crating questions

[bmturner]

I have seen different methods of crate training and some suggest to crate her for different amounts of time depending on her age, sounds reasonable and all. But my thiniking with the crate training is that we will basically just use a bathroom to keep her crate in and then put up a puppy gate to keep her from wandering the house while we are at work, of course this is just until she is potty trained and all. But would that be wise? or should we just simply crate her all day? I plan on putting down some newspaper and puppy pads inside the bathroom and having some kind of pillow/bed in her crate. I'm hoping this will encourage the crate as a friendly/den like space and still give her plenty of room to get out to relieve herself when we are gone.

On a side note, we will be picking her up this friday, march 3rd and she'll be 7 weeks old at that time so I'm trying not to expect too much from her too soon.

 

[Jill's boxer]

I think your plan is fine! She can go in and out of the crate and hopefully if she needs to pee/poop she will do it on the pads, not the crate! I would just be sure to puppy-proof your bathroom well, make sure she cannot get into the cupboards or get hold of any cleaning products, toiletries or medications! Be sure the toilet seat is down too--no puppy climbing up and falling in! Good luck and can't wait to hear all about your new baby! :D

PS--- i know the wait is impossible, but if possible it is soo much better that puppies stay with mom and their littermates until 8 weeks old because there is valuable socialization that occurs during those last crucial weeks--bite inhibition being one of the big ones. They learn alot through their interactions with mom and siblings that is soo important.

 

[Donna1969]

Just an add on of puppy proofing the bathroom should you choose that route..make SURE that there is nothing in the gargage and remove or place in a secure place..TOILET PAPER AND TISSUES!! My Blizzy had an obsession about TP and tissues When she was a pup I couldn't figure out why we were going through TP and tissues like water! Then I figured it out when I caught her red handed...she was EATING it!!!! Dumb doggie! Lucky for all of us she passed the TP and it didn't get blocked in her stomach or intestines!!

 

[bmturner]

thanks for the advice! Yeah, honestly I totally forgot about locking cabinets and TP and such. She'll be in a bathroom w/ lineoleum(?) so clean up should be easier but I'm sure she'll be wanting to explore the rest of her surroundings, including the toilet and cabinets, .

As for the puppy's age, we are going to be the 3rd, maybe 4th, of the parents to pick up our little puppy. I don't know that we can really wait another week or so, :D. The breeder was really about to let us take her this past Friday when we went for a visit, but I decided we better not; and the breeder really echoed my concerns and wasn't just really thrilled about letting them go that early anyway, but since other families were coming last weekend then he probably thought he should be fair to everyone.