Housetraining Puppies....

[matt&roxy]

Does anyone use crates for their puppies/dogs? I am having one heck of a time trying to potty train these puppies. Everytime I take them out, they do their thing, come back in the house, and pee on the carpet immediately! It never fails. So, I got to reading and seen that using crates is a good way to potty train them. However, I do not want to go out and pay, which I'm not sure on the price but I am sure they will be high, some outrageous price for these crates. Does anyone have any suggestions on making a homemade one? Also, I am sure they are going to whine and bark alot when I put them in their crates, what are some tricks to keep your sanity?

Thanks......

[PrairieRose]

We've housebroken about 3 dogs using crates. The crates are a bit pricey but not in comparison to new carpet or even to the aggravation it causes to do it otherwise. You can look at the thrift stores near you and watch the want ads for crates as well. If the puppies are small you can go to the grocery store and get a large box to use. We've done that but as they get bigger they are able to either jump out of it or tip it over.
Positive reinforcement is the best method we found to housetrain a puppy. When you take the puppy out and it does it's business, you brag, brag, brag on her...."Oh goooooooddd girl!" in a very enthusiastic voice and petting and rubbing her all the while. When you go inside give her a treat for pottying outside. We always say "let's go potty outside" and then when she does, "goooooood girl, potty outside!". Control the intake of food and water as well that way you can sort of "time" your potty breaks. They will usually need to wet about 30 minutes after drinking and about an hour or 2 after eating. And first thing in the morning and last thing at nite take them out. Otherwise, give them a treat as you put them into their crate, and they are happier to go in. Our dog is 2 yrs. old now and still gets a treat when she goes into her box. She happily sleeps there every nite. If you can't be playing with or holding your puppies they need to be in their crate until they are about 6 months old. They start to "get it" and be able to control their bathroom habits at about that age. Enjoy our puppies, but remember to be "man's best friend" you have to be ultra patient at first.

[homesteadmamma]

We use a crate and it works wonderfully. Puppies instinct is to have their own little place and they love crates. Kyla sleeps in her kennel at night and when away from the house. During the day she has free run of the kitchen until she is completely trained, usually not until they are around 6 months old. The crate door is opened all the time during the day. When she gets tired and wants to sleep, she immediately goes to her crate. The door is only shut at night and when were away from our home.

Puppies will instinctly go back to where they have "pee" if you don't get rid of the smell. We use vinegar which works perfect. I'm not sure how it would work on a rug.

We also have a gate between our kitchen and living room. Because puppies like to chew, I'd perfer her chewing on something in the kitchen rather than on my antique furniture in the living room.

Once I know she is completely trained, she will have full run of the house.

If your near a Walmart, they have crates and are the cheapest I've found anywhere. Because I don't like shopping at Walmart, we picked ours up when it came on sale at our Canadian Tire store.

[homesteadmamma]

Lisa, I agree with those treats. They learn very quickly what the treats are for. As soon as Kyla comes in, she gets her treat.

I did read a book that said to give the puppy a treat even before they come into the house if they've done something outside. It just works easier for us to give Kyla her treat inside.

[QuilterMom]

We used crates and still use them (for when we're off running errands, etc.). Our vet told us to think of them as the dogs' 'safe haven' and to never use the crates as punishment. He also told us when potty training them to not put a towel or anything in the crate with them - they need to learn that if they go in the crate they will have to stand or lie in their mess (and thus figure out that they should go potty outside only). He told us to keep them crated all during the night once we went to bed.

We bought 2 of our crates from Jeffers (best price we found at the time, but that was 7 years ago). http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/

[Ellise]

My dogs are outside babies so I've never used crates before. They know if they come in they need to go to the door to go outside to potty