Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Flip

Original poster

Please help clarify first night crate training for me

24 replies

feelinghopeful · 13/09/2012 09:04

The breeder says to leave the crate door open overnight, but I thought the whole point of crate training was to close the door? Have I got this completely wrong? Please someone come along and clarify for me!

Also can you tell me if I'm right or wrong on these points:

If you hear the puppy crying in the night you're supposed to ignore, or you can go and check to see if they've soiled their crate, but keeping it all very low key and not looking at the puppy etc.

Set my alarm for 2am to go and let the puppy out in the garden for a wee. Do I praise lavishly if the puppy does wee and give a treat? Or do I still keep it very low key and quiet?

Get up early initially at 6am to let it out for another wee and graduallly stretch that out until she can last until 7am (when we usually get up).

Many thanks to anyone who answers!

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 13/09/2012 09:15

I don't see any point in leaving the door open, I'd be up all night worried he was busy chewing electricity cables or something.

Mine hasn't howled at night, just when first left for ten minutes for the first two nights. I'm up late and DP is up early so we've pretty much just put him in to his when I go to bed and DP lets him out when he gets up...though I'll need to get up earlier than I normally do at weekends.

Original poster

feelinghopeful · 13/09/2012 19:59

Thanks very much Tabulah. She's now in her crate and was fine there while I did the kid's bedtimes. She's fast asleep after a very busy day of exploring her new home and meeting us all.
Bit is it like babies and if she sleeps all evening she won't sleep tonight??

OP posts:

Original poster

feelinghopeful · 13/09/2012 19:59

OP posts:

Puppypanic · 13/09/2012 20:08

I'm sure she will sleep tonight as she will be exhausted although saying that if it is her first night away there may be some howling or whimpering to contend with. I would definitely close the door on the crate, make it as cosy as possible and she will love her little den.

Congratulations btw! What breed is she?

ByTheWay1 · 13/09/2012 20:21

Congrats.... we never had any trouble settling our Whisky into his crate - every time I went to the loo, cooked tea, answered the door etc... for the first few days he went in his crate, door shut. We shut every night - he still tootles off there when he is tired (he's 1 now).

He never howled, he did soil it a couple of times - until we made the interior smaller so he could just lie down /stand/turn round. We got up at 2 and 6 for the first 3 weeks, then it moved to 4 and 7 (7 suits us as a get up time) for another 2 weeks. Then we dropped the 4.

Puppies sleep a LOT!

tabulahrasa · 13/09/2012 20:43

It's a lot like having a baby, well mine seems to be. He's up for about an hour and a half in the morning, then sleeps for about an hour and a half, then he's up for half an hour and sleeps for about 45 minutes repeatedly till evening where he's up for about an hour and a half until I take him out before I go to bed, sometimes he wakes up for about half an hour then, sometimes it's more like lifting a toddler to go to the toilet, lol

tabulahrasa · 13/09/2012 20:45

I mean he goes to sleep for ages after he's been awake in the evening - otherwise that doesn't make any sense

LST · 13/09/2012 20:56

We didn't. He was 7wo when we had our collie and he never made a peep.

Original poster

feelinghopeful · 13/09/2012 21:18

Thanks all. I've just taken her outside and she did a poo - cue lavish praise from me and top notch liver piece treat. But she turned her nose up at it!

I think it was the chicken mince lunch I gave her - nothing now seems as delicious as that. She also turned her nose up at kibble tea time.

I'm following the breeder's advice of the raw diet (including things like scrambled egg and carrots??) but it seems the shop bought treats just don't cut the mustard for her now. Hmpf!

She's a miniature schnauzer by the way - dark pepper and salt and totally gorgeous. Wish we could just agree on a name now. Whatever one DC likes, the other strongly objects too!

OP posts:

fanoftheinvisibleman · 13/09/2012 21:39

I hope you don't mind me borrowing your thread feelinghopeful to ask a quick question too.

We get our puppy in 2 weeks and if I'm honest it hadn't occurred to me I'd need to get up in the night unless the puppy woke me. We go to bed around midnight and get up around 6.15 am. What sort of time would I need to get him up through the night?

Sorry to hijack, just seemed pointless starting another thread. Congratulations on your new puppy too.

fanoftheinvisibleman · 13/09/2012 21:39

I hope you don't mind me borrowing your thread feelinghopeful to ask a quick question too.

Sorry to hijack, just seemed pointless starting another thread. Congratulations on your new puppy too.

schoolchauffeur · 13/09/2012 21:49

Nice to see someone else with mini schnauzers- we have two. One of them is food obsessed and would sell his own granny for a single piece of kibble, the other would probably turn his nose up at dinner at The Ritz!
We did crate training and were told not to leave door open but put them to bed at 11.00 and get up at 6.00. They never made a mess or did a wee in the crate ever. Gradually they could go longer. We abandoned the crate by about 6 months as we were then leaving the door open so they could get a drink if the wanted it and we would come down and find them both sleeping under the kitchen table! We never got up for them in the night.

Now they are four and sometimes we come down late at weekend ( after 8.00) and they are still fast asleep.

topknob · 13/09/2012 21:52

Not meaning to sound funny but have had a few various young 8 week old pups around at various times and I have never got up in the night to let them out. They all learnt toliet training in a couple of weeks. As for the crate I thought you shut them in it.

IDismyname · 13/09/2012 21:56

I've never got up in the night to let puppies out. I've been up at 5.30 if there's a hullaballoo.

Close the crate. Its their space and where they feel safe. My working cocker now 6) always sleeps in hers - but with door now open.

Puppypanic · 13/09/2012 22:24

I never set the clock to get up either. If he whined to go out it was a quick plonk in the garden and then back in the crate and me straight back to bed. No lights, chatting or eye contact. He is 4.5 months old now and sleeps until we get up be that 7am or 9am. He likes to lie in bless him.

SrirachaGirl · 13/09/2012 22:34

We got up at midnight the first night and then went to the 11pm/5:30 am schedule mentioned above. Just shut the crate door and let them cry it out if they make a big noisy fuss. It should only take a couple of days for them to settle immediately once they go in their crate for the night. Don't panic about the early starts; Lucy is 7 months old now and sleeps in until at least 7:30 on the weekend because we abandoned the crate and let her sleep on our bed.

billybobbatman · 13/09/2012 22:51

Hi feelinghopeful,
I wonder if you have a sister of my new little mini schanauzer boy. He is dark pepper & salt and we collected him at the weekend (he'll be 10 weeks old tomorrow) and his breeder also recommended the raw diet. And he is totally fab!!

Original poster

feelinghopeful · 14/09/2012 10:23

Hi billy, yes I think we may do! I have pm'd you.
And first night went amazingly well - settled her in her crate when she as very sleepy and came down this morning at 7 to find her wagging her tail happily! Did Not expect that!

I've used it again briefly this morning while I was upstairs getting stuff sorted out, and she went to sleep again. But presumably it would be better to get a play pen type arrangement to give her a bit more space in the future?

Has anyone used one of those?

OP posts:

billybobbatman · 14/09/2012 11:08

What a small world!! We are very lucky, they seem to be very well cared for little dogs.

Glad your first night went well. I have a playpen on order, should arrived today. Will let you know how we get on with it.

JellyTeddy · 15/09/2012 13:23

Ladies, I am due to pick up new puppy tomorrow and have my crate ready. Did you section it off for a small puppy?

I have bought a medium size crate which will be far too big for small 10wo puppy, so do I leave half for it to sleep and in other half place a puppy pad, water & toys?

BTW my parent have a miniature schnauzer - amazing little dog, great with my retired parents and young kids.

billybobbatman · 16/09/2012 10:17

We have a medium crate too but once we put his bed in there isn't space for anything else - but I have heard sectioning off abit can be a good idea but haven't used puppy pads or newspaper and just ensure we take him outside to toilet very regularly - a trainer told me if they are encouraged to go in the house on pads then they can think it is OK and house training can take longer. Ours is pretty much house trained now at 10 weeks and was from day 1 so does seem to work.
Enjoy your new puppy... what is he/she?

myermay · 16/09/2012 20:55

we got our puppy at 8 wks old and have never got up in the night to him. For first 5 nights i put newspaper in crate as well incase he needed to go, but he only did twice. other than that he sleeps from about 10:30-7-7:30ish, without a peep. We tend to lift his water bowl up at about 7 only giving him a sip before bedtime.

I was told if you keep getting up to their whining then they expect it? good luck with your puppy

JellyTedd · 17/09/2012 09:17

First night done with no problems.
The breeder told us to leave a puppy pad or newspaper in the front of the crate and her bed at the back of the crate. We left her a few toys in too. We put her in at 10.30 and she cried for about 5 minutes. Then never heard another thing.

I got up at 6.30 this morning and she was still asleep. I took her in the garden, she did a poop and 2 wees.

BTW she is a black American cockerpoo.

Sushiqueen · 17/09/2012 13:59

We got a 10 wk old Cocker Spaniel at the weekend and have tried the crate both nights. She hates it so far. Gets herself into a right state and has soiled the bedding several times during the night.

Am trying to get her used to the crate being around during the day but she is not keen to go in there.

Don't think it helped that at the breeders they were all in outside kennels, so there was no house training done at all.

Flip