Wife and I got a puppy this past Friday and I'm having a hard time nailing down a tried and true house training method.
We both work M-F so this has been our tentative house training plan:
When we're home, periodically lure him in his crate and shut the door, leave him in there with toys.
- This has gone well, he'll go in on his own sometimes, other times I throw one of his chewtoys inside and then close it behind him once he's in. He usually is fine and can be fine in there for up to an hour before I'll take him outside.
When not in the crate, we keep an eye on him and reward good behavior like chewing toys and try to develop a strong "No" when he's trying to chew on furniture or something like that
- Also going well, he'll try to chew on the coffee table or our shoes, but that's been becoming less and less, he seems to really chew his chew toys more than anything
Take him outside about once an hour
- We have a backyard so I'll take him out and let him walk around, he pees at least 2/3 of the time we take him out and so far has been pooping 2-3 times a day
Crate him at night
- Also going very well, he basically goes to sleep in his crate w/ it closed and so far has woken us up twice each night (1-2am and 4-5ish am), we take him outside and he does his business quickly and then has no issues going back in the crate and back to sleep
Crate him when we have to go somewhere
- Tried this once on Saturday and once on Sunday. Saturday was for a half hour and Sunday was about 2 hours. Saturday I set my phone up to record just to see what he'd do, and he basically whined/braked/howled for a solid 25 minutes of the time we were gone before finally seeming to settle down.
- Sunday, I couldn't record him but when we got home he had actually gotten out of the crate. Thankfully he didn't go crazy on any furniture or anything, but he did poop a little bit.
I got a Kong on Sunday and had given it to him before leaving and he was pretty occupied with it when we left, but obviously that didn't last long
Crate him during work day with my in-laws coming at 11ish and 3ish to let him out
- Today was our first day doing this. I basically can leave my house at 8:30 at the latest so I got him in the crate around 8:20, gave him a Kong and showered quick before leaving. By the time I was leaving he was whining and barking.
- My father-in-law went around 11 and let him out/played with him for about an hour. Said he was in the crate (I reinforced the latch mechanism) and went to the bathroom outside after he was fed. My mother-in-law is stopping by around 3 and then my wife will be home by 4.
Now I did not grow up with dogs and my wife did, but her parents did a lot of the training. What I'm reading online has a general specificity on what to do, but I'm not 100% sure on the work day training part.
My main questions pertain to the 8:30-4pm M-F time:
- We have a kitchen where we currently put the crate. I've read a few things online that said you can put the crate in the room (while sealing off room from rest of house) but leave it open along w/ chew toys and water AND a 'puppy toilet' somewhere away from his crate. I'd feel a lot less guilty if I knew he'd have the room to roam around in, but I feel like having a 'puppy toilet' is going to inhibit his potty training of only relieving himself outside, which at this point he's been doing very well with. And while he's not in the crate longer than 3 hours without a solid break, I don't want him having to hold it in even if he's going to the bathroom right before going in.
I really appreciate any insight, I want to make the best decisions possible and while I feel like I get the basic parameters of what to be doing for house training, the work-day time is definitely the most perplexing.
***Picture upon request
We both work M-F so this has been our tentative house training plan:
When we're home, periodically lure him in his crate and shut the door, leave him in there with toys.
- This has gone well, he'll go in on his own sometimes, other times I throw one of his chewtoys inside and then close it behind him once he's in. He usually is fine and can be fine in there for up to an hour before I'll take him outside.
When not in the crate, we keep an eye on him and reward good behavior like chewing toys and try to develop a strong "No" when he's trying to chew on furniture or something like that
- Also going well, he'll try to chew on the coffee table or our shoes, but that's been becoming less and less, he seems to really chew his chew toys more than anything
Take him outside about once an hour
- We have a backyard so I'll take him out and let him walk around, he pees at least 2/3 of the time we take him out and so far has been pooping 2-3 times a day
Crate him at night
- Also going very well, he basically goes to sleep in his crate w/ it closed and so far has woken us up twice each night (1-2am and 4-5ish am), we take him outside and he does his business quickly and then has no issues going back in the crate and back to sleep
Crate him when we have to go somewhere
- Tried this once on Saturday and once on Sunday. Saturday was for a half hour and Sunday was about 2 hours. Saturday I set my phone up to record just to see what he'd do, and he basically whined/braked/howled for a solid 25 minutes of the time we were gone before finally seeming to settle down.
- Sunday, I couldn't record him but when we got home he had actually gotten out of the crate. Thankfully he didn't go crazy on any furniture or anything, but he did poop a little bit.
I got a Kong on Sunday and had given it to him before leaving and he was pretty occupied with it when we left, but obviously that didn't last long
Crate him during work day with my in-laws coming at 11ish and 3ish to let him out
- Today was our first day doing this. I basically can leave my house at 8:30 at the latest so I got him in the crate around 8:20, gave him a Kong and showered quick before leaving. By the time I was leaving he was whining and barking.
- My father-in-law went around 11 and let him out/played with him for about an hour. Said he was in the crate (I reinforced the latch mechanism) and went to the bathroom outside after he was fed. My mother-in-law is stopping by around 3 and then my wife will be home by 4.
Now I did not grow up with dogs and my wife did, but her parents did a lot of the training. What I'm reading online has a general specificity on what to do, but I'm not 100% sure on the work day training part.
My main questions pertain to the 8:30-4pm M-F time:
- We have a kitchen where we currently put the crate. I've read a few things online that said you can put the crate in the room (while sealing off room from rest of house) but leave it open along w/ chew toys and water AND a 'puppy toilet' somewhere away from his crate. I'd feel a lot less guilty if I knew he'd have the room to roam around in, but I feel like having a 'puppy toilet' is going to inhibit his potty training of only relieving himself outside, which at this point he's been doing very well with. And while he's not in the crate longer than 3 hours without a solid break, I don't want him having to hold it in even if he's going to the bathroom right before going in.
I really appreciate any insight, I want to make the best decisions possible and while I feel like I get the basic parameters of what to be doing for house training, the work-day time is definitely the most perplexing.
***Picture upon request