# New Puppy - Daytime Crate



## nlaroche85 (Aug 25, 2013)

Hey everybody,

My partner and I will be getting a 9 week old Vizsla male in a couple weeks. We currently have a 15month old Morkie (Maltese -Yorkie mix) and 4 cats..... We are very excited for our little Bishop!

As a nervous person, I am trying to get things in order well in advance. We lucked out with the last dog and he was 4 months old when we bought him, which really helped out with the crate training and leaving him alone while we were at work.

My question : what recommendations do you have in regards to leaving the dog in a crate while we are at work. For the first week at the house (roughly) one of us will be there there the entire time, to get him use to us and to the house. Luckily a family member is able to come by Mon-Wed one or two times a day after that. I am just worried about leaving him too long, though we do have to work....

Some people have recommended a larger crate, specifically for the days that he will be there longer. They said that he is going to mess and we should have newspaper on the back end and a bed, to separate where he sleeps from where he will have to "go". That said, I was always told a small space with no place "to go" is better.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and ideas 

Nick


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Hey, Nick... 

Welcome to the Vizsla puppy forum... We placed the crate in our master, others place the crate in a separate room. 

Whatever you decide, be consistent. I mean, if the dog is allowed something, it should always be allowed, if something is not allowed, should never be allowed.

I bought a large crate for him and right from the start allowed him to have the whole crate. They can hold their bladders for 2 hours at the beginning and a little longer during the night because of less activity.

I found, through trial and error, that dogs do not soil in a place that is familiar to them... or don't go potty in an area they actively enjoy playing in... we played in his crate, outside the crate (the crate door is a great Whoa training tool), in the room and he never soiled unless we made a mistake and forgot to act in time.

They need to potty as soon as they wake up, before exercise, during exercise, after exercise, before meal, after meal.... pretty much any time they move a little. If they rest quietly... they may be able to hold about 2 hours.

Therefore long term confinement when they are really small is not a good idea unless the crate is attached to a potty place, maybe???

Regards,
Julius



Rest is Copy/Paste from earlier posts I made on the subject ... there is a lot of stuff on the forum... by the Search feature...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3uOmweA_iCE&feature=relmfu
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2TPSIL7oKwM&feature=fvwrel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUzF0g0PwY4 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLGFNkouakU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxhcb-itO4&feature=youtu.be

Caesar Millan on the subject of anxiety separation:
http://www.cesarsway.com/newsandevents/videos/Cesars-Class-on-Separation-Anxiety-Part-1

http://www.cesarsway.com/newsandevents/videos/Cesars-Class-on-Separation-Anxiety-Part-2


How do I teach my dog to love his crate?

The basic premises to crate training is teaching your dog that all good things come from the crate. As with all training, set your dog up for success in your crate training sessions. Most dogs are food motivated, so this means associating the crate with not only your dog's regular meals but also high-value treats that your dog DOES NOT GET FOR ANYTHING ELSE (probably dried fish, LOL ;D).

If your dog is familiar with the crate and will enter it willingly for a treat:

1. Feed all meals exclusively in the crate. Feed him with the door closed, wait until he finishes, then open the door. If he won't eat with the door closed, you can work up to closing the door for the duration of the meal by beginning with him eating his entire meal with the door open.

2. Leave treats in the crate for your dog to find randomly. Early on in his training, you can drop treats in the crate every 10–20 minutes without him seeing. He will start entering his crate to look for magically-appearing treats. The time can be varied and extended once he is used to this.

3. Once your dog knows the "crate" command, you can make this a game for him and play several times a day. Have him enter the crate for a treat, obey other commands while in the crate (sit, stay, etc.) for a treat, and exit his crate on command for a treat.

4. Command your dog into his crate. Close the crate door, and immediately treat him and open the crate door. Close the door again, and immediately treat and open the door. Slowly increase the time the door is closed in varied intervals with shorter (easy) times periodically, making sure your dog is calm during each step. If your dog whines or barks, go back a step and lower the time

5. Command your dog into his crate, and give him a special treat that will take him awhile to eat. If he exits the crate with his treat, command him back in or put his treat back in the crate. If he continues to exit with his treat after three tries, take the treat away. The idea is that your dog is making a choice. He can choose to have a delicious treat (in his crate), or no treat.

6. Crate him with a treat WHILE STAYING IN THE ROOM, so that he doesn't associate the crate with you always leaving. Time can vary.

7. If you are leaving your dog in the crate for a long period of time, your dog should be given a high value treat that will last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. A Kong stuffed with peanut butter, cheese, or other high value food is good for this. Visit www.kongcompany.com for Kong recipes.

8. If you are leaving your dog in the crate for a long period of time and the dog is familiar with you, leave an item with your scent, such as an old t-shirt, in the crate with him.

9. Your dog should be crated with a few crate-exclusive, safe toys/chews along with his treat. If you have several of these toys, they can be switched out from day to day. These toys should be taken away and hidden when your dog is not crated.


http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,9860.0.html


----------



## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I think it's great you will be home for a week, that will help a lot. I would recommend starting with 2 hr blocks at this age. Make sure to not let him out if crying, only when silent. 

Place crate next to your bed at night, and consistently in the same spot during the day. I recommend a crate will only enough room to turn around so he won't potty in it and work on controlling the bladder. 

Each puppy is different, Miles could go 4 hrs at 10 weeks, Chase could do it at 13 weeks. Things that have helped us successfully crate train two dogs and lose very little sleep over : 

1) Make sure dog is tired before crating! If in the morning, make sure you walk him, train, and play for an hour before leaving him. Then he will want to sleep and not be so distressed when you leave. At night, keep up for 1.5 hrs before bed, don't let him sleep before you go to bed or he won't settle at night.
2) Cover crate
3) Leave music on 
4) Leave a special treat he only gets in crate. We use a peanut butter filled Kong. 

Congrats on your new baby! They are the best. I have two sleeping by my feet now and I couldn't be happier.


----------

