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While not everyone uses crates, most of us do when our dogs are puppies or adolescents. Providing too much freedom in the house unsupervised during these stages of development can set our dogs up for trouble. Crates can be great tools in this process. But they should be temporary tools that we wean our dogs off from once they are well-behaved in the house when unsupervised.
Romeo was acclimated to a crate from the first day we brought him home. I took two weeks to shape going into the crate on his own and getting comfortable before I ever locked him in the crate and left. I used an ex-pen during that time when I could not be closely supervising him. He learned starting from day one that the crate is a great place where you can eat, sleep, play with toys, and feel safe and comfortable.
He has been crated when left alone until recently. For several months, we have been leaving him out of the crate if we were outside but still at home. We might be out of the house for a minute or a couple of hours while working outside. He did fine. I could have started this process sooner, but it was such a part of our routine that it was easy to stick with it.
Ninety-nine percent of the time when I am ready to leave, Romeo is in his crate before I can even say “kennel up”. Why mess with something that is working so well? But, now that Romeo is two years old (June 2011), it’s time to wean him off the crate. Last week, when we headed out, he was in his crate again. But this time I left the door open. We were gone for a couple of hours. He did fine.
Since then, we have been leaving him out of the crate when we go. My husband and I are seldom both gone for more than a few hours. In the past week, Romeo has been left out of his crate (with his big sister, Jahzara) several times, from less than an hour up to four hours. Each time, he has done very well.
The true test was when we left him home with the bathroom doors open. Previously, we’d been closing them, since Romeo’s favorite “looking for fun” activity is getting into the toilet paper. Toilet paper was untouched when we arrived home a few hours later. Woo-hoo!!
I’m hesitant to pack away the crate. Not because Romeo needs it, but because it has become such a comfortable habit. He still goes into the crate when we’re ready to leave. He still goes into his crate when he wants something – like a bully stick to chew. To Romeo, the crate is a magical place that makes good things happen. I’ll be just a little bit sad to see it go.
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I work all day, and my 10 week old puppy sleeps in his Crate and has a Pen to play in. My Question to you is, when I come home from working when should I take my Puppy out of the Pen to interact with me? I don’t want him Peeing on the floor, and I know he’s been coopt up in there all day.
Hi Denise. Ten week old puppies should be taken out to potty at least every couple of hours. Hopefully you have someone coming in to let your pup out frequently! When you get home, you should immediately take your pup out to potty and then you can play/interact with him once he’s had a chance to potty. We can create medical issues if we ask a pup to hold it longer than they really should or are able to!
My puppy is 5 months old still waking up at 230 every morning. Any suggestions also we still have her in the crate at night and when we leave during the day.
Hi Cheryl, most pups by 5 months should be able to sleep through the night. Two things I would consider: (1) is there a possible medical issue that prevents your pup from sleeping through the night? Might want to talk to your vet. Does your pup get up needing to potty or just gets up for no clear reason? (2) Sometimes it becomes a habit. Might have started out needing to potty but now has gotten used to getting up. IF you do get up to take the pup out, make sure it is just to go potty and right back to bed. Don’t interact any more than necessary, keep it low key, so your pup isn’t getting attention or other rewards for getting up in the middle of the night.