[QUOTE=Muireann]Hello everyone,
I hope you don't mind but I have had a very hard time with Poppy doing her business everywhere but on the paper we have for her at our door that I would really appreciate your expertise.
Firstly, I am reading alot about your crate training and please forgive my stupidity but what exactly is a crate? and where do you put it?
My brother gave me a book called "House Break your Dog in 7 days" but the daily routine for a 6-12month puppy that you need to follow for seven days was rather shocking to me: If you don't mind I would like to write it as I have no one else really to consult and I would appreciate feedback:
First of all, a crate is just a dog cage. A carrier or plastic crate is a plastic dog cage that is light weight and you can carry and move easily from one room to another. You can put the crate anywhere you want however I would put it in a the room that you stay in and at night I would put the crate by your bed. Put toys and treats in the crate, and to get your puppy used to the crate I would feed him in it as well. First thing in the morning, let him out of the crate and take him to his place where he is suppose to go potty (outside or puppy pad) give him a command such as go potty or do your business. Watch him and don't let him wonder off of the pad until he has went. At this time, if he does go, give him alot of praise and a special treat. If you have time, let him play for a little bit as an extra reward. Both of my puppies know that if they go when they are suppose to that they will get out to play. If he does not go, put him back in the crate and wait 5 or10 minutes and until you let him out again to give him a chance. Repeat this everytime until he goes, so that he will learn that he has to go potty on the pad before he gets any time out of the crate. Do not let him have the run of the house this will only cause him to go whenhe wants and where he wants to. Once he is housebroken then he will get the privelage of getting the run of the house. Until then when he is out of the crate watch him like a hawk and don't let him out of your site. What you need to figure out is how often does your pup go to the bathroom, how many times a day that he goes pee and poo, this will help you determine how long he can be in or out of the crate. For example, my pup has to be let out every 5 hours to go the bathroom. He goes pee about 5 times and poo about 4 times. So from this I can determine that when I let him out, that he has to go poo and pee before he gets to play because I will know that he is good to go and should not have an "accident". So after I let my pup to go out, and if he goes, he gets a couple hours of playtime and then back in the crate for him to rest. Once they get the hang of it, then you can give them more time out to play and be with you. I hope this helps, you can pm me if you have any questions. Good Luck!!
