Potty Training/crate training

[sadiesocks]

We have a 7 1/2 week old boxer. We are crate training her and trying to get her to sleep in her crate. At first we had a cushion in there - and she was peeing on it. Vet told us to take it out and have her sleep just on the crate bottom until she is trained.
Well, she is crying all night. Any suggestions? She also peed twice in the crate last night and she pooped in there the other day. How big of a problem is this? What can I do?

 

[Roxygirl2006]

is the crate too big for her? When we got Roxy we got a full sized 70lb dog crate, and she only weighed 6 lbs at 7 weeks. If the crate is too big, your pup will do her business in it. the crate should only be big enough for her to stand up and turn around.
Remember that a 7 week old puppy can probably only hold it for 1 to 2 hours at best!

When Roxy was 7 weeks old she was in the crate for 4 hours at a time. When she was that small i would put newspaper in with her, b/c i new she was going to have accidents, she just couldn't hold it that long.

When your puppy gets a bit bigger you can get a kennel divider (if you have a wire crate) to put up in the crate so you puppy can only have half the space of the kennel or 1/3 of the space, whatever. They sell them at petco.

Good luck

 

[sadiesocks]

potty training

we have a box in there to divide it out so she has just a little space for turning around.
What should I do with her overnight? During the day I am home, she is out of the crate with us - we take her out often. She gets crated if I need to go shopping, etc. She is also crated at night and this is when she is peeing in there. She is also crying excessively.

 

[Roxygirl2006]

It is your decision what you do with her at night (whether you crate her or allow her to sleep with you). We have never crated Roxy at night. She has slept in bed with us since the day we got her. When she was very small, 7-9 or so weeks, we would get up at least every 2 hours to take her out to potty and she would not potty on our bed.
It depends on how heavy a sleeper you are though. I am a light sleeper and wake up when Roxy gets wrestless at night and know that this means she needs to go out. if you are a very deep sleeper you may not wake up if she gets restless and needs to go out. which could leave you changing your sheets at 2am, not fun!

Remember that puppies can hold it a bit longer when they are sleeping than when they are awake. I would often wonder, How can she hold it for 2 hours at night, but during the day she's going every 5 minutes?!?!?! That is why.

Now Roxy is 13 weeks old and we only take her out to pee 1-2 times a night. And those times are usually because i wake her up and take her out. I'd rather be safe than be changing my sheets at 2 am!

If you'd rather keep her in her crate at night, try moving her crate to your bedroom. She might feel less anxiety knowing you are closer.

Good luck

 

[shonna]

Baylee is 13 wks. We got her when she was 9wks and I have never had to take her out at night. She is crated when I am gone (maybe and hour so during the day) and at night when we go to bed. I go to bed late, so I usually let her out at 10:30 pm or later and then get up at 8 am or so. But she has never had an accident in her crate. She also does not cry anymore. She did initially and I put a blanket over the crate, leaving the door uncovered, and I think this made her feel safe. I have a blanket in her crate also. I am hoping this does not change when I put her in a bigger crate, but so far this has worked really well for us.

Hope this helps,
Shonna

 

[txstyleboxer]

well im about to have to go through this all over again with our new one and I imagine im going to go about the same way I did the first time. I never crated Tyson at night he was just so much of a Mr. Snuggles that I couldn't allow him to sleep alone, so he slept in the bed with me. He never had any food or water after 8p.m. and I didnt go to bed until almost midnight. He would occasionally wake up and I would take him out but even at 10 weeks he pretty much slept through the entire night. I have learned however, that as soon as they wake up, even if its just from napping, take them out immediately. I hope you find what works for you and that you dont have to dry clean your comforter many times in the process.

 

[Louise501]

How often do you take her out at night? Ruby used to be taken out every 1.5 - 2 hours thru' the night. I used to set the alarm, around 11/12 weeks she just went out once in the night. I wouldn't leave the crate floor bare, may be just a towel over a waterproof mat, or something that is fine to be washed alot. I'm sure she will get the hang of it, she's only tiny

 

[Checkers]

Put an old towel in there with her. She is young and doesnt understand yet that she is only supposed to potty outside. That will take momths Its no wonder really that she is crying all night when she only had a hard surface to sleep on. Put yourself in her shoes, shes uncomfortable and needs to pee :eek: .

Set your alarm for a couple of times during the night to take her outside and give the baby a towel to sleep on!!

 

[Sweet Ginny]

Ginny cried like crazy when we first got her. We moved her crate next to our bed and it seemed to help some. The first week was the hardest! I woke up every 2-3 hours to take her out. Within a few weeks, we were down to once a night and now she sleeps through the night.

I definitely recommend putting a towel in the crate with her--I had a stack of old towels and just rotated them. I washed them A LOT that first month--pretty much every day.

Also--something that really helped with Ginny--we took an old dark colored sheet and draped it over the crate, leaving the front (where the door is) open. This made it dark (like a den or cave) but let her still see us. She really seemed to like it and now she really likes sleeping in her crate. One word of caution though, we learned the hard way . . . Don't leave the sheet over the crate during the day when she is awake. Ginny would get bored and pull the sheet into the crate. It has gotten pretty torn up!

 

[todell80]

I really feel for you, Zeus is crying a lot at night too!! Every night has gotten better though, and after juts 3 nights he only seems to cry when he needs to go outside. He seems to wake up every 2 hours, or less, but hopefully he will start to sleep longer soon.

I had no idea what people were talking about when they said "crying," or how loud it really was. I can honestly say I have never heard a dog make that kind of racket, he reminds me of a baby goat!! Well, good luck w/ your puppy!!

Tara O'Dell