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Newbie questions:
Where in the house does your dog nap or stay during the day and night?
When people say 'crating', does it mean you lock the crate door? We couldn't bear to do that, so the puppy has free access inside the playpen and the crate is placed inside it.
Housebreaking as in potty training I understand, but how do you train him to not bite other stuff? At what age is this a reasonable expectation?
Thanks!
Dogs mature at different rates just as humans do. With Jazz she had the run of my downstairs when she was a puppy as there is a dog door to a fenced patio and she was house broken in 2 days and never had an accident. She did love to shred books and knock things off shelves so I puppy proofed the down stairs. It was several years before she got run of the whole house if I was gone.
Chaos ended up with full run of the house around 8 months as she just was not a destructive puppy. The adults I have adopted were banned to downstairs ( which is living room, dining room and Kitchen) until I felt they were not chewers and I could trust them and it did not take long for any of them.
If you have dog that you still have to take things away from or tell them "leave it" frequently when you are around I would not trust it when it is alone. Then start with short periods of them being alone and see how it goes.
I crate trained mine, and they used to love their crates. Used them for bed, but also as a private place, nap location, hide out, etc. etc.
During the night, I would lock them in, but during the day, the doors were ALWAYS left open. By about a month or less of sleeping in crates, and having all day crate access, they were in the crates through a lot of the day, and when I left for work they would typically head into their crates and lie done (their own volition).
We have a small house and the wife was tired of the space they took up, so the crates came down, and the dogs moved into the bed for sleeping (bad trade IMO! ) .
We had some fosters for a few weeks and used the crates for containment of chewing puppies for short spurts, and my dogs kept sneaking in to the crates to nap - I suspect they missed their own private "homes."
We are moving into a much larger home in a few months, and I plan on going back to a crate trained set of dogs.
Edit: My floor has a lot of different Kong toys (I have a heavy chewer) and balls. Taffy put marks in all our furniture, but by around 7-8 months she only played with her toys. WE have not had a destroyed item (other than the dog's toys) in two or more years now.
We rescued a gsd in 2013. She had just turned 1. She had the run of the house the very first day she came home with us. husband is the alpha so she prefers to sleep on the floor next to his side of the bed...
We recently moved to a 2 story. When everyone is ready for bed, She loves sleeping in the hallway between all the bedrooms now. When I'm in the kitchen she will nap on the bottom stair landing to get a full view and whiff of what's going on downstairs.
when the house is empty she sleeps up stairs next to my husbands side of the bed on the floor.
Depending on the breed, many dogs like to be close to their people. If you have a Doberman or German Shepherd they may be miserable if separated. Such dogs want to see and be able to protect you 24/7. The best place for the crate is next to your bedroom entrance. Closing or not the crate, depends on the dog. But it's always easier to train a puppy than an adult. Once the routine sets in, its the way your dog will always prefer. Dogs like routine
Puppies like to mouth and chew. That's how they experience the world and is similar to a toddler touching everything with his hands. It's also the way they play with each other. So don't be alarmed if the dog does it at a young age. But you can teach it that biting isn't allowed and with time they learn. A good way is redirecting to the toys you show him.
Newbie questions:
Where in the house does your dog nap or stay during the day and night?
When people say 'crating', does it mean you lock the crate door? We couldn't bear to do that, so the puppy has free access inside the playpen and the crate is placed inside it.
Housebreaking as in potty training I understand, but how do you train him to not bite other stuff? At what age is this a reasonable expectation?
Thanks!
Our dogs stay in my master bedroom during the day (my husband has his own bedroom). Their food and water is in there, as well as a doggie door, so they can come and go, but not have run of the whole house. They were housebroken before I rescued them, but they learned how to use the doggie door really fast.
Where in the house does your dog nap or stay during the day and night?
Anywhere they want, usually on the top of the sofa looking out the window during the day.
Quote:
When people say 'crating', does it mean you lock the crate door?
I guess it's going to depend on who is doing the crating, if you do it right it becomes the dogs sanctuary and they will go in there by themselves. We never crated, I did have one dog who's one favorite spot was to go under the one end table which would be very similar to crate. I often consider whether I should do this with the next dog, I have had a few that are afraid of fireworks, lightning etc. They often end up in the most enclosed place they can find. I used to find the one in the bathtub and she hated taking a bath.
Quote:
Housebreaking as in potty training I understand, but how do you train him to not bite other stuff? At what age is this a reasonable expectation?
A firm no and they will get over it quick. Make sure you do this any time they bite like if they are going after the bottom of your jeans etc.
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