Quote:
Originally Posted by sepulchralx  Thanks for the reply... The vet recommended crating him, even at this early age... I'm surprised you're stating the opposite.. I have a 3ft by 4ft crate i can put him in that will fit a potty pad... Should I use this?
What about nighttimes? Newton loves sleeping in our bed with us.. and if we get up at midnight and 2am, he'll Go Potty on whatever we set him down on (puppy pad)
- DO you recommend him sleeping with us at this early age?
- Do you recommend providing him with a doggy step so he can get down from the bed to go to his potty pad?
Like I said, I am a newbie, so all advice is extremely valuable to me
Edit: also, about him being alone 9hrs a day, I know its not recommended, but is this a very bad thing if crated properly? |
I guess, I don't see the need for crate training if you are training to a potty pad, which is readily available to the pup. Especially in your case where you are gone for 9hours. It's not reasonable to expect a young puppy to hold it that long, so he'll end up soiling his crate, which completely defeats the intent behind crate training.
If you don't have a playpen an overly large crate could be used as a playpen (my friend does this with her chihuahuas and it works great for her).
As to your pup sleeping with you, that's a personal decision. If you're fine with your pup sleeping with you, go for it. ZoE was sleeping with me 3 days after I got her and has been there ever since. I did wake up every few hours for the first few weeks I had her and took her to her pads. She's now a year old and still wakes me up about 3am to go pee...but she's never gone in my bed, so I'm fine with that.
While 9 hours is a long time, as long as he's a healthy pup of decent size (not an extremely tiny yorkie) and he has access to food & water while you're gone, he should be fine. That's why the playpen area (or confining to a small room or hallway) works so well. Newton would have all he needs, a bed, potty area, food, water. He might like it too if you left an old shirt of yours you've worn with him so it smells like you...kind of like a comfort blanket
Congratulations on the new puppy! You need to post photos so we can meet Newton!