Crate Training, am i on the right track?

Goosie · Puppy Joined: 20 Oct 2007 Posts: 1

Hello there, this is my first post but i check these forums regularly and have read my fair share of posts.

Just a brief summary here: My Weim is 16 weeks old and his name is Goose. We have been crate training him since he was 7 weeks and it has been going pretty well. He is a overall great dog, he knows when i mean "no" and realizes that i am the boss but we still have loads of fun. We run every day about 2 miles, or some days less when i see that he is tired.

I go to school from 9AM till 2:30PM and my mother watches him then, other than that i am with him 24/7 and he is very much attached to me.

We have a pretty strict schedule, but i dont know if it was too hard on him. He spends about 7 hours during the day total in the crate but it is split up. My mother takes him outside about every 1-2hours and sometimes she lets him outside in the backyard by himself for no more than 1 hour. I have tried to keep down the amount of time he spends in the back because that is not where he goes potty and i dont want to confuse him.

Our first problem occurred with crying while in his crate. You could pretty much place a bet that every time i am not by his crate while he is in it he starts to cry. This usually only lasts 5 minutes then he is content. I ignore it almost all the time but he does let me know when he has to go by barking and i always let him out for that.

The second problem was at night, he seemed to cry all night the first night so i ignored most of it and he ended up going in his box. Now every night he doesn't make a sound until it is time to wake up then he starts barking so most of the nights he has a accident in his crate. I have tried taking him out at random times during the night but he never goes instead plays with the bugs outside i really don't know what to do about this.

Our third problem is more me than him, i am afraid to let him loose in the house too much. Which is why he spends so much time in the crate. I have a baby gate that i put up in the kitchen so he cannot leave it but the door we go out for him to use the potty is in the living room. He spends probably an hour at a time in the kitchen but he isn't aloud unsupervised anywhere else in the house. he has proved that he doesn't just go potty anywhere but he eats everything and i am scared that he will pick up something and eat it while I'm not watching. His crate is also in my room which is about 40 yards from the front door so i cannot see him sitting there. he has never walked to the front door when he has to go because well i don't let him out of the kitchen. I know I'm doing this wrong but i want to fix it. How will i know when he is potty trained or even trained enough for me to let him loose in the house with my mind constantly running on whether or not he is using potty or not in the house.

So thanks for reading all of that and any advice would be great, i am so eager to have him trained so we can let him have free roam of the house and i dont have to worry constantly. Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses just to clear up a few things. The reason i do not want him in the back is because i have taught him to go out the front door and that is where goes, in the front. I decided this because the back seems like there are so many distractions and im sure id spend an hour out there at a time if we did try to go out there.

No he at one point did have 2 or 3 accidents in the kitchen but other than that i have full confidence that after i take him outside he will not go potty in the kitchen.

The other was about the running, i dont really run so much as we do walk. I walk him and when he feels like running i go ahead and jog along its totally up to him the entire time

Beth · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:59 am Post subject:

Ellinorianne · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:19 pm Post subject: I don't have an answer

because we are doing the same thing, although this is only day three of crate training. We have a sweet 10 week old Weimaraner and she's doing so well. She whimpers a bit after being in her crate but sleeps through the night with no problem.

My husband gets home at around 3pm, so she's not crated during the day for more than five hours and our daughter makes sure to get play time with her before I take her to Pre school. We have a really active four year old and she runs crazy with Sophie (My daughter named her).

So, I am hoping to hear how we will know she's housebroken. I pick her up and take her outside right away so she doesn't have a chance to go inside. I've read that Weimaraner's are a bit harder to housebreak and right now I am anticipating she won't be housebroken for another couple of months.

Good luck to you!

anne · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the descriptive post, it helps a lot.

First, I would say that the schedule is not too harsh at all, but there are several things that might help you.

It sounds like your mom lets the dog out but doesn't supervise what he's doing out there, so 1) she may not know whether he has gone or not, and 2) the dog isn't getting any feedback that going outside is what you desire. I use praise but you can even take treats out there and tell him what a good boy he is for using the right spot.

Taking him out randomly is OK, but you should also keep in mind when he might need to go, after eating, after naps and so on. You always want to make the situation such that you will have the best possibilty of success so taking him out immediately after he wakes up is a way to control when and where he goes so that you can give him feedback (praise, treats) that that is what you want.

Regarding playing with bugs. This is normal. Puppies get easily distracted. Leashing him may or may not help. Give him a certain amount of time and if he's still goofing off, put him back in his crate and wait for 30 min or an hour or whatever and try again.

When he has eliminated, THEN give him free run of the house, as you can be somewhat assured that he's empty and won't have accidents. I'm not sure what you are so worried about loose in the house if you are truly supervising him when he's loose. It's a great opportunity to teach him what you want him to chew on. If you can't watch him for a minute, that's what the crate is for.

Does he eliminate in the kitchen?

The fact that you are so worried that he will go in the house sounds to me like you aren't in tune with his "rhythm." Give your puppy freedom after you have witnessed him eliminate outside.

I'm also not getting a clear picture of your setup. You said you don't want him eliminating out back. Where does he go?

Anne

PS - Please do not run with a 16 week old Weimaraner, it is not good for their joints.

Beth · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:51 pm Post subject:

I have to say, (and I'm ready to jinx myself) that this is the first full day that daisy has not even had a pee accident in the house! YAY for Daisy Smile

anne · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:55 pm Post subject:

I don't think Weimaraners are harder to housebreak. I think toy breeds are harder due to the smaller bladder size.

Puppies can be nearly housebroken by about 10 weeks old if you do it the right way. When I say 10 weeks I don't mean that you can let the pup loose for extended periods and expect them to hold it, but if they have been started early (and by early I mean even as early as 4 weeks old at the breeders) they catch on very fast and start doing their best to not go inside and often will start going towards whatever door you use to go outside. By about 14-16 weeks, I can turn my back on a well managed one without worrying too much, but even still, I don't wnat to set my housebreaking back so do keep an eye out and make sure they are emptied before given free run.

How quickly you can get through this process depends on how well you manage the situation and how few accidents they have had in the house. The crate is a great tool for housebreaking.