NEW puppy! Advice!

[adventure_woman]

So, we will be welcoming a new addition to our home on Mother's Day! We are sooooo excited! Our little 12 wk old pug will come litter trained, and we want to crate train her. So, a couple questions:

1. What size crate do I need? Can I put the litter pan in the crate too?
2. Other advice? (Besides being crazy for getting a puppy!?!?)

I'm making my list so I can start looking at garage sales for maybe a used crate and slowly buying the other stuff we need for the puppy (toys, kongs, etc.)

 

[kermit116]

Congrats on your new addition!

First, don't put the litter in the crate. To crate train a dog, you want them to learn to hold it while they are in their crate. If you put the litter in there and teach them to poop & pee where they sleep, it will develop bad habits for the future.

Second, I use a crate for my pug that is 24" x 18" x 19". He is now fully grown and it fits him well. You may want to get either a smaller crate for when your pug is a puppy, or get a crate that has a divider than can be removed. The idea of crate training is you want to have the dog have enough space to get up, turn around, but you don't want them in a huge crate that would allow them to go potty on one side and then sleep on the other.

Also, when you have your new pup, assume you'll probably still have to do some potty training and plan to let them out about once every two hours (or walk once every two hours) for the first few weeks. My pug learned potty training very quickly. They are generally pretty smart about it as pugs are a people pleasing breed.

As another side note, not sure if this is your first pug, but just as a warning on the crate training, you will probably want to keep the pug in the crate overnight to get him used to it being his little "den." Pugs really always want to be with their humans, so when we were crate training our pug it was hard to get him to go to sleep in the crate at night the first week or two because he would bark - he wanted to be in the bed with us. He now goes into his crate (in our bedroom) at bed time with little problem. I wouldn't recommend keeping any dog in a crate more than about 6 hours at a time, however, because they will go potty and/or get stir crazy. And for a puppy, I would recommend not leaving him alone in the crate more than about 3-4 hours at a time, except during the overnight hours.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your new pup!

 

[scottmel]

Good advice, pp! What I did OP b/c I NEVER Had a dog before and am super paranoid about accidents and potty etc. We got a King Charles Cavalier puppy when she was 12 weeks old and honestly was potty trained within a week. she had two accidents.

Literally EVERY HOUR I took her out on the hour and praised for potty like a lunatic with fresh treats, etc. I didn't crate her when we were home at all. Kept her on my lap or on the floor with her. Honestly it sounds insane - it was an intense first week but she had 2 accidents and has been clean ever since. Almost 2 years. Never left her alone more than an hour the first couple of months either. I was over the top I kkow but it REALLY worked to watch her like a hawk so she never HAD an accident therefore didn't think that was acceptable. etc.

 

[kermit116]

Literally EVERY HOUR I took her out on the hour and praised for potty like a lunatic with fresh treats, etc. I didn't crate her when we were home at all. Kept her on my lap or on the floor with her. Honestly it sounds insane - it was an intense first week but she had 2 accidents and has been clean ever since. Almost 2 years. Never left her alone more than an hour the first couple of months either. I was over the top I kkow but it REALLY worked to watch her like a hawk so she never HAD an accident therefore didn't think that was acceptable. etc.

I agree with this. Our most recent puppy got this type of attention from us, and he was potty trained in less than 2 weeks. Our little guy also got a small treat (part of a biscuit) every time he went potty outside. That helped forge a positive association for him.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had a 10 pound dog once, who was litter trained - worst mistake ever. She never completely housebroke, and has accidents not only in our home, but in others, as well. A crate should just be big enough for a puppy to turn around in - that's it. Until the puppy is completely trustworthy (housebroken, not destructive), it should never be left alone in a room, and you have to watch it all of the time, to catch bad behaviors.

My 1 year old dog usually heads into her crate (in the living room) around 9ish, and she stays there until someone lets her out (she did wake me up this morning around 7:30, but I've been known to wake her before 7 - my girl likes her sleep). She has no problem holding her pee for 12 hours. She's a rescue, and we got her at 6 months, completely housebroken and crate trained.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Just a suggestion, if you can, put up baby gates in the areas where you have carpeting or items which would be tempting for your puppy to chew.

 

[cornflake]

As someone else said do NOT put a litter pan or any other bathroom things in the crate. That kind of totally negates the point of the crate training.

The crate is their home, their room, their den in the wild - it's supposed to feel happy and comfortable and safe for them, like a bedroom. The way it's a method of housebreaking is that animals don't poop where they sleep - so they will naturally not go to the bathroom in their crates. They associate the crate/smaller space as 'their' space/den and when they need to go, alert you. So you take them outside. They then learn that outside outside is where to go and that the whole house is the extnension of the crate, as to place they're not supposed to go.

Also as above, you keep them in for lengthening periods, starting small with like 15 minutes before they get out, so it's not like jail, they understand it's safe and they'll be let out and soon they'll go in on their own, and you'll leave the door open lots and it's their bedroom where they have their blankie and bed and nice toy and they like to curl up. You can also send them there if they're being bad, like a kid, and when you're out of the house, they can be in there with the door latched and they're ok cause it's their room and they know you'll be back - and they won't go to the bathroom in there.

Putting litter or a weewee pad or whatever in there then, would negate the entire thing. It'd become their bathroom and they wouldn't want to hang out in there and it'd be confusing and you'd never get him properly trained.

 

[bedogged]

So, we will be welcoming a new addition to our home on Mother's Day! We are sooooo excited! Our little 12 wk old pug will come litter trained, and we want to crate train her. So, a couple questions:

1. What size crate do I need? Can I put the litter pan in the crate too?
2. Other advice? (Besides being crazy for getting a puppy!?!?)

I'm making my list so I can start looking at garage sales for maybe a used crate and slowly buying the other stuff we need for the puppy (toys, kongs, etc.)

You have gotten very good advice here. I would also suggest that you ask the breeder of your dog the questions you have. Reputable breeders are always happy to answer questions and help with training advice.

 

[bedogged]

So, we will be welcoming a new addition to our home on Mother's Day! We are sooooo excited! Our little 12 wk old pug will come litter trained, and we want to crate train her. So, a couple questions:

1. What size crate do I need? Can I put the litter pan in the crate too?
2. Other advice? (Besides being crazy for getting a puppy!?!?)

I'm making my list so I can start looking at garage sales for maybe a used crate and slowly buying the other stuff we need for the puppy (toys, kongs, etc.)

I missed part of your question. If you purchase used equipment for the puppy, please clean the crate, toys or anything else using a diluted solution of bleach. Bleach will kill most germs including the Parvo virus. Rinse well after cleaning.

 

[adventure_woman]

THANK you all for your advice! So, I will definitely NOT be putting the litter in the crate. I am going to look at it like potty training my 2 yr old - watching her like a hawk but then of course expecting the pee/poo clean up. I do still have all my baby gates, so it will be nice that I can make her stay in one spot if needed.

 

[kermit116]

THANK you all for your advice! So, I will definitely NOT be putting the litter in the crate. I am going to look at it like potty training my 2 yr old - watching her like a hawk but then of course expecting the pee/poo clean up. I do still have all my baby gates, so it will be nice that I can make her stay in one spot if needed.

Baby gates are a great idea. One word of caution - once your pug reaches a few months, she may be able to climb or jump them. We tried to use a baby gate to contain our 5 month old pug during a family dinner. He very quickly learned how to get a running start and jump it, and it thought it was great fun.

 

[adventure_woman]

Baby gates are a great idea. One word of caution - once your pug reaches a few months, she may be able to climb or jump them. We tried to use a baby gate to contain our 5 month old pug during a family dinner. He very quickly learned how to get a running start and jump it, and it thought it was great fun.

THAT is crazy!!

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

Literally EVERY HOUR I took her out on the hour and praised for potty like a lunatic with fresh treats, etc. I didn't crate her when we were home at all. Kept her on my lap or on the floor with her. Honestly it sounds insane - it was an intense first week but she had 2 accidents and has been clean ever since. Almost 2 years. Never left her alone more than an hour the first couple of months either. I was over the top I kkow but it REALLY worked to watch her like a hawk so she never HAD an accident therefore didn't think that was acceptable. etc.[/QUOTE]

Same here, and it paid off, I have a great dog who never has an accident in the house. She is such a good girl. Smart and fun, and where she is so well trained, we can enjoy her. Another thing I did was close off most of the rooms of the house, and now little by little she has pretty much been able to go all through the house. We don't always crate her when we go out. My dog isn't alone much at all either, and we can take her places with us as well. Consistency paid off 100%

 

[hugApug]

Baby gates are a great idea. One word of caution - once your pug reaches a few months, she may be able to climb or jump them. We tried to use a baby gate to contain our 5 month old pug during a family dinner. He very quickly learned how to get a running start and jump it, and it thought it was great fun.

I second this! Pugs have such commitment and tenacity, that they can overcome pretty much any boundary! We put our then six month old pug (now five years old!) in a toddler play pen and she quickly learned how to hoist her "shoulders" over the top, and kick over with her back legs. We've since crate-trained her, and she loves her "house".

Congrats on getting a pug, by the way!

 

[ygracey]

I missed part of your question. If you purchase used equipment for the puppy, please clean the crate, toys or anything else using a diluted solution of bleach. Bleach will kill most germs including the Parvo virus. Rinse well after cleaning.

I am new to DIS & thought there was a way to "rate" posts, but couldn't figure it out. This is very good advice and accurate. Bleach,it for sure!