Got the Puppy

[Brennan Hill]

Got our Puppy today. Cute male brindle. I think his name is going to be Luke. Had to drive to Fresno, which was a 4 hour drive home. No accidents along the way, puppy was very content, playful at times, slept much of the way. Now we are home. Managed to coax him into his crate with a few treats, seemed pretty comfortable in there, but got nervous with the door closed.

My question is, can we lock him in the crate tonight, or will this give him a phobia about the crate? We really want to try and avoid any accidents in the house. He definitely seems inclined to wander around, and I don't think we could contain him in a box. He has already succesfully pottied outside a few times.

Thanks, Brennan

 

[muttersley]

Lots of people sing the praises of a crate. I personally have never used one and my dogs have all trained easily. You must expect a few accidents in the house as he is only a baby. Please don't scold when he does this but take him outside. When he goes outside really fuss him and he'll soon get the message.
My brother always used a crate and put his dog in first night and she was OK.

 

[Boo]

We didn't get Jasper's crate until we had him for a week, so he had already settled down a little. I suspect Jasper may have been an unusual puppy, because he slept through the night straight from the start. I did however have him sleeping on the floor next to me. Perhaps if your puppy's crate is where he can see you and you can reach down to offer him reassurance if that's all he needs.

 

[Brennan Hill]

Thanks for the tips!

So far so good. Got a bigger box from the supermarket and he slept through the night except for the two times I got him up in the middle of the night to take him out to potty. So far just a couple of accidents in the kitchen just after we brought him home for the first time. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Christian C.]

Glad to hear things are going well.

Here's a hint for pottytraining--Georgie got the idea VERY quickly after I began giving her a treat each time she went outside. For the first few weeks I took her out on a leash (even in the middle of the night) and when she did her thing, I petted her, praised her, and fed her several small treats. It didn't take her too long to figure out that going outside meant treats, whereas going inside meant NOTHING--not even a comment if I didn't see her do it.

Good luck! Luke's a great name.