Talk to me about putting a puppy in a crate/cage thingy

[cocolepew]

Is it a good idea?

Do they toilit train(?) in it?

What size in relation to the pup should it be?

[waits for Buda]

TIA

toilet

Definately a good idea. I prefer the idea of them being a den than a crate!

I put our 8 week old pup in one at 11.00pm and let him out at 6.00 and he does not wee or poo in there all night. Let him out straight away he will then wee and poo and give him the command and within a week he is pretty much trained.

We have had no wees or poos in the house the whole time. I would always use a den/crate.

Also gives the dog security and their own place to go. Also prevents you from having to puppy proof the whole house as their is a safe place to leave the puppy for a short while. It is easier for the puppy to learn to be left on their own if they have a crate and are secure in it.

If you put them in the car the puppy will again feel more secure and get used to the car quicker. If you stay away from home the dog will settle quicker if they have their crate to be in.

By using a clicker the pup now 9 weeks old will "go to his bed" when asked.

Thanks I'm out of the house for 4 or 5 hours so we thought it might be good for her. Do they have to stay in it when they're older and, hopefully, more sensible?

We have a crate but i've never shut the door to it.

It's a safe haven for him and it's his bed.

I felt a bit pressured into getting one but i really don't like the idea of it or the look of it.

However when he sleeps in his bed, he wee's in it!!!! When he sleeps in his (opened) crate he doesn't. Very bizarre.

What breed are you getting? You must promise to post pictures.

A chocolate cocker/lab mix

My mate says it makes them feel secure, my house is open plan so not anywhere to put here except kitchen

Coco and I are having babies together.

When you say a crate, what do you mean exactly? Like a giant guinea pig cage or a travelling box thing?

And a clicker?

Sorry coco! Just saw this now. Am laughing at you waiting for advice from me as this time last year I was clueless (still am) and a week after getting out dog iwanted to get rid of her!

Anyway. We did crate cos jenny said. Jenny is a good friendwho is oracle on many things. She has crates for her dogs and about 4other friends do too.

Our crateis a bigblack metal cage. She never goes in of her own accord. Just plops down and sleeps anywhere. But at night and if I was going out we put her in. She gets a treat put in, runs in after and door isshut. Also put in her blankie.

Seems to work for us and others we know.

We have a big plastic tub style basket for her but she doesn't like it much.

Thank you and to Jenny

TMAM it's like a metal cage for them to stay in. Sounds worse than it is

I presume a clicker is a thing that, erm, clicks [another idiot]

We borrowed a crate from a friend. tbh I was a bit dubious at the start but made it very cosy and put a blanket over it so it was very much a den as minimu says rather than a cage.

I gated off the kitchen and made sure the only nice warm area to lie on in the kitchen was her crate. When I got her home on the first day i put treats in it throughout the day so by the evening she was popping in and out of it the whole time quite happily to check if there was food in there.

Now I have to admit the first night I didn't shut the door, but that's because I'm a bit of a wuss and I slept downstairs on the sofa bed in the kitchen. She slept the whole night in the crate with the door open so the next night I shut it.

I wasn't as brave as minimu and for the first few weeks I got up in the night to let her out for a wee. However after a communications breakdown wih dh I came down at the normal time in the morning, no wees or poos in the crate and only discovered later that neither of us had let her out since 10pm the night before....after that I didn't get up in the night

Crate training in the day took a bit longer as she howled and barked if I put her in there if I needed to go out. I did lots of ignoring, esp when you first come into the room (I always put the kettle on and pottered about without looking at her). When she stopped making a fuss and clamed down then I'd let her out.

She's 13 weeks now and grew to big for the small crate so I'm now using the dd's old play pen and that has a basket in it and a blanket on the rest of the floor. She loves it (is in there now having a nap). It's great to know when I'm out she is safe and cosy and not roaming around the kitchen chewing on the kitchen cupboards.

I've also clicker trained her an 'in your bed' command. Hilarious as she literally RACES into the pen and leaps into her bed.

There are a few clicker threads in the pet section. minimu is the clicker guru. BRILLIANT bit of kit for dog training. I highly recommend getting one and a clicker training book.

We heart our clicker.

I'm not sure what Kenya's finest pet stores have to offer, but I shall investigate clickers and crates as it sounds like it makes life easier.

Ours of course will have an outdoor kennel and play area.

Can you train them where to poop? It drives me mad that our current dog poops in the middle of the lawn.

This time I want to do it all DIFFERENTLY.