Time in a kennel/large cage

[whenypoo]

I am curious as to how long my a pup can be in her cage! Pebbles is 16 wks old, and my first yorkie, and first time crate/cage training. I put her to bed in her cage at night around 10pm. I get up in the morning between 6-7. Besides the constant barking ALL NIGHT and filling her cage up with POO, how long can she stay in there. I am ready for bed by 9pm, but stay up so she wont be in to long. I'm just not sure how long.
TIA,
New Mom

[Rachael1983]

When my girl was a puppy, the rule of thumb for me was that she would be able to stay in an hour for each month she was old without pooping or peeing. So if your girl is only 16 weeks old she's really only about 4 months so 4 hours you should let her out.

At night, I would let her out before you go to bed, and also I restricted water/food after 8 so she wouldn't have to go. Not all will agree with that approach but it worked for us.

Consistency with a schedule will get you through this. Hang in there and Welcome!

[whenypoo]

That's great advice thank you. Her last feeding is at 7 then I take her out around 7:15 and she does her business, poo & piddle. Once I put her in her cage, within 15min she does both in her cage. By morning she is covered in poo and its everywhere. I feel like im failing as a dog owner:'(I can only hope it gets better.

[Lovetodream88]

Make sure her crate is where she can see you and when she goes to sleep if she wakes up in the middle of the night take her potty and then put her back. It can take a week or two of doing this but they get the hang of it. If your crate is to big they will pee or poo in it as well.

[Jkpal]

I agree, perhaps a smaller crate? And keep her close; stay vigilant; and if she's antsy, take her out. Also, you may want to feed her earlier, say 5p or 6p; then she has time to play and go out, play and go out--she may settle down for longer period once you guys go to bed. She's just a baby so has a lot to figure out, plus Yorkies are notoriously difficult to housebreak, but of course, they more than make up for that by being so danged cute and funny and loving and smart! Deep breath, remain calm and patient and it'll all be fine!

[whenypoo]

Thank you Lovetodream88 and Jkpal. No more big kennel, for now, until she is trained. So today I have put an old covered pillow in her crate so she has just enough room to stand, sit, lay down and turn around. Sounds like a song lol. She is not happy. She sleeps on the OTHER side of the house due to her barking. Earplugs do not work while she is in the bedroom. Thank you. I definitely have my hands full

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by whenypoo

That's great advice thank you. Her last feeding is at 7 then I take her out around 7:15 and she does her business, poo & piddle. Once I put her in her cage, within 15min she does both in her cage. By morning she is covered in poo and its everywhere. I feel like im failing as a dog owner:'(I can only hope it gets better.

At 16 weeks and being small, she needs more frequent potty breaks as Rachael was indicating.

I used the xpen and piddle pad with Max. He peed at around 11 pm, and had to pee again around 3 - 4 am. By 5 - 6 am, he needed to poop.

The peeing and pooping 15 minutes after going into the crate is probably nervousness, separation anxiety. My Teddy, who had the xpen and pad, did that when he was younger. He would poop because he knew that meant I would have to take care of the pad right away, and he would get some more attention.

Originally Posted by whenypoo

Thank you Lovetodream88 and Jkpal. No more big kennel, for now, until she is trained. So today I have put an old covered pillow in her crate so she has just enough room to stand, sit, lay down and turn around. Sounds like a song lol. She is not happy. She sleeps on the OTHER side of the house due to her barking. Earplugs do not work while she is in the bedroom. Thank you. I definitely have my hands full

The barking would likely stop if she could be near you and see you from her crate. Yorkies like to be with their humans. I put my boys' xpens next to my bed when they were pups and I hung my hand down close to them. That was reassuring to them when they were pups.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by whenypoo

Thank you Lovetodream88 and Jkpal. No more big kennel, for now, until she is trained. So today I have put an old covered pillow in her crate so she has just enough room to stand, sit, lay down and turn around. Sounds like a song lol. She is not happy. She sleeps on the OTHER side of the house due to her barking. Earplugs do not work while she is in the bedroom. Thank you. I definitely have my hands full

You really should put her in your bedroom. One because she's probably scared and alone and two so you can hear her when she goes needs to go potty.

[Akbritt]

I would put her in the bedroom with you for sure. I would clean the crate really good though, before putting her back in, she needs to know that this is her bed not a bathroom. When you are at home with her, take her out side every 2hrs, even if she is not in her crate. You want her to get used to the idea that "outside" is the potty and give her plenty of opportunities to go. If you are home for the evening, you can take her out of the crate and just let her hang with you. If she starts to get sleepy put her in her crate. She will start to realize that the crate is where she goes to sleep. Also what might help, if you have the time, is make some time to play with her after her last feeding. Play her hard! Maybe 7:15-7:45 you can play and let her potty. She will be so sleepy she will be ready to go to bed maybe even earlier than you. If she manages to stay awake by 9, take her out to pee one last time and put her in her crate for bed. Then you get in the bed and turn out the lights. If she starts to whine, you give her a SHHHH once and wait for her reaction. She should get quite for a minute and if she starts whining again give her another SHHHH. Usually this works but if it doesn't, and she just wont stop, get her out of her crate. Check to see if she is ok and take her to the potty. Don't get mad, don't think about how late it is, or getting 4hrs of sleep. XD If she is fine put her back in the crate and you go back to bed. Lather Rise Repeat. If that doesn't work put a pillow over your head. Good Luck!

[Jkpal]

Absolutely keep her close! She needs reassurance and needs to feel secure and safe--and you're it! Again, she's a baby and it's a big, scary world for her...please keep her close; it'll help her adjust so very much.

[canana]

Originally Posted by Rachael1983

When my girl was a puppy, the rule of thumb for me was that she would be able to stay in an hour for each month she was old without pooping or peeing. So if your girl is only 16 weeks old she's really only about 4 months so 4 hours you should let her out.

At night, I would let her out before you go to bed, and also I restricted water/food after 8 so she wouldn't have to go. Not all will agree with that approach but it worked for us.

Consistency with a schedule will get you through this. Hang in there and Welcome!

I agree with Rachael. My training was pretty much the same for both of mine.

When I first brought each home though, at 5 months, I made sure to take them out a lot more frequent than necessary just to prevent any accidents (i.e. every 3 hours and gradually work it up to the number of hours = month old they were). I remove water after 8pm and take them out to potty twice before going to bed.

Also, the crate is just large enough for them to stand, turn, and lie down comfortably. Any crate that is too large will invite them to potty in it. If yours has already developed the habit of pottying inside, you'll want to take them out very frequently for some time to readjust that habit. With any training, the key is slow transitions and TONS of patience and persistence You'll get there eventually!

Good luck

[whenypoo]

Well things are going great. Thank you all for the advice. I take her out about every 1-2 hours. I have NEVER seen a dog poo so much. 9x yesterday! But grateful she is doing it outside. She has slept in her lil crate next to me for the last 3 nights on my nightstand. No poo or piddle, YAY. She has breakfast around 8:00 am, lunch between 12-1, and she has her last meal between 5:30-6:00, which is when I like to have dinner. I have only gotten up 1 time in the last 3 nights (3:15am) to take her potty. WooHoo and there is no barking, she has relaxed tremendously. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Again thank you all.