Bad Puppies!!!

[rottiholt]

Your Rott puppy is not done teething at 5 or 6 months old! Just cuz his mouth is full of big teeth don't make him done teething. ALso it HURTS when they teeth like a child so in order to feel better they chew ANYTHING.
Labs are KNOWN to be destructive BIG TIME.
In order to know about the breed you have choosen you need BOOKS on the breeds & read read read. Also they are not to young for obedience.
As far as crate training goes, a 6 month old puppy can stay in the crate 6 hours + 1. So that equals to 7 hours. 7 months old is 7 hours + 1 = 8 hours. I would not leave them in crates much longer than this.
The crib was invented for small children who wanderd off & got into trouble. This was why the crate was invented. Trust me you will NOT hurt / kill your dog by useing one.

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[Ti99er11]

I have two puppies, a rottie (5mos) and a chocolate lab(6mos). Me and my roommate have fully housetrained them and everything. They have a doggy door to go outside when nobody is home and an entire laundry basket of speaky toys, not to mention another basket full of chewies. Until this past week or so they didn't have any accidents and haven't been destructive...although they have chewed papers up. This past week they have had an accident EVERYDAY and have ruined 4 pairs of shoes and numerous CD's. I don't understand why they are doing this...any suggestions? Also, how can I correct this? I'm so frustrated with them, I'm about to just make them outside dogs!!!!!

Thank you in advance for any help!

[WorkinDogz]

:::very heavy sigh:::: SO MUCH to do prior to throwing in the towel.

Have you never heard of crate training?? Have you never heard that LABS are NOTORIOUS CHEWERS?? (LIKE FOR 2 YEARS???)

5 months old and already frustrated with them. Making them outside dogs does what? What does that teach them? Sure your CD's and papers will be "spared" but what does that TEACH THE DOG? How does that constitute TRAINING?

Might I suggest you search the archives on crate training and puppy rearing. All the toys in the world; a doggie door fit for a King doesn't replace keeping them SAFE in a crate while you're not at home.

I'd also suggest a good obedience class for both of them.

Good luck....puppies and owners alike.

[Paxx]

I am moving this to the Training Forum, as this is a training issue, not a behavior problem.

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[Ethár]

Hey you ROTTIHOLT!!!!!!!!

I DO hope you don't mean that it is okay for the pup to sit in the crate for 5+1 hour EVERY DAY..... IF you mean that I personally could....grrrrrr.

A pup NEEDS activating, security, feelings and being around his herd to be able to grow up into a nice dog!!!

I can't believe that you wrote about such a long time alone in the crate. It sounds HORRIBLE and impossible for me.

When I leave Ambrosius home alone he has the whole apartment to move around in (when he was a small pup he was only allowed in the kitchen).

Just the thought of sitting caged for 6 hours gives me goose-bumps. Where have you got this "time-schedule" from?????????

Ethár - breaks my heart to read your advice!

[CajunsMom]

OK, I have been just sitting here reading these posts and I guess I have to say something. I work 8 hours a day, I live 35 minutes from my work. My daughter goes to school and works. I leave at 6:30 in the morning she leaves at 7:30. I get home at 4:00. When my daughter leaves, she puts the pit bull and my new JRT pup in their crates. They are walked, fed and watered before they are put in the crates. As soon as I get home, they are let out then played with and then fed. You know what! They are happy, well adjusted dogs. They DO NOT suffer from being kept safe all day. Fortunately I can allow my other dogs free access in the house but the pit can be destructive and the puppy is too small. In a perfect world I would love to be able to work 4 or 5 hours a day or have someone who could come over in mid-day to let the dogs out for me but it "ain't gonna" happen. Most of us have to work. It just really bugs me that people who have never even tried crate training are so quick to judge. My dogs are perfectly happy and are not SUFFERING. On top of that I would never consider allowing a 5 or 6 month old puppy free reign in my home.

There, I just needed to get that off my chest.

[Michael C.]

I agree with you cajuns mom. Most of us have to work. My dog is very happy. I would trade places with her in a minute.

Mike

[xenacleo]

I must also agree with Cajunsmom. My husband and i both work full time and have 4 dogs. I leave at 8:00 and put the male rottie and the Akita in their crates (the female rottie and cocker spaniel are kept in the master bedroom with free run of that and the master bath since they are not destructive). My husband gets home at 4:30 and let's them out. They have nice blankets and plenty of toys in their crates. They are VERY happy dogs.

[LisaS]

I think the timetable referred to comes from how long a pup would have the bladder control to be left without having an accident - whether confined to a crate, confined to a kitchen or utility room, or left to have the run of the house. The rule of thumb is age-in-months + 1 = hours of bladder control. Not necessarily the optimum amount of time to leave him without having a walk or a visit.

[This message has been edited by LisaS (edited August 24, 2000).]

[rottiholt]

Ethar I get this info from Drs Foster & Smith & U C Davis (Ca) medical school. If your pup is 3 months old 3 hours + 1 hr is okay for the crate.
99% of the people out there have to work & they have no one else to come walk potty etc.
My dogs are raised like this & they are all happy very well adjusted dog's.
CajunsMom
I am glad your dogs are as happy as mine :-) I mean when I am home they have all the free time I have, but ya gotta work ta buy the food correct?
Its good you have your children to help! Mine did when they lived at home.

[chris carroll]

Ti99er11

I have asked for advice on several occasions and have received alot of help. I think when you can't see the people you are asking advice from I think it is easy to assume they are being critical or a litte sarcastic. Our puppies are like our children we want advice but we are very protective. As with any
advice you have to take it with a grain of salt.

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[franlofter]

I personally think leaving a PUPPY in a crate for 8 hours a day is to much. I realize we all have to work but this should be thought out before getting a pup. If I had to leave a pup in crate for 8 hours a day I wouldnt get one!! I had to crate my rottie till he was 8 months old and I never left him more than 3 Hours in there. What I did when breaking him from the crate was not put him in it when I left and I only did short trips at first 1/2 hour i would be gone then I slowly increased time I would stay out. He did fine didnt get into anything ever once I stopped using crate. I think that Lab will be a handfull compared to your rottie They are much more Active then most Rotties Good luck

[This message has been edited by franlofter (edited August 26, 2000).]

[Ti99er11]

Hi everyone. Just an update....I bought crates for the pups, they're on their way. We should be getting them early next week. I can't wait. They have started chewing on our entertainment center! But, I'm being patient.

Thanks for all the advice, it helped me more then you know!!

Thanks

[KatMc]

Cajunsmom,
My dogs are also crated when I go to work, sometimes I'm only gone 8 hours sometimes longer. Do I like to be gone longer, no - but when I'm home they are out, they go in their kennels on their own, even sometimes when I don't tell them to. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to worry, that they can use the dog door and come and go in the whole house. But none of us have reached that comfort level yet. I thought they were well enough trained in the house UNTIL my puppy ATE my whole boot, that's when they went BACK to being crated (I was only asleep when that happened...).

The good thing - my shoes now go in the closet (what a novel idea ) and when I'm home I'm not yelling at them for what they did when I wasn't here.

Like you I had to get this off my chest. These guys are very well adjusted for being rescue babies, but we still have work to do..

Kathy

[Tenaj]

Great! Now you are well on the way to having two wonderfully behaved babies, Ti99er11. Good luck!