happyappygirl
Rocky Mountain High!!
we ONLY give rawhide when they're IN the crate (as in locked in) not otherwise, they get too protective of it and i HATE stepping on the slimy stuffcattitude said:Rawhide
Need some advice about...
- Thread starter SamSpade
- Start date
cattitude
My Sweetest Boy
happyappygirl said:we ONLY give rawhide when they're IN the crate (as in locked in) not otherwise, they get too protective of it and i HATE stepping on the slimy stuff
I don't give rawhide at all. It can clog the intestines. Poses a different problem for puppies who don't really chew hard enough to eat it, but it contains a lot of protein which is generally too rich for a puppy's digestive system.
kwillia
n/a
I've done lots of reading on rawhide and I'm aware of the risk. However, my schnauzers love to gnaw and are very hard chewers and get alot of gratification from regular gnaw fest so I give them those flat rawhide strips that they sell at BJ's. It's a big ole bag that last quite a while.cattitude said:
What worked for me was to leave the crate out at all times and just gate the puppy to the kitchen with puppy pads. That way if the dog missed the pad and piddled off the pad, it was an easy clean up. We did this just when we were gone during the day and when we went to bed. The pads stayed out until our dog got the hang of going potty outside. We still leave the door open for our dog to go in whenever he feels like going in. It has become his safe haven.
kwillia
n/a
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
That's what I tend to believe - and thanks for the other advice - but here's my dilemma:cattitude said:
I leave the house very early in the morning - WELL before sunrise. I get home sometime after sundown - very late. By all that's fair to the dog - 12-14 hours in a crate is just unfair. At least, it seems to me the only thing I can hope to do is keep the poop in the crate, because an 11-week old puppy will never last that long.
When my wife returns from her travels - she can come home at least, at lunch time, give them a quick potty break, and some attention. When she's not around, that means an occasional pet sitter. STILL means, otherwise - six to eight hours minimum inside the crate, trying to "hold it".
Forcing a puppy to either soil his crate or otherwise "hold it" *also* seems to break the lesson of crate training. We're just not able to "be there" so much of the time. I just don't know what else to do; they stay in the crate all night, until I let them out in the morning. They stay in, in the evening unless I watch them. But during the day, they're on their own. And I don't have a good idea, hence, this thread.
I'm not disputing that you know how to do this; I just don't see that keeping them IN a soiled crate five days a week is going to help them learn.
kwillia
n/a
I dealt with this issue by purchasing a baby gate. I confined my pup to my kitchen. I was able to control what the pup had access to. It also made for easier clean up when the pup had it's occasional accident. I did consistently place a puppy pad in the same spot each day with the hope that the pup would use it for it's business. It worked most times, but on occassion I'd find it shredded to smitherens. By giving her the kitchen as her daily domain, she had an area to sleep in, an area to potty in and room to play with various toys. It worked well for us.SamSpade said:
happyappygirl
Rocky Mountain High!!
i just don't want potty IN the house, much less in the kitchen...Do you have a garage? Or shed? If so, you can get an ex-pen (portable play yard) and confine them out there....I'd put wood shavings in that to absorb any messiness so they don't become averse to being poopie.
MysticalMom
Witchy Woman
I wish I had crate trained. My dogs, while housebroken, are just plain bad.
kwillia
n/a
I had no problem with cleanup because it was limited to the space of the kitchen. I get home, the pup goes out, I do a quick mop of the kitchen floor with bleach water and all is back to normal. In my case, it was really only a few weeks of dealing with that because we still did the regular potty training routine. When we were home the pup was never unsupervised and she was quick to learn that potty business was meant for outdoors. I chose to give my pup the option to play with her toys during the day rather than stay confined. The layout of my house made the kitchen my best choice for giving her a safe environment while I wasn't home. Others may have a utility room or other choice available. Putting her in the garage was not something I even considered.happyappygirl said:
Do you have a garage? Or shed? If so, you can get an ex-pen (portable play yard) and confine them out there....I'd put wood shavings in that to absorb any messiness so they don't become averse to being poopie.
Softballkid
No Longer the Kid
cattitude said:Rawhide
That is true, but only if you give them to them to often, we give my Rotti about 1 ever 2 weeks, because one every now and then is healthy for them (so Ive read) , other than that, his speacial treat for being good is an apple.. which HE LOVES!! he's gotten to the point, to where if your cutting anything, he'll just start going through some motions (sit, lay down, paw, high 5, all that
)
Softballkid
No Longer the Kid
happyappygirl said:they know stuff and they know YOU know they know stuff, so why be redundant and repeat themselves?typical rottie behavior.
I have 3 Rotts (one very large stud dog), 2 JRTs and 2 ACDs. Life is good.
Did your learn how to open up the cabnets?? Mine did, and needless to say, about half a box of treats were missing when I caught him
I would love to come see your Rottis sometime 
Bustem' Down
Give Peas a Chance
happyappygirl said:
You should meet my dogs, I think that they think that they're people. My younger one has no problem with a crate, but we got her as a pup from a breeder. The pound puppy definately does not like the crate, but I make him suck it up when we travel.
cattitude
My Sweetest Boy
SamSpade said:
Don't take this wrong but you probably should have gotten older dogs. If left long enough, the puppies will go potty in their crate and then you aren't really getting anywhere.
You say they stay in the crate in the evening unless you watch them. Guess what? You watch them! They really shouldn't be in the crate when you are home. My dogs came in the bathroom with me, the bedroom (unless it was bedtime). If I was cleaning, then they were in that room..on a leash or gated in the room with me. PITA? Pretty much, but it's what puppies are all about. No different that a human baby, really.
Mine and Otter's schedule pretty much revolves around our dogs. We are fortunate that we have a son who leaves for work early and gets home in the middle of the day. Before I took on my two most recent puppies (who are young adults now) I had to be sure I was going to have his help so that the puppies didn't spend all day in a crate.
Softballkid
No Longer the Kid
When we got mine, my neighbor let him out around 9ish, I worked down Webster Feild, I drove 30 minutes every day to come home and let him out around lunch time, then drove back, and then she came home around 2:30ish and let him out again.. and then he stayed out until bed time...
And being in the crate while we are home that shows them neglect, and you definitly dont want to do that...if there very bad, I say ok for about 15 minutes or so...other than that..nah...not a good thing to do to them..
Its hard to do, but ya gotta find ways to get each dog as much attention as ya can, ALWAYS
And being in the crate while we are home
that shows them neglect, and you definitly dont want to do that...if there very bad, I say ok for about 15 minutes or so...other than that..nah...not a good thing to do to them..Its hard to do, but ya gotta find ways to get each dog as much attention as ya can, ALWAYS
I agree with this. Sam, with your lifestyle, cats would have been a better choice for you and BlueJay. However, now that the pups are family members, I think you should consider the kitchen rather than the crate.cattitude said:
Also, can't some small dogs be taught to use a litterbox? It seems to me that I've heard that before but I've never known anyone who did it.
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
Bluejay is ***EXTREMELY*** allergic to cats. She once got really messed up because she rented a car that had cat hair in it.vraiblonde said:
I don't know if everyone is getting all of what I'm saying, but I am taking into consideration what advice I'm getting.
They ARE being kept in a room with a tile floor - the old laundry room in the basement. It has its own room to the outside. Hopefully, this is the room we will eventually install the doggie door. We intend to get the kind that will only open for our pups.
When I come home - I watch them. The whole time. Well, as much as humanly possible. SOMEHOW, I have to crate them when I'm in the shower, making my dinner, taking a nap etc. But otherwise, I regard it as being a parent for the time being - until they're dogs, and are able to deal with this on their own.
Inside a year, we should also have a couple adopted children. We want the children to have pets, but we want the pets to be adapted to the home before they arrive. And there are many other benefits to having a dog as a companion. We got two for the same reason I always had two cats previously - companionship for each other, when we aren't around. For this reason, we also wanted littermates, if at all possible.
I realize that crate training will be difficult because of the way we conduct our lives - but - you know, somehow I remember that in the past, generations of people trained dogs to go outside without having to completely disrupt their lives. I have to think we'll adapt just fine.