Well, I am a future Yorkie owner who is currently trying to decide exactly what type of training to do... I was thinking of crate training but while I am at work I was thinking about having a play yard for my pup. My home has rooms but I can't isolate them very well (lots of open doorways, etc.) However, my major concern over using a baby gate or a play yard would be the pup climbing out and then getting into my stuff and begin destructive.

tfc3rid,
You are wise to think of this ahead of time. Our Maggie started out in the kitchen with a baby gate. It didn't take her but a couple of days, and she could climb the gate like a little monkey. We put formica on the kitchen side of the gate. That stopped the climbing, but then she cried more because she couldn't see us. I'm retired so I watch over her during the day. When I need to run errands or go to the grocery story, she plays in her playpen. At night she sleeps in her crate beside my bed. Should she awake, I take her out to PP. She is 12 weeks old now, and 90% housebroken.

I think there is a difference between your kid being in a playpen while you clean the floors or something and your dog being in a cage all day while you're not home.

Dogs grow older quicker than kids. So while your child grows to be 2 years old, your dog would have aged faster than that because their life spans are shorter than humans. So, to me, leaving a 2 year old dog in a cage while you go to work is like leaving your teenage son in a playpen. Training starts when they're puppies but at some point, they become adults. And as they become adults, they are able to hone their instincts and habits that these dogs were bred for.

I'll give you an example: when archie was a baby, he would go to the bathroom while standing on all four legs. as he grew older, he started to lift his leg. and now, he goes to the bathroom and kicks the dirt to bury it. I didn't teach him this. He learned it himself and because he socializes with other dogs.

he's also a terrier and has terrier instincts. he does great with digging up buried stuff. as a matter of fact, he hunts balls. I take him to the park every day and for the past 5 days in a row, he has managed to hunt down and find a ball in the bushes. We also play a game where I hide a ball under a blanket and he goes in and gets it. He didn't do this stuff as a small puppy, but he did get the opportunity to hone his terrier instincts.

Lickthestar,
That's true about the instincts of Yorkies. Even though Maggie is still a puppy, she can get on the trail of a mole and not give up until she uncovers the tunnel. She can dig like a minature machine gun. All you see is her romp and flying dirt. As far as hiding stuff, she is an ace about that too. I have found more of her toys under furniture, behind the curtains, under her bed, etc. They are a hoot to be with.

The trainer that we took our boys to was a big proponent of crate training - especially for house breaking. The one thing she also said was that a puppy should never be kept in a crate for more than 3 to 4 hours as it is not good for them to be cramped up for that long. If it is necessary than you should have someone come in during the day to let them stretch their legs or take them to daycare.

I was at a show breeders house this past week looking at puppies and there were other buyers there. When the subject of "crate training" came up the breeder got very loud and almost angry in her demand tht this type of training not be used on her babies. To her it meant taking all food and water away . She said, "if you do that, you will have a dead dog". She has been breeding dogs for 25 and this is what crate training meant to her, so we all have different ideas of the definition of the term and I think LicktheStar was just trying to make people think about how they view it and if everyone is really doing it responsibly. Very interesting thread.

It is absolutely true that tiny puppies need to be "free fed" to avoid low blood suger. These little ones shouldn't go longer than 2 hours without eating. I think most of us are aware of this.

We crate trained Marci from the moment she came home with us (at 7 weeks). I had done extensive research to know that the wolf instinct in her required a "den" atmosphere.... so we bought the smallest crate available, lined it with wooly (and washable) fabric, and placed a hooded cat bed in it. Inside the cat bed was a blanket/towel and a stuffed bear (lovingly referred to as Bobo). She's always had 24/7 access to her food and water dishes in and out of the crate.

Marci is now 8.5 yrs old and still goes in her crate when we're not around (during work hours and to sleep). She also chooses to go into her "bed" when she doesn't feel well or when she's just had enough of us (yes, she does have a low tolerance for us being home all the time on the weekends ;)

With crating her, housebreaking was much easier and less stressful on us. With crating her, you never knew that she was on the plane with us (we traveled a lot during her first couple of years) in her bag at our feet. With crating her, she had a place to call her own when she needed to rest or wasn't feeling well. With crating her, vet visits have been less traumatic. With crating her, we never needed to worry what she might get into while we weren't at home.

To each his own--- but crating is not "caging" your animal.... if done correctly (with positive reinforcement), it's peace of mind for you and your animal.

Pam

Im getting my pup at the end of the week and saw this post on cratetraining. I have decided to crate train the puppy as well. There are many reasons why. My house is very big and the puppy is so small I would be afraid she would get lost and it has happened!!!! I found Lily behind the bedpost after having a heart attack. 2 They may get hurt her. Lily fell down the stairs one time.
If they are in a crate they are safe from danger. Especially if moms not home to watch over. Plus its kinda like they have their own little spot that they know is theirs only. You can be at work knowing your dog is safe.
Also all dogs are different. Different in personalities and behavior. Some are very good with potty training and some may still need the extra reminder even as an adult. Some adults still wanna chew too and get curious.

Holy cow, its a knock down drag out! ;)

We keep Maddie in her crate at night with the gate closed and we'll continue to do that until we're satisfied that she won't get up in the middle of the night to poop in my slippers. Once we think she's got enough control to last through the night and wake us if she needs to go, we'll either leave the door off the crate or remove the top of the crate (whichever she prefers) but we'll still keep the door to the bedroom closed.

In the day we're both out of the house for 8 hours usually. Her crate is only big enough to be a bed so I would never leave her in there all day. We use a 6 sided plastic pen to keep her in during the day because we have room for it. I wouldn't see a problem with keeping her in a large crate during the day if thats all we had space for though.

Eventually we'll give her free reign of the house but that won't happen until I'm confident in the cessation of her chewing antics and her "Find where I pooped" games.

Tom

Tom, that sounds similar to what I am thinking of. Does your little one or has your little one ever tried to 'escape' from her pen?

Not that we know of. Its a plastic pen and the holes in it are small and diamond shaped so if she did get her paws in there to climb it wouldn't be very comfortable on her paws. Its from Babies R Us and its call SuperYard XT. You can also buy extra segments for it to make a bigger pen which we may do in the future.

SuperYard XT

We also keep her crate, without its door, in the pen with three toys, food, and water. Right now the floor under it is covered with papers and a training pad. She hates being left alone but hasn't shown any signs of disliking the pen at all. I suspect that once she gets over us leaving she plays and sleeps like usual in there.

Tom

Are you guys gone for a typical 8 hour work day?

I bought one of those play-yards and bought extentions etc. ...was really excited about it. My little male who probably didn't weigh 2 lbs. at the time climbed right out. He acted like he was climbing a ladder.
Kind of disappointed me. :( I've had better luck keeping them confined with a metal pen that are made for dogs.

At the worst we're gone for 9 hours but usually there's an overlap between my schedule and Jaime's that keeps it just under that. Occasionally we're able to get her mom over to visit at lunch as well.

No kidding!? Wow. Maddie is pretty big for a yorkie but I guess she's not a climber...yet ;) I guess there's no one solution for all! I just liked the plastic pen better fpr looks and since we planned to wash the heck out of it and use it for a child later.

Tom