Dog Housing Question?

[nanci27]

I Know I sound very inexperienced but, I don't know where to put my puppy, I don't know if I should get a pen or not or how how you can put a dog in a crate for?
If I get a pen and a crate then do I put the puppy in the crate to train her or will it confuse her? I read that puppies can sleep in crates and also read that they can't go in for more than three hours.
I thought that the later was the right one, but now I am just confused. I have the space for both.

The reason I dont know is before when I had my boxer he was in the
kitchen and now I have a kitchen with a living area which has carpet and is not suitable.

Please if you could help it would be great!

 

[gmacleod]

Where you should put your puppy depends very much on your individual circumstances.

Crate training, however, is a very good housetraining tool. It is only a tool though - not a permanent way of life, and that should not be forgotten

The reason crates are useful in housetraining a puppy is that they provide a strong incentive for the puppy not to potty inside. When he is not in his crate, you are constantly watching him and you take him outdoors when he needs/will need to potty. And when you cannot be watching him, he is in his crate - where he will not potty unless he absolutely has to (and if that happens, it means you left him too long).

BUT: There are limits to any dog's ability to hold their bladder. For a baby pup, he might be able to hold on for three hours in the crate without having to potty. But he will not be capable under any circumstances of holding on for 6 hours. So if you have to leave a baby puppy alone for that long, then a crate is not a suitable place to leave him. You must always provide adequate toileting opportunities if you wish to housetrain a dog - and like I said before, the crate is a training tool only.

Anyway - if you are home all day with your puppy and want to use a crate for the times you can't watch him, then it will be a very useful training tool for you. And if you work, but are able to come home to let your puppy out at regular intervals (or can get/pay someone to do it for you), then it is still a good training tool. But if you need to leave your puppy alone for extended periods, and can't give him a break and a potty stop during the day, then you should NOT leave your puppy in a crate. In that instance, gating him in your kitchen or bathroom with some newspaper is a much better way to go. There is no way a baby puppy could possibly hold his bladder all day long - and forcing him to sit in it is just inhumane.

Does that answer your questions? Really, whether or not a crate is a suitable place for your puppy during the daytime depends entirely on your individual circumstances.

Incidentally, the length of time an average puppy can hold their bladder during the daytime is (in hours) the age in months + 1 to a maximum of 8 hours. So that is 3 hours for a two month old pup, 4 hours for a three month old, etc. However - please remember that that is the limit of physical endurance we're talking about, well beyond the stage his bladder became uncomfortable. If you do not have to leave your puppy without a potty break for the maximum time he can possibly hold on, then don't. It will not be particularly pleasant for him

 

[MEME'S]

I recomend a large see through type crate . I say large so he/she won't outgrow it. It works for house training and it keeps them safe...

 

[MyMoose]

Crate sizes

I agree on the crate size. I made the mistake and puchased a small crate, then a medium crate now I had to go out and buy a very large see though crate. It took Moos two weeks to get used to the new one. He would howl and whine.
It is a good idea to get any dog used to a crate. It is good parenting. Like gmacleod said, be sure to limit the amount of time the puppy is in there.

:rolleyes:

 

[nanci27]

Oh great thanks, thats all I needed!

 

[BeckyNC]

I would recommend buying a wire crate with a divider. The divider will allow you to make the pup's crate space really small initially. If gmacleod didn't already mention this in her post, the pup should have enough room to stand up, turn around and lie down. If you put a pup that's not housebroken in a large crate, it will truck on down to the other end, go potty, then return to the end with his blankets or where it's dry. The divider helps with this and it can be moved as the puppy grows and eventually removed altogether.

 

[basak]

Where you should put your puppy depends very much on your individual circumstances.

So true!
My house is so small, I can't crate Krose. He has a bed though, in between a couch and a closet He loves his bed. I krose-proof the house before I leave him athome. And of course, I got rid of all the carpet while house training

basak