New pup ?'s

[LovenLifeGuy]

Hello, I just picked up my 49 day old english yellow lab last night and I have some questions. This is my first pup and although I did ask the breeder many questions I still have many more. I put the dog in a large dog crate for the night when I went to bed. This morning I woke up to the little guy full of his own dump and dump all over the crate. How should I deal with this? Should I wake up a few times at night to let him out or is that a bad habbit to get into? Should I block most of the crate off so he only has a little room? From what I have read he has little to no control over this at this point in his life and he cant hold it. I put him out b4 going in the crate and after he eats or drinks. Just curious how others crate their dogs at night and looking for any suggestions on things that have worked.

Thanks in advance

LovenLifeGuy

[Swamp Scooter]

Congrats on the new pup. If you search here you will find tons of info for the new pup q's. The one thing with them this young is let them out. Not just before and after (X) but always. When they get up, before and after they eat, before and after they play, when they give you dumb looks, just because it is 7:07pm! The more you put into it right now the easier it will be. Keep them with a good schedule too. Time the feedings(3) so you are home when the deposit is needed to be made...or you will be cleaning it up inside. The crate may be too large right now and making it smaller can help. Pull water overnight and do not feed too late in the evening or you will miss the morning deposit. These and other things can help but the young pup just needs to grow and to do that they need to eat and dump. You will learn the timing for your dog and also be able to push it a little if you are on a schedule. So do not free feed but give timed and measured meals of your quality dog food. Free choice to water but pull in the evening so they can make it overnight. Let out just before you go to bed and then first thing in the monring and if they start wailing in the middle of the night get up asap and get them out.

Be prepared to let them out. If you have a fenced in yard fine but if not make sure the leash is on the door handle, shoes beside the door and unlaced so you can slip them on. Have a bathrobe handy so as not to scare the neighbors! You will probably want to go out with the pup to see they go and not just mess around, also to steer them to the area you want them to use(not the cement landing or sidewalk). This is a time consuming job right now but one that will pay off very soon.

Good luck!

[wallmounter]

Get "Ten Minute Retriever", this book is great for new pup training, it covers everything from crate training to obedience and retriever training. It is great for beginners and has ton of ideas. I just got my first pup last fall and know exactly how you are feeling. My pup just turned 7 mos and it wasn't until she was 5-6 mos that she didn't have to have at least one trip outside during the middle of the night.

Let me know if you have any questions, cause like I said I just went through your exact situation. Good luck and love that little pup, cause they don't stay that little for long!

[caseymcq]

Shredded paper in the crate works great. I bought a paper shredder and with all the junk mail we get we have a good supply to fill the bottom of the crate. It works well so if the pup does have an accident it will be absorbed(if it is of the liquid kind) or it will kind of get burried and not be smeared all over your pup. Clean up is pretty easy with it too. Usually you would be just cleaning out the paper and replacing it. We didn't do it with the first pup we had and we ended up giving him quite a few baths. The second pup we did it with and if she had messed in the crate hardly, if any, got on her. They are both older now and are still crated while we are at work and the paper acts as a nice bedding.

It is also a nice material for them to "nest" with while they are in the crate, possibly helping them feel a little more secure and comfortable in the crate.

If you get as much junk mail as we do you have an endless supply. It was kind of funny to know that when our pup did dump in the crate it was on a credit card app

[jbdragon17]

Swamp Scooter made a nice post for you. In addition to what he said about going out with your pup to see that he/she goes...give him/her plenty of praise when they do go outside. Every time I saw my pup go outside I would say "go potty"..."good boy". Some may think this is corny, but now when I let them out I say "outside...go potty" and out they go. My male pup was potty trained very fast and never had an accident in his crate.

[mamohr686]

I would suggest buying a smaller crate, they only run about $22 at walmart and you can use them later to haul live birds around. Crate training and potty training go hand in hand. The dog will learn early if it has an oversized kennel to go potty on one side and sleep on the other. A puppy has the bladder the size of a walnut and will need to be let out every 2 to 4 hours to prevent having an accident. And as soon as you take them out of the crate go straight outside on the grass where you decide the best place to get your lawn ruined. They will learn that that is their area and praise them like crazy for going.

[LovenLifeGuy]

Thanks everyone! Yesterday and last night went very well. He is a smart pup and has yet to go in his crate or in the house since the first night. I got a little scared the first night but if his owner was as bright as he is it would have never happened. Thanks again and im sure I will have more questions for everyone soon

LovenLifeGuy

[metrojoe]

Put a small to medium size cooler in the back of the kennel so it leaves just enough room for the little guy to sleep. That way he is less likely to go in the kennel and you won't have to keep buying different sized kennels.

Good Luck

[LovenLifeGuy]

Joe, that is what I did last night and he did not go in the crate. thanks

LovenLifeGuy