Where should she sleep?

[yogi53]

too long at this age...can someone let her out for you?

[dignan]

I understand that I shouldn't leave her for that long yet. My question is really referring to in a few months when she is around 8-12 months old and from then on. How do you all deal with your older dogs when you can't let them out every few hours? Is it okay to leave them in their crate for 8 hours?

[StephanieandToby]

When I first got Toby, I let him out in the backyard all the time to play. I could watch him while I did the dishes...There was nothing but trouble!! Even with me at HOME, I had people walk by and try open the gate...feed him...throw things at him...drive by and yell at him...and the worst was a man who brought his bitch by the house....I looked out the window to see Toby and his dog in a "tie." All this with a fully-fenced yard! (though I admit no lock on gates)And I wasn't even in a lousy neighbourhood!!
From then on, Toby was IN THE HOUSE at all times when I was at work.He was only outside when I was with him.
He didn't have a crate, but he had his own room that he shared with his cat when I was at work. He was let out of his room when I got home and he slept in my bedroom at night.

I just have to say....unless your yard is VERY secure...it would be safer to crate your pup...come home at lunch and then back into the cate until you get home. Better safe than sorry!

[Canadianrotti]

We let our DDB Caesar out of the crate to early, and he did a LOT of dammage. Thankfully he was not hurt, but it was a BIG rookie mistake.

With Raelin, she was in her crate any time we could not be with her, from day one untill she was about 1 y/o. Then we started with little outings to test her. She has not been in a crate for about 6 months now, but when I had her hips x-rayed a month or so back, she was fine with being in a pen at the vets, this is also very important.

We moved her crate from the bedroom at night, into the living room during the day. Rottis want to be with their "family" at all times. She would go in on her own, just to hang out because it was her space, and the other animals would leave her alone.

Make sure that you buy a big enough crate for when they are full grown, but section it off so it is not too big as a pup. You girl is 4 m/o now and still has some growing to do, but if the crate is too big, she will still pee on one side, and scrunch up in the other.

BTW, Ralein was 8 week old and house trained, and I firmly believe it was all because of the crate. And you did the right thing by leaving her in the crate to cry it out. Get some ear plugs, and leave her be.

[Canadianrotti]

Rule of thumb for crate time is months old in hours + 1. so she is 4 m/o, which is about 5 hrs max!

[dignan]

Canadian, you hit on something I have another question about (so many questions, I know!)...when did you move the crate into the living room? I want to do the same thing, but can't figure out when to move it.

[Canadianrotti]

every day we would move the crate out when we woke up, and every night befor bed, it was move back to the bed room. We live in the basement, and the move was about 20 feet. If need be, find another crate at a garage sale and keep the 2 in the different rooms.

I know that Raelin would have been seriously stressed having to be in a differnet room than us!

Keep asking questions, that is how we learn (BTW, I was in your shoes about 1 year ago). check out Rottweilers for dummies. Don't let the name fool you, it is a excellent book, and explains a lot of what we are talking about here.

Good luck and keep us up to date.

[Maryn306]

Originally Posted by Judi W

Although she won't know it, she would much prefer being crated and staying out of trouble than being yelled at after the first time she explores eating a hole in the couch! She is still very young and will be getting into mischief even if not going potty in the house.

Do NOT doubt this. For the second time now, hubby forgot to put Rocco back in his crate before leaving for work (around 4 am) after a potty break.

The front of the one arm of my couch is now bare wood with fabric from the top and sides stapled to the outer edges.. There was a cardboard type piece with padding and fabric over that area....the lil fart pulled it off and chewed it like there was no tomorrow. A $700 couch that I just bought last August, ohhh the agony.

I busted him at 7 am, rolling around and chewing on fabric...he got a 'NO!', and was sent to his crate while I cleaned up the mess.

Hubby however got the earfull and beat with a rolled up newspaper

They don't sleep all night just because we do, and if they have free reign and get bored....be prepared to do damage control.

[natesmom14]

Depending on the dog, at some point you may be able to let her roam free (not for a long while yet) in the house rather than outside in the back yard while you are gone. The vet estimated our Rottie rescue to be between 12-18 mos. and she is able to stay out in our livingroom while we are gone- she has been terrific about it. We do have a crate for JUST IN CASE but RARELY use it. However, some dogs won't be able to be left unsupervised even at the age of 5!

I would definitely heed the advice of these more experienced Rottie owners (I learn new things from them every day)- the crate will be a haven for her. Be sure to give her lots of attention and exercise when you are there and give her breaks from it as you can. Make sure she is completely housetrained before even attempting to let her roam free for any unsupervised period (even a period as long as you taking a shower- a potty accident only sets her up for failure and more accidents in the future- and as we all know, it only take about 2 unsupervised seconds for them to pee or poop on the floor).

I don't have a fenced in yard (in fact, our rescue will not adopt out a dog who is going to stay unsupervised in a fenced in yard) and agree with others that leaving her out there during the day is probably not a good idea- for her safety as well as the safety of others.

[dignan]

[quote=natesmom14]
I would definitely heed the advice of these more experienced Rottie owners (I learn new things from them every day)- the crate will be a haven for her. Be sure to give her lots of attention and exercise when you are there and give her breaks from it as you can. Make sure she is completely housetrained before even attempting to let her roam free for any unsupervised period (even a period as long as you taking a shower- a potty accident only sets her up for failure and more accidents in the future- and as we all know, it only take about 2 unsupervised seconds for them to pee or poop on the floor).
[quote]

Funny that you should mention this. The only time there has been an accident recently is when I was in the shower. I know take a shower while she is outside eating in the morning.

The crate has been going much better than expected...She now goes in on the "go home" command and doesn't whine at all. I'm picking the thing up and moving it between the living room and my bedroom when it is time to go to work/bed so she's getting used to it and even spent some time chewing on her bone in there last night after dinner. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, they have given me some peace of mind and allowed me to start sleeping better at night.

One last question...do you all find that you have to be quiet when you sleep at night? I am afraid of making too much noise by moving around and causing her to think that it's time to get up. I don't want her to start whining. How does everyone handle this?

[yogi53]

I thought the same thing as well but she is great - I usually wake up at least once myself and I get up and move around do what I have to do and she will look at me and I will tell her she is a good girl and to go back to sleep - she has never said a peep - sometimes she will play with one of her toys but mostly she just goes back to sleep! Sounds like you are making great progress with her - good luck!

[natesmom14]

Again, I don't have a puppy quite as young, but I do have 2 dogs that sleep on the floor next to our bed. We have 3 kids- one being a toddler that we still turn the baby monitor on for. There is RARELY a night that SOMEONE isn't making some kind of noise or coming in to our room- the dogs sleep right through it. Just like I tell any mom of a newborn- DON'T keep it super quiet while they sleep- certainly they don't need their sleep completely disrupted, but they will get used to normal background noises and sleep right through those.

That being said- we've had on occasion 2 cats fighting in the back yard- now that WILL wake our dogs up.

[Daytonasmaster]

Originally Posted by rottnkidd

A 4 mo old pup cannot be left unattended in the yard. It doesn't matter if the yard is fenced. There are just too many things that can go wrong.
Also, in order to expedite the housetraining, the crate is your answer.
Best wishes -
kathy

In my opinion I do not believe a 4 mo old pup is too young to be left unattended in the yard. It is after all not a 4 month old child. As long as it is a fenced yard and there is nothing dangerous for the dog to get into I see nothing wrong with the puppy staying outside for periods of time unsupervised. You seriously cannot expect someone to stay 24/7 with a puppy in the yard or leave it in a crate each time you have something to go do? I just disagree with your saying that a dog at that age cannot be left unattended in a secured yard. Just my opinion!

[Daytonasmaster]

Oh, and by the way I have a 12 week old female rottie that I got when she was 8 weeks old. The first two weeks we had her she slept in the house and cried the entire time she was in the crate. We had several sleepless nights of getting up and down and then just letting her whine it out (which never happened). I live in a very small town where everyone knows everyone kind of place. We have a fully fenced in yard and I would let her outside every day with me in the yard with her and she would love it outside. Romp, play or just lay in the shade of a tree. It got to the point around the third week that she would refuse to come in at night after using the bathroom outdoors. She would lay down in the grass and just look at me as if saying:" You surely dont expect me to come inside in that crate again do you?" Well, after getting her indoors the whining and howling continued throughout the night even if we would let her out of her crate she would whine to go outside. My husband then decided to buy a doghouse and we let her out the first night alone. She did extremely well, not a peep was heard from her all night long. She sleeps in the doghouse sometimes but mostly likes to lay behind it in the cool muddy area between the house and the dog box. I let her inside the house during the day alot to interact with us and relax and play, we take her on most of our outings with us, the lake, the park,etc... She is fine coming in the house during the day but at night she wants to be outside. So far its been a week and a half of her being outdoors at night and she is content. I have not found anything that she has gotten herself into trouble with and like I said I live in a peaceful neighborhood, mainly elderly people where there is no chance of dog knapping or someone opening the gate to let her out. I plan to purchase a seperate kennel for her for outdoors once she is bigger so that she isnt roaming the yard freely at night, I do not believe in a chained dog! I work middle shift, my husband works day shift, so someone is always with the dog to pay her attention. Someone told me it may be the fact that she likes the outdoors so much because the breeder I got her from had her and the mother in a kennel type enclosure outdoors, so she was used to being somewhat outdoors/indoors during her first 8 weeks of life. So, I guess my advice is that I dont believe the dog is too young to be outside by itself as long as its a good area you live in, a well fenced yard with no way to escape, and nothing to injure itself on, or plants to eat that it shouldnt. If your puppy whines when outside alone at that age, I would recommend keeping it in a crate indoors until the pup gets older, in my case it is just different and after all the puppy wants it this way, not I!

[Judi W]

Regardless of your neighborhood or your convictions, all should have locked gates to any area their dog is kept in. Someone opening your gate with the best of intentions (to pet the dog, or retrieve a ball or.....) too often allows the opportunity for a dog to dart out the gate. They can neglect to refasten the gate properly - dog is gone. Adult dogs normally develop some protectiveness of their property. Someone decides to enter yard, doesn't notice dog and gets bitten. The list goes on. Just lock the darn gates. Padlocks are not that expensive and certainly not as expensive as care for a dog that has been hit by a car or a lawsuit due to a dog bite.