Crate Training Help

[lysekb]

We got a puppy, Kayla, a few days ago. She's 12 weeks old and from what i've seen her previous owners taught her nothing. She was kept outside in an igloo inside a large cage. She bites and doesnt realize how rough she is being. She knows nothing about being house trained. She shows no real interest in her chew toys and we got her a bunch of different kinds. At first she would go into her crate no problem and even picked up the word for it right away. we were trying to do crate training with her. schedule is as follows below

1. wake up at 8 take her out to potty. Feed and give water
2. Take her back out 15 min after eating
3. play/train for half an hr put in crate. Take her out after an hr and repeat until she eats at five.
4. Repeat until bedtime at 11.
I dont have room in my house to put her crate in the bedroom so its in the living room and my husband is sleeping on the couch so someone is near her. But the second she goes into the crate she starts howling and wont stop.
The crate has a bed and during the day a water bowl. It has chew toys and i put a pee pad in. I praise her and give her treats when she goes in and feed her treats through the grate. If i try to walk away from her to get things done around the house she starts howling and then will poo in the crate.
This is another problem im having. I take her outside to to potty and she will pee no problem. But I have the feeling that she's holding off on pooing because she knows eventually she will go in the crate and it's the easiest way for me to let her out and if i dont she will step or roll in it. Please please please help I have no idea what im doing wrong or how to abate her fear of me leaving.

 

[lizzybeth727]

We got a puppy, Kayla, a few days ago. She's 12 weeks old and from what i've seen her previous owners taught her nothing. She was kept outside in an igloo inside a large cage. She bites and doesnt realize how rough she is being. She knows nothing about being house trained. She shows no real interest in her chew toys and we got her a bunch of different kinds. At first she would go into her crate no problem and even picked up the word for it right away. we were trying to do crate training with her. schedule is as follows below

1. wake up at 8 take her out to potty. Feed and give water
2. Take her back out 15 min after eating
3. play/train for half an hr put in crate. Take her out after an hr and repeat until she eats at five.
4. Repeat until bedtime at 11.
I dont have room in my house to put her crate in the bedroom so its in the living room and my husband is sleeping on the couch so someone is near her. But the second she goes into the crate she starts howling and wont stop.
The crate has a bed and during the day a water bowl. It has chew toys and i put a pee pad in. I praise her and give her treats when she goes in and feed her treats through the grate. If i try to walk away from her to get things done around the house she starts howling and then will poo in the crate.
This is another problem im having. I take her outside to to potty and she will pee no problem. But I have the feeling that she's holding off on pooing because she knows eventually she will go in the crate and it's the easiest way for me to let her out and if i dont she will step or roll in it. Please please please help I have no idea what im doing wrong or how to abate her fear of me leaving.

Sounds like you have a real challenge on your hands.

I guess my advice is this:

1. If you don't want her to potty in the crate, then don't put a potty pad in the crate. Potty pads are scented to attract dogs to potty there, which could explain why she prefers to poop in her crate than outside. Plus, thanks to her lovely upbringing, she's probably never really gotten much opportunity to learn to not potty inside her crate, and she thinks this is normal. Which is why good breeders begin potty training at 6 weeks or earlier.

2. The crate should only be big enough for her to stand up and turn around in. Dogs usually prefer to keep their space clean if they don't have room to get away from their poop. Again, in your case, because of her upbringing, this may not be something your dog cares about. But it can't hurt to make sure the crate is not too big.

3. Feeding your puppy in the crate helps discourage her from pottying in it as well. Most dogs don't want to poop where they eat. Unless, as is possible with your puppy, they've learned at an early age that they have no choice but to poop where they eat.

4. Your schedule sounds pretty good, but I'd suggest not being too rigid with it. She should learn to accept if she has to be in the crate for more than an hour. Additionally, if she's being good, you could let her out as a reward, even if it's been less than an hour.

5. I suggest feeding puppies three meals a day until they're about six months old.


Hope that helps, I'm sure others will chime in as well.

 

[Max The Beagle]

Some GREAT advise from lizzybeth727. Size matters when i comes to crates. I would put in a divider to make it smaller and take out the pee pad.

Start slow with the howling. put her in and ignore her for a bit when she stops take her out. And/or put her in and take her right out. Back and forth several times while adjusting the time she is in there. Range it from 15 seconds to a minute or two while doing the training. Then keep her out for a bit and do it again. Next keep her in the crate while you do things like vacuuming and laundry. this has you present but she is in the crate. dont let her out if she is misbehaving.

Having said that... dont use the crate as a punishment either. It should be a place of sanctuary for her. She needs to view is as her place to go for her not because she was bad.

 

[Mach1girl]

I bought my son a puppy APBY 5 weeks ago. He had just turned 6 weeks old. He has not had aproblem potty training the pup because he followed my advice.

His crate is big enough for him to lay, stand, turn and lay again. Nothing bigger as this gives him room to potty, and not have to lay in it.

He gets taken out before any playtime, and about 15 minutes into playtim, following 15 minute intervals.

Going potty is the absolute best thing this pup can do and he gets praised so much his wiggle practically turns him in circles

No water permitted in his crate, at all, any time.

Water gets cut off at 8pm every night. And given back first thing in the morning.

My son had to get up every 2 hours or so thru the night every night to potty the dog for 3 weeks, he now sleeps thru the night.

Watch for signals, teach him where the door is and let him out when he shows signs of having to go.

Good luck....I have 7, Zeus makes 8, and I this has always worked for me, we have no problems.

 

[Mach1girl]

*APBT*** typo-

 

[lysekb]

I put a divider in and placed a blanket over the crate. It's still a little big so she peed on the t shirt we put in. I also leave her water and food bowl in though they are empty to emphasize that that is where she eats. and I'm very proud to say that did not poop in it and stopped howling after 10 minutes. Lot of progress in just a night!