Housebreaking a pup

[bush16 10]

Is it OK to lock a cocker pup 10 weeks old in a cage at night or should I let her have run of kitchen where her crate is

[nikki-red 308]

Letting her have the run of the kitchen sort of defeats the object with toilet training, one of the main the points is that they wont 'go' where they sleep etc.

 

We had Archie in a crate from being 8 weeks.

 

We bought quite a big crate and a small bed just big enough for him to be comfy (approximately half the crate size). We had that at one side and a puppy pad at the other just in case.

 

He had a few accidents but as he got bigger (quite rapidly!) we bought him bigger and bigger beds until there was no room for a pad and he was totally fine. We didnt follow this method from anywhere, we just played it by ear really and it worked well for us.

 

Archie loved his crate, we only got rid of it because he outgrew it and we wouldve needed one half the size of our kitchen!

[silentP 10]

Don't look it as locking it up in a cage!

It's a small dog, the crate is a small space and will feel more safe and secure than the much larger and looming kitchen space. You can half cover it with a blanket as well to give it a den feel

 

Remember, it's been used to the company of other dogs from birth so a large open area at night by itself could be a tad scary.

Edited May 15, 2017 by silentP
slight adjustment

[ccit 10]

Time is the issue. A puppy can't be expected to hold it's urine for too many hours so you need to get up early (6am-ish) and put him out for a wee immediately. The crate should be big enough for a bed at one end and newspaper at the other. The paper will only be used if pup is bursting and you have not got there quick enough. BTW the term house training says more about what we hope to achieve. There is no force involved, it's just about putting puppy in a situation where it can succeed in being clean.