Alittle help please.

K

kyoko900

Forums Regular
Hi I'm new on the form i decided to join after the lost of our first sheltie,Kain:cry:, and i thought we'd be getting a another one. well i have a new one, jake, he's 8 weeks old and i was wondering. what is the best way to house train a sheltie. :confused2:I've heard use pads, and after they're trained on pads, moving the pad outside. or crate training. And how do you crate train a dog.:confused2: like what do you put in with it. i thought a puppy pad but i was worried he would get bored and eat it, and i'm worried he'll pee or poo in it, and get dirty. plus i don't want him to learn to eat poop, as we try to keep him from it.:no:
 
We crate trained our Sheltie, as they don't like to mess where they sleep and eat. We took him out on regular times like when he got up from sleeping and after eating, no matter what the weather was like. We had some mishaps, but didn't make anything of it. It took some time, so you need patience. Then he started to go to the door to go out to relieve himself. Now, he can last a long time and is fully trained, good luck. I hope this helps.
 
If you look through the Behavior section of the forum there are lots of tips on crate training a puppy. I personally prefer crate training, that way your pup never learns that its ok to go to the bathroom in doors. Some misinformed people believe that crate training is cruel. The truth is, when done properly and from a young age, they often get very attached to their crates, its their own personal space where they feel safe, similar to a wolf's den.

The trick to crate training is the size of the crate, you want there to be just enough space for the puppy to turn around. Dogs by nature are clean and won't mess where they sleep. Many crates on the market come with a divider so that you can section off the crate and make it smaller for a young puppy. The great thing about this kind of crate is that it will grow with the puppy, as the puppy gets older/bigger you can move the divider back until the puppy doesn't need it any more.

Like Donnie said, taking your pup out at regular intervals, especially after eating, sleeping and rigerous play time. With a small pup you may want to do it as often as every hour during the day, you may have to get up once or twice in the night for a while, it depends on the pup. I never had to get up with Sadie, she was always good about going all night. After a while you'll be able to space out how often you take your pup out.

I hope this helps. :smile2:
 
thanks, i didn't mean to ask the same question, i wanted to know more like what do you put in with it. i thought a puppy pad but i was worried he would get bored and eat it. i don't want him to eat it because the bottom is plastic. and he loves to chew.and he gets bored, not as bad as our kain. but yeah, a bored puppy is never good. :no:
 
I wouldn't put a pad in there for him to go to the bathroom on. They don't like to go to the bathroom in their crates because that is where they sleep. That's why it works so well for potty training. If I had let my guy have the run of the house at night, he would have peed all over the house while I was sleeping. He did have a couple accidents in the crate when we first brought him home but I think that's because he didn't realize that was where he was going to be sleeping at first.

I also used the crate for times when I couldn't have my eyes on him all the time. For example, if I got busy with making dinner in the kitchen or something, he'd go pee in the other room. To avoid that, I'd put him in the crate until I could get to a point where I could walk away from the stove or the cutting board and watch him. Then I'd take him out of his crate again. The key with potty training is to not let them get too far out of your site. At least it was for me. As long as I could catch him sniffing around for a place to go or starting to squat, I could take him outside on time. I swear in the beginning I was taking him out ALL THE TIME!!! Of course it's not as easy as all that. We had many accidents and it was a bit frustrating, but you have to remember that they are babies and patience will pay off.
 
Feel free to ask all of the questions you want, I think I speak for everyone when I say we're all happy to give you all the advice you need. :smile2: I just noticed myself that any questions I had about crate training were already posted, I wish I'd thought of looking for this forum when Sadie was still young.

Sorry I forgot to address your question about what to put in the crate. Definitely do not put a puppy pad in the crate. That could be confusing for your pup since you're trying to train him not to mess in his crate, he may associate the puppy pad with peeing/pooping. As I said, a crate with a divider is important for small puppies. If they have too much room they'll find a corner in the crate to pee/poo. There will be little or no messes if there is just enough room for him to turn around.

There are no rules about not putting chew toys in the crate so feel free to put something in the crate for your puppy to chew, just make sure its something that he can't destroy, like a nylabone. I put towels in Sadie's crate but she was unusual in that she's never chewed much. You can also buy crate pads made specifically to fit in all sizes of crates. If you're concerned about your puppy eating towels, blankets or crate pads then don't put anything down. You won't be hurting your dog, dogs don't need soft things the way people do, although they do enjoy them. My parent's sheltie, now 7, has never been able to have anything other than toys in his crate, he eats everything. :smile2:

Crates are great tools for training puppies, as Oreo said. They're great for nap time (Sadie wouldn't sleep unless she was in her crate, she could barely walk she was so sleepy but she'd try and keep going) and those times when you can't watch your puppy, like when you go out or when you're showering or making dinner. And they're great for potty training.

My parents also tried the puppy pad/newspaper method of potty training but it didn't work for their sheltie. They broke down and bought a crate (after two straight weeks of messes) and Milo was trained in 5 days!
 
I used crate training, which worked really well. The first couple days were frustrating because I couldn't tell when Chase had to go potty, but it quickly improved. Good luck!
 
How I crate train my Shelties:

Put him in a crate at night, but potty him right before you put him in.

In the morning (right away), pick him up and put him right outside where you want him to go. Tell him a key word (mine is "go potty") and praise him when he goes. If he doesn't, just calmly put him back in the crate and try again in 10-15 minutes. Do that until he pees.

After you feed him, put him right outside. If he doesn't go #2, put him back in the crate and repeat the upper directions, or watch him closely. If he starts to circle and sniff the ground, or go behind furniture (trying to hide), put him outside.

Potty him every 2-3 hours-watch him. He'll start sniffing and dissapearing when he has to go. Always take him out the same door, and always praise him when he's gone. Always use the key word so he associates the word with the action.

If there's an accident, just take him right outside, and tell him "good boy". Don't get mad.

You can also use the crate training directions for confining him to a small room.

My Shelties are housebroke at 6 weeks because of the above training. It won't take him long to associate the door with having to go. Eventually, he'll tell you when he has to go-he'll beg from you, or sit at the door, or run from you to the door etc.
 
crate training is the key!!

I use old towels and sheets to pad up the crate for comfort. place inside a chew toy or two. Some people feed their dogs in the crate also so they learn it's a nice place not a punishment. :wink2: They take to it quite well and they will return to it when they want quiet time also. If you decide to feed in the crate make sure you don't close it up at that time so that he knows after eating he goes out to do his business. :uhoh: Best of luck he'll do great I'm certain.
And Yes a good training book is great to have as a guide! Right Chris !!
You are funny Chris's Soapbox.:lol:
 
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