Tips for crate training & training in general ; new puppy

We bring our new puppy home on May 3rd and it’s been many years since I’ve crate trained. Any tips or book suggestions?

 

Congrats. What'cha get?

 

Thanks brother. Pure bred Golden Retreiver

 

x2

 

Buy stock in puppy pads

 

Retriever

This is the perfect example of what I’m on the fence about. I understand the concept, but I just don’t feel like I want me dog to think it’s ok to go to the bathroom anywhere in the house....

 

Congrats on the new family member! It's been a 8 years since I did this and what I remember most was having to sleep by the crate for the first few nights. Even though dogs don't like to "go" in their crate, when they are young they can't hold it as long so regular trips outside and then back in the crate will help train them.

 

Just put em in the crate to help with the cleanup, and make sure to let em outside as often as possible.

 

My dog thought puppy pads were the best thing ever... for sleeping on, chewing, hiding under, pretty much everything other than pissing on.

Does someone stay at home all day? I skipped crate training with mine but i work from home full time, so i would take her outside whenever she ate and wait for her to take a crap. Then aside from that, i'd take her out every 30 minutes for the first week or two, and then every hour and so on - quite quickly through the day, i had her trained. I have a tiled kitchen floor so i would just shut her in there at night and deal with the consequences in the morning although letting her out in the middle of the night helped with that a lot. As a warning... retrievers have a habit of eating their own poop - get to it before they do, trust me.

Also, I've said it a million times through this forum - get pet insurance - I have embrace and they've been amazing. I hope you don't ever need to claim, but it's super nice having it when you do! For every year i've had insurance, i've made a profit, the one year I didn't could have easily paid for a supercharger instead.

 

I've heard that pet insurance can be good but not all insurances are equal. My previous dog needed 2 different surgeries that were over $6K each and the insurance we had covered nothing.

 

I just raised a German Shepherd. I started her in a small crate for night time. Just enough of a size that she can turn around. I learned dogs won’t go to the bathroom where they sleep as long as they can hold it. I set the alarm to let her out every couple of hours for the first couple of weeks. I praised her a lot when she went outside. She never had an accident when I paid attention. By the time she was 12 weeks she was completely house trained. Shes nine months now and I don’t need to shut the door and when she’s ready for bed she just goes in on her own. The crate now is the biggest I could find so she can stretch out better.

 

Yup, I totally agree which is why I strongly advocate for embrace pet insurance. They've been amazing to deal with and have never tried to screw me over. Their deal is that I pay the first 500, they pay 80% of anything after that. You can tweak those numbers and it will change the premium.

But with them, you choose whatever vet you want which I like, including emergency and specialist. I had to send something to Mississippi state, the only lab to run a particular test, the only thing embrace didn't refund me on was the overnight shipping to get the sample there.

 

When I trained our golden, I bought a crate that had a divider in it. He slept in the smaller side at night. Smart pups won't pee or poop where they sleep. He would let us know pretty quick he had to go outside. It took about a week and a few snacky cakes and he figured it out real quick. Trained my mongo pom the same way.

 

We have a 1 year old Goldador. They are half Golden Retrievers and 1/2 yellow lab. Anyway like others said get a big crate with a divider. Set the divider as small as you can so the puppy has enough room to turn around and lay down. It’s pretty important to get them on a set schedule from day 1. Take them out every 30-60 minutes at first. Then let him/her out first thing in the morning. Try and stay outside with them and give them a treat immediately after they go potty outside. I think we only used about 10 potty pads before Charlie was able to go all night without going in his kennel.

 

Make going in the crate a great experience for him/her. Give them lots of treats for going in there. Don't punish then when they are in there. It should be their "safe place". When we have a bunch of people over or there is thunder she goes in there. Also, puppies can hold their bladder 1 hour per month of age. So if he/she is 2 months old when you get them you need to take them out every 2 hours and gradually increase. When you are home leave the door of the crate open and leave treats and if he/she likes toys leave some in there so he/she'll go in to grab it. Also get them to go in there without just leaving or they'll learn when you make them go in there you are leaving them. If you have any other questions just ask.

 

Like I mentioned in a previous thread, Wildrose Kennels has a puppy training video series on Facebook and their web page. Lots of tips there.

I start with a small crate that has a piece of plywood I cut to fit inside and tie through the vent holes to keep the crate right sized for the pup (pic below). Just large enough for them to turn around. I don't leave the towel in the picture in the crate when I am not watching them. I take them out immediately after a meal, after waking up, after play, etc. I only let them walk around after a trip outside and not very long. I also start with a bathroom command almost immediately. When the dog is "doing it's business" say the command over and over (I use "get it done") and also praise the dog for using outside. I like to keep the pups outside area small at first (10' x 10") to avoid confusion. Set the pup up for success and all training will be easier.

To get the pup sleeping through the night, start by limiting food and water intake for a couple of hours before bed. I set an alarm to take the pup outside instead of waiting for the pup to wake me. This starts on night number 1. I start with an hour or two and move it up a little every night for a six week old. Hopefully by the end of the week the pup is sleeping through the night and you won't need to get up five times during the night. The pup sleeps in a crate next to my bed. Actually, to this day all my dogs still sleep in crates in my bedroom.

I make my dogs sit for food. This also starts day one. Hold the pup by the collar. Have someone place the food bowl down in front of them. Say sit and gently push their rear end down. As soon as it touches the ground release and say "get it". It should not take long for the pup to sit on its own. Continue to say sit when it happens, you are now training the sit command at 6 weeks while feeding.

That should keep you busy for a week or two.

 

We love Goldens! Also provide her/him with lots of "chew" toys, raw hides, hoofs, antlers etc. Hopefully it will not chew on too much of your stuff.....

 

We also put a little bell on back door, would ring every time we took my boxer out. In no time he associated the bell with going outside and would go to door and nudge it when he needed to go out. Now he judge nudges the blinds.

 

Assuming that he/she will only be sleeping in it at night, it should only be as big as they are. It sucks, but you need to buy a smaller one when a pup, and a bigger one when they outgrow it. Stick with your guns, there will be a lot of crying at night. stay strong....good luck!
make sure to post pictures of the fur-baby!