Introduction and a couple questions...

[Sebass]

My wife and I just picked up Lola...she was a couple days shy of 7 weeks when we took her from the breeder...the largest one in the litter...bigger than both males...this is my 5th Rottweiler (One was there when I was born, one puppy my family raised, and 2 rescue rotts)...she was wonderful when we first brought her home...and now is a little terror as she is biting and nipping but we are working on it and she is getting slowly better...a few things I would like to share before I ask my questions:

1. She stopped eating kibble/wet after 2 days...I figured it was teething but I thought she might be too young...so I went to the rice and beef meal for dinner one day and breakfast the next...then I fed her kibble at her next meal and she gobbled it up...she is now eating kibble regularly again...I think she had an upset tummy from the treats we bought for training...she was constipated and that has since subsided...not sure the point of this but I wasn't gonna be a frantic owner and go to the vet unless she didn't take the rice/beef mix...

2. We both work... so I would like to share my success story with Comfort Zone and D.A.P. I bought it to soothe her while I was gone and it has made a remarkable difference in her allowing us to leave easily and coming home to less accidents and a more relaxed pup...we also use it in the bedroom and she can literally sleep for about twice as long as before between potty trips...my wife and I are both very attentive when she has to go so it is her choice to stay sleeping...

3. The Chilly Bone...love it...and so does she...I really think it is a must try toy...if she tears it apart oh well...but so far, so good...

Okay now some questions:

1. We have to unexpectedly head out of town for 4 full days. We will be leaving the Thursday after she turns 11 weeks. What are our options with her at that age? Kennel? Hire a pet sitter? Vet's Office? Something else? We CANNOT take her and we most likely can count family out of the equation...

2. When we leave I block off a section of hard floor for her to stay in, I put her crate and toys in there...so far so good...is there a better option than that (besides staying home)? She probably has about 100 sq feet of space that is easy for me to clean and entirely puppy friendly...

Thanks...

[Shelby427]

I see a red flag since you picked up your puppy before she was 7 weeks old. Ideally, puppies should stay with the dam until they are 8 weeks old - they learn so much by staying with their mom and litter those last few days/weeks.

As for your questions - in regard to having to leave unexpectedly, I personally do not kennel my dogs, I just don't trust it. I usually have friends or family watch my dogs. Sorry I can't help you here - I also wouldn't want to kennel a puppy that young, JMO. I'd rather have someone watch the puppy at my house.

When you leave the house, I don't see why you give her so much space. This will not help with housetraining. You should just crate her when you leave. Put some toys in there and let her be. Don't feel bad about crating, it becomes their den and they feel safe and secure in it. They are also less likely to have accidents in there since they do not want to soil where they sleep. If you allow her to have that much space when you're gone, she'll likely pee/poo and thinks it's ok because she can get away from it. Remember though, puppies can only hold their bladders for so long, so puppy should only be crated 1 hour per how many months they are + 1 hour. IE: 5 month old can probably hold it for 6 hours.

[moondog]

There's NO way I would put an 11 week old puppy in a kennel for 4 days....their immune system is far from developed, leaving them susceptible to picking up whatever viruses are lurking about in that environment.

You'd be wise to bring in a pet sitter to stay with the puppy 24/7, preferably a puppy friendly pet sitter

[Anne]

Originally Posted by Shelby427

I see a red flag since you picked up your puppy before she was 7 weeks old. Ideally, puppies should stay with the dam until they are 8 weeks old - they learn so much by staying with their mom and litter those last few days/weeks.

When you leave the house, I don't see why you give her so much space. This will not help with housetraining. You should just crate her when you leave. Put some toys in there and let her be. Don't feel bad about crating, it becomes their den and they feel safe and secure in it. They are also less likely to have accidents in there since they do not want to soil where they sleep. If you allow her to have that much space when you're gone, she'll likely pee/poo and thinks it's ok because she can get away from it. Remember though, puppies can only hold their bladders for so long, so puppy should only be crated 1 hour per how many months they are + 1 hour. IE: 5 month old can probably hold it for 6 hours.

I don't see how crating a 7 week old puppy for, say, 10 hours a day whilst the owners are at work will assist with house training. The pup will have no option but to soil the crate. A baby puppy cannot hold on for that length of time. This can create a habit of pup soiling the crate and therefore make house training more difficult. In fact I would not crate a dog for as long as 10-12 hours a day in any circumstance apart from rehab for health reasons.

I would do exactly as Sebass is doing and leave the pup gated off in a larger area where it has room to move. With a crate with the door left open in that large area will give the pup a sleeping area away from a toilet area. Sebass could set aside and area for toileting such as a portable dog loo and the pup can be trained to use this rather than having to use the crate as a toilet.

I would have a pet sitter come and stay in the house while you are away for 4 days. The puppy is too young to board in a kennel.

[chasetheface]

Can your breeder take your pup back while you were away?

[JoJo]

I agree, a kennel is no place for such a young pup. What would the chances be if you asked your "breeder" to watch the pup for you for those few days? If not, then a pet sitter would be the other option.

[Shelby427]

Originally Posted by Anne

I don't see how crating a 7 week old puppy for, say, 10 hours a day whilst the owners are at work will assist with house training. The pup will have no option but to soil the crate. A baby puppy cannot hold on for that length of time. This can create a habit of pup soiling the crate and therefore make house training more difficult. In fact I would not crate a dog for as long as 10-12 hours a day in any circumstance apart from rehab for health reasons.

I would do exactly as Sebass is doing and leave the pup gated off in a larger area where it has room to move. With a crate with the door left open in that large area will give the pup a sleeping area away from a toilet area. Sebass could set aside and area for toileting such as a portable dog loo and the pup can be trained to use this rather than having to use the crate as a toilet.

I would have a pet sitter come and stay in the house while you are away for 4 days. The puppy is too young to board in a kennel.

I didn't mean to leave the puppy in the crate for 10 hours. I know a puppy can't hold it for that long, did you read the rest of my post? What I meant was - wouldn't having the puppy soil her area just teach her that it's ok to pee/poo in the house? When I had puppies, they were crated when we weren't home and yes, we were able to come home every few hours to take puppy out to pee and play. I never had any issue with housetraining since they knew they weren't allowed to eliminate anywhere in the house.