a day do you feed? 2 cups sounds pretty normal for her age and weight depending upon what you are feeding. How many times a day? A pup that young definitely benefits from their daily intake being broken up into 4-5 meals a day which may get a little more into her and have her gain some. But if she doesn't look underweight she could simply be on the smaller side and that's okay too.

 

[karen mambo]

You sound very dedicated and I am sure you will make wonderful boxer parents.

In your post you mentioned that you take up the water an hour and a half before your pups bedtime - I think it is important for dogs to have water available at all times (that may explain why my boys were so slow to train - perhaps they were getting too much fluids before bedtime.....)

Good luck with your new pup!!

 

[aceowner]

I would say whatever you do, do it consistently. If you want her to sleep in the crate make her always sleep in the crate. same goes for the bed. If you keep letting her sleep part of the night in the crate and then in the bed after you let her out again it will teach her to whine, go outside, and then expect to be in the bed. If you stay on a routine it will be no time before she can sleep through the night without having to be let out.