So, I’ve never had a puppy before. Atticus was 8-months old when I adopted him from the shelter. And so while he had a whole host of issues that I had to address immediately, at least he was house-trained! He was a rescue dog. He had been living on an old man’s farm and had been severely beaten. Bringing him home with me was a giant leap of faith. I’d never ever had a dog and had no clue what I was doing. In addition to being terrified of old men, he was scared of the car, stairs, the kitchen and mirrors. I had my work cut out for me.
And Chamo? He was four when he came into my life, via my husband. And so his work? It was all behind him. He was the greatest pooch that ever lived. Ever.
But Atticus, well, I enrolled him in a local dog training school. It was very basic and helped me teach him the easy but necessary stuff. Sit. Stay.
But upon our return to New York, it was clear that we needed something else. That’s when I found Sarah. I don’t even recall how we crossed paths. But it was a blessing. She is a phenomenal dog teacher. She taught Atticus how to walk on a leash without dislocating my shoulder. And how to heel. And how to settle down. I don’t know what I’d have done without her guidance.
Atticus is an incredible dog. He’s smart as a whip. Loyal. Fun. And he thinks he’s a human. I’m okay with that last one, too.
But Lola? This is something altogether new for me. I’ve never had a true puppy before. She pees about a million times a day. Little piddles. And while I’m still trying to catch on to her cues, she is a sly one. And the whining and crying all night? We’re crate training her. Only at night when we are asleep. Ha. Sleep. Last night? Her first night with us, her new family? Her first night in her crate? She was a devil. A maniac. All night long. I had a total of 1.5 hours of sleep. Not joking…
However, I am completely and utterly smitten with this little girl. As is Pea. Pea, who announced to me this evening that Lola is her best friend, and that she really likes her. Oh my. That is why we got this puppy. We want our girls to have that bond with another creature. A creature who relies solely on us for life.
But… any suggestions? Anyone? House-training experts? Are you out there? Nighttime crate trainers? Any success stories? Because as with everything else, I came into this fully prepared. But my husband? He’s gone. A lot. So we knew that this responsibility was going to fall squarely on my shoulders. And that’s fine. I’m good with that. I’ve done my homework, read some books, including a quick reread of Sarah’s book from years ago. But I want to be sure I’m not missing something.
Good dogs rock.
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I did pretty much what Amy suggested with our lab, except instead of a playpen
I blocked off a small utility closet. Otherwise, Pepper was with one of us and we watched her like a hawk.
I heard that it takes about 19 weeks for a puppy to really be able to hold their movements, but that they understand “no” and praise as early as 12 weeks. I did what the other poster did and praised Pepper to the hilt when she went outside. When she did have an accident in the house, I tried to catch her in the act so I could say “no” with just enough harshness that she knew I was serious.
I got Pepper at 12 weeks old, and it took me about 3 weeks of consistent training to potty train her.
Good luck! He’s a gorgeous dog, and will I’m sure be a delight!
We crate trained our mini dachshund and it was the best thing we ever did. It gave him a safe place to call his own and he still loves his little den. When we brought him home, we also brought something from his original puppy bed – something that smelled like his mama and it really helped ease the transition. Your new pup is SO darling.
Hello – I thought I’d weigh in on the suggestions as I am a veterinarian. 9 weeks is a little young to make much progress on house training. Your goal at this point should be to minimize the number and location of accidents as this can really derail you for the future. Purchase a puppy “playpen” and put her crate in there. She should ALWAYS be in the pen unless you are holding her or playing outside. When she is closer to 12 weeks she should be able to go through the night (10-6) without going out and should be able to start training to only go outside. Use lots of treats – liver seem to work best. Good Luck!!! Labs are usually very easy to train.
I unfortunately have no training experience to share. But best of luck with the training! I hope you get some sleep at some point!
Hi Melissa,
I too just got my first dog about a year ago. The best thing for crate training, or what I think is….Put a 2L of hot water (wrapped in a towel or blanket) in the crate with them, this will make them think that their Mama is there. Also, if the crate is large enough for her when she is older, put a blocker in it, so that there isn’t a lot of space, but that can be moved as she grows until it can be taken out completely. This worked wonders for our dog, and he only woke up once when he came to us. Also, put her in there when she is taking a nap, etc. This is her happy place, kind of like a child’s room. Don’t use it as a punishment, or she’ll never go in. OK, sorry for all of the rambling. Hope it works out well for you, she is absolutley gorgeous!
Good Luck! I hope you get some sleep! She’ll learn quickly but don’t let her cuteness get in the way of training. That was my downfall.
I’ve had 3 puppies — all crate-trained. They are just like babies, they cannot and will not sleep through the night. And Lola’s bladder is so little, she really has to go out every few hours. Limit water before bedtime. Take her out as late as you can stand it. You might want to wake her up to take her out in the middle of the night so you’re not cleaning up any messes in the crate.
Puppies ARE babies — your nights will be sleepless, but not for long. Luckily, she’s a bigger dog breed and will grow quickly (as will her bladder!). Good luck!
We got two beagle puppies at the same time. One was 8 weeks and one was 12 weeks old. We also crate trained for the first time. We found that if you cover the crate at night with a light sheet, they would not cry. It was very helpful with “the twins”. Our trainer told us to never use the crate as punishment and to allow them to go to it freely during the day. It is their “cave” where they feel secure.
OK, so my puppy is six months old, we got her when she was about 8.5 weeks old. We did the crate training thing. We’d feed her, give her water, put her in the crate and take her outside twenty or so minutes later. If she did her business we’d praise her and pet her a lot and come inside and play with her. Then she’d get tired and we’d put her back in the crate.
I remember taking her outside about once every hour or more. It was January. In Utah. She hated it, but she learned fast because we were crazy dedicated.
At night, we would not give her water after about 7 pm. She cried the first night a couple times and then it was about two times a night for maybe a week and then for another month, she would faithfully wake up at about 3 am. I would take her outside (we assumed it was a bladder thing) and then she would go back to sleep.
We usually had a little radio we would leave on for her to keep her company. She won’t need it forever, but it did seem to help.
Anyway, it took about two months for her to be pretty much potty trained (the real test was her going to the door at someone else’s house). She still stays in her crate when we are not home.
This is so wordy; I hope it helped.
Make sure you have a small enough crate so it feels cosy. If it’s too big for her, try putting a separator in. I used a board with a 2×4 behind it until my pup grew into his crate. Also, we put hot water in a 2 liter bottle so there is something warm for your puppy to snuggle up against.
That is the cutest puppy EVER.
Don’t paper train. Just train to go outside.
Crate training is great…. really gives them a sense of security when they are young. leave the crate open during the day so they can go inside and rest and be in their own space. Commit to obedience training. Practice.