Azchief

Ok I'm down to about 28 days until my new puppy will come home and I am trying to figure out if what I have in mind will work or just confuse the puppy.

I am taking the first week off to be with my puppy but after that with my wife and I working there will be a span of about 5 hours from when I leave in the morning until my wife gets home from work with the kids. I have a crate and plan on crate training but I know a puppy cannot be expected to hold it for 5 hours. So what I was thinking is that while we are gone during the day I would have the crate open in the kitchen area and block it off basically allowing the puppy to lay in his crate but have the kitchen area available to play with toys and use paper or some type of puppy pads for going to the bathroom. However when I am home I would want the puppy to learn to go to the bathroom outside and not in the home.

My questions is if this will confuse the puppy to have two different places to use pads when home alone and go outside when someone is home and available to let him out? Has anyone else had success with training this way?

I have thought about the dog walker but do not trust a service in my home when I'm not there and all family friends work and would not be available during those hours.

I have also considered installing a doggy door and just having it where the crate can be put up against it then the puppy could come inside to the crate or go out when needed.

Any thoughts or recommendations are really appreciated.

Thanks

And thanks for all the great information on this forum I have been reading nonstop and learning alot!!!

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Mom2Jax&Bay

Hi there.

Having 2 spots to potty (inside and outside) will be confusing to her. I didn;t have to do this so i can't say how well it works. Other might know that answer.

Leaving her with an open crate and sealed off in a room will be helpful. Once she starts using the crate to potty in is very hard to break.

As for a doggy door I wouldn't use one since she is so young and it isn't safe outside for her alone. What if she can't get back in etc? Once she gets bigger I think they are wonderful.

Just saying, my hubby is the same way, you might have to get over the trust issue to help your puppy for a short time. The good walkers are bonded like a cleaning service or maybe use a teen you know who lives close to you. Are you able to come home a couple of times a day while at work? That's another oprion if it is available to you.

Good luck
Robin

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Owned by Jaxon- Flashy Fawn docked and natural 11/21/09 and Baylee- Fawn docked and cropped (kind of) 4/07/09 Rescue

Lone Star Boxer Rescue volunteer since 2010

Wyatts_Momma

How old will she be when you get her? They say they can hold it 1-2 hours for every month of life they are. We never had any problems with Wyatt messing in his crate. I personally don't like the idea of animals defecating in the house, especially if you have children who would walk, crawl, play on the floor. We would take Wyatt out to potty right before we left, crate him, and as soon as we came home we carried him outside so he wouldn't have an accident on the way out. I would def crate when you aren't home. Even though you might think everything is puppy proof, there's always that chance they find that one thing which could cost you thousands of dollars or lose their life. Wyatt will be 8 months tomorrow and gets crated bc I personally don't trust him! He's too smart for his own good!


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Breezygirl

I agree with the above post. Just use a crate and be consistent. Ignore accidents and praise LOTS when she goes potty outside! You will do great! Research is key and you seem to be on top of that

28 days will go by quickly!

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Mandi ... mom of fur kids.. Breeze, Bentley .. and new baby Winter

Azchief

Thanks for the input everyone. I will be brining home my new boy Rosco at 8 weeks. I was thinking the dog door should wait till he gets older also. I've been reading everything I can and will continue to try to come up with all the best options I can.

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Wyatts_Momma

Forgot to add, we had a neighbor come over to let him out as well. At the time I was 45 mins away from work... And my ex was 15....I'm a teacher and can't take a 1.5 break everyday.... But darn that would be great!!!! And my ex only got a half hour lunch but would stretch it to 45 mins... So we finally asked a SAH mom neighbor we had that was absolutely in love with Wyatt!!!!


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rebeccaleigh423

When we got Ellie she was 8 weeks. We put her in her crate when we weren't home. She was fine for 5 hours. I never let it exceed that until recently. She's 5 months, and can hold it for 8 hours if she has to.


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crazyboxerlove

I would avoid the potty pads completely this will confuse the pup more. It takes double the time to get them used to pottying outside when they are older and can hold it for longer periods of time. I had to use potty pads inside the house until they were about 5 months old because they had Parvo at 6 weeks and they were not allowed to go outside due to their weakened immune system, so I really did not have a choice. After they were healthy and had all their shots, I started training them to go outside and it was like starting over again. They would still have accidents in the places that the potty pads were placed early on, and I could not be mad at them because it was ok before. IMO potty pads will confuse the pup more when you start training them to go outside when you want to. The best thing is to put them on a schedule throughout the day and have someone take the pup out during the day at a scheduled time. Having a baby gate gives the pup a lot of freedom at a young age. If you want to crate train (excellent for potty training and this keeps them safe from harm as well when you are not home) schedule someone to come and let the pup out at scheduled time. Puppies love schedules, but consistency is key.

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Chelley ~
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CPR, First Aid & Care for your pets.
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rebeccaleigh423

We tried potty pads with Ellie. But if she decided she had to potty, it was not on a pad. She tore apart any pads that were on the floor.. It was just easier to get her to learn going to the door.


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rebeccaleigh423

I had actually tried getting Ellie a puppy play pen when she was a couple months old.. Figured it would give her a space to play. And our other dog could get a break. That lasted about a week.. Then this happened..


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