I am looking for some advise, out little Poppy is coming home in 3 short weeks, and we would like some advise on where to put her Den and how to establish a good toilet training routine. We have 2 areas in mind, one is in the kitchen and the other is the front room. We like the idea of the front room as she will then be apart of the family and surrounded by us. We are going to section off a part of this room which will include her crate, and we were going to put some puppy pads down to encourage her to use. How long do we restrict her space? toilet training is obviously top on the 'to do' list so some helpful tips and advise would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Claire
Re: Creating a Den for Poppy Hi I used my front room as I wanted Harley to be part of the family. I only crated her when I wasn't around to watch her. If I was around I would let her have the run of the front room, kitchen and hallway. I done this from day one. There are a lot of threads on here about toilet training if you have a mooch around. When I got Harley I would take her outside every half hour, after sleeps, after food etc. i would put her down where I wanted her to go and would say 'go wee wee' or 'go poo poo'. If she went I would give her lots of praise and a treat. If I saw her start to crouch I would quickly pick her up and put her on the toilet area in the garden. We did gave a few accidents which I cleaned up but didn't make a fuss about it and didn't tell her off. She was house trained within 2 weeks max
Re: Creating a Den for Poppy Hmm. I'm not a fan of puppy pads (designed to part you with your money...) and I certainly wouldn't want them in my front room. Does she need a 'confinement zone' in your lounge? Would her crate not be enough? If you are in there with her and able to supervise her, I wouldn't have her in a pen if she is awake. Think hard about where you are most likely to need her confined. If you are busy, where will you be? Preparing dinner in the kitchen? You won't want a puppy tripping you up then, so if she's awake and you are not free to supervise, a pen there might work out well. Have you decided if she is going to be allowed on furniture? Or if she will always have her own bed? It might be that a pen in the kitchen, and snuggled up with you on the sofa or by your feet on her own little bed in the lounge works best. You are quite right that she will want to see you and be part of your family, and you know best about how you use your home and what your rules will be. I am more than happy to let my dogs sofa-share (they're not allowed on the armchairs - have to have some rules for the less dog-friendly visitors ;D), and crates are in the kitchen (for overnight and when I'm out), but they do also have a dog bed in the lounge too. Whatever you decide, you will be taking her out VERY regularly in those first weeks - every time she wakes up, after every meal, whenever she gets excited, and just because you haven't been outside for the past twenty minutes. ;D ;D Clare
