[Guest]

Ok, I've read a lot about crate training...what do we do with the puppy on the two days that both my husband and I work 2nd shift?  It is onlly a problem 2X a week...how should I go about with the crate training on those days?

 

[lillyzmomma]

There is a crate training stickey in the training section...

hope it helps...

 

[Guest]

i have read it and it says to try not to leave them in for more than 4 hours...which is a problem on those two days...i just want to know what the best thing to do on those two days...

 

[southerngirls]

is it possible that a friend or family member or maybe a trusted neighbor could come over at some point just to let her out to got potty and play for a bit, then put her back in the kennel? that would be the only thing i could think of

 

[Cuda]

I am so blessed to be self employed and keep Cuda' with me all the time.    I have never had to cage her.     Now I can leave her at home by herself for 4 hours if need be.    I would pay someone to come over if you had no other way.   Bottom line.....the pup will be fine if you have to leave it for a while.    It just makes potty training much more difficult.

 

[lillyzmomma]

See if you can find someone in your area that does pet sitting.  If your comfy with it, they can come in and let your pup out to potty and then play a bit...then recrate...

 

[boxerlove]

How old is she?  Our babies were fine over night in our room even before they were one, she should be fine in a cage.  Make sure you pull her water up a few hours before you leave.  Take her out and run and play with her, get her tired out before you go.  I would feed her a few hours before you go to to make sure she has time to do all her business before you have to leave.  Make sure you leave the cage open whenever you are home so she can go in there on her own too.  She should get used to it pretty quickly, our dogs go in there all the time just for some alone time.  We don't have to crate ours very often (only Ziggi who is under 2) maybe 3-4 times a month but he does fine in it.

If you have touched the blanket or mat that you put in the cage it will have your scent on it which will help calm her too.
We don't leave any toys or chewies in the crate except for a real kong with some peanut butter in it.  We don't want to take a chance on Ziggi choking on something.

 

[Guest]

I don't really know the people in my neighborhood real well..we just moved in...and I really don't know who to ask to help...possibly my mom...but she is very busy herself and has physical disabilities...She is only 7 weeks old i think

 

[lillyzmomma]

You could ask your vet for a refferal or even a local trainer.  I, as a trainer, do give referrals for that sort of thing.  Some trainers will even do it for you.

You could also ask extended family or good friends as well.

Aside from that, I'm not sure what to tell you.

 

[Kate]

If you can't find anyone to stop in and check on the puppy and you can't go home to do it yourself, then the only thing I can think of is to set up an area where she will be safe, have non-spill water available and some toys, food and a newpaper covered potty area. A kitchen, hallway or bathroom that can be blocked off with a child's gate may be a possibility.

 

[Michelle]

I leave Tyson in his crate while I am at work.  He also sleeps in his crate.  I have had no problems thus far...thank goodness.

 

[sharonL]

They will suprise you at being in a crate.  If they can stay in it at night without having to go outside and potty.  They can stay while you are at work. They mostly sleep.  

Like Tyson.  Fiona stays in a kennel.  She goes to work with me most of the time, but she is in a kennel there too. She never has had an accident in her kennel. If I dont got to bed by a certain time, she just goes in the bedroom and gets in it.  She loves her kennel.

 

[BucsFan]

We also leave Dempsey in his crate at night and have no problems with an potty problems in the crate. He does wake up a 6 am sharp to let you know that it is time for him to get some me time and to seek his potty spot

 

[FerrisRules]

I just got a crate for Ferris two days ago, and tomorrow night will be the first night I go to work and leave him in the crate for an extended period of time.  My neighbor was nice enough to offer to stop by and let him out, feed him, let him do his business and get him back in the crate.  If she couldn't do that, then I would have been pretty much forced to do one of three things--give him free roam of the house, which I had been doing for the past two weeks, only to come home to something different destroyed each day-- keep him in the crate for 12 hours(my trainer at PetSmart said it would be okay as long as i didnt feed him or let him drink anything beforehand--yikes)--and the last thing I would want to do would be to take him to the animal shelter.  That ain't gonna happen so there might be a day here and there when Ferris is locked up for longer than usual, but I am sure he will do okay.  
Well, good luck to you, Aquagirl, and I hope that you can find a solution to your problem.  Keep us updated!!

 

[Suchagirl]

Although my dog is gone now.  I will share you my experience.  I got BO when he was 8 weeks old, everything I read before hand said crate training was the way to go.  I purchased a crate that was big enough for him when he was full grown, but we partitioned it in half until he grew out of that half then we removed the partition.  We did this because they say they should just have enough room to lay ( they will not go where they sleep usually.)  Me and my husband work the same shift and no one was home for 8 hours at a time, so BO was crated that whole time.  (They say that dogs don't know time) I dont know if that is true but it helped us feel a little better.  BO had accidents in the crate until he was old enough to hold his urine for that long.  He did have lots of playtime in after we got home from work.  Bo got used to his crate, when he seen us getting ready in the morning he would just go in by himself, or all I had to do was say come on get in your crate and he went right in.

(I think Boxers were humans before.)

 

[CrazieKC]

suchagirl: Kaci does the same thing, in the mornings when they get let in from outside she goes straight to her kennel and lays down b/c she knows that I'll be leaving for work. I've never heard that thing about dogs not knowing time...if that's true it makes me feel MUCH better about having to leave them in their kennels for so long each day.