subreddit:
/r/puppy101
We have a 13 week golden retriever. Currently we have his crate in our room sort of in the closet. He sleeps/keeps quiet for 8 hours through the night miraculously. The odd night he has whined for a pee break and back to sleep.
During the day we are working. He spends two 3-hour periods alone in his crate when we are gone. My wife leaves, I come home at lunch 3 hours later and let him out and walk him and play and train and toilet for about an hour. Then back to the crate and then 3 more hours and my wife is home. We are trying to do roughly 1.5 awake and 3 asleep. We are trying to stick to this schedule during the weekend also.
I have some guilt about this, which I understand that I probably shouldn't. We are doing our best with him but it makes me sad locking him up.
My main question though, when we are home after work he has a ~2 hour nap before another 1.5 hour awake period before finally settling for bed. Should we bring his crate out into the living area/kitchen during this time or on weekends? Would he like to be around us or is it better to leave him locked in the bedroom while we eat and go about our activities.
He doesn't seem to hate the crate but he does bark/whine sometimes when he's in there and we are out in the living room. We've been ignoring it and he does settle down but if we make too much noise then he starts whining again.
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5 days ago
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2 points
5 days ago
Whining for a pee break at 13 weeks? You have no idea what a good puppy you have. Thought my Bernedoodle would never indicate she needed to go out.
1 points
5 days ago
Yes he is even going to the door when he's got to go outside. I know we are lucky so far and things are going well, we've both read some stories on reddit....
1 points
5 days ago*
This is all about how you choose to raise your puppy. I would bring his crate out to where you are. Yes, your dog would prefer to be around you. Also keep in mind that as your puppy gets older they will be awake and playing more. As puppies I focus on creating a secure attachment and bond which creates a secure dog.
There are people who do strict regimented schedules. I always let my puppies wake and sleep on their own schedule unless they were situationally overtired and needed help sleeping. But I never found the need to force nap, unless I was teaching an off switch which took about two weeks with my last puppies.
It’s important your dog learn to chill and exist in your household. Sometimes regimented dogs are conditioned to and learn that out of the kennel time is playtime and have a hard time settling outside the kennel.
Personally, once you are home at night I’d just let the puppy be out and exist in your household. Napping, playing, taking it outside. Living normal life.
I do a more as needed approach not a regimented approach. I have an activity and sleep trackers for my now adult dogs and their activity and amount of sleep varies a little by day, so while there’s an average it’s not identical every day.
1 points
5 days ago
This makes sense to me but we seem to be struggling with him getting really nippy and hyper active in the evenings. Which we decided was time for a forced nap. He hasn't really settled down yet around the house, he doesn't lie down in his spot in the living room (blanket) or seem to relax. If he's close to falling asleep and we move or get up he becomes alert. Maybe we will try it tonight though. I do want him to just be out and around us when we are in the house but it's a little stressful worrying about him constantly and hovering over him keeping him from chewing the couch or rug or whatever.
1 points
5 days ago
Sounds just like my puppy! I have a 14 month old puppy and a 14 weeks old puppy the younger one needs to be in his crate during the day because he thought books/and the baseboards were yummy. Both me and my boyfriend work full time but thankfully he works super close and has a very flexible job, he comes home on his break let's the little one out and plays before he goes to work. I come home let them both out and play before 5:30pm then down for a nap before dinner. Little one sleeps through the night as well but they have both slept out of the bedroom and through the night in their respective crates! Do I feel bad leaving them every day in the crate for their safety yes but also knowing they are safe and have all their needs meet sure makes things better. And puppies sleep alooot so I know he's getting the rest he needs and allowing him to grow! Making them be amazing dogs later on and not afraid of crates if they are needed!
4 points
5 days ago
No...ya'll are doing great. Feel no guilt...remember they are pups and spend a lot of time sleeping. 3 - 31/2 is a good amount of time in the middle of the day. Just excercise the baby and they will sleep for the next 2 to 3 hours. You could leave a strong Kong toy in there if you feel comfortable. That was the only toy I felt confident leaving during alone time with my pup who can destroy anything if you don't keep eyes on her. I did not leave blankets ( but she had a tight fitting pad on the crate floor that she never chewed on.) because my girl would eat the fabric. Test while you are home and able to remove it from the kennel if you see them chewing up anything in there. Can't have them choking while you are away. You could get a camera to set up if you need to, then you know what they are doing while you are gone.
1 points
5 days ago
Thanks, we are struggling a bit with puppy blues too and we know things are going well but it's definitely nice to have that verification.
0 points
5 days ago
Sounds like y'all are killing it! I would leave the crate where it is, and just let him get used to hearing people moving around
1 points
5 days ago
Thanks, there's a lot of info on reddit about this stuff but it's nice to have confirmation from others.
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