Question about 8wk old pup. Potty/Crate Training

[Hckynt1]

Hey everyone,
I am not new to Rotts but it has been may years since I have had a puppy so I am a bit rusty. Here is the link to my short story for some backgroung: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/rai...-i-p-zoie.html.

Anyways, my wife and I have a 8 wk old pup (rott of course). We work together from 7 to 2-3 pm. We are crate training Annabelle. We took her home on Sunday. At night we put her in her crate which is in the living room. The first few night she cried all night but last night she was fine. I wake up every few hours to let her right out to go potty(I do not let her out when she is crying, only when she stops) and then I play with her for 15-30 minutes and put her back in. The past 2 days we would put her in the crate also when we went to work. I felt real bad leaving her in there that long because I want her to enjoy the crate and not feel like it is prison. So yesterday we bought her a dog house and a huge bowl along with some toys and decide to leave her in the back yard while we are at work. After all, when I picked her up she spent all of her 7 1/2 weeks outside. I puppy proofed the yard and she has shade, water, shelter and toys. I also have my neighbor checking up on her.
My question is this:
Will this hurt her development as far as becoming housebroken?
Will she hate being outside or never want to be inside?

When we left she was scratching and biting at the door to come back in. We only plan on doing this until she is potty trained and for the most part can be left alone without costing me a fourtune in repairing stuff (she already managed to bust a power supply to a laptop in a metter of seconds.
Any help would be great and sorry for the long question.
Thanks

[Shelby427]

I personally would not leave my puppy outside alone - let alone for that long a time period. I don't think it will help with housetraining, as she can go wherever/whenever she wants to if she's outside. It will not teach her to hold it. Since I also don't recommend leaving a young pup in crate for 7-8 hours straight, can you come home on lunch and take her out and play for a bit? Or can you have someone come over to take her out?

[brunie's mom]

Please do not leave your baby puppy outside. It's not a good idea from a safety standpoint and also a terrible idea from the social standpoint.
Someone could steal her or tease her or poison her. She could get into all sorts of things outside...from poisoness plants...to digging and chewing wires. It's also going to be very hot soon...and pup's can overheat very quickly.

I am sorry to say...when I read your intro on the other thread...my heart sunk.
Sounds like you got your puppy from a BYB (backyard breeder) .
No decent breeder would be leaving puppies outside from newborn. The sire and the dam of your pup are WAY oversized. I think you said the sire was 170 lbs? and the female 120 lbs??
This is not breeding to standard. I will also assume that there were not titles on these dogs that were bred? and no hip, elbow, eye, heart certification by OFA?
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals to understand what this is.

Your new pup may be riddled with health problems in the years to come. Read all of the "stickies" in the Breeding forum. This will teach you how to buy a pup from a good breeder.

What's done is done now...and you must do the best you can for this pup.
You could get someone to come to your home to let her out a couple of times per day. That would really help. She should be eating 3 meals per day.

You could also attach an x-pen to her crate and put some puppy pads on one side. This way she understands that she cannot go in her crate. It is going to take WAY longer to housetrain her because she cannot get outside .

Gina

[Andes21218]

ok i have left my puppy in the backyard since he was 6 months old but i have a neighbor who is home all day to check in on him once in awhile...my dog loves being outside and when i come home from work he is inside with me or goes whereever i go. he is always happy to be where i am. i think its a good idea as long as you have someone checking in on her.

[Hckynt1]

Thank you all for the replys and advice.

I also have a neighbor who checks on her while she has been outside. She also went to school to become a vet so I know Annabelle is in good hands there. I understand how it will hinder her potty training skills but I feel at this stage it is really my only choice. I hate leaving her in her crate for 8 hours and then have to put her in there at night. I guess they both have there ups and downs but we are a dual income household and we are both military so the ease of going home for lunch is very difficult. I would rather do that also and I did with my first pup but I lived on base so it was easy. Now we live 30 minutes each way so it is a bit more difficult.

I would not say the breeder is a back yard breeder. I know by my post it sounded that way but the pups were born inside but spent much of their days outside when they were able to move around. A few weeks I am guessing. She is a reputable breeder here so I am not worried about that. My vet said she is in great health also.

Believe me, if I could be home with her all day I would. I know my potty training skills are not optimal but I am doing the best with what I have.

Thanks again everyone for the advice :)

[brunie's mom]

This is an 8 week old puppy.

Gina

[Hckynt1]

When I bought my first pup I did not crate train her. She turned out to be the best dog I have ever had. I know my new one will be just fine. Unfourtunatly we can be a single income family so I can not have my wife stay at home all the time with the puppy. She is in good hands. We have scheduled to take her to training classes at the end of the month (which I know are to train us to train her,lol).

[Hckynt1]

I am assuming that most people here are in a situation where a family member can be at home at all times. I wish we could do that but we cant. So what other alternatives are there? I did this with my fist rott and she turned out to be amazing. The neighborhood is safe. My neighbor checks on her and the backyard is completely puppy proof.

[hokisteph5]

Some of the alternatives to what you can do have already been mentioned by Shelby and Gina (brunie's mom). Is there any way your neighbor could keep your puppy at her house during the day or let her out of her crate a few times a day? It really isn't a good idea to keep her in the backyard during the day.

[Hckynt1]

My neighbor has 2 dogs also. I will ask her is he can come by and let her out. I only put her outside today. I am curious now about people who have outside dogs. My inlaws have a german sheppard who loves and would rather be outside. Is this not right?

[Hckynt1]

At this point we are just trying different techniques. I spoke with a trainer yesterday and he did not see a problem with it. I feel bad now.

[brunie's mom]

[quote=Hckynt1;751477

I would not say the breeder is a back yard breeder. I know by my post it sounded that way but the pups were born inside but spent much of their days outside when they were able to move around. A few weeks I am guessing. She is a reputable breeder here so I am not worried about that. My vet said she is in great health also.
[/QUOTE]

I would say that the breeder is a BYB.
Anyone that is breeding these oversized dogs is a BYB. What titles did the sire and dam have? What made them worthy of breeding other than their enormous size??

I am not trying to pick on you...just want you to realize that you have gotten your puppy from a poor breeder. Your pup is 8 weeks old now, and may be in good health...but having a pup/dog develop hip dysplasia,or juvenile cataracts or SAS or elbow dysplasia can be heartbreaking.
Unless the sire and dam of your pup have certification #'s from OFA (and not their vet saying the dogs are healthy)...you bought your pup from a BYB.

As for keeping her out in the yard. I think it would be best to be crated in the house and get your neighbour to let your pup out a couple of times a day.
Many people work and get a pup....but they make arrangements for the pup before they bring it home, so that someone can let the pup out. These are things a good breeder would have made sure of before allowing you to buy a pup.

Gina

[Shelby427]

I can't imagine your "breeder" being that reputable if both the sire and dam were both grossly oversized. COE breeders have dogs within the breed standard and do not stray from that and they breed to BETTER THE BREED. A 175lbs male is WAY oversized.

[Hckynt1]

She does have papers but not from the OFA. If she is a BY breeder than I will just have to deal with that I guess and make sure my puupy stays healthy and do the best I can. This is not my first dog or my first rott. Like I said before, i did not crate train my first rott and she turned out to be fine. I do not want to do this with this one.
She is a good breeder and did to a check on us beofre we brought her home. My puppy is well taken care of. But because we do not have someone who can check on her every 2 hours, does that mean we should not have a dog? I know many people who are and were in the same boat as I am but just let their dogs run a muck and are good dogs and some are not. We are just trying to find the best soluton for our situation that is the best for our puppy and us.
I would not say I feel picked on becuase I asked for advice but I feel most of the answers of coming form people who do not have to work or are in a different situation that us.
Thanks for all your advice and we will take it into consideration. :)

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by Hckynt1

I am curious now about people who have outside dogs. My inlaws have a german sheppard who loves and would rather be outside. Is this not right?

I have outside dogs--dogs who are outside when I take them for walks, rides in the car, or otherwise want them outside with me. If I wanted an outside dog, I'd buy one of those decorative cement dogs sold at garden shops and the like. My dogs (fosters included) rae part of our family and live in the house with us.

I can't imagine leaving a black-coated dog--and a young puppy--at that outside in a pen all day long. And this is especially true where you live--in a very hot, humid part of the country.

My rescue group wouldn't adopt a young puppy to you and your wife, given the fact you're away for as many hours each day as you are. We'd adopt a dog to you, but not such a young puppy. Since my rescue group wouldn't do the adoption, "reputable" when applied to the breeder of your puppy is a stretch.

The reason my rescue group wouldn't do the adoption has to do with the fact that young puppies learn little or nothing--and can often learn the wrong things--when left for extended periods of time by themselves. We'd also be concerned about something bad happening to the unprotected, unsupervised puppy.

The rule of thumb is that a puppy has control for 1 hour/4 weeks of life + 1. Your 8 week old puppy needs to be taken out roughly every 3 hours. You'll likely find housetraining a challenge.