Crate Training Question

[Mare1]

Hi, I am new to your forum, it looks great so far and lots of advice. I have a 16 week old ****-zu / West Highland Terrier mix. She is as cute as a button, her name is Abby.
We both work days so Abby is in a crate all day. I have put a small towel in there with her, because she does have an accident during the day, so the towel absorbs it so she is not laying in it. I tried no towel, but them she gets real wet, like a sponge.
Will she eventually out grow the accidents? Or will she learn to live with them?
She sleeps the whole night through in her crate without a mess and when we are home she goes outside to go potty. It is just this day thing, we have no sitter so I just don't want to give her an idea that it is ok to go potty in the crate.
We also have a 4 yr old lab, and they just love each other. Any ideas on the crate and towel thing would be helpful.
I also tried leaving her in a small room with a open crate and puppy pads on the floor in the room, but she just made a big mess of the room while playing, so I went back to the crate.
Thanks again, Mare.

[shandoggy1]

No offense Mare1 but why did you go the puppy route if you work all day and can't relieve the poor thing She is a smaller breed so has a smaller bladder and needs frequent brakes throughout the day. I'm not trying to be mean but how do you expect to house brake your dog if she is going to the bathroom in the crate? Can't you leave her in a small confined area where there is a seperate area for her to relieve herself, I know you mentioned that you tried that before but what about a smaller area like the bathroom or something. Good luck!

[Carrie]

First...welcome Mare to GP. Congrats on your new pup. I love Labs, had to put mine down last year. She was a wonderful dog.

we have no sitter so I just don't want to give her an idea that it is ok to go potty in the crate.

Well, I personally don't see a way around this. A puppy simply cannot hold her little bladder all day long. As long as she goes in her crate, she'll learn that that is the place she's suppose to go potty. All day long is an awfully long time to leave a pup. Is there any chance of getting a neighbor or family member to come mid way through the day and let her out?

Another member here, Barrett has trained her Dashunds to use a litter box. I think she had a puppy proofed pen and a litter box and crate inside. I believe she's managed to teach them to go outside as long as someone is home to let them out. If she doesn't see this thread, you could p.m. her. I bet she'd have some idea for you.

Good luck.

[sharona1973]

Hi Mare,

First off, how big is your crate? Is Abby able to stand up and move around a lot in it? If it is too big, then Abby might tend to go and do her business in one part of the crate. I do agree that perhaps Abby is contained in the crate for too long and so she might not be able to hold it all day. I don't know how long you are gone and what kind of potty schedule you have for her, but this is how I trained my little Mocha. He is 7 months old now.

I got Mocha when he was about 4 months....we're not sure when his birthday is, so he was probably between 4-5 months old. I work as well and so he had to be in a crate for about 7-8 hours a day...but my hours fluctuate sometimes. Anyhow, he did fine in the crate. I did put a blanket in there for him to lay on....and he only made one mistake in there. Generally dogs don't like to pee where they sleep, but sometimes they can't help it.

I did try putting Mocha in a very small bathroom, with his crate in the corner and the door open, but I found that he ended up peeing on the floor even though he was confined for the same amount of time as when in the crate. Sounds like you tried that with Abby and she did the same thing (tearing up the puppy pads etc).

Do you make sure that Abby has enough time in the morning to really finish her business before you crate her and go to work? With Mocha, I would have to get up really early (he used to wake me up at 4:30 a.m.) and I would make sure he peed and pooped. Then I would feed him his breakfast when I got ready for work. Then about 15 minutes before having to leave, I would take him out again and generally he would at least have to poop and frequently he would pee also, then I would put him in his crate and he would stay there until I got home and of course I would immediately let him out.

Anyhow, it will get better....we just have to make sure that we set up Abby for success. How long have you had Abby and does she mess up her crate everyday? Good luck and be patient...it does get better. I do remember the early days of frustration, but it will be well worth it in the end.

[Gerald]

Something that is very importent is to give the puppy a break during the day. I go home everyday on lunch to let Rocky out and play for 30 minutes, then crate him for the rest of the afternoon. I would recommend doing the same, or getting someone to let your dog out. As she gets older she will be able to hold it longer, but she will really need to be let out during the day for a potty break.

In addition, puppys need a lot of love at their early stages! They really can benefit from you being home during the day to play with them.

I have a couple of links below for reading on crate and paper training. I would maybe recommend putting your puppy in a "safe room" with the paper or puppy pads. Make sure to cover the ENTIRE floor with them, and perhaps tape them down if nesseccary. Eventually your puppy will elimnate on them, (and have no choice really to do otherwise), and you can clean up the papers when u get home. After some time, you can start slowly removing the amount of paper/pads you leave down and eventually your puppy will know to use the paper/pads to elminate.

Here are those links, and good luck!!!!

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/housebreaking.html
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hsetrain.html
http://www.perfectpaws.com/pupstuff.html

[Mare1]

I would like to thank everyone that offered a reply to my question. Please know that I have owned a couple dogs and have just recently lost a best friend of 14 yrs. And yes, I have forgotten what it is like to have a puppy.

I know Abby will do fine, I just have to relax and not panic. She is well cared for, spoiled rotten, and loved very much. She has some days when she is left for a 7 hour stretch and others when she gets a break. I am sure in time she will understand that she needs to wait. Since I know she can make it through the night, she just needs to understand this for some days as well.

She is not what I would call a small breed, her adult size should be 15-20 pounds, so I have been assured that she can be at home all day once she gets the hang of things. It is not like she is a mininature dog who's adult size is only 7 lbs.

My main question was in reference to giving her a towel, but I have been trying it and she seems to push it to the back when she does soil it. And I am sure she will out grow this, she never messes in her crate at night or anywhere else, so she knows the difference.

I do enjoy the topics on this forum and I am sure there will be items of interest to me. So, once again thank you.
Mare

[flyndog]

I agree the puppy can't hold it that long. Maybe you could put the crate inside a pen and put papers down on the floor. That way she doesn't have to soil her crate or lie in a smelly one.