Hi everyone, I've really enjoyed all of the advice from reading other peoples posts and questions but I have another question regarding crate training at night. He is doing really well and has no problem entering the crate on his own accord several times throughout the day, this is something we don't force but when he does go in we praise him and on some occasions give him a treat. When it comes to bed time (we give him his last feed around 6pm) he goes into his crate no problem, has a little whimper for 5 minutes (sometimes). We then don't hear anything for anywhere between a couple of hours to several hours. When he starts barking (after sleeping and during the night) we get up to let him out, every time we have gone to him during the night he soiled his bed to the point it's no longer suitable for use. How do other people deal with this? We don't tell him off anything like that just literally put him outside whilst one of us clears the mess he's made. We were thinking maybe leaving cage open until he gets over this stage or would that just create more issues? Also he is having a lot of poo's during day (6-7) and very loose - is this normal? He is coming up to 9 weeks on Tuesday which will also be 7 days that we have had him. Thanks Michael
Re: Crate training questions - specifically at night Well personally I set my alarm clock for set periods and got up and lifted the dog and took him outside. When my dog was 9 weeks old I put him to bed at 9 and got up every 3 hours to take him out. I gradually increased that period to the point where now he goes from 9p.m. to 6am without a toilet break. Don't wait for the dog to wake you up. As for the dogs soft stools, have you changed food ?
Re: Crate training questions - specifically at night I loose stools can be because a change of food, or something he has eaten which doesn't agree with him, or it could be that he is eating too much. I only feed about 80-85% of what it states on the bag. As for the crate, how big is it? It might be worth putting up a divider if it's too big? Hope this helps.
