[WGfg4CCZ]

Is keeping your new pupp in a crate/cage while you are at work the best thing to do? I work from 8-4 mon-friday, and was wondering if by taking my puppy out in the morning for 30 minutes, then keeping him in a cage while at work is that the best way to keep him from pooping in the house and chewing up things?? I just want my puppy to become used to not going in the house and waiting for me to let him out. Is this a good idea?

[SHaEFU0i]

How old is the puppy? What I read on another thread here is that you can crate a puppy for as many hours as the puppy's age in months, plus 1. So a 4 month old puppy can stay in the crate 5 hours, a 6 month puppy can stay in 7 hours, etc. Of course every puppy is different, it's just a rule of thumb.

[feseEscaple]

There are several good threads on crating. I'm sure the super mod squad will post a link...

[spoddersedpn]

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=5681

[feseEscaple]

HA!! Told ya...

[enlinnyGoob]

As noted above there a few sites out there that reference the 4 months old = 4 hours rule of thumb, and the monthly increase.

Not that I'm an expert, but we adopted a ~12 week old pup from a local shelter who wasn't housebroken, and crating helped with the housebreaking.

We started off at 4 hours, with 1 of us coming home at lunch to let her out. It took about 2 weeks to completely housebreak her without accidents, and she never went inside her crate. We progressed slowly, and she was pretty good the entire way. She's now 9 months and does 8 hours without any accidents, but that's her limit. The key thing is when you are first housebreaking, take the pup out like every 20 or 30 minutes and stay out there until it does its business, and then praise like crazy.

Best of luck.

[Edqpdnuu]

Crating a puppy from 8-4 is too long to expect them to not have a potty accident. You really want to keep accidents in the crate to an absolute minimum. Here is the website I always reccommend:
http://www.openpaw.org/Pet_Basics/housetraining.html

Housetraining

House-soiling is a spatial problem. Your dog has been allowed to eliminate in the wrong place. House-soiling quickly becomes a bad habit because dogs develop strong location, substrate, and olfactory preferences for their improvised indoor toilet areas.

To housetrain your dog quickly, humanely and permanently, you’ll need a dog crate, a number of chew toys and some very tasty treats, such as freeze-dried liver.

These are your main goals:
1. Prevent mistakes.
2. Teach your dog where you would like him to eliminate.


Prevent Mistakes
Mistakes set a bad precedent and create bad habits, which can be hard to break. Consequently, you must prevent mistakes at all cost. Whenever you are not at home, leave your dog in a long-term confinement area, such as a single room indoors with easy-to-clean floors (bathroom, kitchen or utility room) – this will be your dog’s playroom.

Provide your dog with fresh water, a number of stuffed chew toys for entertainment, a comfortable bed in one corner, and a doggy toilet in the corner diagonally opposite from his bed. Your dog will naturally want to eliminate as far as possible from his bed, and so will soon develop the good habit of using his toilet. Good habits are just as hard to break as bad habits!

For a doggy toilet, use a litter box lined with either a roll of turf (ideally) or absorbent housebreaking pads sprinkled with soil or grass clippings, or a litter box filled with concrete pavers, if your dog will eventually be eliminating on concrete.

Thus your dog will develop olfactory and substrate preferences for eliminating on soil, grass or concrete.

Long-term confinement confines your dog’s natural behaviors, such as urinating and defecating, to an area that is protected, thus preventing any mistakes around the house when you are not there. Long-term confinement also helps your dog quickly develop a strong preference for eliminating on soil, grass or concrete.

Teach Your Dog to Eliminate in the Right Place
When you are at home, confine your dog to a short-term confinement area with a number of stuffed chew toys for entertainment. A portable dog crate makes an ideal doggy den. Alternatively, keep your dog on a short leash fastened to an eye-hook in the base board near her bed, or attach the leash to your belt. This way your dog may settle down beside you while you read, work at the computer, or watch television.

Every hour on the hour, say "Let’s go pee and poop" (or some other appropriate toilet instruction), and hurry your dog, on leash, to her toilet (in your yard, or at curbside outside the front door of your house or apartment building). Stand still with your dog on leash and repeat the instruction to eliminate. Give your dog three minutes to empty her/himself.

When your dog eliminates, praise her/him enthusiastically and offer three very special treats, such as freeze-dried liver. Most puppies will urinate within two minutes on each trip to a toilet area, and defecate within three minutes on every other trip. Once your dog realizes that s/he can cash in her urine and feces for tasty treats, s/he will want to eliminate in her toilet area, because soiling the house just does not have comparable fringe benefits. Moreover, after a dozen or so repetitions, you will have taught your dog to eliminate on command.

If your dog does not eliminate during the allotted three-minute toilet break, put her/him back inside the crate for another hour. The purpose of short-term close confinement is to prevent mistakes around the house at those times when you are home but unable to devote undivided attention to your dog, AND to predict when your dog needs to eliminate. Confining a dog to a small space (e.g., a dog crate) inhibits elimination, since the dog does not want to soil her/his sleeping area. Consequently, your dog will want to go immediately upon release from confinement – especially since hurrying to the toilet area will jiggle her bladder and bowels. Since you choose when and where to release your dog, you may choose when your puppy eliminates, and since you can predict when your dog needs to eliminate, you may be there to show her where to go, to reward her/him for going, and to inspect and immediately clean up after your dog.

Never confine a puppy or an un-house-trained adult dog to a crate for longer than an hour. A dog confined too long will be forced to soil the crate and become accustomed to a soiled living area, making the dog extremely difficult to housetrain.

If your dog is sufficiently vaccinated and able to go on walks, make sure s/he eliminates in the yard or in front of your house before each walk. If your dog does not go within three minutes, put her/him back in the crate and try again an hour later. If your dog does go, praise and reward her/him as usual and then say “Let’s go for a walk.” With a no-potty/no-walk policy, you will soon have a very a speedy urinator/defecator. Moreover, elimination close to home facilitates clean-up and disposal; you will not have to stroll the neighborhood weighed down with a bag of dog doo.

For a more detailed description of housetraining, read BEFORE You Get Your Puppy.

[Edqpdnuu]

Ok, I'm hopeful the article I posted above is helpful, but it is not the one I had intended to post. Got off track, I guess? Same website, which is very helpful for a lot of questions.

http://www.openpaw.org/Pet_Basics/confinement.html

Long term confinement
When you’re not at home, you’ll want to keep your puppy confined to a fairly small puppy playroom, such as the kitchen, bathroom, or utility room. You can also use an exercise pen to cordon off a small section of a room. This is your puppy’s long-term confinement area. It should include:

1. A comfortable bed
2. A bowl of fresh water
3. Plenty of hollow chewtoys (stuffed with dog food)
4. A doggy toilet in the farthest corner from her bed

Obviously, your puppy will feel the need to bark, chew, and eliminate throughout the course of the day, and so she must be left somewhere she can satisfy her needs without causing any damage or annoyance. Your puppy will most probably eliminate as far as possible from her sleeping quarters—in her doggy toilet. By removing all chewable items from the puppy playpen—with the exception of hollow chewtoys stuffed with kibble—you will make chewing chewtoys your puppy's favorite habit, a good habit! Long-term confinement allows your puppy to teach herself to use an appropriate dog toilet, to want to chew appropriate chewtoys, and to settle down quietly.


The Purpose of Long-term Confinement:
1. To confine the puppy to an area where chewing and toilet behavior is acceptable, so the puppy does not make any chewing or housesoiling mistakes around the house, while you are absent mentally or physically (prevention)
2. To maximize the likelihood that the puppy will learn to use the provided toilet, to chew only chewtoys (the only chewables available in the playroom), and to settle down calmly without barking (pro-action)

When You Are at Home
Enjoy short play and training sessions hourly. If you cannot pay full attention to your puppy’s every single second, put your pup in his Puppy Playpen, where a suitable toilet and toys are available. Or, for periods of no longer than an hour at a time, confine your puppy to his Doggy Den (short-term close confinement area), such as a portable dog crate. Every hour, release your puppy and quickly take him to his doggy toilet before your play/train session. Your puppy's short-term confinement area should include a comfortable bed (if your pup won't chew or soil the bedding), and plenty of hollow chewtoys (stuffed with dog food).

It is much easier to watch your pup if he is settled down in a single spot. Either you may move the crate so that your puppy is in the same room as you, or you may want to confine your pup to a different room to start preparing him for times when he will be left at home alone. If you do not like the idea of confining your puppy to a dog crate, you may tie the leash to your belt and have the pup settle down at your feet. Tie the puppy's leash to a heavy piece of furniture, or fasten the leash to an eye-hook in the baseboard next to your puppy's bed, basket, or mat. To prevent the chewtoys from rolling out of reach, also tie them down.

The Purpose of Short-term Close Confinement:
1. To confine the puppy to an area where chewing behavior is acceptable so the puppy does not make chewing mistakes around the house
2. To make the puppy a chewtoyaholic (since chewtoys are the only chewables available and they are stuffed with food) and to teach the puppy to settle down calmly and happily for periodic quiet moments
3. To prevent housesoiling mistakes around the house and to predict when the puppy needs to eliminate. Dogs naturally avoid soiling their den, so closely confining a puppy to his bed strongly inhibits urination and defecation. This means the pup will need to relieve himself when released from the crate each hour. You will then be there to show the puppy the right spot, reward him for eliminating in the right spot, and then enjoy a short play/training session with the delightfully empty puppy.


Train Your Puppy to Train Himself
Housetraining and chewtoy-training will be quick and easy if you adhere to the puppy confinement plan above, which prevents the puppy from making mistakes and prompts the puppy to teach herself household etiquette. If you vary from the program, you will likely experience problems. Unless you enjoy problems, you must reprimand yourself for any mistakes you allow your puppy to make.