# Crate training?



## houstonr (May 14, 2014)

Hey guys, so I recently decided that after 3 days that I got my new puppy (Lime), that I should crate train him. I've been reading about crate training on many different websites, and so far this is what I've been doing based on the information I gathered (started today):

1) In the morning, I introduced Lime to the crate by setting a few pieces of treats inside and he seemed to like the crate, because he took a nap shortly thereafter.
2) After every nap he'd wake up, whine, but I wouldn't let him out and only would let him out after he stopped whining and praised him for doing so.
3) After he came out of the crate, I went outside and waited for him to pee (how long should I wait for him to finish his business? Sometimes I waited out for a long time but he wouldn't pee; and then peed on the potty pads I laid out for him inside :mellow
4) He'd play around a little bit (15 - 20 minutes tops) and then I'd give him another treat to go back inside, and fall asleep.
5) Repeat, except prolong the wait time for him to get out after he wakes up.

One thing I seem to be having trouble with is consistency; I don't have a schedule set up for him, as he is still barely 2 months old. Should I change this?
But other than that, am I doing this right? If not, what can I do to improve my method? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm still an inexperienced dog owner, and I'm hoping that all of you guys would only make me better. Thanks in advance!


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

He is still young so it could take awhile. My past dogs I crate trained.,but my present ones were trained to pee pads and using an x pen. Consistency praise and little bits of treats gets the job done. 

I believe that dogs like and follow a schedule. I had the crate training schedule written out and posted where I could see it. Good luck and be consistent i!!!


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## houstonr (May 14, 2014)

Thanks for the reply @Furbabies! And yeah, I know it's going to take a lot of work... but do you mind posting a picture of your schedule, if you still have it? Or telling me what it was?


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## rasgari (Feb 25, 2014)

lily is 4 months and crate training hasn't worked, she now will sleep in her crate with the door open and then walk to her pee pad.

I tried crate training her the "proper" way but she was just way too little to hold it in. after several accounts of peeing and popping her crate I just resorted to the pee pads, and quite frankly it's going great! we are down to one pad on each level of the house. 


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## rasgari (Feb 25, 2014)

about the schedule- each dog is different. lily has been on different schedules and now a new one cause she just switched to a raw diet.




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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

houstonr said:


> Thanks for the reply @Furbabies! And yeah, I know it's going to take a lot of work... but do you mind posting a picture of your schedule, if you still have it? Or telling me what it was?


That was at least 19 years ago!! I bought a book called"how to housebreak your dog in 7 days" believe me it took more than 7 days! That book is still out, but in a revised edition. Having done the crate, and the x pen, I prefer the x pen .


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## houstonr (May 14, 2014)

@Furbabies Oh wow, 19 years! Haha sorry about that. But thanks for the book recommendation! I'll be sure to look into it.
@rasgari thanks for the reply! Yeah Lime was born on March 30th so he's about 6 weeks old so I guess it wouldn't work for him either. 

A general question: Should I start setting a schedule for the puppy right now, or wait until he gets older; maybe until he's at least 4 months old?


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## rasgari (Feb 25, 2014)

oh my gosh only 6 weeks!?!? how did you get him so early? he's probably a tiny thing, yeah he definitely can't be crate trained so young, your best bet is getting an x pen with a comfy bed and a pee pad. or what I did was put lily's crate with the door open, waterbowl, and a pad and then blocked it off from the rest of my bedroom. 

lily I got at 12 weeks and she weighed 2lbs and couldn't hold it in even for 2 hours lol. 

as far as schedule I had 8am, 2pm and 7pm with snacks in between as a feeding schedule. lily loves to sleep in lol I got lucky. she would eliminate before breakfast (after she's up for 20minutes) and after meals. 


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

You are already getting a lot of great information, but I just wanted to add that he is so young that he should not be going outside on the ground at this point. It's not safe ... not until all of his vaccinations are finished and you've got many weeks before that time. Until then, pee pads only. :thumbsup:


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## houstonr (May 14, 2014)

Thanks for the great tips @summergirl73 and @rasgari!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Is your pup possibly a mix of a maltese and a larger dog? The reason I ask is that maltese are still so very delicate at 6 weeks old. Or is it possible that your pup is older? Either way-we love mixes too!

If you do have a full blooded malt at 6 weeks old I wouldn't think there would be much in the way of bladder control-so I'm actually impressed that the pup is making it to the pad.

I crate trained my two and trained them to go outside. We did have accidents in the crate-to me that's just going to happen when they are puppies. I even got up twice a night to take them out. When I first brought them home at 11-12 weeks, I'm pretty sure they were stopping to pee about every 15 minutes or so. I kinda wish now that I would have pad trained them because our winters are so harsh.

When I could not keep an eye on them they were in their crates-when I could keep an eye on them I would interrupt if they squatted and take them out. I look them out a TON and gave them a treat when they did potty outside. Just keep up being consistent, it feels like for ever but you will eventually get there.

Rocky-my oldest was not trustworthy till almost a year and a half, Tucker, my second pup had it down at 5 months. I think part of it is every dog being different-the other part is that Tucker had Rocky to learn from.


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## Ann Mother (Dec 18, 2013)

rasgari said:


> oh my gosh only 6 weeks!?!? how did you get him so early? he's probably a tiny thing, yeah he definitely can't be crate trained so young, your best bet is getting an x pen with a comfy bed and a pee pad. or what I did was put lily's crate with the door open, waterbowl, and a pad and then blocked it off from the rest of my bedroom.
> 
> lily I got at 12 weeks and she weighed 2lbs and couldn't hold it in even for 2 hours lol.
> 
> ...



Good post!


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