[Gerin]

Hello All!

We recently purchased a 12 week old beagle that we named Molly. This was a birthday gift for our son. I haven't had a puppy for quite some time and am rediscovering that they are a lot of work. I have a few problems:

1st: We have to leave her in laundry room during the day while we are at work. She has food, water, toys, bed, light and potty pads. (It's far too cold right now to stay outside) So I have a fairly large mess to clean when I get home (stomps in the poop and tracks it everywhere on the floor and walls)

2nd: I can't leave a puppy in a crate for 8 hours. That's just way too long isn't it?

3rd: How to potty train and not confuse her since we are only home evenings and weekends.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Tucker]

I would suggest putting her in the crate at night for a few hours. I think at 12 weeks she should be able to go 3 or 4 hours beteen potty breaks so take her out every few hours and encourage her to potty. When she does, rewards big time. If you have a trusted friend that could let her out during the day, that would be best. Other than that, I don't know. I have never had to potty train, but I have heard a lot of advice on the forum.

 

[Gerin]

She seems to be sleeping through the night without waking. (on our bed) I know, bad habit to start. Do you think she can handle sleeping in the crate through the night, especially if I bring it into our bedroom?

Thanks!

 

[Brien]

That's a tough one. Because crate training is the best way to potty train a dog. But 8 hours is simply too long to expect them to hold it at that age.

So what I would consider is buying a portable pen and put it in your laundry room. Make it small enough for food, water and sleeping with an area for the dog to relieve himself. We did this with very good results. What we would do is section off part of the pen with a 2x4 piece of wood and put newspaper down. So he knew there was a designated potty area within the pen. This will also help with cleaning up since you won't have the dog tracking poop all over the place.

 

[Gerin]

Thanks for the info.! I'm thinking that our timing was bad. We have a very nice fenced yard that I know she will love during the day. However, we live in northern New Mexico and we have currently had daytime temps in the low 30's. At what age (with a well insulated dog house) do you recommend letting a dog stay out during the day?

 

[star0513]

Hi!

Here is what I did for crate-training, and it worked great. Sebastian was crated during the day while I was at work, and I came home at lunch to let him out. That way, he was never in there more than 4 hours at a time. Hopefully you or someone close to you can let your girl out during the day...it will make it so much easier since their little bladders just can't hold it that long. I was told that they can hold it for their age (in months)+1, so at 12 weeks, she should be able to hold it at least 3-4 hours.

When you are home with her during the evenings and weekends, take her out ALOT, and lots of praise every time she goes outside. Never give her a chance to make a mistake.

For night time, I would make her sleep in the crate all night until she is completely housebroken. Once I felt comfortable that Sebastian wasn't going to potty or get into some other sort of trouble during the night, I let him sleep in my bed.

Hope this helps!

 

[Brien]

Originally Posted By: GerinThanks for the info.! I'm thinking that our timing was bad. We have a very nice fenced yard that I know she will love during the day. However, we live in northern New Mexico and we have currently had daytime temps in the low 30's. At what age (with a well insulated dog house) do you recommend letting a dog stay out during the day?

I'd like to see a couple more months or hit 20 lbs. before she's put outside in the cold temp. She needs some meat on her bones first. Also, we use one of those igloo dog houses which is good for keeping them warm in the cold temps.

 

[Gerin]

Thanks for all of the advice. Last night we let her sleep in her crate with a nice cozy fleece. I put the crate next to our bed and she did great! I am so excited. Hopefully she keeps it up. I got up once at 12:30 because she was whimpering and took her to go potty. She didn't pee so I took her back to the crate and she went back to sleep. So the first evening of crate training was excellent! As long as the crate is near us she seems happy.

 

[Brien]

One final word of advice. Your dog is going to play to your weakness by whining, crying, barking, being restless, doing whatever she can to get you to let her out. Don't listen to her. Be strong and stick to your guns. If you don't it will continue and get worse.

We ignored Bodie when he first started crate training and within 2-3 days the whining stopped.

Also, if you haven't done so create a schedule for her. This should include potty times, eating, drinking, etc. Have your whole family stick to it. As an example, Bodie was never given water after 6 pm. And he could sleep through the night without having to go. Your dog will appreciate the consistency and it will help you as well.