[Electric]

Hey there,

As most of you know I'm getting my new baby puppy in under a week now.

I was wondering if anyone could write up a schedule that they had with there puppy, in an average day. I have read all the books and have a good idea what to do, but it would be great if someone from here with all your experience could do that.

It would really help to have an idea what worked with you for your puppy.

Many thanks,
Peter /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

 

[BeagleBabe]

Hope you don't mind I deleted your other post /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/tired.gif

How old is your pup going to be when they come home?

I highly recommend crate training! And, will tell you right off the bat expect to get up to take him/her out at least a couple times a night, or you will wake up to wet spots. Oh and don't teach them it's "OK" to go poop or pee in the house, even on puppy pads or newspaper...once you allow that behaviour it's VERY difficult to "untrain"

 

[Shenniff]

I always went by - for every month they are old, is one hour they can hold it. So one month old, equals one hour, two months old equals two hours. It always worked for me, I never had a problem housebreaking any of my dogs....

Now, if if only I can get Miley to stop stealing clothes.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif

 

[Murphys Dad]

Originally Posted By: luv_my_miley Now, if if only I can get Miley to stop stealing clothes.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif

Hey, she just has a very developed sense of fashion /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hysterical.gif

Peter, crate train the pup. I almost guarantee it will make your life with her much easier...

 

[Electric]

im not putting the puppy in a crate. She is in the utitlity room with all her stuff /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

And she's sleeping in my room in her bed next to mine.

 

[Toby & Lucky]

oh, Peter, rethink the crate training...

It truly does make life so much easier! Having a whole utility room to herself alone may be an overwhelming amount of space and you will almost certainly have lots of messes to clean up. Once she is bigger, more confident and more trustworthy then let her have more space.

At first, she probably won't stay on her bed. She will probably wander around your home leaving you little suprises!! Eventually, though, she will stay on her bed all night!

Have you posted pictures anywhere yet? I can't wait to see her!!!

 

[iain langman]

Some people think crate training is cruel but our first beagle was left in a room but she totally destroyed it and took an age to house train. When we had Willow we crate trained her and had very few distruction problems and house training was down to aboue 4 months as for Rasha very minor chew damage 1 corner of a wine rack and the bottom of a pair of curtains as for house training. All done in 6 weeks. So crate training does work and has no side effects on the puppy. So I would reccommend that anyone who has a pup to crate train them.

As for a routine you should feed the pup 4 times a day until they are about 6 mths old, give them short but exciting walks and gradually increase them to people, busy roads, shopping streets etc. Puppy parties or puppy socializing classes are a must. As they need to interact with other pups and breeds to gain their confidence.

As for house training let them out every time they wake, feed, drink, stop playing, start to sniff the floor or start to turn in circles. Once outside greet every wee and poo with great excitement and praise the dog as if its just won you the lottery. If they have an accident indoors then just clean it up, do not say anything to the pup unless you catch them in the act then just make a distraction noise and put them straight outside. Then go and clean up what they have done wothout a fuss. Making a fuss over an accident could well be seen as the pup as a good way to get your attention so if you are busy and the pup wants to play it thinks I know if I pee here then dad will stop what he is doing and come to me. hope this make s sense.

 

[Bernie's Mom]

You will have NO LIFE with a young puppy running loose. Take it from the above posters who have owned/loved/pulled their hair out owning a puppy. You will need a quiet time for you and HER. She will NOT stay in her bed quietly during the day or night, as she's a puppy with things to smell, chew, climb on, destroy, and sleep on. Just ask us how we know!

We struck it lucky with the housetraining of Bernie Beagle, but I still would second guess our getting a puppy mid February here in Ontario! It was bitterly cold and snowy, and LOTS of fun for a puppy! You won't have that issue, but you will need lots of patience, and lots of outside times. We still take Bernie out at least once every couple of hours during the day, as he's only recently decided that staring at us, is the only way to let us know he wants out. He's 16 weeks now, and we've not had an accident in 2 weeks. He's never pooped in the house, so far! Touch wood.

Please reconsider the crate. It's NOT cruel, it's her bed, her quiet space, and most tend to need their "down time". When she's completely trustworthy with your home and belongings. by all means..let her sleep by you or with you. This won't be happening in our home!!

Good Luck, and we're really excited for you! She's going to change your life forever, and you'll not be able to remember what you did with your time before she came along! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/gaah.gif

 

[Jennifer]

Yep I agree with everything everyone has said. I read your post somewhere else that you said that your puppy was going to sleep in her own bed next to yours at night. Trust me when I say that a young puppy will NOT stay in the bed and will wander around your room while you are asleep and leave you little presents of wee and poo on your floor. If you are lucky enough you might wake up when she does but it's likely you won't hear her.

Like Barking Mad, I didn't have a crate with my first beagle, she was left in the kitchen, she destroyed anything in her reach and nearly electrocuted herself by biting through a cable.

Naturaly after I learnt my lesson all my next puppies went in a crate at night and when I couldn't supervise them.

Feeding and socialisation is as Barking Mad said.

Good luck, can't wait to see her.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I agree with everyone who endorsed crate training. I've used it with all 4 of the dogs we have now. Our youngest, Spook, still sleeps in his crate at night and considers it his own private domain.

 

[Toby & Lucky]

Peter, think of like this - a crate is to a dog is like a crib to a baby! You would never let a 1 year-old sleep on a regular bed - they can get into too much trouble! Also, like others said, a dog needs it quite, safe space. Something else to think about is the pup's safety. While you are sleeping that electrical cord can make as good a chew toy as her stuffed toy! Believe me, a dog will chew through an electrical cord - I know (that was a fun one!).

O.k, I will quit lecturing...LOL!!

 

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted By: Toby & LuckyBelieve me, a dog will chew through an electrical cord - I know (that was a fun one!).

That's what happened to Lilly. I locked her in the kitchen at night. In my old house I had electric storage radiators. She bit through the electric cable to the radiator and burnt her mouth.

 

[Zookeeper]

I'm kind of on the other side of the crate coin. Not that I'm against it, but I didn't crate train Duke. I'm sure there are ways it would have saved me grief, but with 2 labs out of crates, it would have caused me grief because Duke wanted to be with the labs from the day we brought him home. I know it would have worked out eventually, but so did our way.

We have a small master bathroom that Duke stays in during the day. It is basically his crate. There is nothing for him to get into as the cabinets are locked and Duke proofed and the tp is off the roller and on the counter top, which Duke can't reach. His bed is in there and his food and water and he has never once had an accident in his room. My son lets him out at lunch time for an hour and then I'm home by 4:30 each day.

During the night, he has always slept in bed with us, but when he was very young, I listened for "paws down", meaning he was off the bed and that meant I had to act fast. We were very lucky in that Duke has always slept through the night without accidents, but I gather he is an exception. I agree that having a young pup on the floor may cause you problems at some point when they wander around getting into stuff or going potty, though that's what we did with the labs when they were young and it worked out well (disclaimer, potty training Duke was a whole different world than potty training the labs and that never would have worked with him).

When we get home, Duke gets play time, either with a walk or fetch or something to get the energy out. Sleeping all day makes for a very energetic pup at night! If you aren't going to crate train, be proactive. Baby gates are lifesavers! And make sure there is no access to anything on the floor. You'd be amazed at what they can find and I swear, the first 3 months we had Duke was worse than caring for an infant. I spent every waking moment watching and chasing him. The less access they have, the less they can get into!

Good luck with your new baby. I have no doubt you'll do a great job.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

If you don't like the crate idea. This is what we did. We put ours in a small Pen. It had room for both of them, a blankie, toys and a water bottle. They went in their pen when we went to work. They actually liked their pen, it was safe to them. they didn't go pee or poop in their pen.

 

[beaglina]

I wasn't sure about the crate at the beginning either, but it really was useful! I think that the main thing is to avoid ever using it as a punishment, in the end my pup just used it like her own little house. She was never in there for very long though, and she didn't sleep in it at night - at the beginning she just slept in a cardboard box in my bedroom so that I could easily hear when she needed to go out.
Good luck with you new pup!

 

[Drewmangroup]

I am also for crate training. It seems cruel but its really not. Good analogy upthread with the crate and a crib for a baby. Growing up we had an outside dog that was really good about staying in the ayrd (it was unfenced). The next dog we got was not so good and we had her on a cable, but she always broke free. After she got hit by a car my parents took a different approach and started crate training. Since it was the summer and my mom was off from school she had a schedule to take out their puppy. Every 30 minutes, no matter what, she took her out.

So when I got a puppy in a house of my own, I used thier example. The only difference is I have to work so the pup had to be crated druing the day. It was a long process. When I was home I took Scout out every 30-45 minutes no matter what. Even if their weren't any signs. By doing this she quickly learned to go to the door. It only took about 4 weeks for this to happen.

The crate was a different story. We got a medium sized wire one that came with a divider. So I started it off as small as I could. She would pee during the morning and afternoon (I came home at lunch). Then when she would go 1 week without peeing, I would push the divider back. When she got more space she still would pee a little. Anyway, after about 4-5 weeks we were able to take the divider out. It was a long process. One time we thought we could take the divider out and put a big pillow in and she would surely sleep through the night. We didn't hear a peep all night but woek up to a wet spot on the top of the pillow and soaking on the bottom. She hasn't peed in her crate in a long time (10 months old) but she still cries to go out every once in awhile (I think she is bored and wants to play). I just put her out back and go back to sleep and let her wake me up when she wants to come back in.

But there really isn't a quick fix for getting a puppy trained to your life. I love to play video games, but I wasn't able to, unless she was a sleep, for the first 7-8 months. And even now if she is in the house, I can't ignore her or she will chew on something bad. I couldn't sit on the couch for a long time because she wanted to be with me.

 

[meg's mum]

I agree with all the above. the crate is the best thing, and there is no way a puppy will sleep in a basket by your bed. I wouldnt even let him get used to your bed unil they are toilet trained. The crate is a very safe place for a puppy to be when he is left alone. no harm can come to him there and they feel very secure in it. with regards the toilet training, you have to take him out to the garden every half an hour and look for signs that he is wanting to go, you will soon know what they are. The toilet thing is quite hard as beagles can take a while to house train, so all you can do is take him out, out , out ad out again. when he does go... praise him like mad and if he has an accident inside, ignore it and just clean it up. praise the good and ignore the bad... until they are old enough to understand the difference, that is !

 

[Drewmangroup]

When Scout was about 4 months old, she still peed in her crate and cried to go out at night. It was really affecting our relationship. I went to other forums and got the same answer "she isn't old enough to hold it". Its hard to remember that these are animals and have no idea about "society". Things like "why won't she just sleep next to me?" doesn't make and sense to them. My wife wants Scout to sleep in the bed with us. I don't trust her and it isn't until she gets in her crate that she knows its bedtime. She does good about napping on the couch but I would never leave her unattended for more than 5-10 minutes.

The hardest thing is to know people with older dogs. They leave thier dogs out all day without incident. They sleep outside thier crate, they don't chew on anything, they just hang out and don't eat up every minute needed attention. It takes about 1-2 years to even get to there for some dogs. Scout has calmed down a lot over the last few months, but she still needs exercise and attention. She won't just come in and lay down and be a good dog everytime. Sometimes at the end of the day I think how great a dog she is, sometimes it takes a whole week to have the good outweigh the bad.

 

[iain langman]

Originally Posted By: ZookeeperI'm kind of on the other side of the crate coin. Not that I'm against it, but I didn't crate train Duke. I'm sure there are ways it would have saved me grief, but with 2 labs out of crates, it would have caused me grief because Duke wanted to be with the labs from the day we brought him home. I know it would have worked out eventually, but so did our way

With Rasha we had 2 beags out of the crate but we put the crate next to the dog bed this also kept our beags safe from the pup and visa versa.

 

[Brisen]

I didn't crate train my previous beagle Molly, and I didn't start out crate training Maggie. But, a couple of weeks ago I decided to give it a try, and I can't believe how much easier it's made things...AND, I know she's safe when I'm gone for a few hours. You'd be amazed at how much trouble a beagle baby can get into if left unsupervised for even a few seconds!