New pup in our family, question for you guys..

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I've read that dogs don't mature psychologically until about 2 yrs of age and being "responsible" for the whole house before then can be very anxious for them. Crate training makes them feel safer and not in so much control. However, use the "search this forum" feature to research what some experienced people say about time/age for how long you can leave a puppy in a crate.

[lorriem]

I have always crate trained my dogs. We just got a new pom and she loves her crate. I feel very safe going out with her in her crate and I am even crate training her to sleep at night in the crate. Our other three go to their crates for alone time and they are fine healthy dogs. That crate is their space. Stress free

[thegirlinaz]

Originally Posted by ember13

I'm commenting on two different things #1 about the age thing while it is better for a pup to stay with his mom till around 8 weeks old it will not be detrimental to his health or personality. I got my mastiff when she was 5 weeks old and she turned out to be the most loving dog I've had and she didn't have any behavior problems either. I will say I got her at 5 weeks old because her home was horrible and it turned out she had pnuemonia at 5 weeks If i woulda left her thier I don't think she'd be there at 8 weeks. #2 I've crate trained all my dogs and I've had all types, rott's, mastiff's, doberman's, mutt's, pug's, ****-zu, greyhounds and they've all had no problems. You'll hear differnt things about it though I'm one of the people that put the puppy in the crate just for sleeping with only enough room to stand up and turn around. Generally dogs don't like to sleep in their own messes so that help them hold it for a little bit but don't expect them to hold it all night, just like a baby you might have to get up in the middle of the night to make them go outside or clean them up when they have accidents. But like I said different people do it differently and you'll have to figure whichever way is comfortable for you and your lifestyle.

I'm glad you aren't telling me that getting him at 6 weeks is wrong. I didn't know I was supposed to wait for 8 and I don't want to be a bad puppy mom.

Yeah, we wake up in the middle of the night and take him outside to go potty. It is like having a real baby He is doing good so far, and he knows that outside in the grass is the place to go to the bathroom, he pees everytime we take him out, which is wonderful! He just needs to learn to let us know WHEN to take him out or how to use the dog door. But, I know he is just a puppy and it will take some time for him to learn, he gets easily distracted!