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Permalink Reply by GoGoRainbow on March 31, 2009 at 11:20am

I think... when its gone that long, it could be she has to go.

If you think its separation anxiety, you should try putting her in the crate while you're there.

We didn't start hardcore crate training on Pooka until she was a few weeks older than Lily. I don't think you can expect a young pup to go through the night without an accident, and if they're doing it in the crate (cuz they can't get out), that is also teaching bad tendencies. Especially since she's sick and on a medicine that may affect her.

What we did with Pooka was we closed her off in a short hallway we have, with her bed on one side and pee pads on the other so she could have nightly accidents while still young without having to go against her instincts.

Good luck!

Vote for Pooka!

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Permalink Reply by Liz & Lily on March 31, 2009 at 1:48pm

Thanks for your advice! She is fine in the crate whenever we are at home in the same room. In fact, she is taking a nap in her crate right now. At night it is a completely different story. Last night whenever she stopped whining for a little we took her out of the crate and put her in a box by the bed. She fell asleep almost instantly. I let her out about an hour after that so she wouldn't have any accidents in the box. She seemed to be doing just fine.

Maybe she is too young to crate train just yet. We might do your idea of having her bed and pee pads together in one closed off area. Did Pooka have a hard time adjusting to crate training after using the pee pads? How long did it take her to stop having accidents in the middle of the night (when was it ok to start crate training)?

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Permalink Reply by GoGoRainbow on April 4, 2009 at 2:02am

I just waited until there stopped being pee/poo on the pee pads when I woke up the next morning ;) Seems simple, but it showed me she could make it through the night. If I didn't hurry and take her out when I woke her (like tried to brush my teeth first) she'd go on the pee pad, lol. After 2 nights of her making it through the night, I started using the crate every other night or so until now, we only use the crate.

I was just real casual with it and it didn't really make a difference to her whether she was in the crate, or in the hall (if she was in the crate, she could see us cuz it faced our bed). She never has had an accident in the crate but that's probably because I didn't even try when she was real young. I can't remember what week we started... but I'd guess 14 weeks.

The crate teaches them that they CAN hold it, so its good not to wait too long.

I wouldn't worry too much about "rewarding bad behavior" once or twice at such a young age. You can tell when its "going a little too far", and as you found out, there's usually a reason. I was overly worried too, but honestly, if you slip up once, as long as you're consistent again, its not like you've ruined them for life.

Also, don't be fooled! There will STILL be accidents. I've heard up to a year, can still have accidents. Pooka is 6 months and hadn't had one for... probably a month or two (I put the rugs back out!), and then, we had another dog over and two guests and we ignored her bell-ringing since she had been out 30 minutes before and she peed, then pooped (while I was cleaning up the pee), then peed again (thought she was all out!). I think it was the stress/excitement, and just... she'd been peeing frequently for the past few days.

Good luck! I think you'll do great!

Sorry it took so long to respond!

Vote for Pooka!

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Permalink Reply by NellyJane on March 31, 2009 at 2:52pm

Hi Liz-

I had the same issue with my puppy when I brought her home. She's 4 months now. She got a case of diarrhea from the stress of coming home. we had to get up with her every 2-3 hours because she needed to go. My advise is to let her out if she whines and take her straight out so she can do her thing and put her straight back into her crate after so she doesn't learn whine = play time. If she is going to the bathroom when you take her out it is a sign that she needed to go and not separation anxiety.

It was a rough couple of nights when we brought her home, but it didn't last long and is worth it in the end! Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Jenna, Jasper and Cersei on March 31, 2009 at 4:22pm

When we first brought Jasper home he whined when he was in his crate at night. I ended up putting the the crate on a small table next to the bed so it was eye-level with me because my husband noticed that Jasper was a lot calmer in the crate when he could see us. I made sure he went potty before bed and didn't feed him too late at night. Everytime he whined I just put my hand on the door of the crate so he could smell my hand and know that I was there but I didn't take him out. He would come over and sniff my hand and then he would settle down in a minute or two. I had to do that the first few nights but he hasn't been whining since then. I think he just needed to be reassured that he wasn't alone when he was in his crate. Good luck with Lily!

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Permalink Reply by Sam on March 31, 2009 at 5:15pm

You have received some good advice. What I would like to share is that she has just left her littermates (if you got her from a breeder) and she is in a totally new environment. Typically pups and adult dogs find comfort in the humans that are there as they are the only remotely familiar thing to them. She is too young to be experiencing actual separation anxiety but she probably really wants to be with you to feel secure. I mirror the thought of putting her crate in your room at night so she can know you are near. This generally works quite well. If she is behaving in the box that is fine too. She just is not comfortable being alone.
When you are home I would feed her in the crate, perhaps give her special treats there but she should be with you at other times. You may consider starting to leash train her as well and tie her to you so she can be supervised all the time. She will also begin a bond by being with you. There are many benefits to this training including how to walk on lead, a good time to start the "come" command, to be aware of your feet so she can learn to stay out of the way and really aids in housetraining.
Hope she is feeling better very soon. Her whining will abate as she ages and feels more comfortable in her surroundings. Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on April 3, 2009 at 7:47am

I got my corgi at 8 weeks old also - and we've been VERY lucky with his crate training. One of the things I would share with you is that there be a routine at bedtime and at waking time.

Bear's crate is in the living room, when it's time for bed we turn off the tv and the lights downstairs and lead him to his crate with a treat - then we go upstairs and go to bed.

In the morning, 5am to be exact, he doesn't make a peep until he hears my alarm clock go off - as soon as it goes off, he gives a few little yelps to remind me that he's down there and I immediately get up, go downstairs, open his crate and we go outside.

He eats breakfast as soon as we come in, we play for a bit, I get ready for work and he goes in his crate, again with a treat. When I get home around 4pm, he comes out of his crate and straight to potty time.

We've only had 1 accident in the crate...I got stuck in traffic one day and didn't get home in time - and I made sure to wash his bedding immediately and clean the floor of the crate with odor remover, so the memory of it was gone.

So maybe make evening and morning a little more ritualistic? My sister-in-law told me about having a clear ritual and it totally worked.

Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Liz & Lily on April 3, 2009 at 11:23am

Thanks for all of the great advice! Things with Lily have been much better over the past few days. We have implemented a schedule that has been quite successful so far! I try to follow a lot of advice from books and what I read on mycorgi.com. We always feed her in the crate. We also put treats and her Kong in there so that she will learn to love her own space. We take her outside after she wakes up, after she eats, and then about every hour or so after to minimize accidents. We are starting to train her to use a bell to signify going outside and we are working on basic obedience training (sit, down, stay, etc). She is feeling a lot better after her antibiotics and now is a happy, playful puppy.

I'm still a little nervous to leave her in the crate overnight just yet. Since we can't move the crate into my room, she sleeps in a padded box by my bed. It works out well because I can tell when she is awake and needs to go outside. I think we might try the crate overnight when she gets older and has more bladder control.

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Permalink Reply by Lindsay Bannister on April 7, 2009 at 2:02am

glad to hear it! also glad shes feeling better. <3 if the box works then use what works definatly! ^^ sounds like she'll be a perfect dog. goodluck :D!

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Permalink Reply by Lindsay Bannister on April 6, 2009 at 2:00am

i brought my puppy Ein home when he was about 8 weeks and 2 days old. he already had some experience with being in the crate, but i always take him outside to potty before i put him in there, so if he ever whined i'd know it wasnt cause he needed to go. until he was almost 11 weeks old he didnt sleep all the way through the night without waking me. but before then he would whine and i'd get up, take him straight out to potty and put him back in his crate. he protested a little bit sometimes, but i had his crate facing my bed and i would turn away from him when he whined. he would give up within a few minutes. he's just over 16 weeks old now and i usually sleep 12 hours, he never wakes me up in the morning (although most of the time i wouldnt mind waking up at 3pm is a drag). i never sweet talk him when i put him in the crate, always just a "go to bed". when ein gets anxious his stool also gets a little runny. so i never left him alone in his crate, i'd move it out with my family while we watched tv if needed. just so he never felt abandoned and frightened. a nice run around the neighborhood helps calm them down to relax before crate time too.

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