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Permalink Reply by Jane on February 23, 2012 at 9:51am

Is there a specific reason you want him going in the crate long term instead of outside? Not to be gross...but have you seen and smelled an adult corgi's poop? It's just not something I would want in my house...

 

To me the puppy apartment thing just seems like it would teach the dog that pottying inside a crate is good...and that is really not what you want. What I personally would do is just get a regular crate for at night, and an xpen for during the day. If you've had him for 6 weeks he should be able to hold it through the night just fine by now. If he's used to going on the pads during the day then I would still use those in the pen, but start cutting them down slowly so they are not as big, and begin transitioning him to go outside.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew on February 23, 2012 at 11:06am

well i live in a 2nd floor walkup in nyc, so i dont have a back yard for him to go in all the time. he goes for walks twice a day and hes good at pottying on walks which is nice, but i want him to have an indoors bathroom he can relive himself in as well. hes getting better at holding it, i let him sleep in my bed once a in a while and he hasent had an accident yet. i was thinking of maybe scrapping the puppy apartment for a crate that he would like and just using the potty pads on the floor. not sure i might keep the apartment and try to get him to go in there..

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on February 23, 2012 at 11:30am

Agree with Jane.  What is your daytime situation? How long is the pup alone? His exercise needs will escalate, so  factor that in the equation.  Consider the whole picture when shooting for long term solutions.  Habits formed early are not easily broken later.  Your profile says you are 24 yrs. old.  You need to meet the pup's current needs, but also raise a dog that will fit into your changing lifestyle for the next 12 years..... and that may not be a dog that piis and poops in the house.

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Permalink Reply by justine moeller on February 23, 2012 at 5:50pm

 I would suggest not teaching him to go into a crate or cage. It is difficult to toilet train from above ground level but I promise you it is worth it! :) After each switch in activity he should be taken outside. It is a lot of work and running up and down the stairs for you but it is what you have to do. You could look into the bell method and teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go out. Our second corgi taught himself to ask for the door by violently throwing himself against it. He still does this....haha!  I would also suggest avoiding peepee pads but if he is home alone for a long time I understand you might have to use them. We trained our second on a peepee pad and I WISH I did not. It took a long time to break that habit - and while a puppy peeing a pad is pretty cute, an adult dog who can`t hold his pee for more than 4 hours is not. We gave ourselves more work in the end.  You should ideally try and arrange for someone to come by during the day to take him out and make sure you do not give him free run of your apartment at this age. He should be secure in one small area (think gated off kitchen) There is so much that he can get into as a puppy - and believe me, he will try! :)

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