Hello everyone!

My name is Suzanne and I have been floating around for a while. My fiance and I are currently awaiting the arrival of our first Siberian Husky puppy, Roxy, who should be with us on October 10th (just a few more days, it seems like forever). We are beyond excited and are trying to be as prepared as possible for Roxy's arrival and I wanted to say hello to everyone on here, as I'm sure I'll be using this site a lot for questions, or advice.

I used to have a Pomeranian, who passed away at 10 this past April, but when we got her, my family were clueless in the areas of things such as pet insurance, crate training and other issues, as I was only 16 when my brother brought her home, and felt really limited when it came to raising her. Now that I am an adult, I want to be as ready as possible for Roxy, and although my future husband and I are living with my parents, and next door to my brother, we want to have full responsibility. I've been doing a lot of reading, both online and in books, but my first question would have to be,

Do you think it is okay to crate train while leaving the puppy in a penned area with an open crate while I am at work? My fiance and I both work, very different schedules (he's off all winter, while I'm the busiest), which is going to be a good thing. Someone in my family is always stopping at the house throughout the day, so I am not worried about leaving Roxy alone while we are at work. Someone will usually be there to play with her or let her out mid day, but my concern is that I do not want her to feel like she has to have an accident in the crate, at all. In the early stages, if she has to go to the bathroom, I want to leave her the option to go outside the crate. I will be using the crate training at night, esp at bedtime, while I am home, and also while I am out for shorter periods of time, and would gradually extend the amount of time she is in the crate as she gets older and can hold her bladder longer. But for the very early months, we are designating a penned in area just for her, and will leave toys, a wee wee pad, as well as her open crate, so she can familiarize herself with it. I'd love feed back or ideas, as my main concern is being able to introduce the crate to Roxy, without keeping her in it for extended periods of time if she has to go to the bathroom while I'm gone, because as a puppy, I know they have to go very frequently.

Thank you, and I look forward to chatting with you all!

Welcome!

I think the situation you have in mind is actually backwards of what it should be. The crate is actually the most useful tool in potty training since a dog is not going to WANT to go in it's crate (den in it's mind). I always try to deter people who want to use a pee pad or similar because it actually can make potty training more difficult. It makes the dog think it's ok to go in the house and then when you try to transition to not using it and only going outside, it can be confusing. It is instinct for a dog to not "go" in its crate. Once you are further along in potty training is when it will be better to give the pup a little more range.

Make sure you associate the crate with positive things like treats and never for punishment if you are concerned about getting her acclimated to it.

Otherwise, if you use the search function at the top left of the page and search "crate" or "crate training" you should find plenty of threads. It's a common topic for new puppy owners so there's lots that have already been discussed previously and it's likely any of your questions have already been answered.

MGoBlue wrote:

Welcome!

I think the situation you have in mind is actually backwards of what it should be. The crate is actually the most useful tool in potty training since a dog is not going to WANT to go in it's crate (den in it's mind). I always try to deter people who want to use a pee pad or similar because it actually can make potty training more difficult. It makes the dog think it's ok to go in the house and then when you try to transition to not using it and only going outside, it can be confusing. It is instinct for a dog to not "go" in its crate. Once you are further along in potty training is when it will be better to give the pup a little more range.

Make sure you associate the crate with positive things like treats and never for punishment if you are concerned about getting her acclimated to it.

Otherwise, if you use the search function at the top left of the page and search "crate" or "crate training" you should find plenty of threads. It's a common topic for new puppy owners so there's lots that have already been discussed previously and it's likely any of your questions have already been answered.

Yes, that definitely does make sense... so I will try to start her with just the crate, while letting her go outside throughout the day. Thank you so much for the tips, and I will check out the other posts as well.

Also, if you have a full size crate, when she is a puppy you will want to use a divider so that she doesn't have access to the whole big thing. If she feels she can get far enough in one corner to pee and one to sleep, it will be the same effect.

smm1129 wrote:

Hello everyone!

My name is Suzanne and I have been floating around for a while.  My fiance and I are currently awaiting the arrival of our first Siberian Husky puppy, Roxy, who should be with us on October 10th (just a few more days, it seems like forever).  

Hi Suzanne! I just arrived, too, but wanted to say hi and that I am so happy for you, your fiance, and of course, Roxy! Just 8 more days for you! That kind of makes our 27-day wait seem like forrrrreeeevvvverrrr! Have fun with your pup!

Carrie

HuskyLovers wrote:

smm1129 wrote:

Hello everyone!

My name is Suzanne and I have been floating around for a while.  My fiance and I are currently awaiting the arrival of our first Siberian Husky puppy, Roxy, who should be with us on October 10th (just a few more days, it seems like forever).  

Hi Suzanne! I just arrived, too, but wanted to say hi and that I am so happy for you, your fiance, and of course, Roxy! Just 8 more days for you! That kind of makes our 27-day wait seem like forrrrreeeevvvverrrr! Have fun with your pup!

Carrie

I know the feeling! Have fun as well, the day will be here before you know it!