crate training

[KimluvsLexie]

Okay I've read everything I can on crate training, but my furbaby is smarter than I am! At first I was putting a towel in there for her to sleep on and lay on and I didn't notice she was having any accidents. Then I went to change out the towel and found it a bit soggy and when I unfolded it I found little "treasures" in the folds. She'd done her business and then covered it up so she didn't have to lay in it! Smarty pants! Well now I feel I need to take the towel out so she can't do that, but I feel like she shouldn't have to lay on the hard plastic! I think the crate is too big too, it's a PetTaxi, the smallest I could find but she's still able to do her business in the front and then curl up against the back of it. How do I go about restricting her space in there? Has anyone had to do this when their yorkie was a puppy? Sorry so long...

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by KimluvsLexie

Okay I've read everything I can on crate training, but my furbaby is smarter than I am! At first I was putting a towel in there for her to sleep on and lay on and I didn't notice she was having any accidents. Then I went to change out the towel and found it a bit soggy and when I unfolded it I found little "treasures" in the folds. She'd done her business and then covered it up so she didn't have to lay in it! Smarty pants! Well now I feel I need to take the towel out so she can't do that, but I feel like she shouldn't have to lay on the hard plastic! I think the crate is too big too, it's a PetTaxi, the smallest I could find but she's still able to do her business in the front and then curl up against the back of it. How do I go about restricting her space in there? Has anyone had to do this when their yorkie was a puppy? Sorry so long...

i'm pretty sure we have all been there stuff towels int he back... i rolled them up and used them to creat a VERY small space... Layla could only lay down... now i'm assuming crate training is just a night time thing right?? if this is the case that wil work great... when she cries to let you know she needs out.. bring her out.. praise her and put her back in.. if you ar eleaving her int he crate all day.. well she has to poop/pee and i'm not a big fan of crating all day... i like the x=pen idea... a space to lay and play and eat and pee pads for when she has to go.... so if this is nighttime make the space smaller with towles or blankets or stuff an old pillow back there.

[ARCHIE]

I crate trained Buddy but the crate was larger than needed. I wanted it
that way because I was not very comfortable with crate training anyhow.
I have since changed my mind because it did work.
I bought a soft bed for the back of the crate and put his toys in the front.
One of those white fluffy soft flat beds for the inside of crates. I covered
it with a towel even for more comfort. He had only a couple of pee accidents at the beginning. After 5wks he was completely trained.
OUr day started (he was 14 1/2 wks) at 6:00am. Right out of crate into
harness and out for a walk. Breakfast and water free play in kitchen out
again at 8:00am and into crate at 8:15. Went home for lunch, walked,
water and treat back into crate. Home at 5:30 (he was holding it during the
day) right out for a nice long walk, feed at 6:30, water and free run with
me through the house. OUt again around 7:30 and again at 10:00pm.
No water or food in crate and back into crate until 6:00am next day.
Weekend I took him out more during the day. Maybe every two hours because
he was not crated but ran free in the kitchen. After 5wks he was completely
trained. I watched him like a hawk during his free run. When I saw him start
to sniff around I scooped him up and out we went. I live on the second
floor so I sure got a work out those first 5wks with Buddy. It was worth
it. I believe that a schedule is very, very important.

[KimluvsLexie]

She is definitely only crated at night. During the day she has her own room that she stays in. My husband and I are currently renting the upstairs of one of our friends houses and we have an extra room that has nothing in it so this has become her play room while we're at work. We actually moved just to get her I go home and check on her at lunch. She has her crate, bed, potty pad, water, and plenty of toys. I will try the thing about rolling towels and putting them in the back, I'm just afraid she'll unroll them and lay on them and then I'm back to the same ol' problem. Now if I could just get her to stop going under the bed... I need to get unpacked so I can put things under there to block her path!

[lopresm]

I used a small crate for Remi. I placed a comfy mat/bed I found that fit inside. He was placed in the crate only after he relieved himself outside. He also has an X-pen in the kitchen in which his toys and a bed were placed. The only accidents he had were in the pen. A puppy needs to be watched carefully and brought outside very very often! This consistency and training really pays off in the end!
We use the crate now for car travel, for sleep at night, and for times when he can't be supervised properly in the house. Crate training is very beneficial for everyone!
Lots of good luck with your pup!

[Ladylavender]

We also used the sheep skin mat for Millie's crate, but we did block off the back of the crate to make it smaller, almost 1/2 as small. My husband made a makeshift taped up cardboard box that took up 1/2 of the crate space. We just laid the box in on top of the mat. As she got bigger, we would cut the box down by a few inches or more to accommodate for her growth.

[Smiggy]

Since we brought Brady home he hated the crate. He cries like a baby and it breaks my heart to hear this so I take him out. He is not 14 weeks old and he has been sleep on my bed near my feet since the day we brought him home. He cries once around 4 am and I let him out and he goes potty and then he goes right back to bed with us until we get up for work at 6 a.m. Then it's breakfast and playtime!

Fortunately, my husband works from home so we leave Brady in the kitchen with our Aussie, Sukie (now we call her mama bear). He will go potty outside and uses a pee pad if we're not there.

Brady really doesn't need the crate at at night. We don't mind him sleeping on the corner of our bed and he is fine during the day. We are just concerned that one day we may need to have a friend babysit for us and a crate may be more convenient for them.

Are we making a mistake now getting him use a crate? Brady is just the sweetest little snuggle bug and I don't want to make a mistake!

[KimluvsLexie]

Well last night I put a towel lengthwise in the crate and then rolled up a towel in the back of the crate to restrict her area. I woke up a couple of times to let her out to potty but she wouldn't go. Then I woke up again at 5:30 am and she had done her #2 and was half laying in it because she didn't have anywhere else to go! I was so frustrated! My husband told me not to get discouraged, but I'm just afraid if she's eliminating in the crate now then how am I going to crate train her? Advice? Experience?

[Ladylavender]

Ok, you do need to breathe deep and relax.

1st off what is her feeding schedule. At this point in the training you probably should only be feeding her 2x a day. Once in the a.m. and once more in the evening when you get home. (In this way you can control when she eliminates her bowels better.) Also, don't allow her any water after 7pm. Pick up her bowl. This will help in controlling her need to urinate in at night. You may need to have her out for a walk or stroll before bedtime to see if she needs to Poop. Until you learn her elimination habits, you are going to have to figure out what works best for her, to avoid mistakes in the crate.

2nd - when you get up to take her out to potty, don't go back to bed until she does. She has to know with 100% reliability, that when you get up and take her out of the crate in the middle of the night, it is to go potty and only to go potty. That way she will come to know that she will get a potty break and she will be more inclined to hold it until then or she will learn to whine to be let out to go potty. You may have to be out there for 15-30mins (I know you need your sleep, but this will just be a short time, until she understands why you and she are out there)

3rd - do you think she could have whined to be let out before she did her BM, but you did not hear it? Does she sleep right beside you in your bedroom?

4th - when she is a little bit older, maybe in a couple of weeks, she will not mess in the crate, because you will have established a routine that is reliable and she can count on and will not soil her area of sleep (because really, they don't like it and she may be just a bit young and does not understand the concept of where to go potty, just yet.)

Just hold on, she will get it, as long as you are very consistent and persistent.

[KimluvsLexie]

Thank you so much for your reply. I was feeding her 3 times a day, morning, noon, and 5:30 when I get home from work. I will start taking away the water at 7 now. I was leaving it until almost 9. I guess I'm just sleep deprived and cranky I know this takes patience and I will work harder at that part, my husband says that's my worst trait lol. I will start to stay up until she actually goes potty and taking a walk before bed is a good idea as well. This is starting to sound like a set of vows and it kind of is. I will be patient and I will be consistent. Thank you for the wonderful advice!

[KimluvsLexie]

oh and she does sleep only 3 feet from our bed so I hope I would hear her if she whined, but theres always that chance that my husband and I were just too dead asleep.

[noinoi]

I think that is so cute how she tries to hide it! my puppy smells it and then steps on it! ew! I always have to wash his paws! hehehe

[KimluvsLexie]

My husband and I went out of town with Lexie this weekend and she was 100% potty trained all weekend! It was a breath of fresh air, she was so well behaved. As soon as we got home it was a different story, but she hasn't messed her crate in 3 or 4 days and last night she slept with us in our bed the entire night. She nudged me or whined every time she had to go to the bathroom (which was fairly frequent ) This morning she went potty and poop on her pad! She just has her devilish days and her angel days!