I didn't know that Mika was with your sister...am I following you correctly? If so, that's wonderful!
If the fur is balding around her teats...she's CLOSE!
Good luck, and be sure to update us on TCS!
Sorry, off-topic.
opcorn:
Anyway, I would start to crate train Whisper now, even if she is just 6 weeks old. The sooner you can start, the better it will go. You want to make the crate an inviting, pleasant place for her to be...like her own personal, cozy little den. It should only allow her enough room to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably...no more! By giving her too much room in her crate, she'll soon figure out that she can pee/poop in there, and still have a clean sleeping place...not a good thing for her to discover.
Begin by tying the door open, so that it doesn't slam shut once she enters it willingly, thus scaring her. Remember, make it a HAPPY, PLEASANT thing! Although she's very young, and this whole crate thing will sink in a bit more effectively in a couple of weeks, I don't think it will harm her to start now...it just may make things a bit better in the long run. Think of a command, like, "Crate, Whisper!" Or "Bed, Whisper!" and just set her in front of the crate, with the door tied open. Allow her to approach the crate, sniff the crate, and if she's willing, let her walk in and out of it...without shutting the door. Praise her to high heaven if she enters it..."Good girl, Whisper!" Once she's comfortable entering in and out of it on her own, begin to entice her with a treat (bits of turkey hot dog, nuked to a crisp, drained on paper towels, and then allowed to cool work really well for training treats), thrown into the back of the crate. As you toss the treat or toy inside, and as she goes to retrieve it inside the crate, give your command..."Bed, Whisper!" or "Crate, Whisper!" Then, if this works, praise her again to high heaven. After 6-7 trials of this, and she's doing it consistently, then you can do it again, and shut the door (with Whisper in it, of course), and then walk out of sight, for about 10 seconds. Come back, and praise her to high heaven...and open the door. Open the crate, and try another trial...this time for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, with the door shut. Once you return, open the door, shower her with kisses and praise, and try another trial...perhaps for 5 minutes this time. Come back, open the crate, more smoochy-woochy, lovey-dovey, happy sounds from you, using her name, and lots of praise and cuddles. You will want to build her up to about 30 minutes of crate-time with the door shut...one easy way to do the half-hour thing, is to give her a meal inside her crate. This way, she's experiencing something positive and motivating in the crate, and then after the meal is finished, she should be let out immediately for potty and playtime. Build up her tolerance gradually, give her fun things to do in the crate, and always reward for appropriate crate behavior. If she cries and whines at night in her crate, I've heard of two different types of puppies...the puppy that wants to see you (so keep her in your bedroom so you're close), and the puppy that does better when you're out of sight. You'll have to experiment with Whisper, and what will work best. At this point, even over night, she needs to be taken out about every hour. If she whines and cries, absolutely ignore her at night. If it's the type of whine or cry that indicates potty-needs (and at this young, it will be for attention, more than a potty-indicator...she's really too young to hold her water or pooey on her own for any length of time), then you need to remove her from the crate (and say NOTHING!!! Be very business-like, and silent...she needs to learn that the night-time is not playtime or time for attention-seeking), take her out, let her do her business, and then quietly replace her to her crate, ignoring further protests.
Good luck...you have such a young baby on your hands, that your expectations shouldn't be too terribly high...the crate-training thing will start to sink in and become more of a necessity once she has more control over her functions, and at 8-weeks, rather than 6, this whole thing will make a lot more sense to her...but there's no harm in trying some basics with her now.
