Crate training a new puppy, are we doing ok?

Cyrus

We welcomed a cocker spaniel puppy into our lives last week. she seems to be settling in well and happy in herself. We crate her at night and sometimes during the day for an hour or two if needs must (my wife is stay at home at the moment so generally there is someone around all the time or the dog goes with them for school drop offs etc).

She is around 6kg so biggish for her age i guess (she was 11 weeks yesterday).

How its gone so far at night:

Night 1 cant remember!

Night 2

Crate 10.30pm Awake at 3.30am to wee, back in crate but didnt resettle til 4.40 and awake 6.15 am (longest sleep 5ish hours)

Night 3

Crate10.45pm Awake 12.50am to wee, back asleep 1.10am and awake at 6.10 am (longest sleep 5ish hours)

Night 4

Crate 10.30pm Awake 6.30am (wasnt up during night at all) longest sleep 8 hours, we had a big day that day she was out a lot (although as she hasnt had full vaccination yet not meeting other dogs etc)

Night 5

Crate 11pm Awake 12.55am to wee, back asleep and up at 6.15 again circa 5 hours

Night 6

Crate 10.40pm, awake 12.40 to wee, back asleep and up a 6.45 so 6 hours

What we have been doing is let her chill with my wife and i when we watch tv and then when we are going to bed crate her then.

Are we doing ok or should we not be getting up to her at 12.30-1.30 when she wakes. Looking at the above perhaps night 4 was just a fluke and really we should be aiming for 5 hours or so, so bed at 10.30 - 11 and expect to get up to her at 3.30-4, if she cries before that leave her?

Or is she a bit young yet for that?

Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

tk123

It sounds like you’re doing great. I always get up with them and take them out when they cry and then back to bed like you say. It doesn’t feel like it at the time when you’re tired but it’s only for a few weeks. I have them in my room in the crate / pen and they usually settle straight away after going out. My youngest here didn’t cry at night (he just wee’d instead 😅) so I had to set an alarm to get him out and make his space smaller to start with. They’re all different and it can take some trial and error.

daludo

Hi folks

Guess we're not doing as well. We left our pup (now 6mths) in crate at night time since we got him at 3mths old . He wets the crate and his bed every night. We keep him in spare room with crate door locked from 10pm till 7am. Will he grow out of this?

DBB

Hmmm... she might and she might not. To be honest op, that's way too long to leave a pup locked in a crate, at any time of day or night. They're incapable of holding on for more than a few hours at 3 months. The idea behind crate training is that pup never actually pees in there at all, it's meant to be used as a means of containing the pup, and her bowel/bladder, until you're ready to bring her outside to empty. I'm not clear from your post whether you're bringing her outside to pee when she wakes during the night?

When you get outside with her, it gives you the opportunity to reinforce her for going outside. With a 3 month old pup (who's surely only 4 months now, not 6?) this means having to get up during the night to bring her outside give to empty. Yes, it's a pain having to do this, but if it doesn't happen, toilet training takes a lot longer and may be less reliable.

If pup is left in the crate for so long that she has no option but to pee in it, the crate essentially loses its usefulness as a toilet training tool, because now your pup has learned, through repetition, that her crate is OK to use as a toilet. To complicate things further, it's possible that she feels somewhat stressed about having no choice but to pee where she sleeps. For most pups, there's an intrinsic dislike of soiling the sleeping area.

Is she OK about being left alone in the crate, in a closed room? Or does she settle straight away?

I would suggest first of all that you go back to basics. Firstly, you need to be 100% sure that locking her in the crate, in a closed room, is not causing her an ounce of distress.

Secondly, you're really going to need to get up at least once during the night to bring her out to empty. This should only be for a few weeks, bearing in mind that she has developed an unwanted habit which might be hard to break. If she still pees during the night despite you bringing her out, it may mean you need to do 2 night time toilet runs for the time being.

You must go out with her, do not just let her out and close the door to leave her to her own devices. When you're with her, you can both ensure she has actually emptied, and you can praise her and give her a tasty treat after she empties, so that she learns that going outside means hitting the jackpot.

The crate should not be used as a prison. It is only suitable for using for a few hours here and there. When you bring pup out for a daytime pee break, you can bring her back inside in tbe knowledge that her bladder is empty, so she's safe to leave out of the crate for a while.

Finally, she should never be chastised for having an accident. When pups go to the toilet in the house, it is invariably down to human error, not realising that pup needs to be brought outside.

I hope this helps... it's not too late to remedy if you put the work in!

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122702928#Comment_122702928

Thats a new poster not me (the OP), our girl is 15 weeks now. Our routine is bed at 8.30 (she is wrecked at that stage), i take her out again at 11.30 for toilet and then she sleeps from then until 7am. Never had an accident and hasnt woken up between 11.30 and 7 in ages now. We have a baby monitor so we can hear her and if she wakes we will take her out again. Working pretty well!

DBB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703271#Comment_122703271

Duhhh, my apologies 😊 I hadn't copped the latest post wasn't from you... makes more sense, as your op looked like you were doing everything spot on, so it didn't tally that things had gone awry on you since!

Well done Cyrus, great to see your work paying off... love the use of the baby monitor too 😁

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703288#Comment_122703288

2 kids in i'm well trained 😂 and now the new baby.