17 week old pup coming home--potty and crate training questions

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

Congrats on becoming on a CKC owner Amy!

I'm not an expert, but have potty trained 3 dogs in the last few years, with only 1 being a CKC (and took the longest for me to train!)

If you do not want to ever use the pad, I would not introduce it in your home. Not sure why the breeder was providing water at night, that just sounds like asking for an accident. If you want to use a crate, and I do suggest it, then introduce her to it when she comes into your home.

If the crate is right sized, it is unlikely that she would pee in it (but she might...). If at night, you hear her crying, you should take her out to the location that you would like her pee, give her 5 -10 minutes, and bring her back in. Since this is nighttime, remind yourself that is a "no-play" time, and you should be very matter of fact about the whole process. It will probably be difficult for you to determine if she is crying because she is alone and not fond of the crate, or if she truly does need a potty call. I would give her the benefit of the doubt, and take her out. Having a puppy is like a baby -- some of your precious sleep time may be lost!

If you want to train her to go outside, she will need to be in her in the crate unless you are with her. She cannot be given unsupervised time to have an accident. (this is where I messed up with my CKC). You have to watch her like a hawk. If you see her starting to relieve herself, pick her up quickly and say something like "out". When she performs outside, reward her. She needs to go out after she eats/drinks, after playing, upon waking, etc... Take her to the spot where you wish her to do her business, be patient, and praise, praise, praise if she performs and give a treat (This does not apply at night!). She will get the hang of it, and figure out what needs to be done. It sounds like the breeder used the xpen and pads, so keep in mind this whole business of going outside to do her business will be new to her.

My CKC has a very sensitive tummy, so I'm not big on treats. We keep him to a strict diet and feed him from a bowl. Maybe someone else can help you on the Kong question.

We got Bosco at about 16 weeks. My biggest mistake, which prolonged the potty training, was not keeping a watchful eye on him. Many times my kids (teenagers!!) would take him out of the crate and claim to be watching him, and whoops -- an accident. Or I would take him out, then bring him in, think all was okay and whoops- an accident. I can't stress enough how you have to be viligant. There are others on this forum who had quick success, but I would say that he was not fully trained for a few months, and I do attribute part of that to me. I will say that I have two Japanese chin, who were sooo easy to train, but their breeder had started the process. With Bosco, it was just different.

Good luck and I look forward to see pictures of you new pup.

Joan

Joan, thanks so much for your reply! Cori will be about the same age as your Bosco when she comes home! Her nighttime crate is small, so she won't have room to potty in it. Hopefully that will help at night. I'm a light sleeper, so if I hear her, I'll take her out--and no play time. Thanks for your nighttime tips.

I definitely won't be giving her any unsupervised time for a long time. I was just wondering if it was necessary to crate her when I wasn't playing/training/pottying her. Can she just follow me around? lol I guess that would only be if I could watch her closely, huh? It just seems like a 17 week old could be crated less than an 8 week old pup. Of course, for the first few days, I'll use the crate more as we start to establish crate training and working on potty training.

Although the breeder uses the xpen and pads, she does get them outside regularly. She said Cori has no problem in the morning making it from the back bedroom where she sleeps to outside to go potty. She said she uses the pads because she has so many pups and adults, she might miss when they really should go out and has them just in case. I don't know why she gives them water all night, though.