Hi all 8 weeks old WISPA has been with us 6 days now and so far everything is brilliant! She cries on and off at night, but this is lessening with time. (She has a large crate) I get up to her in the night once and at about 7 am. We have gone from poos and pees in the cage to only a couple of pees. Generally house training is brilliant and have few little accidents in the house. I've noticed over the last days she has chosen to go to a quiet spot in the darker part of the house where we had a pile of coats and shoes. I cleared this out today and put a pillow and one of my cardigans and she has chosen to make this her place. After playing, eating or going to the toilet she goes up there and sleeps solidly. Does this mean she is just happy and comfortable or is she finding the main room too hot? Or is she upset? And should I move her crate to this position? Any help or advice will be gratefully received. Thank you all
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? I think she is finding the crate too big and not cosy and den-like. You could put a box in one end to make the space smaller and put the pillow etc in the crate to make it cosy. Also, it's a good idea to cover the crate with a blanket or similar to make it feel dark and safe for her. Try this first before moving the crate - it might be all she is wanting
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? If she is pooing and peeing in her crate, it's too big or she is being left in it too long. The aim is never to have them poo or pee in the crate. This is because you want to preserve the instinct never to go to the toilet where they sleep. It's this instinct that allows you to expand the same to the whole house. This article explains it: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/a-quick-guide-to-house-training-your-labrador-puppy/
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? Thank you. Her crate is large, is covered by a dark sheet and has a puppy pad at the front and her bed at other end and only pees in there over night... I will make the crate feel more cosy and see if that works first. She's never in her crate other than a long sleep during the day, for long at all. But at night she's in it four hours at a time... Is this not right for night time? Thank you again X
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? [quote author=Chocolatelabowner link=topic=10045.msg146610#msg146610 date=1425146342] But at night she's in it four hours at a time... Is this not right for night time? [/quote] Most puppies will last 4 hours while they are asleep, but if they can't, you should be getting up more often rather than have her pee in her crate. Having puppy pads in her crate means that she'll pee in there - that's not the point (well, it's not the point as most people use crates). The point is that you never want them to pee in the crate. This is because if a puppy feels its bladder start to fill, it will empty it, not bother to hold it as there is no reason why a puppy would not just pee whenever it wants. Unless they are in a crate, which should be like a den - a den they don't want to pee in. If they don't want to pee in the crate, they will try not to. This teaches them not to pee everytime they feel their bladder getting full, but to hold on a bit.
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? Ok right I didn't realise this I thought getting up in the night to let them out and pee is enough... So I should take the pad out and get up 3 or 4 times in the night then? Thanks again
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? 4 hours is quite long for a wee pup to hold it in. I would reduce the time until you can get to her before she does a pee in her crate. It's a killer for the first week or two, but is the best and quickest way to train her. You can then increase the time you leave her as she becomes more able to hold it in. She will only soil her crate if she is desperate - it is against her instinct to soil her den and that could be another reason she is reluctant to go in at times.
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? You need to make the crate small enough so she is not happy to sleep at one end and pee at the other. Although if she is used to doing that, I'm not sure what will happen....
Re: Puppy has found a quiet dark cool place is this normal? Crate is too big, so divide it up. It should only be big enough for her to lie in full stretch.
