Just got my new pup!! ...and I need some advice...

3089 Views 22 Replies 13 Participants Last post by hawaiibeagle, Oct 15, 2007

hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · Oct 9, 2007

3

Hey all! I'm the proud owner of an 8 week old little male Beagle. I picked him up on Friday and have been doing my best with this little guy. This is my first dog. So far things have been going pretty good. He's super quiet and sleeps A LOT, which is surprising as I was expecting a little ball of energy. I'm sure that's soon to come though.

I'm new here and have been looking on the net for some info or a site like this that might be able to provide me with some helpful info!

I have been keeping him in my kitchen at night as it has doors on both sides and I can close it off from the rest of the house. I put down a training pad which he has been using MOST of the time, but he has had a few accidents too. He cried off and on the first night but has been getting better and better. I get up at night and let him out every 2-3 hours. I am trying to get him used to being alone as I work full time and don't want to spoil him with this long weekend. I've been working on trying to act like it's a usual work day and get him on some kind of routine to work around that.

I would like to crate train him...but I'm going to be gone for 8 hours, 5 out of 7 days a week and I realize that he has a tiny bladder and can not hold it that long and I feel like it would almost be cruel to make him do so. For now, I'm thinking I might leave him in my kitchen during the day after some outside time in the morning before I leave and maybe bring him in my bedroom to sleep from now on.

Did any of you guys work full time while your Beagle was a pup? What worked best for you? I don't want to shut him in the kitchen all day and then all night again after only a few hours of play/open house time.

If I do bring him into my bedroom, did any of you have problems with your pups elminating in your bed? I'm thinking I'll just move his bed from the kitchen to the bedroom each night, or just get another one.

I also thought about maybe putting him in a crate for the night but I think that would only confuse him and his potty training efforts as he would be "allowed" to eliminate on a pad during the day, but wouldn't be able to go in the evening until I got up and took him out.

Obviously, I need some advice!! Thanks in advance!!

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Murphys Dad

· #2 · Oct 9, 2007

First of all let me start by saying

or Aloha (in your case).
Now... he is gorgeous and very cute (as all beagle puppies are obviously).

As for your questions: I would crate train him. I didn't with Chloe (7.5 months old) and I eat myself everyday for that..... Put him in the crate at night, in your room, he will be quiet and get use to going there to sleep... it eventually will be his safe haven.

I work full time, and I'll tell you it's not easy, not only for Chloe, but for me too.... I miss her during the day, and the housebreaking takes longer, but if we have to work, we have to work.

Good luck with him.... BTW - what's his name?

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hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 9, 2007

His name is Murphy. It's very fitting. I had that name in mind from the first time I saw him and waited a day or two to make sure it fit.

Thanks for your advice. I think I'll go with the crate for night time. What would you suggest during the day?

MariaK

· #4 · Oct 9, 2007

Welcome!!! Murphy is precious!!

We have had Blue for a week now and he was 10 weeks when we picked him up. Today was the first day that he was home alone (Greg took last week off to try to train him). We chose to put him in a crate day and night since we don't have any floors that are safe for puppy accidents and we don't want to leave him outside in the winter.

Today we had a little problem in the morning. I didn't feed him early enough and he had several accidents in his crate before I got home at lunch. This afternoon was better though and he had no accidents at all.

He is starting to wake us up at night before he has an accident, but it has taken a while to get to that point. We are still trying to get up every three hours to let him out, but last night we were able to get four. :happyhappy: But we still have some trouble getting him to go back to sleep at 4:30 am and that is just too early for us!!

We put the crate in our living room as there is not enough room in the bedroom and we still don't know if my allergies can handle his dander in every room of the house.

Good luck with tomorrow!!!!

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hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 9, 2007

So you crate him during the day and at night too? Do you have time to exercise him in the morning before you leave? I'm thinking that I might not have enough time to thoroughly exercise him before I leave for the day. And I don't have enough time to make it home during my lunch. Perhaps I should start waking up early to squeeze in some play time before I take my shower and get ready to go to work.

I just want to make sure I keep my puppy as happy as possible and don't want him to think of a crate as a bad place.

thanks for your input!

snoopyminky

· #6 · Oct 9, 2007

he is absolutely adorable!!!! Great photos /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

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hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 9, 2007

A friend of mine here leaves her dog outside all day long on a lead. I'm not sure I would want to go that route as I know that sometimes things can get tangled and can kill a dog. Also, it gets extremly hot here sometimes...

Say I kept my pup in the kitchen during the day and kept him in a crate during the night. My husband has the next few weeks off and is going to be at home during the day, then he is getting deployed to Japan for a few months (he's in the Marines). Would it mess things up if I switched the crate to daytime and then brought him in my bedroom at night to see how that goes?

Murphys Dad

· #8 · Oct 9, 2007

Aloha, and Semper Fi! :wave: My husband is retired USMC, and we spent 4 years at Kaneohe Bay.

Murphy is adorable. :heart: I haven't had a tiny puppy for years, so I'll leave the advice to more recent puppy owners. That said, I'm a firm believer in crate training, and have used it for my present dogs. My Li'l Girl is a rescue, adopted at about a year of age. She wasn't housebroken, so she got crate training, and it was a huge help.

MakoCSH

· #9 · Oct 9, 2007

Wow he's a cute little guy.

My best advice would be to get another beagle. Then he'll have someone to play with all day. Also there's less of a chance of seperation anxiety, and less guilt for leaving him alone.

Besides, two is always better then one!

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gvschmokes

· #10 · Oct 9, 2007

When I got beasley (10 weeks old), she went into her crate from day 1. It was nice because my girlfriend is a teacher, so she had the summer off and was able to be with Beasley for the first few weeks. But since then, Beasley has been in her crate during the day, and all night, and she does very well.

I take her outside about 7:00am for potty, feed her right after that, get ready for work, then take her out again around 8:15. Then she goes into her crate at 8:30 until my GF gets home around 3...then she's back in her crate around 10pm for sleep...overall, it seems to work really well. No accidents in the house since we first got her, and she will always let us know if she needs to go out.

Murphys Dad

· #11 · Oct 9, 2007

Welcome to the BW pack!

Murphy you say? Good name. The beagle that started BW is Murphy (he is looking at you from the banner).

hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 9, 2007

Thanks guys...looks like my best bet is to get a crate and maybe see if I can get hour lunches from work and make it home during the day to let him out. Today is my first day away from the house and leaving little Murph in the kitchen all day until I get home at 4. I'm hoping I don't come home to a horrible mess or an upset, lonely pup!!

I'm so sad to leave him!!! I heard that it's best to not make a big production when leaving/coming, so I'm going to make my departure very quiet this morning.

I feel bad for the guy and even questioned buying him in the first place since I'm not going to be here with him most of the day. But I'm sure 85% of all dog owners probably aren't able to be with their pups either.

sigh.

Thanks for the help. I'm thinking I'll put the crate in the living room as it's a good half way mark between the backdoor to the yard and my bedroom.

Do you guys all leave your dogs in the crate all day? Even when they are grown? Or have you installed doggy doors so they can let themselves out?

I'm just curious as to whether or not my dog is going to have to spend the majority of his life in a crate.

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ktoke

· #13 · Oct 9, 2007

Hi there and Welcome...!! :happyhappy:

First of all...do not get fooled by the sleeping and low energy, they turn into super energetic balls very quickly...

Both my husband and I work and are gone for the whole day...one thing we did do was crate train our dog...and make sure you have a schedule set up for Murphy...schedules really do work in the long run...also we have our neighbors’ daughter come home around 3.00pm in the afternoon and let our dog out..i am not sure if you have someone who can do that...but when we got Dex...the first week i was at home and tried have the same routine that he would have when we were gone...Dex was able to hold it for about 4 hours when he was young, and now he can go almost 8 though we never go that long and have someone leave him out...Dexter was very easy to housebreak and I think we got lucky with him..we had a bell on th porch door and we would ring it every time we took him out to relive himself..else he would be in his crate or in the house (only under supervision)...It would help if you maybe took him for a small walk in the morning so he is tired and would sleep most of the day (since you guys have awsome weather year around..that would be perfect)...but do have someone come over and let him out if you are going to crate train him...

I would not let him on the bed but let him sleep in the crate in your bedroom..it will help later with dominance issues...also remember that this is a very good time to socialize him with other dogs as well as strangers (we are kicking ourselves a little bit for not doing that)...

We also found that Dexter chewed through everything and kong balls as well as bitter apple (to spray on things we didn't want him to chew) helped a lot...obedience training is almost a must cause he will soon start to test you...

Congratulations once again on picking a beagle...we have had Dex for over a year now and cannot imagine life without him,..everyday is an adventure...good luck and keep us posted!

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janna

· #14 · Oct 9, 2007

Hi!! welcome to beagle world :wave: Great pictures!! Murphy is a sweetie :heart:

RhodaTse

· #15 · Oct 9, 2007

Alooooha! Murphy, you are beautiful!
Welcome to BW!
There is no quick fix to a beagle, I learned it from Charlie. :hi: Each individual is different. Charlie is turning 2 soon, he still stays in a crate, open gate. He is free going in and out as he pleases. He loves his crate very much, he goes back there on his free will. I'm sure you will get a lot of advise here on this board.

Murphys Dad

· #16 · Oct 9, 2007

Welcome to you and Murphy! My Maggie was past puppyhood when I adopted her so can't help you out with the puppy issues but you have already gotten great advice. Do some searches and you will pull up lots more. We have a lot of members with tons of puppy experience.

madison069

· #17 · Oct 10, 2007

afew from me,

crate train, anytime you can't watch him crate him.

restrict his playing area. Don't let him wonder the house alone even if you are in the house.

take him out often while he awake, after eating and drinking, an playing and sleeping.

clean up any accident well, i use miracle cleaner.

tire them out, they sleep better and don't start howling which down the road can lead to problems with neighbors.

praise him everytime he does something right, get back, lay down, potty, everything!

bitter apple is your friend if he is a chewer,

lots of toys for him to play with, and chew on. teach him what is good to chew and what is bad, when he chews on a furniture, pull him away and give him a toy to chew on, then spray with bitter apple on furniture.

Do not let him sleep on your bed, it will hinder the housebreaking process and as mentioned it will cause alpha domination problem.

Do take him out every 3 hrs during the night, 4 at the max.

keep mouthing to a minimum, they will mouth, but don't let him chew on your hand all day or it will cause alot of problems down the road.

that is all i can contribute right now, as i only had Dixie for 2 and a half week now, and she has started to learn that when she needs to go potty, she goes to the door and sits down.

Everytime i take her out, i say Hurry potty, Hurry potty over and over again til she goes. then i praise her!

I keep her on a 6 ft leash when we are just doing potty, and i got a 26ft leash for her to play. makes it easier for her to understand what i expect of her at that time.

as for at night, just put him in there and let him cry alittle after you took him out for potty. if you go back to him every time he whines, it will get worst as he associate whining with you coming to him.

start teaching commands, they will get better associated with the wrods if you start young,
here is afew sites to help with training,
http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/training2.html

http://www.beaglesunlimited.com/beagletraining.htm

decent reading material,
http://perfectpaws.com/pupstuff.html

hopes this helps!

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doggonit

· #18 · Oct 10, 2007

Cute pup! My dogs are crate-trained + are doing fine.

hawaiibeagle

Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 10, 2007

Thank you all so much for the tips!! I was able to arrange to have hour lunches today so I'm going to try to make it home at least for enough time to let Murph outside.

I'm freaking out about this way too much and just need to stop worrying about it and wait to see how each day goes and go from there. I've just heard so many stories about terribly behaved pets and how awful they are.

My husband is going to be home with him for the next two weeks so he's going to keep a close eye on him and make sure he either pottys on a pad or goes outside. If not, he's gotta deal with daddy. Haha... I'll post more pictures soon!

Lucy's Mom

· #20 · Oct 10, 2007

Murphy is so cute! Beagle puppies are the best!

All of the time you spend with Murphy now is a great investment. We had both Lucy and Flora since they were puppies, so we know two different ways to mess up crate training.

1) Leaving puppy in crate too long. If a puppy gets desperate for a potty break, and pees in the crate, you may end up with a dog that doesn't care about peeing on her own bed. This happened with Lucy before we got her. She was with a foster family that wasn't able to give her a break mid-day, so we were told that she could "hold it" for 8 hours at 3 months old. The rule of thumb is 1 hour plus 1 hour per month old for time between potty breaks.

2) Crate is too big. We tried to partition it, but Flora always managed to get around/through the partition to pee/poop in the other area of the crate.

We eventually managed to house train both of them but it took a while. During the puppy stage I made a deal with my boss that I would take extra long lunches, and make up the time in the evening. That way I could let her out mid-day, and my husband would get home early enough for the evening potty break. Once she was old enough, she stayed in the crate all day.

Now, both Lucy and Flora are free all day, and mostly behave themselves. With the two children, there are sometimes things left out that shouldn't be.... :rolleye11:

My top pieces of advice:
When you are home, keep Murphy leashed to you. It facilitates bonding, and you know Murphy is not off somewhere getting into trouble.

Remember a young puppy like Murphy is like a newborn. They just can't hold it very long.

Good luck and have fun with Murphy!

BTW- the white on his nose looks very much like Flora's!

Sylvia

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