amyd
Well-known member
Hi everyone! I recently introduced myself on the Intro forum. We are bringing our tricolor girl named Cori home on Aug. 23 :biggrin:. I've been reading tons (for months!) and I really like Ian Dunbar's free ebooks on puppies and plan to follow his advice. A little background before I ask my question: Cori will be 17 weeks old when we bring her home. At the breeder's home she is kept in an ex-pen area with her mom and littermates. She has a pee pad in there and will use it during the day if the breeder hasn't gotten her outside in time. The breeder says they have access to water all night and uses the pee pad during the night. She hasn't been in a crate yet.
I am planning to crate train Cori and do not plan on having pee pads at all. We have a crate in our bedroom for nighttime and a crate in the kitchen.
1. Do you all think it will be easy for her to transition from having pee pads to having none? I'm hoping if I get her outside every 2 hours during the day (does that sound right for her age?), it won't matter that she doesn't have pee pads. Of course I'll get her outside after a nap, after playing, etc., too.
2. Do you think she'll be able to hold it all night simply because of her age (I've read most puppies can go through the night without needing to pee by 16 wks) or will the fact that she's been going at night on pee pads make that less likely for awhile? Do you take away water at a certain time in the evening? I'm also wondering if I should take her outside in the middle of the night the first few nights. I'm thinking I'd rather start as I mean to go on and not do that. Any advice there?
3. It seems that Ian Dunbar is referring to a puppy of about 8 weeks old in his advice. Since Cori will be 17 weeks old, do you think it will be necessary to confine her to her crate when she's not playing with us or going out to potty like he recommends? I certainly plan to crate her quite a bit in order to crate train her, but I'm wondering if I need to crate as much as Ian recommends because she's not a very young pup. I will probably use Ian's method exactly as he describes it for at least the first couple days until we establish her potty routine. But beyond that, how often should I crate her for purposes of potty and crate training? BTW--I'm a stay at home mom, so I have all the time I need to train her (going outside often, etc.). She will never need to be crated with me not at home for more than 2-3 hrs. at a time (usually less) and that won't be an everyday occurrence.
4. And one more question! I plan on using Kongs for her crate training/chew toy training just like Ian recommends. I'm wondering, again because of Cori's age, if feeding all of her meals from the Kong is necessary/desirable? I'd like to feed at least half? her daily allotment in her Kong, but *all* of it seems like too much. Also, she is used to eating from a bowl at the breeder.
I really appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my questions! We feel quite prepared and are super excited for our girl to come live with us! :rah:
Amy
I am planning to crate train Cori and do not plan on having pee pads at all. We have a crate in our bedroom for nighttime and a crate in the kitchen.
1. Do you all think it will be easy for her to transition from having pee pads to having none? I'm hoping if I get her outside every 2 hours during the day (does that sound right for her age?), it won't matter that she doesn't have pee pads. Of course I'll get her outside after a nap, after playing, etc., too.
2. Do you think she'll be able to hold it all night simply because of her age (I've read most puppies can go through the night without needing to pee by 16 wks) or will the fact that she's been going at night on pee pads make that less likely for awhile? Do you take away water at a certain time in the evening? I'm also wondering if I should take her outside in the middle of the night the first few nights. I'm thinking I'd rather start as I mean to go on and not do that. Any advice there?
3. It seems that Ian Dunbar is referring to a puppy of about 8 weeks old in his advice. Since Cori will be 17 weeks old, do you think it will be necessary to confine her to her crate when she's not playing with us or going out to potty like he recommends? I certainly plan to crate her quite a bit in order to crate train her, but I'm wondering if I need to crate as much as Ian recommends because she's not a very young pup. I will probably use Ian's method exactly as he describes it for at least the first couple days until we establish her potty routine. But beyond that, how often should I crate her for purposes of potty and crate training? BTW--I'm a stay at home mom, so I have all the time I need to train her (going outside often, etc.). She will never need to be crated with me not at home for more than 2-3 hrs. at a time (usually less) and that won't be an everyday occurrence.
4. And one more question! I plan on using Kongs for her crate training/chew toy training just like Ian recommends. I'm wondering, again because of Cori's age, if feeding all of her meals from the Kong is necessary/desirable? I'd like to feed at least half? her daily allotment in her Kong, but *all* of it seems like too much. Also, she is used to eating from a bowl at the breeder.
I really appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my questions! We feel quite prepared and are super excited for our girl to come live with us! :rah:
Amy