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mommyofsophie · 09-19-2009, 06:15 PM

You and your husband are clearly committed to helping little Charlie become housetrained! :-) It's great to see that you're building play time into his schedule, too. But, from the schedule, it looks like you're leaving him in the crate for two separate 6+ hour sessions during the day, followed by a 4 hour session in the evening, and then sleeping in the crate. Socializing a puppy as part of the family is incredibly important, and I wonder if you and your husband think that Charlie is getting enough socialization. I know you know your dog and his needs, I'm just wondering. :-) Have you heard of house leashing? The puppy is on his leash, but one end is attached to you (through your belt loop, or around your ankle if you're sitting, etc.). That way, the puppy is able to socialize and become part of the family, but you also have him near you at all times and can be aware of what he's doing and any indications that he might need to potty. I haven't tried it, but I've read about it on some training sites.

Sophie is 21 weeks old and is being crate trained and clicker trained, too. We have a good schedule going and she has only had 3 very small pee pee accidents in the house in the 3 weeks since I've had her. I think she has been doing a good job for a few reasons: 1) Like you, I stick to a potty schedule; 2) Like you, I crate her whenever I can't directly watch her or play with her; 3) Every morning I walk her 6/10 of a mile (lol, all she can do at this point :-) so she can exercise, get rid of some energy, do her poo-poos, and have special bonding time with me... then we take a short walk in the evening, too; 4) I do clicker training with her and she now knows that potty outside means a click and a treat; 5) She is mentally stimulated with clicker training in the morning and evening; 6) She has plenty of opportunity to socialize and bond with me because we play several sessions fetch & drop (which she LOVES) throughout the day; and 7) I put one of her baskets on the window seat in my home office so that she can snuggle in for a nap or enjoy watching everything out the window while I write. She knows "lie down" and "stay," so she stays there and I can keep an eye on her, plus she's able to spend more time out of the crate. I don't feel guilty for crating her because, like you, I know how effective it is for potty training and it keeps her safe when I'm not watching her (she only weights 2 lbs.)... but, like you, I don't want her puppyhood to be spent mostly in a crate. Ah, the balance we're trying to achieve, right? :-)

I really want to try the potty bells so that I can transition to having her let me know when she has to potty, but I've only been able to find cheap holiday jingle bells in the stores (and they make a quiet tinny sound, not loud enough to hear really). I'd love to hear if anyone has found some small bells that are actually BELLS and make a decent volume sound.

09-19-2009, 06:15 PM	#22
mommyofsophie Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Ann Arbor, MI, USA Posts: 248	response to newproudmom You and your husband are clearly committed to helping little Charlie become housetrained! :-) It's great to see that you're building play time into his schedule, too. But, from the schedule, it looks like you're leaving him in the crate for two separate 6+ hour sessions during the day, followed by a 4 hour session in the evening, and then sleeping in the crate. Socializing a puppy as part of the family is incredibly important, and I wonder if you and your husband think that Charlie is getting enough socialization. I know you know your dog and his needs, I'm just wondering. :-) Have you heard of house leashing? The puppy is on his leash, but one end is attached to you (through your belt loop, or around your ankle if you're sitting, etc.). That way, the puppy is able to socialize and become part of the family, but you also have him near you at all times and can be aware of what he's doing and any indications that he might need to potty. I haven't tried it, but I've read about it on some training sites. Sophie is 21 weeks old and is being crate trained and clicker trained, too. We have a good schedule going and she has only had 3 very small pee pee accidents in the house in the 3 weeks since I've had her. I think she has been doing a good job for a few reasons: 1) Like you, I stick to a potty schedule; 2) Like you, I crate her whenever I can't directly watch her or play with her; 3) Every morning I walk her 6/10 of a mile (lol, all she can do at this point :-) so she can exercise, get rid of some energy, do her poo-poos, and have special bonding time with me... then we take a short walk in the evening, too; 4) I do clicker training with her and she now knows that potty outside means a click and a treat; 5) She is mentally stimulated with clicker training in the morning and evening; 6) She has plenty of opportunity to socialize and bond with me because we play several sessions fetch & drop (which she LOVES) throughout the day; and 7) I put one of her baskets on the window seat in my home office so that she can snuggle in for a nap or enjoy watching everything out the window while I write. She knows "lie down" and "stay," so she stays there and I can keep an eye on her, plus she's able to spend more time out of the crate. I don't feel guilty for crating her because, like you, I know how effective it is for potty training and it keeps her safe when I'm not watching her (she only weights 2 lbs.)... but, like you, I don't want her puppyhood to be spent mostly in a crate. Ah, the balance we're trying to achieve, right? :-) I really want to try the potty bells so that I can transition to having her let me know when she has to potty, but I've only been able to find cheap holiday jingle bells in the stores (and they make a quiet tinny sound, not loud enough to hear really). I'd love to hear if anyone has found some small bells that are actually BELLS and make a decent volume sound.