more puppy help pleaseeee

Ok so here's the deal..me and hubby both work and we have to leave dog alone between 6 to 8 hrs..
What's the best way to do it..
We have a crate in kitchen where the wee wee pad is and purchased gates so she cnt run around the whole kitchen..
Should we leave her locked in cage the whole day or should we have cage open to be able to walk around and such and dnt feel stuck in cage all day??

We are trying real hard to train her and feel comfortable with being in cage at night and what not but fell guilty leaving her in cage when we go to work...

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

you can cage her in the beginning then gradually let her out more and more. you cant cage her for 8 hours cuz she's a puppy and cant hold it. if i were you and couldnt get home midday to take her out, i'd leave her in the kitchen with the wee wee pad and the cage open for her to sleep there.

and BTW- where are pics?!!?!

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

i would say to leave her in a small area if you can't come home to take her out at all. she'll have a harder time holding it in if she's in her crate for that long, and that might make training her not to go in the house a little more difficult. just make sure she can't knock down the gate. i know she's tiny, but when my dog was little (i got him when he was a little over 4 pounds!), he used to wedge his head in the gate. he only did this twice and i was there both times, but it made me realize that i couldn't just leave him out of his crate if i wasn't home.

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

crate! they need to learn to hold there bladder. do not use wee wee pads in the crate

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

she doesnt use the wee wee pad in the crate it is outside the crate...I only feel like i should keep her crate open when im gone for this long time becuase its a long time...and she only made do do in crate when we locked up her up twice once at night and once during the day....

this is sooo hard for us we are so confused on things....

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Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

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Posted by Watever143

she doesnt use the wee wee pad in the crate it is outside the crate...I only feel like i should keep her crate open when im gone for this long time becuase its a long time...and she only made do do in crate when we locked up her up twice once at night and once during the day....

this is sooo hard for us we are so confused on things....

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yeah she did that cuz her bladder and stuff are still too tiny and she cant control it yet. you cant keep her in a crate for 8 hours.

ETA What a cutie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

Just a word of caution sometimes the wee wee pads can confuse them when you go to train them to go outside. I myself never have experienced this until we got Rexy. He was going on the wee wee pads fine then we wanted him to start going outside and he had no idea what was going on and had alot of accidents.

He also began to tear up and destroy the wee wee pads when we were not home. Just be careful because if they eat that stuff it's not good!

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

i know that why when we arent home like that we will just leave the cage open...and if we gone for a shorter amount of time we will keep her inside...

thanks she is sooo cute

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

I would leave her in the crate, there is to much trouble they can get into out of the crate. Is there anyone who can come let her out midday?

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

my puppy was in a crate for like 8 hours or more on certain days and he made it w/ out accidents in the crate. Jake was in the crate for 4 months. he should of stayed in the crate a little longer, but thats a WHOLE other topic

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

aaaaaaaaaaa...see everyone has different opinions and i dno what us the best....

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

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Posted by tinadansr

Just a word of caution sometimes the wee wee pads can confuse them when you go to train them to go outside. I myself never have experienced this until we got Rexy. He was going on the wee wee pads fine then we wanted him to start going outside and he had no idea what was going on and had alot of accidents.

He also began to tear up and destroy the wee wee pads when we were not home. Just be careful because if they eat that stuff it's not good!

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THIS! We had the same problem. As far as the training, i think crate training is the best option however, how old is the puppy? They say that pups can hold it one hour for every month of age...some say add an extra hour to that. So if you are leaving the pup for 6-8 hours and they cant hold it yet be prepared to clean up a lot of messes. I know crate training teaches them NOT to pee/popp in there but if they physically are unable to hold it it's like setting them (and you) up for a mess....we had to get someone to come in and let our dogs out in the middle of the day. Each week she lets them out 15 minutes later so that eventually theyw ill make it all day....

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

Every breeder and vet will tell you not to leave a puppy in its crate all day.

this is a reason why we havent gotten another puppy.

when we got ginger we lived with my mil sil and bil they all had different schedules which was great because they would let her out of her crate every few hours to do her business

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Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

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Posted by Summertimegal424

crate! they need to learn to hold there bladder. do not use wee wee pads in the crate

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i 100% agree.
we crated our pup from the beginning and i was able to come home at lunch and let him out to pee. i did this for the first 2 months. he was about 4 months old when i stopped doing that and the only accident he has had was if he was sick and had the runs.
we leave him crated while at work but when we come home if we go somewhere (stores, dinner, gym etc) then we leave him loose since its a shorter period of time. (however we didnt do that until he was about 6 months old)
try not to feel bad, its not as bad as you think. dogs dont mind sleeping in the crate, i know you think it looks uncomfy but they find it homey when its their own space. it looks hard and awful but your dog will sleep on your kitchen floor or outside on cement and be fine so its the same thing
last night my dog was voluntarily sleeping in his crate with the door open when we didnt even want him in there

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

Our puppy HATED being in the crate, so little by little we let him out of it. Like if it was a weekend and we knew we'd only be gone 2 or 3 hours, we'd leave him out of the crate and put him in the kitchen. Then eventually we built up to the full day.

He's 7 months old now and we don't crate him at all - he has full run of the LR/DR and kitchen when we're not home and (luckily) hasn't destroyed anything except for a few paper towels.

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

my puppy is only 2 months tho.....And we dont have anyone to come in the middle of day...so this is why i ask whats the best for her.....Leave her gated off in kitchen with the cage open where if she hasto tpee the wee wee pad is in the same area...or just lock her up until we come home...

when she is locked up only twice she made do do in there but no pee....

Re: more puppy help pleaseeee

At 2 months they can only hold it for so long
Our puppy has major stomach issues so it was even harder to crate him.

We leave the crate open and have an Xpen that we clamp around it. He sleeps on his blanket inside the crate and will go out to do his business if he has to (He's been really good lately though)

Here is what the xpen looks like