# Crate Training



## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

I am new as ya'll have seen in my thread:

http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/50-introduce-yourself/114934-new-little-guy.html

The wife and I are currently crate training out Maltese Charlie. There is also no way that we can leave him to roam the house while we are out during the day as we both work full time. Right now, we want him in his crate at night and while we are away. Eventually he can be let out at night though. We do not want to come home to a torn up house for sure lol. 

I just wanted to get some tips other than what I have read online. I mean I let him out as soon as I got home today and he didnt do anything. (he had already peed in his crate on a pad. But when we got back in, he went to the carpet in our bedroom and took a #2. 

lat night he done well in the cage, he cried for about twenty minutes before he finally went to sleep. And we get up to go let him relieve himself as well. I just want to get him house trained....

As for other stuff, I have never seen a dog that DIDNT respond to mouth noises to get thier attention...like Charlie. Every dog i had could come to the kissing noise or a whistle when they were pups. Charlie just sits there and looks at you lol...We have alot of work to do!

So please any suggestions would be great!


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

It can be exhausting the first few weeks when potty training & crate training! Just remember to take a deep breath and relax -- it takes lots of time. Up to a year. I bet you are really excited now. LOL!

The most difficult thing you are going to encounter is what you've already mentioned: You both work full time. Charlie cannot hold his bladder for 8hrs at a time other than possibly at night. Is there some way one of you could go home on your lunch break to let him out for 30 minutes? If not, it may be in your (and his) best interest to hire a pet sitter/dog walker to stop in to potty him in the afternoon. Or, you could consider purchasing an exercise pen (x-pen) and put his crate, toys, water, food, and a pee pad. If I worked full time (I am a housewife, my husband works full time) I would definitely go for the x-pen method. This would also give him room to play/move around during the day.

Also important, what are the dimensions of his crate? When crate training alongside potty training, you want a crate that is just large enough for him to comfortably stand up in and turn around. Nothing larger. For a Maltese puppy, it will be a tiny space. Many of us use the Midwest wire crates with either 1 or 2 doors that has a moveable divider panel to adjust the amount of space they need as they grow. I prefer the 18x24 size I think it is. I can provide a link for you if needed.

When I was potty training my two (they are 1 1/2 years apart) I took them outside on a leash to potty about every 30 minutes at first. When they were really young, they had 5 minutes to potty outside -- if they didn't go, they went into their crate for 10 minutes. Then we'd try again on a leash...no potty = no freedom. With London I had to keep a leash on her even indoors because she would wander off to potty when I wasn't watching her. After her, I learned with Preston that if I couldn't literally watch him 100%, he either needed to be confined to his crate, or on a leash tied to my belt loop. He has only had 2 accidents inside ever.  London is almost 4 and she will still sneak off and go if I don't take her out often enough. It is really important to really focus on potty training right from the start.

If you put Charlie's crate in your bedroom, he should settle down at night much easier because he knows he's not alone and can see or hear you breathe. I like to put the crate beside my side of the bed when they're young so that if they do whimper, I can stick my fingers through the crate and it usually helps them settle. I usually made one, sometimes two potty breaks during the night. If Charlie whines during the night, go ahead and try taking him potty. You can remove his water bowl 30 minutes to 1 hr before bedtime if he seems to be needing to potty a lot at night. I also always make sure the dogs go potty right before bed. We call it their "night night potty"...yes, even still at 2 and almost 4 years old. 

I hope I have helped you some, feel free to ask me or any one else any other questions you may have.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

dixie_boysles said:


> I just wanted to get some tips other than what I have read online. I mean I let him out as soon as I got home today and he didnt do anything. (he had already peed in his crate on a pad. But when we got back in, he went to the carpet in our bedroom and took a #2.
> 
> lat night he done well in the cage, he cried for about twenty minutes before he finally went to sleep. And we get up to go let him relieve himself as well. I just want to get him house trained....
> 
> ...


How long is he left in his crate during the day? How old is he? 
The rule of thumb if a dog at rest can hold their urine for their age in months plus 1. So a 3 month old pup must go out every 4 hours. 

If you know he needs to go potty and has not gone, do not allow him to run around the house. Place him back in the crate for 15 minutes and take him out again. 

Here's a link on housetraining:
House Training Puppies & Dogs. Easy Steps to Potty Training


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

Personally I think that Crate training is the way to go as far as housebreaking a Puppy and it also taks ALOT OF PATIENCE and CONSISTENCY on behalf of the owner. 

You are obviously aware of what to do with little Charlie. You mentioned that you had taken Charlie out as soon as you came home and he did not do anything outdoors. How long did you have him outdoors since he relieved himself inside after he came in? And it is ok to let him cry and not give in to him unless of course there is something wrong. Puppies will get used to their crates and eventually go in by themselves. To them, it is their safe haven. I know that even though Chrissy is 3 1/2 years old, she still goes into her crate just to lie down and rest. The door is always open for her.

I am sure that with all of the training that you are doing with Charlie, that he will get the hang of it and do what he has to do outdoors. Accidents do occur so do not be discouraged and most of all do not scold him if he has an accident.


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## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

Charlie is 12 weeks old. So he can hold it about 2 hours then. Problem is, I dont get lunch until 12 everyday. I work 7-4 M-F with an hour lunch. The wife will have him the days she is off though. Ill go home and let him out the rest of the evening here in 15 minutes 

I didnt have a problem kennel training my lab, he loved his pen from the start lol. of course he is an outside dog though.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

dixie_boysles said:


> Charlie is 12 weeks old. So he can hold it about 2 hours then. Problem is, I dont get lunch until 12 everyday. I work 7-4 M-F with an hour lunch. The wife will have him the days she is off though. Ill go home and let him out the rest of the evening here in 15 minutes
> 
> I didnt have a problem kennel training my lab, he loved his pen from the start lol. of course he is an outside dog though.


 
Since Charlie is 3 months old, he can hold it for about 4 hours (1hr per month of age plus 1). I actually don't even expect an adult dog to even hold it for longer than 6 hours. If you can go home on your lunch at 12 to let him out that would be ideal and he should be okay.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

There is a book that I used along time ago, called How to Housebreak Your Dog in Seven Days. It is still in print. It did take longer than a week but there are schedules for working and staying home. I followed the schedule and all of my dogs were housebroken with this book. Just be sure your little one can hold it for awhile before you crate him any length of time. My three fur babies still don't have the run of the house but I don't have to crate them anymore.


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## socalyte (Nov 15, 2010)

When I'm going to be gone for a while, I put Pippa in her playpen. At one end of the pen is a small potty pad in a holder so she can't tear it and choke on the plastic. At the other end is her bed, toys, a tiny bowl of dry kibble and a water bottle. It's similar to what others do with an X-pen (exercise pen).


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## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

Charlie is still not taking the crate so well. He cries at night for about 20 mintutes and he's done. But 5 oclock in the mornings, he is AWFUL. he is relentless. I dont care if you let him out to use the bathroom and put him back in, he is still at it. Its getting tiredsom and im becoming sleepy everyday. How much longer can we expect for him to whine and bark in the crate?

His potty training is getting better. When he is out, and he has to go, he starts acting funny and starts aggrevating the crap out of me or starts sniffing alot. I grab him and put take him out said and sure enough. BUT I still dont trust him around carpet. He is the most peeingest and crapingest dog ive ever seen


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

I feel your pain lol! Our little Bella wasn't keen on the tiny crate thing either. Something to consider is a travel crib / playpen. We bought 1 off of Craigslist for less than $50. It is rolled into our bedroom at night so she can hear me when I tell her to hush and go back to sleep. It also gives her comfort to be close to us. It's a great size because she can lay at one end and you can put a puppy pad at the other. I haven't tried the puppy pad at the end yet, but I've read that it works great if it's in a plastic holder. Giving your Charlie a bit more safe space (i.e. a playpen) may help you out a bit .


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## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

we will consider that. might get a bigger one for him


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## lyndy (Jul 9, 2011)

I would switch to using a playpen while your gone. It sounds like he has to use the bathroom in his crate and dogs do not like to eliminate where they sleep. Since he has no choice but to eliminate there, it may be counter productive to his potty training. His crate should be big enough for him to turn around in and lay down. That is what worked best for us.

I gave Daisy an old pillow I used to use as her bed in her crate. That seemed to help her love her crate and stop the crying at night. Sometimes she will bark when I put her to bed, but her life's goal is to sleep on the big bed so it is more her telling me off lol.


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## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

His crate is big enough for him to stretch out and he can stand in it and have plenty enough room. He just doesnt like the crate right now lol.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Hi Scott  I remember when we brought Rocky home. Oh I was so tired. He would cry for the longest time at nights, and would pee every hour, if not more. We also had several accidents in the crate even though I would wake up after a few hours to take him out and then get up way early in the morning to take him out again. It does get better though.

Right now he's six months old and we are still working on potty training, but like I said it is getting better. He holds it all night and if we had to, he could hold it through the work day (I come home at lunch to let him out and play with him though). I have trained larger dogs in the past and it's never taken this long to potty train for me, I honestly believe he will be close to a year old before he gets it. Luckily my parents bought us a carpet cleaner for a wedding gift  I am trying to be more diligent with watching him though, to read the signs that he has to go out.

I am also trying to teach him what 'outside' means, a friend brought that up to me at work. Every time we go out, I say outside-this way if I do catch him having an accident in the house, I can say 'outside!' and take him out quickly. I also have a bell hanging on the door and am stopping to ring that before each trip outside-I am hoping he will pick up that if he rings the bell we'll take him out.


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## dixie_boysles (Sep 22, 2011)

UPDATE:

Ok, we have had Charlie now for going on four weeks and let me tell you:

He is AWESOME!!!!! Such a smart little pup. We have just about crate trained him. he doesnt go in the crate anymore, even if I cant get home on lunch to let him out. He goes to the door when he's got to go now too!!! BUT if you dont see him to let him out, he will find somewhere to go. 

Also, his whining at night when he is put up in his crate is all but gone. He didnt even make a peep last night! Now if he hears us get up or something, its time to come out. Also he will let us know when he has to use the bathroom by barking and scratching in his crate at night. Once he goes, we put him up and he goes back to sleep.

He is quickly becoming a mommy's boy. He loves my wife dearly. I mean me too, but he really follows her around. he's quickly getting used to our schedule. He loves to play. Usually has his toys strolled around the coffee table, he absolutely loves his toy rope and squeak toy. 

He got his second round of shots a week or two ago and did excellent.

Charlie is a real joy.


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

:smilie_daumenpos: Wow Scott that is great news! I had to laugh when I read that Charlie is a Momma's boy, as our Bella is definetly a Daddy's girl! Drives me crazy because I work with her all day lol. We've switched things up a lot in the last week in our house (because Bella was starting to goof a bit on pottying). We are now soley a "Crate training" household. Crossing our fingers that she'll get as good as Charlie very soon!


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