Will this be ok?

[shonajoy]

I posted last week about Indie being good, well of course I spoke too soon, he's up at 4am-5am wanting to play. Part of the problem is he's escaping from his penned in area, which means he's at our door so we can't ignore his yowling.

I need something secure for him at night, or for when we go out, so I have purchased a cage on ebay for him - 48" long, 32" wide, and 35" high. If I put a puppy pad in one side of that, is it cruel to keep him in it overnight? I bought the biggest one I could. I made the mistake of buying a small cage to start with, it's 23" long and barely been used!

 Also, should I make food available overnight ?- I've been leaving food and water, but he's pooing and then rolling in it. I will obviously leave water anyway.

I'm a bit disheartened today.

Shona                    

[Pammy]

Shona - don;t be disheartened, we all have ups and downs with puppies - and adult dogs too!!

A crate for the night is fine - it doesn't have to be so big imho. A large crate and puppy pads will let him think it's OK to "go" in the crate, where what you want is to encourage him to hold on until morning . I would be inclined to use a wooden board to make the crate smaller, moving it back as Indie grows. Put newspaper down if you must, not the puppy pads if you want to use them in the kitchen when you go out in the day. He should not associate his crate with being a toilet or you'll have a habit that'll be hard to break. :?

As for the food, I wouldn't leave food though as it will encourage him to eat and then nature takes it's course . You might also want to think about water too. Some people leave water at night, others don't. I did when the boys were puppies, but now not, but then they are in my room so I hear of anything is wrong and they've never wanted to get up for a drink  but then they have their evening meal at about 6.00 so have had plenty of time to get a drink before going to bed. They get a last go at water immediately before we go to bed and they then have water all day.

hth                    

[Mary]

Indies new crate is by far big enough so you have no need for guilt pangs on that score :wink:

As for the food, there is no need to leave food for him overnight.  How old is Indie now as you should consider bringing his last feed of the day forward to help with his toilet training?                    

[PennyB]

A lot of people crate their dogs overnight especially when house training them. I wouldn't put the pad in the crate though as it will encourage them to go inside the crate and then you'll have to unlearn that one! Let them out before you go to bed and then I tend to get up early anyway to let mine out in the morning, and then you can leave them longer and longer.

I've got a bowl that clips on to the side of the crate for water, but no food as in theory they shouldn't be eating at night anyway.                    

[shonajoy]

Indies new crate is by far big enough so you have no need for guilt pangs on that score :wink:  

As for the food, there is no need to leave food for him overnight.  How old is Indie now as you should consider bringing his last feed of the day forward to help with his toilet training?

Thanks Mary - he's 14 weeks now, and is on 4 feeds a day. I give him his last one at 6ish is that ok?                    

[shonajoy]

Thanks Pammy. Maybe I''l rethink the water issue, I just thought if he's in there for 9 hours, he'd need some? He's 14 weeks now, so maybe not?


If he's going to be in it for 9 hours, then I would leave him some water for a bit longer yet. At that age, mine were prob in bed for about 7 hours tops                      

[shonajoy]

A lot of people crate their dogs overnight especially when house training them. I wouldn't put the pad in the crate though as it will encourage them to go inside the crate and then you'll have to unlearn that one! Let them out before you go to bed and then I tend to get up early anyway to let mine out in the morning, and then you can leave them longer and longer.

I've got a bowl that clips on to the side of the crate for water, but no food as in theory they shouldn't be eating at night anyway.

Thanks Penny I'll give that a try.                    

[Pammy]

Thanks Pammy. Maybe I''l rethink the water issue, I just thought if he's in there for 9 hours, he'd need some? He's 14 weeks now, so maybe not?


If he's going to be in it for 9 hours, then I would leave him some water for a bit longer yet. At that age, mine were prob in bed for about 7 hours tops  

This is bizarre coz this was actually my reply to Shona!!! The first para was my quote from Sona's response - the second my reply!! :shock:                    

[PennyB]

As mine have always been on dried food then I always make sure they have free access to water no matter.                    

[*Jay*]

dallas is the only one whos crated at night and I don't give him water. He gets a drink if he needs it last thing at night but i learnt when I took them to the SKC that Dallas+water in crate don't mix - within seconds of shutting the door he had the water all over the place                    

[shonajoy]

dallas is the only one whos crated at night and I don't give him water. He gets a drink if he needs it last thing at night but i learnt when I took them to the SKC that Dallas+water in crate don't mix - within seconds of shutting the door he had the water all over the place

Yes, Indie's the same,lol! Soaked within seconds!

Well, he had his last food at 6.30pm, then a good walk, and he did a poo then too, hurray! Off to bed later and had his last drink at 10pm, but he was still up at 5am, and not hungry or thirsty as he ignored the water and food I offered him.
I hope my new crate comes soon so hopefully that will help matters.                    

[Pammy]

That's not bad going for a 14 week old pup. They're no different from babies at this age and need gentle coaxing into a routine  The crate should help. Good luck                    

[PennyB]

dallas is the only one whos crated at night and I don't give him water. He gets a drink if he needs it last thing at night but i learnt when I took them to the SKC that Dallas+water in crate don't mix - within seconds of shutting the door he had the water all over the place

I have one of those bowls that fixes on to the side of the crate so no more spilt water.