Outside during the day and crate at night.
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Welcome to the forum! 
I don't have any advice since I have never kept a dog outside if I am not out there with him or her, but hopefully others will have some advice to offer |
| I really want to have this puppy in the house full time but thought it would be better for him to be able to run around during the day in a kennel (which my kids have easy access to and can get him out frequently) outside. But I think this is really screwing with any crate training I am trying to do. He does not show any signs of having to go to the bathroom, he just goes on the floor or in his crate when he is in the house. And it seems like he doesn't stir at night until after he has already gone to the bathroom in his crate. Should I start waking up every hour or so during the night to let him out? I am totally lost since this is our first puppy. |
| I don't have any experience with puppies but I think he is pretty young to make it through the night without a potty break. I think the time frame is puppies age in months + 1, so for a 2 month old puppy, you'd need to take him out every 3 hours. Someone will correct me if that is not right. I also think having the puppy inside and then taking him out and praising him when he goes will help reinforce the behavior you want. If he is just outside and can go whenever he wants, I am not sure he will know what it is you want from him. |
| Please remember that you are dealing with an infant. A puppy shouldn't even be taken from it's momma until a minimum of eight weeks of age. Unfortunately, he will be a peeing and pooping machine for several months until his muscle control catches up to his size.
Don't get frustrated with him, it will seem like you're cleaning up messes all the time but one day it will just 'click'  . Best advice I can give is be patient, buy a few washable "Pooch "Pads", lots of enzyme cleaner (like Simple Solution) and love the little guy to pieces. He won't be little very long and when the potty training is over you can look back on the entire ordeal and laugh. 
One of our OES preferred to be kenneled outside, but only on cool evenings. Don't leave your little guy outside during the hot summer days.  All of our sheepies preferred the air conditioned house or cool basement floor during the day.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress! Nita |
| I have read different things on these boards as to what to put into the puppies crate. I have read that some don't put anything at all such as a blanket or pooch pad and others do. What is the better option? I think that it is much easier to put a towel in there that will absorb the pee then take it out if he has gone but will that make him want to go in there again and again, because that is defeating the purpose. I didn't put anything in there last night and he peed then he was all wet when I took him out to go potty. Any help would be greatly appreciated! |
| WELCOME! What kind of puppy do you have? Our Fozzie is 4 months old. We have keep an old bathroom rug and a towel in his crate. Your pup likely will need to go potty frequently which may mean waking up several times during the night. There are several other new puppy parents that can share more information with. We have been fortunate to have had very few accidents in the crate and Foz has been able to hold it through most of the night. We also have an older dog so I think that has helped a lot. |
Welcome to the forum!  |
| I have an OES puppy. We named him Bandit because he has a black mask across both eyes (he is adorable). So do the puppies continue to pee in their crates if you put something in there that will absorb it or will it just eventually stop as they get older and are able to hold their bladders better. I think that tonight I will try to wake up every 2 hours and see where that takes us. I was wating for him to make noise but it seems that the deed is already done after he makes noise. Has anyone here with a new puppy ever took them to a trainer to help with the crate training? I work from 8:00 to 4:30 everyday (my kids our right across the yard at my mother-in-laws 3 days a week so my daughter could let him out during the day every couple of hours but there are those two days a week when no one is near for longer periods of time). It sure does get frustrating quick. I know now that I need to keep him in the crate during the day until he is trained and not let him stay outside in the kennel. |
| Oooh another OES puppy! How exciting! You may already know this but there should only be enough room in Bandit's crate for him to stand up and turn around to lay down. I'm not sure if the towel/blanket will make a difference. Try to leave it out and see what happens.
It would be best if someone could let him out to go potty during the day. Can you get a dog walker or a nice neighbor to take him out the days that you are unable to get home? |
| The only problem with leaving the towel out of his crate is when he does go pee he is such a mess and leaves little wet tracks all the way to the back door where I let him out. With the towel it absorbs all that moisture and I just change the towel and put him back to bed. |
Bandit'sMom wrote: With the towel it absorbs all that moisture .
I think that's part of the problem. With the towel, he may not learn that this is something he should avoid having happen. I think frequent outings are the key. . . (not based on personal experience -- probably easier said than done) |
| You need to decide where you want him to go to the bathroom, and then work toward that goal. Right now he has no clue as to what you want or even that you are expecting anythign of him at all.
You should keep him in a small crate but ONLY if you are letting him out every 2/3 hours. If he is crated any longer than that he needs another larger area to be in, as he cannot hold it for any longer than that. For those times you can block off part of a room, or get a very large crate and put pads down for him to go on.....Again, that is only for those times when he will be crated for more than 2/3 hours. Wnen he gets out to potty and he does what yo wnat make it special for him and give him a small tasty treat. There is a house-training topic there there are some guidelines posted. Something in there may help. |
| I followed the advise on an excelent book I read called "helping gun dogs to train themselves". I put 7-week Fiona on her adult size kennel but with a cardboard box inside so there is barely space for her and her toys. I put her to sleep there at 10:30 PM. During the night I return at 3AM and take her out for a pee. She holds ok until 7 AM in the morning when I take her out again and she does 1 and 2.
The first few nights it was 1am, 4 am and 7 am but now I have reduced nightly outside trips to one. She understood from day 1 I wanted her to do outside. Be sure to leave the puppy as little space as needed so his instinct makes him hold until taken outside. Good luck. |
| I would take the towel out for two reasons 1) it helps them to learn to not pee in there bed because it makes them uncomfortable and 2) My Scruffy always seems so hot, i think she prefers the cool plastic rather than the warm blanket. Of course don't leave Bandit sitting in pee all night long, he has to have a chance to do his business in the right place, so if you get up and let him out every couple hours for the first couple weeks he should get the routine down and WANT to hold it until you let him out. The trick is figuring out how long he CAN hold it.
On another note, I think it's great that you let him play outside all day especially if he has a dog door that lets him have access inside when he gets too hot or tired, as puppies do. As long as you have a safe place for him to play I say let him wear himself out all day. |
| Congratulations on Bandit and welcome to the forum. I can't wait to see pics of him. If you are consistent with his training he will understand the difference between his crate inside and his kennel outside, even if his feet aren't on grass. I agree with what else has been said, that he will need to go outside as frequently as possible at his age and for quite a while after! It is wonderful that you have the area to let him play outside - what area of the country (or out of) do you live? Bandit is a week older than my puppy Bingley, so when we pick him up next weekend we will have lots to compare!!! |
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