My 8 week old lab hates the kennel. We put her in it twice and she went to the bathroom in it and cried and cried. We both work and am wondering if she would benefit more from s metal crate she can see through much easier? I am not sure if she is lonely and wants to be with our grown retriever but just needing advice.
Hi and welcome to the forum And congrats on your new pup! What's her name? The two secrets to crate training are to make it positive and take it slowly. To make it positive, always put a tasty treat in the crate when you want your pup to go in there. Something that will last a while,like a Kong filled with something nice, is perfect. Feed her all her meals in the crate too. When she's not looking, toss a treat into the crate for her to find in her own time. Being in the crate should be associated with lovely things happening. To take it slowly, leave your puppy alone in the crate for just a few seconds at first and gradually build up over a number of sessions to an hour. Once she can do an hour she should be able to do two and once she's ok with two you can jump to four...but that also depends on her bladder capacity developing. Plenty of us on here work and have dogs (like me). With a puppy a bit of planning and usually reinforcements are required. I wouldn't recommend leaving a pup or young dog or any dog for longer than a four hour stretch in a crate, even if they can 'hold on' for that time. A number of things can be done to break up the time - a relative or friendly neighbour visiting, a dog walker coming to play with the pup for half an hour (or when older going for a walk), or daycare/puppy playgroups. What are your working hours and when are you having to go back to work? Ideally someone would be home with the pupp full time for at least the first four weeks (gradually training her to get used to being alone for periods of time).
Hi there Her name is Alice. She is awesome. We are around all summer so the timing is good. Do you recommend a metal crate or the other type?
Personally I'd recommend a metal crate as they are very strong, last forever and you can cover all or part if you want or leave it uncovered. Some pups like a bit of cover (like a blanket or sheet over half the crate) and some are happier seeing everything. Some people who need to leave a pup longer than their bladder can handle will combine a crate with a metal pen (made of panels joined together) so the pup can use an area of the pen (covered in newspaper) as a toilet area. This can delay house training a bit but it's better than having a pup pee and poo in their crate, which should be a bedroom area only - big enough to lid down and stand in very comfortably but not big enough to go for a stroll It's great that you're around for the summer so you can gradually get her used to all the new things in her life
Thanks for your feedback and information. Tonight she is just so wanting to get into trouble, biting at people and anything literally she can get her teeth on. So we try to keep redirecting her. I also understand that they don't really house train till 16 weeks.
If she sees your adult dog in the house she is wondering why she is on her own outside and you can't blame her. She has come from being with her littermates and yes, she is lonely. I don't think it is fair to kennel an 8 week old puppy on its own, it either needs to be with your adult dog in the kennel or in a crate in the house. However, don't be surprised if she still cries in the crate initially as many puppies do but she will soon settle. I would ensure that the crate is not too big otherwise she may toilet in it, instead make sure there is just enough room for her bed and you may need to take her to toilet in the night. There isn't a set time for house training, some manage to suss it a few days and others it takes weeks. I think the key is to take them out regularly during the day, every hour in the beginning. Hope this helps. Chloe
The term 'kennel' can mean different things in different countries In the UK I gather it means 'outdoors wire mesh dog run with attached shelter'. In Australia it means 'small timber dog house'. It can also mean 'plastic crate suitable for transporting a dog on an airline'. So I'm not 100% sure that the OP means an outdoors arrangement. Is that what you mean, Tmblack?
I used a crate to train Molly, it is basically a cage. I am a huge fan of crates. There was no fuss and drama with Molly. It was where she slept, where she went when we went out (this meant we actually had a house left to come home to) and where she went when we both needed a break. When she was older she would go into her crate for a lie down. I moved it around the house so she would have a change of scenery. Initially I put Puppy Pads in when I put her to bed for the night, but the trainer pointed out that by doing so I was telling her it was alright to wee in the house. With great trepidation I put her to bed without Puppy Pad and she stayed clean and dry all night.
Thanks everyone. Alice is eeping great right beside Bella at night. No crate -nothing and I take her out every 2-3 hours and she does great. It's in the day time when I want to go out for a bit or when I go to work. I think what I could try is make a safe place for Alice and Bella in my attached garage. They would have a doggy door so can go in and out.
