Boogie
Moderator
- Location
- Manchester UK
It depends on the puppy - always.
Each of our pups has been different. Our first Guide Dog puppy, Gypsy, hated the crate so we got her a puppy pen and she didn’t look back. Since then we’ve tended to use a puppy pen, just out of habit really.
With Echo we decided to go back to a crate, the way Guide Dogs recommend - a plastic bed in the crate plus vet bed in case of accidents. Twice today he has taken himself into his day bed for a snooze!
This has worked an absolute dream with Echo so far. At night he is in a small (24”) crate by my bed - he settles instantly and just wakes once in the night for a wee - which he does on a puppy pad in the bathroom, no more going outside in the dark of the night for me! Once he is dry at night I’ll be trying him for sleeping in his downstairs crate. That may have to be done gradually, we’ll see.
Reasons I prefer this method -
Toilet training is much quicker. The pup is properly ‘full’,when you take them outside and they very quickly learn why they are there. Echo has a ‘boring’ gravel spending area with no distractions a garden has. Today Echo woofed at the door to go out for a wee - he’s just eight weeks old!
You know where there are once they are asleep so you know they aren’t having a sneaky chew on any chair legs etc.
You can start getting the pup used to being left alone for a little while from day one.
The pup soon learns where his safe place is and settles better all round.
Here is my present set up, the crate is 42” -
Each of our pups has been different. Our first Guide Dog puppy, Gypsy, hated the crate so we got her a puppy pen and she didn’t look back. Since then we’ve tended to use a puppy pen, just out of habit really.
With Echo we decided to go back to a crate, the way Guide Dogs recommend - a plastic bed in the crate plus vet bed in case of accidents. Twice today he has taken himself into his day bed for a snooze!
This has worked an absolute dream with Echo so far. At night he is in a small (24”) crate by my bed - he settles instantly and just wakes once in the night for a wee - which he does on a puppy pad in the bathroom, no more going outside in the dark of the night for me! Once he is dry at night I’ll be trying him for sleeping in his downstairs crate. That may have to be done gradually, we’ll see.
Reasons I prefer this method -
Toilet training is much quicker. The pup is properly ‘full’,when you take them outside and they very quickly learn why they are there. Echo has a ‘boring’ gravel spending area with no distractions a garden has. Today Echo woofed at the door to go out for a wee - he’s just eight weeks old!
You know where there are once they are asleep so you know they aren’t having a sneaky chew on any chair legs etc.
You can start getting the pup used to being left alone for a little while from day one.
The pup soon learns where his safe place is and settles better all round.
Here is my present set up, the crate is 42” -
