Crating a pup: looking for advice

[shmoopysmom]

We will be bringing home our pup this weekend, 10 weeks old, and intend to crate train, but don't know much about it. Appreciate good advice from all you experienced crate trainers. Here's a few of my questions:
Is placing a crate in a penned area (inside the house) a good idea? What about allowing the pup outside access through a dog door inside the penned area in the house, into a small fenced area outside, that is fenced off from plants, the pool, the hose, etc? OR, do we crate train her without the penned off area inside the house, or allow her access to the fenced off yard outside, but she can only come into the crate inside the house? HELP!!!

[zorro13]

I am kinda confused by some of your questions. First, yes, keep the crate inside the house. Take your pup outside, on leash, for potty breaks, this way you are not chasing her around trying to catch her. At 10 weeks, your pup won't know what a doggie door is for, so you want to take her out yourself to learn where to go to the bathroom. Don't let your pup have the run of the house, you can use a baby gate when you are in the room with her, keep her supervised so she doesn't chew on everything. If you have to leave the room for just a moment, crate her.

I take a pup outside to do their business after each meal, upon waking up, pretty much every hour, and several times throughout the night.

Welcome to the forums, what did you name your pup?

[shmoopysmom]

Thanks for your response, sorry about the confusing questions, when our last rott was a pup (10 years ago!) we had created a 6' x 6' pen inside the house around the doggie door, so she could go outside whenever she wanted and come into the house into the pen when we weren't home. We fenced off a small portion of the yard outside the doggie door, so she would not fall into the pool, get into trouble etc, but could still enjoy being outside to go potty, lay in the sun etc. So my question basically was, is it better to crate train than to pen train?

Our future pup will be named Chad's Athena.

[thenewpup]

It's better to crate train than to pen train. Our Rottweiler is going on 18 weeks and he started crate training at 10 weeks. We've visited relatives and didn't have to find a dog sitter. Instead, we brought the crate with us. My in-laws loved the idea since they had a fear of Rottweilers (even a pup). This gave them a chance to "see the beast safely" and also to have a place to put him if he was becoming too rambunctious. As far as they're concerned, our pup is one of the better behaved dogs that are brought over (most relatives just turn loose the dogs and whatever happens, happens).

Tank, our pup, was housebroke in about a month's time with crate training. He's never messed in the crate (a few accidents in the house though). He eats, sleeps, and randomly (depending on when he needs to be out of the way for the moment) is put in the crate. He's learned to just settle down, fall asleep, and wait to be let out again. Compared to other dogs I've had, Tank is much calmer because of the crate.

Some people use the crate just for housebreaking, and then wean the dogs off of the idea. This is entirely up to you. However, I think I'll keep the crate since it is simply too helpful to give up (travel, guests, leaving for work, etc.). One thing though, never use the crate as a punishment. This is the dog's home and he needs to feel secure in the crate. Tank will go to sleep on his own in the crate.

[shmoopysmom]

Thanks much for the advice! I never thought about the advantages of taking the crate with you when you go places, and not using it for punishment, good suggestion. Do you have one of the fold up crates for travel or just a wire crate?

[Cole Bella Tapia]

We have two Rottweiler pups, 5 month male, and 3 month female. They both are crate trained, in house, and are very comfortable with it. They sleep throught the night from 10pm - 7am, take occasional breaks from each other in there, and sometimes trade crates when playing or stealing toys from the other.

They spend their daytime outside for the most part, with our other two dogs, and have free roam ( if you can call 5 people constantly hawking over them free) of the back yard which is quite roomy. I can not imagine having to train and raise these pups without the use of a crate, as it is really a great tool of many uses. Funny thing too: the female has taught herself to open the crate door with her paw when she wants some alone time (no, she can't work the lock, yet!)

[thenewpup]

Originally Posted by shmoopysmom

Thanks much for the advice! I never thought about the advantages of taking the crate with you when you go places, and not using it for punishment, good suggestion. Do you have one of the fold up crates for travel or just a wire crate?

We have a fold up crate with a divider. It's made out of metal with a plastic insert that can slide out for easy cleaning. Initially I saw the crates that were big enough for a 2-3 month pup for about $10 less than a folding crate that was big enough for a full grown Rottweiler (with a divider). Needless to say, I went with the crate that would hold accommodate his growth.

It's a very good investment and this particular crate handles abuse well. If the plastic ever breaks, it's easy enough to find a replacement. After two months, the crate still looks new.

The crate has been used in the back of the truck and anchored securely. Tank didn't seem to mind riding in the back. Also, I've seen covers for wire crates, but never actually used them. Most of the time, the crate is folded and put in the trunk of the car and Tank rides in the backseat (but never up front). Tank doesn't really mind if he rides in the car or the back of the truck. Usually on short trips Tank rides in the back of the truck (in his crate), and on longer trips he rides in the car.

A crate is a very good idea, and I would most certainly go with a crate that folds and has a divider. It's more convenient and can keep pace with the dog as he grows. I've had to move the divider from a quarter of the way to two-thirds in just two months. I'd hate to imagine how many crates he would've gone through in trying to keep up with his growth rate. Also, the metal crates are easier to repair if damaged than the plastic crates.

[LILLY]

Crate training is awesome my chloe is now 2 yrs old and has not had an accident since she was 8wks, just be consistant and every time you take them out of the crate take them directly to their potty area, every time!