Kennel training a puppy

[OrganicFarmWife]

They instinctively will *try* not to soil the place where they sleep. You can set up the paper in the back half of the kennel and a blanket or bed in the front half when you lock the dog in the kennel at night. You don't want the dog walking through their mess when you let them out of the kennel. When you open the kennel put the leash on and go straight outside praising any outside urination etc. Also key it with a phrase when you go from the kennel to the door "go out" or "go potty". This is all doing many things. One, the dog won't want to soil their bed so they will work on holding it, two, the dog will naturally have to go when it awakes so you will have some control of the situation and catch. and praise the good behavior outdoors, also the dog is learning that getting out of the crate and going outside is a business trip. Don't let the dog out of the crate and get super excited and start playing instantly or the dog will start begging to come out for fun when in fact you want to train the dog to ask to go out to pee. Also make the crate a comfortable safe place, treats, a chew toy that they only get in there. Also give a command every time you put the dog in the crate "kennel up" or "go to bed" eventually you will just be able to tell the dog to do these things.

So from what I have read it is best to use the divider while he is little to create that safe feel. But it sounds like you put lots of stuff in there. Should I use the divider? Paper in back, bed in front, toys?

Thinking about you and your puppy this morning.

We had our first accident free night here. I am hoping that is in your very near future too.

Have a very merry holiday filled with joy, peace and love.

Thank You! I will let everyone know once we get the kennel and how it goes.

 

[dainerra]

no, putting him outside won't teach him not to potty in the house. Pull the papers, he won't need to be going at night. At most, he might need to go once and then right back in the crate. If he's outside alone, there is no one to mark and reward him to let him know that outside is the right place. Just as if he potties in the house and you don't notice until later there is no way to let him know that inside is the wrong place.

Do NOT put the papers in his crate, you never want him to get the idea that he can potty in there. Place the divider so that he has just enough room to lay down and turn around until he is trained not to go in there. It honestly shouldn't take more than a couple days at his age.
I feed on a schedule so that puppy will need to poop on a schedule. He will have to potty when waking up, about 30 mins after eating (depending on his body schedule lol) and after playing.
When he isn't in the crate, he is on leash tied to your waist or tethered elsewhere in the house. If he starts to sniff and circle happy voice "Let's go outside!" and take him out on the leash. Walk him to the area of the yard you want him to use and stand in one spot. If he goes immediately, praise and reward. And it's a good idea to let him have at least a couple seconds afterward to sniff and wander so that he learns that the quicker he potties, the sooner he can play. Taking him back in immediately teaches him to try to do his playing and sniffing BEFORE potty which isn't something you want when it's cold outside.
At his age, I've never had it take more than a week to get a puppy that is reliable enough to be trusted free in the room that I'm in. A couple weeks after that to be free in the house. You might take a little longer because you've already taught him that the hallway is a potty place. If you see him wanting to go there, slowly reduce the amount of paper you put down.

If you notice him whining and wanting to potty the first couple nights (especially if you've never asked him to hold it all night before!) don't turn on any more lights than necessary. Open the door and put on his leash. No talking or extra lights, walk him outside to his potty place. Stand a couple seconds. Give him a low key "good boy" and pat and a cookie if he potties. No other talking and then, whether he went or not, back into the kennel. The first couple nights he might try it a couple times, thinking it will get him attention and playtime but he'll quickly learn that waking up at night is boring.

 

[PirateGirl]

In answer to your question, I never used a divider in the crate, but when I had a WIRE crate I would cover it with a blanket to make it more like a cave. With a plastic airline type crate this isn't necessary. At 12 weeks with some consistency, as others have said, it shouldn't take long. Their bladders are pretty good at this point.

I have 2 dogs currently and one I got at about 6 weeks old, the other at 12 weeks. The difference in development and bladder control by 12 weeks is huge and this has to do with biology, not training. You will get there. Consistency is key.

To this day I send my dogs out to do their business very last thing before bed, whether they act like they need to go or not, and first thing in the morning they go straight out. They are now 5 and 12 years old. They know these are "business trips" and not play time and come straight back inside when they are done, no messing around, no playing, no running off to the neighbors. Be patient. Reward the good behaviors, it will pay off. The reward needs to come within about 30 seconds of the good behavior for them to make the connection, so other posters are right, you really need to catch them in the act of being good.

Other good acts to catch them in and reward include things like going to the crate on their own, laying down/sitting quietly (especially if you are doing something like cooking/eating), if they drop something or leave something they aren't supposed to have (a shoe, the cat, the chickens). It's easy to ignore a dog/puppy that's being good because well, they are just laying there, being good, but that's exactly when you need to fawn over them and pet them and praise them. Now when my dog really really wants my attention, instead of jumping in my face or climbing in my lap she goes to the middle of the room and flops down very emphatically and will deliberately lay down with her head on her paws and stare at me. This is not a natural behavior, but learned, she knows if she is calm and still and can quit making noise and quit wiggling that she will get rewarded, she will get petted, she will get to go out or play with her toys, eventually, and she will lay there staring me down for quite a long time too.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

To give an update, these last two days have been very good. I do not know why it did not occur to me to leash him in the house, but it is great advice. My daughter has been in charge of taking him out, it is winter break, and she had done a great job.
Hopefully the kennel will be here tomorrow, and we can get more serious. But during the day, while next to the kids and I, he has done great.

 

[21hens-incharge]

That is great news!

My puppy is having a hard time holding her piddles in the house. Her body is not giving much warning at all.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That is great news!

My puppy is having a hard time holding her piddles in the house. Her body is not giving much warning at all.

If it keeps up I may try to take a sample in to rule out a bladder infection. A few of my pups had them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yup. Going to call the vet tomorrow.
It is throwing me since she makes it through the night. Here that is just 6 hours but it IS 6 hours.

 

[dainerra]

That is great news!

My puppy is having a hard time holding her piddles in the house. Her body is not giving much warning at all.

if she is going frequently, there is a chance of UTI. However, puppies are like kids. they tend to concentrate on the fun stuff and ignore that little urge to go potty. Like a toddler who wets his pants because he's in the middle of his favorite cartoon.

I'd put her on a schedule during the day and insure that she actually potties outside. Many will pee just enough to take off the urge and then go sniffing around and playing instead of finishing their business. So let her potty, play for a few minutes and then give her another chance to go before you go back in.
Keeping her tethered to you until you are certain that she has pottied is the best cure. That way you can take her outside at the first sign.

Meeka, Kaylee's sister, was here for 5 days. She left housebroken to the doggie door in just those few days.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I haven't read thru everything, just the first page.
I have crate trained 3 dogs pretty successfully. I even crate trained an older dog who we got from the shelter. He was house trained, but not at our house.
Anyway, what worked for us -
*You keep the area in the crate for only as much room as they can turn around section it off and increase the amount of room as they grow or until no longer needed.
*They come out of the crate and directly outside - no waiting. If they do not do business then they go back into the crate for 10 min and the routine is repeated until they do their business.
I keep them on a leash otherwise they can think it's play time.
*Once they do their duty, they can then have free time. During free time it should be confined to whatever room you are in and supervised. If they are playing and suddenly stop then it's time to take them back out or if they start swirling around in circles it's time to go out like immediately. Generally, its good advice to take them out every 2 hours. One of ours has a tiny bladder and she needed to go out more often - so use your judgement. They also need to go out immediately upon waking.
*If you cannot supervise, they should be crated. One it will cut down on accidents and chewing unwanted things. The length of time they can be crated increases with age, I cannot recall off hand. The puppy can remain in the crate throughout the night. However, they do need to go out at first to learn that they will be cared for. Again, they can learn that if they cry - momma comes running. So, you have to realize if it's a real cry for potty needs.
*Provide the puppy with lots of chew toys and if you see them chewing something else, immediately replace that with a chew toy.
*So, with that said, a 5 yr old should not solely be responsible for the training of the puppy. In fact, until you can trust the puppy is potty trained, I would take them out myself unless the 5 yr old is supervised. I had older children with my one dog and we had some issues, so I would not put the stress on a 5 yr old - sometimes puppies look like they pottied but didn't. Or it can just become play time - puppies tend to see children as peers.
This is not to say you won't have accidents, because they will occur. Just clean them up with an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of all traces of odor. Do not reprimand the puppy. Instead, if you catch them in the act, just say "no" firmly, but not harshly followed by "out" as you are rushing them out the door.
"Let's go out" is a good phrase when you are taking them out, but whatever you use be consistent.
When they are in the act of business once they start, you want to say a command word like "go pee" or "go poop" or "hurry". Whatever, but it's a short command and they will eventually learn the command.
As well, as soon as they finish, a high PRAISE is in order. Some use treats and I did for the young puppy, but not for too long and always make sure they've actually done their business (why I also advocate for this to not be solely the responsibility of the 5 yr old). Praise generally works the best.

Also, and this is just my two cents (and been there done that) - raising a puppy is like having a baby and so now you have 2 babies in the house. It is a lot of work for you. I actually had to give up my first puppy because I did not realize as a 20 something how much work puppies were in addition to having a baby plus i was in college at the time (what was I thinking?) The good thing is is that puppies grow fast and learn quickly and really want to please their human caretaker.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

So from what I have read it is best to use the divider while he is little to create that safe feel. But it sounds like you put lots of stuff in there. Should I use the divider? Paper in back, bed in front, toys?

Thank You! I will let everyone know once we get the kennel and how it goes.

I would just put a chew toy if needed. I had a bed, it got chewed up. No bed worked just fine. It's not play time in the crate. It's rest time.