Night time crate training
Hello from Australia!
I have been reading some of the posts etc and would like to thank everyone for the knowledge I have gained from it!
I have a question regarding crate training at night time. I have a 9 week old girl pembroke, Arabella.
Arabella has been home for just over a week. She has a crate which is set up in the bathroom. During the first few nights she woke us up once a night to let her outside to go potty. Then for the next few nights she didn't make any noises and there was also no mess in her crate in the morning. The last few nights we have noticed that she has done her business in the crate, but hasn't called out to us to let her out etc like she did the first few nights.
Arabella doesn't seem to have any issues with the crate. She will jump in and out of it freely to play with her toys, get her treats, and also has her food and water bowl in the crate. When we put her in the crate at night time for bed, most of the time she hasn't been bothered or cried out for us. We have also cleaned her crate out after she has done her business the last few nights.
Other than this, her crate training is going beautifully. We take her outside a lot - and she is learning that "puddles" means getting a treat afterwards. We also have some bells on the door which she is learning is her key to going outside.
I was just wondering what I should do regarding her doing her business in the crate at night? Because she hasn't called out to us it's hard to know if she needs to go outside. Should I have a set time during the night when I get up and take her out? Would this be the right thing to do even if she was asleep in her crate at the time?
Many thanks for any suggestions,
Stephanie.
I have been reading some of the posts etc and would like to thank everyone for the knowledge I have gained from it!
I have a question regarding crate training at night time. I have a 9 week old girl pembroke, Arabella.
Arabella has been home for just over a week. She has a crate which is set up in the bathroom. During the first few nights she woke us up once a night to let her outside to go potty. Then for the next few nights she didn't make any noises and there was also no mess in her crate in the morning. The last few nights we have noticed that she has done her business in the crate, but hasn't called out to us to let her out etc like she did the first few nights.
Arabella doesn't seem to have any issues with the crate. She will jump in and out of it freely to play with her toys, get her treats, and also has her food and water bowl in the crate. When we put her in the crate at night time for bed, most of the time she hasn't been bothered or cried out for us. We have also cleaned her crate out after she has done her business the last few nights.
Other than this, her crate training is going beautifully. We take her outside a lot - and she is learning that "puddles" means getting a treat afterwards. We also have some bells on the door which she is learning is her key to going outside.
I was just wondering what I should do regarding her doing her business in the crate at night? Because she hasn't called out to us it's hard to know if she needs to go outside. Should I have a set time during the night when I get up and take her out? Would this be the right thing to do even if she was asleep in her crate at the time?
Many thanks for any suggestions,
Stephanie.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by NoClaws4Alarm on
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My only question would be if the crate is too big, maybe? Also, my Rolo does better if there is nothing at the bottom of it. No towel or bedding. That way if they do go... they feel it... it doesn't just soak into bedding. Gives them a chance to be annoyed by it so they don't do it again.
We would take ours out at around 11pm and then I would get up at 5 am to go again. Sometimes he would be awake. Sometimes not. He went out anyway. I think it's important to establish routine in this way. They really like knowing when things are going to happy.
We also have a rule of "no water after 8pm". This was recommended by my vet and since it also worked on my children when they were small... I tried it. Worked like a charm!
As Rolo got older... I was not having to set the alarm. He would just get up and let me know it was "time". I have noticed that the morning trip out went from 5am to 6am... and now he's happy with 6:30 to 7am. You give them a guideline and they tend to stick with it.
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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Perhaps you can set up the crate in a closer proximity? Maybe you will hear her activity level and get up to let her relieve herself. I have to say it would be a rare instance that a 9 week old pup could hold it all night. I do not think I would set an alarm though...unfortunately that would become an ingrained behavior to get up at night. I think she is just unable to hold it currently. Make sure she is getting dinner early enough and it does make sense right now to withhold water while crated. This too shall pass. Good luck!
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Just a clarification... the alarm was for me... not the puppy ;)
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Permalink Reply by Jeff & Jacci on
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How large is your crate and does Arabella have access to the full size of the crate?
We purchased crates for the adult size of our Corgis, but when we began crate training them as pups, we put a divider in the crate effectively reducing it's size. We gave them enough room to turn around and lay out fully. We found that neither Chase nor Fannie had issues with going in the middle of the night so as to not spoil the small area in which they slept. As they got older, every few weeks, we would expand the size of the crate.
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Permalink Reply by KYOSHI&Frank&Care&Lai on
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Yup, the others are right on. If the crate is too big, they have enough space to handle their business and still sleep far enough away from it. Kyoshi had a fairly small crate and he doesn't like being around his poop or pee, so he knew better not to leave a mess in his crate.
We bought him a bigger crate only after he was fully housetrained. His crate now is like a mansion compared his original one! haha
If the crate is too big, get a smaller one and save the bigger one when he is in the clear. Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Steph on
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Thank you everyone!
I have a medium sized crate however I have sectioned part of it off to her. Last night she did better, she was taken out very late at night and in the morning there was no business in the crate.
I have been using the restriction of water after around 8ish and I have found that it works too with Arabella.
Thank you again to everyone for their suggestions.
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