Crate Training

[JPmoney]

Hello All -
I have a new Rottie puppy named Zeus he is 7 weeks and 2 days old. I am attempting to crate train him but am having varied success. When I first got him I used a box to keep him in at night (I put in a nice comfy blanket and some toys for him) The next day I put together a big crate for him, Not realizing that it would be to big for him he decided to make a lot of messes in it. Well he has been doing really good in his box (the 2 hours a day that he spends in it when I have to goto work and my roommate comes home. Well today he had made a huge huge mess in it and it appears that he had played in it (he did #2). How should i deal with this? I know I should not punish for something I did not see, I mean I cleaned it up and him (gave him a nice bath, he loves the water) but for future reference. I let him out and we played for 45 minutes outside before I went to work and I made sure that he did not have any food for a hour before I went to work (I feed him when he wakes up to go out in the mornings). And he went outside and did the bathroom many times when we were playing. When I left for work he was sleeping.. I need some advice.

[Goniella]

7 weeks old is still to young to expect them to hold it for 2 hours when they have to go. Also since he is so young I assume you have only had him and been working on potty training a few days in which case he still doesnt really have a clue what it is about. My only advice is to take him out frequently and make sure that taking him out for a potty is the last thing you do before leaving for work and the first thing you do upon coming home

[AngelBunny]

JPmoney:

The rule of thumb is that a puppy has control for 1 hour/1 month of age + 1. Thus, your 7 week old pupy needs to be taken out at least every 2-2-1/2 hours.

7 weeks is young for Zeus to have left his mother. Is there a reason you got him so young?

[CarolineS]

A lot of very reputable breeders place their pups in homes at 7 weeks. In fact, German's bible ;), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Rottweilers, says that between 7 and 8 weeks is the perfect time to place a pup in a new home. I also remember reading somewhere, in a book by Volhard, I think, that a study had shown that 7 weeks was actually the best age to place a pup.

JP, when you play with a puppy right before you go out, it stimulates him and even though he may have relieved himself when he was outside, he usually needs to go again soon (as you discovered). I would save play time for when you're going to be home to keep an eye on him after and keep it low key and shorter duration when you take him out before work. Puppies, like babies, don't have a whole lot in the way of control over bladders and such, especially at that age. Even if he had the understanding he shouldn't poop in his box (which he probably doesn't), he isn't mature enough physically to hold on.

For future reference, if you come home to discover another mess, all you can do it clean it up and nothing else. It's your fault for leaving him alone too long or not recognizing he needed to go out or not watching him closely enough. It is always the owner's fault, never the puppy's. ;) I would get another box to keep him in though, if you're going to continue with the box. This one will smell like his accident and he's going to figure if he did it there once, twice is fine.

[JPmoney]

Well I got Zeus when he was 6weeks old. I saw a add in the newspaper and called. I went and visited and saw the mother and father. Both were very nice and playful. The father was huge. But I did get him a proper crate yesterday, I washed his blanket and he wined at first but I just layed by the crate and he fell asleep. This morning when he got back in from going out he went right back into his crate and I couldn't get him out of it.. I think he likes it? but when I was leaving today and put him in it he was wining for a few minutes. I feel bad that he is in his crate.. I have left him out before and he does fairly well. But now he is chewing everything and he seems to like the lamp cords. Any suggestions on dealing with this would be greatly appreciated. The last time I had a puppy was like 8 years ago (I was still in Junior High).

[2rotties2luv]

Crating a puppy or dog is not a bad thing - as you saw, they often like to be in their crate and will go in there on their own to rest and get away by themselves. Sometimes they will whine, but don't give into the whining - they get over it if you ignore it. As responsible dog owners, we use the crate for the dog's protection as well as for our own convenience. Even though we try to puppy-proof our home as best we can, those little critters can find more things to get into and chew on than we can ever imagine !!

In this regard, puppies should be crated whenever you can't watch them closely. If you want to let the puppy out, but can't watch him closely (like when you're cooking or watching TV), you can put a leash on him and put your belt through the handle.

As far as him chewing on the lamp cords you could put Bitter Apple or lemon juice on them to make them taste bad (Bitter Apple is a liquid available at pet stores that tastes really bitter). But you should not let the pup get as far as actually getting the cord in his mouth. When he goes for the cord, distract him with a toy. A tennis ball rolled in his direction is irresistable to many puppies. Praise him and reward him with a treat when he goes for the toy. At this young age, it's much better to distract him from unwanted behavior than to correct him - he doesn't really understand yet what you expect of him.

A word about toys - chew toys are a MUST with a puppy to direct his natural need to chew towards objects which are appropriate. A chew toy should be something the puppy likes, but should not be something he can tear apart and swallow. Beware of giving him something to chew that resembles something you DON'T want him to chew on. For example, if you give him an old sock or an old shoe to chew on, how will he learn that it's NOT OK to chew on the good ones?

We all want to buy our puppies all the toys in the pet store !!:D This is fine, but don't give them all to the puppy at the same time. Give him one or two, and when he tires of them, take them away and give him one or two more. He'll forget about the ones you took away. This way, you'll always have something "new" to give him when he gets tired of his current toy. Be sure to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't chew off pieces and swallow them. Stay away from rawhide chews and toys - they can chew off pieces and swallow them, the pieces can swell during digestion and cause intestinal blockage - this is life threatening and happened to one of my dogs.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful. Enjoy your puppy, and keep those questions coming - that's what we're here for !!:)

[Judy Chrusch]

JP, Don't feel bad about him being in a crate, it's the safest place for him right now and you already said he's chewing alot, which is normal but if he isn't supervised think what could happen so the crate is actually a good thing:D. You said he was left out one time, why would you even take that chance and you said he likes the cords, yikes, PLEASE for the safety of your precious pup keep him confined when he's not able to be supervised. Now if you choose a closed in room where their is NOTHING that couldn't hurt him then that's a different story but their aren't too many rooms like that. Our job as owners of any pup is to keep that pup safe from ALL harm. As far as the potty issue, I don't particularly agree with him being in the crate for 2 hours w/o having the opportunity to go potty though, it's alot to ask for such a young pup not to mention can be quite frustrating for him. Well keep him safe and stay patient if he has accidents, there's not much more you can do if you don't have anyone who can take him out regularly. At that age I was taking my pup out every 1/2 hour ;).Best of luck to you and enjoy him :D.

Judy

[JPmoney]

First let me say thank you for all the great advice! It helps. I feel bad when I get out of work some evenings, it's been a bad day and zeus is not particulary in the mood to give me 2 seconds to get his food for him. After I get home we immediatly go out and "do potty" and play around a little and he wants his food. Then he will start attacking whining because he wants his food and only gives me 1 second to goto the cuboard and grab his food.. Needless to say I just tell him to calm down and sit and get his food (he actually does sit!! he did this yesterday and I was soo happy he got a puppy biscuit and lots of praise). As for him being left out of his cage for a day. He was in his box when I left the house. He had managed to break out of the box during the 3 hours he was alone (my roommate works 1st shift I work a sorta 2nd shift). My roommate leaves him out of his cage at night when he goes to sleep and zeus usually is laying at my recliner when I get home 30 minutes later. So he does get some out of his cage time (Not that I approve of him being alone out of his cage). But at 7 weeks he still is a puppy right? I mean I work with him the no bite, down, sit, and settle. He seems to being doing good with these. Outside we work with him coming to me when I call him. He isn't eating like he used to when I first got him. When I first got him and fed him he ate like the world was ending. Now he doesn't eat but maybe 2 bowls a day.. When the vet said he should eat 3. (and him finishing the 2 bowls doesn't happen much) Now these bowls are not HUGE bowls. His bowl that he has to eat out of is Like a little plastic cream cheese bowl. I find it is just the right size, because a bigger one he sits in it. He sat in his water the first couple days I had him. I hope I don't sound like a bad parent. I play with him all the time and work with his training. I do have to work and I hope that doesn't make me sound like a bad parent

[a_arcand]

Hi JPmoney,

I'm a newbie, too, new to the forums and new to being a Rottweiler mommy.

Isn't it heartbreaking listening to them cry in the crate? Don't worry about it, though, Zeus will get used to it. My puppy Pico stopped crying after the first few nights (she was about 9 1/2 weeks old then).

I'd highly recommend against Zeus being left out of his crate unsupervised AT ALL, even those innocent-seeming 30 minutes before you come home. 30 minutes is more than enough time for a puppy to get into serious trouble, especially if you've caught her chewing electrical cords.

Pico also had an erratic eating schedule for the first few weeks we had her. Some days she would eat enormous amounts; some days she wouldn't even eat one bowlful. Zeus will eat if he needs to eat.

One tip I have for you that I wish I had learned earlier, is to start preparing Zeus now for vet visits. Do all the exam type stuff a vet would do - poking your fingers in her ears, checking her teeth and eyes and feet - so he doesn't freak out when he gets to the vet. Make it a game, so he thinks it's fun.

Good luck! Zeus sounds adorable.

--Andrea

[AngelBunny]

JPmoney:

Please, it's a "crate" not the other "c" word. Crate has connotations the other word doesn't.