I have a 9 week old and am a single parent who works 8am-5pm. I come home everyday for lunch to let my pup out to use the bathroom but she often uses it in the crate. She doesn't poop just pees in it. At night she never goes in the crate. I take her outside at 10pm to use it and put her in the crate, around 2am I take her outside again. No accidents in the crate at night at all. Then I take her out again around 6am to use it. She will hold it at night for a good 4 hours but will never hold it during the day. Do you think she will grow out of this and soon will be able to hold it while I am at work. The short term plan is that she will hold it until I come home from lunch and eventually i would hope that she can go all day. Thanks for the advice.
Crate Question
- Thread starter MikeAM
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michelle8702
Boxer Booster
I have heard
That puppies that are young generally don't develop the muscle control to "hold it" until they are 14 week's old! They can only control it for about 3 hours top's when they are this age!
My dozer is 8 week's old tomorrow and just yesterday he walked into his crate pee'd a tiny bit and then went to the door (Like he was confused about where to go)
He has gotten really good about the whole stiuation in the last 2 week's but I am home all the time to pay a lot of attention to him! He is also on a potty schedule which has helped him tremendously! He know's when he is outside that he need's to go! And once he is done we can play!
Good luck!
That puppies that are young generally don't develop the muscle control to "hold it" until they are 14 week's old! They can only control it for about 3 hours top's when they are this age!
My dozer is 8 week's old tomorrow and just yesterday he walked into his crate pee'd a tiny bit and then went to the door (Like he was confused about where to go)
He has gotten really good about the whole stiuation in the last 2 week's but I am home all the time to pay a lot of attention to him! He is also on a potty schedule which has helped him tremendously! He know's when he is outside that he need's to go! And once he is done we can play!
Good luck!
Yep, your problem is that 4 hours is just too long for an 8 week old puppy to hold it. There's a big difference in the length of time anyone (dog, human, adult or puppy) can last during the night whilst asleep versus during the day while awake. By the time she's 12-14 weeks old, she may manage to last four hours.
The general rule of thumb for how long a dog can be asked to hold it, in hours, is the "age in months +1" to a maximum of 8 hours. Your long term plan for your dog to last 9 hours every day is thus not a good one. IMHO it is not great for a dog's health to be continually asked to hold it. It would be better if you could continue to come home at lunch to give the dog a break, or alternatively hire a dog walker.
The general rule of thumb for how long a dog can be asked to hold it, in hours, is the "age in months +1" to a maximum of 8 hours. Your long term plan for your dog to last 9 hours every day is thus not a good one. IMHO it is not great for a dog's health to be continually asked to hold it. It would be better if you could continue to come home at lunch to give the dog a break, or alternatively hire a dog walker.
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