[Ruger]

Trying to plan ahead...

When I get my pup, I'm only planning on crate training during bedtime and when I run errands/workout (for an hour or less) because I work full time. I'm away from home 10 hours a day (including commute and lunch) 4 days a week and 9 hours every other Friday. I just think it's cruel to put a dog, at any age, in a crate for the majority of the day like that regardless if I have a pet sitter come over to walk him while I'm gone. I also don't want someone I don't know well to be in my apt when I'm not there. I don't mind mopping up pee from my floor if he'd have room to walk around and play and because of that, I am prepared that potty training will take much longer

I've really been racking my brain on how to potty train this guy and feel like there's got to be an obvious answer but I can't think of it. I might be making this more complex than it is.

BACKGROUND: I grew up with 6 dogs that my family raised as a puppy, but 4 of the dogs were outdoor dogs and 1 was potty trained by confinement in the laundry room (but my mom was home all day to take her out) and their most recent pup was so smart that after a few days of tearing up puppy pads and piddling on the floor constantly, he figured out how to use a doggy door the first day it was installed and never had an accident again.

So I feel like I have zero experience in potty training.

SOLUTION#1 I’m in an apartment with a balcony. I could put fake grass out there to make it an easier adjustment to when I take him to potty before and after work. Like this: http://www.inthecompanyofdogs.com/itemdy00.asp?ID=17,2104&GEN1=Puppy+Supplies&T1=D73008&dispRow=0&srccode=

Because it’s an apartment, I can’t have a doggy door but I did find this screen that I could put in the sliding door to the balcony and then use a petgate/pen to give him space in the house (in front of the sliding door)
http://www.inthecompanyofdogs.com/itemdy00.asp?ID=17,484&GEN1=Dog+Problem+Solvers&T1=D83061&dispRow=0&srccode=

The only thing about the balcony is that if he barks/cries, the whole neighborhood will hear him and the wall isn’t over 6’ high. It’s more like 4’. I know OEBs can jump…what if he jumps off the balcony to try to get out? Only solution I thought of there was to put wire mesh over the top of the balcony, so it's like an outdoor pen.

SOLUTION#2 Confining him to the kitchen where there is linoleum, but a petgate might be too low too and then he’d have free run of the house. Yikes!

SOLUTION#3 Putting him in the big bathroom, which has linoleum too but I hear horror stories of dogs eating through dry wall and door frames. nd even digging through the linoldum! So I thought of getting this for the bathroom door: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102757326&c=&review=true
And then maybe tape up cardboard along the walls and sticky tape along the baseboards/doorframe? Not sure what to do about digging through the floor.

**Incase you haven't noticed, I'm slightly a perfectionist and overanalyze everything. :help:

 

[Ruger]

I am going to be very honest with you. If you are a perfectionist you are going
to hate the chewed up kitchen that is coming from not having your dog crated.

Your dog IS going to be destructive. They all are and you are setting him up to
fail by not giving him the proper environment to keep him safe and your
apartment safe. My husband use to feel the same as you about crating. But he
learned that a chewed up house is not the way to go. I do feel that you need to
rethink your options and try to come up with something safer for your pup and
your apartment.

fair enough, what would you suggest?

 

[Ruger]

I thought about the dog walker, but I can't afford more than $5 a day for a service like that and don't they need to be let out at least every 2 hours? That would get extremely expensive, very quickly. If he pees in his crate, before a petwalker can get there, then he'll get used to it and crate training at night/weekends and during errands will be worthless.

Is the bathroom idea really that bad? I do care about my pups comfort and the cost of repairing fixed assets, but a messy bathroom can easily be fixed.

Maybe I should get a really BIG crate for during the day so he can pee in one end and a normal sized crate for night/errands where he'd have to hold it. I can come home from work during lunch, but that still leaves him 5 hours in a crate 2x/day.

Sorry if I sound difficult, I'm just trying to exhaust all possibities here.

 

[Ruger]

Thanks Gazar I think I'll go with the extra large crate and put something like this or the fake grass thing at one end..

I'll also get him a bed and corner him off at night (like you did) so he's not crated then either.

I'm not keen on having a dog sleep with me (although I do love cuddles) ... it would definitely interfere with "romantic time" one day I don't know how you guys deal with that!

 

[Ruger]

I'm not keen on having a dog sleep with me (although I do love cuddles) ... it would definitely interfere with "romantic time" one day :wink: I don't know how you guys deal with that!

That is what doors are made for Clara sleeps above my head on a pillow so that she does not come in between us. When needed, we put her on the other side of the door where she lays until we want her back in.

ah...that's just one more reason for not getting a yappy, high energy dog! I'm glad bully's seem to be more laid back

 

[Ruger]

I know a lot of people on here are against getting puppies from breeders. I do see all the comments about rescuing a pup or adult dog. I'm not a cold hearted person; it does tear at my heart to know that there are so many animals out there that need homes.

I would never buy from a BYB or puppy mill/pet store.

I want a puppy because I likely will not be able to have children and this, for me, is as close to a baby as I might get. I went through some pretty traumatic/violent situations in the past year and in one way or another, it severed a lot of relationships with family, a boyfriend, and every friend I had. So for me, coming home at night is a pretty lonely thing. Probably why I have the need and free time to take care of something right now.

If I'm going to go through the trouble with a puppy and next 10+yrs of health problems, then I want to make sure I know where it's coming from, and decrease those health problems as much as possible. I'd rather not get a puppy from a shelter where it was probably purchased by a cheap BYB, pet store, or irresponsible owner that taught it bad habits at it's most vulnerable age. If i want an OEB, I want to make sure that it actually IS an OEB.

I hope now people will just try and answer questions relating to the thread instead of trying to get me to adopt a shelter dog. I know you all mean well though. I'm just tired of hearing it.

 

[Ruger]

Sorry for suggesting an adult dog, just trying to help. geez

Jackersmommy- I can see how what I said looked like it was completely directed at only you and I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to single you out, I just wanted to stop the shelter dog preaching before the thread started to snowball in that direction, like it did in the other thread I created (which had nothing to do about shelter dogs).

 

[Ruger]

Jackersmommy- don't apologize. You did nothing wrong.

Ruger- what will you do with the pup when you are home and he needs to go out every hr? It's gonna b a pain in the ass with an apartment. As for the crating. We crated Murphy the first night he was with us- after that, he slept in our bed. We just put him in the hallway when we don't want him in there . And we crate trained Murphy- it's a must. We are getting another pup in spring and I will do the same thing. Murphy no longer gets crated while we are at work a) because he showed he can be trusted and b) because I come home on my lunch break to take him out. I suggest a dogwalker. I don't feel right about letting a dog sit in a crate for 10 hrs then crating him at night for 8 hrs. Why have a dog? Which leads me to my next question. Puppies are not babies. If you want a puppy so it can take the place of a child, you're getting it for the wrong reasons. They need to be trained CONSTANTLY and they are stubborn as hell. Not to mention I cannot stand when people get a dog so that the 2 hrs a day that they have time for it, they get to play, otherwise they are crated or ignored. My entire life changed when I got a dog. And I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I was single and didn't have another person caring for it.

I'm not trying to talk you out of getting a dog, I just want you to get it for the right reasons. Not because your lonely once and awhile. The dog will be lonely a lot if you don't have enough time for it.

I really don’t think you really understood my posts in this thread. In my first post I talked about how I felt it was cruel to have a dog in a crate the majority of the day too. I only plan on doing it until he can be trusted to be free inside. In my second post I mentioned that I’d come home at lunch. More importantly, I started this thread to get the best advice that would benefit my pup, not necessarily me. In my third post, I mentioned that I WOULDN’T crate him at night. You took my fourth post out of context. I know the difference between a puppy and a baby. I would hope you can understand that some people have a desire to take care of a life that is completely dependent on them and watch it develop its own personality and experience all his “firsts”. The dog is obviously for companionship and as an added bonus, maybe he’ll make some asshole out there think twice before hurting me. Also, I never once said that I’d only spend 2 hrs a day playing with the dog. I’m home all night aside from short errands on weekends and a daily 30min jog. I never go out on weeknights and If I do go out, it’s only for 2 or 3hrs max at a time and only on the weekends. And FYI, there are plenty of single people in the world that have the ability to make a great dog owner. Raising a puppy isn’t and SHOULDN’T be limited to couples/families. You think I want a dog because I’m lonely once and a while? You don’t know me, so don’t assume the worst of me. I think it is pretty evident that the fact that I’m asking questions, joining a forum and trying to plan ahead for this dog shows that I have every intention of making a good life for him.

 

[Ruger]

I think I have a good plan now, thanks to a lot of the thoughtful responses on here.

I‘ll set up his bed on the floor next to mine at night (cornered off so he won’t roam around) and that way he wont be in a crate. When I first mentioned crating him at night, I thought that was the way everyone did it until the puppy was potty trained. Glad that isn’t the case! Would it be bad/confusing to him if he slept with me once or twice a week?

He will be inside, not outside.

I won’t go with the puppy pads/or grass. But I did find an XXL wire crate (the Midwest kind) that has one of those panel inserts so I can make the cage smaller. That way once he learns to hold it, he will at least have a safe space to play. It also has a plastic pan on the bottom, so if he should pee, then it won’t get in the carpet. I know the breeder does work on crate training the pups starting at 4 weeks, so hopefully this wont be so traumatic for him. I’ve decided that I will definitely get a petsitter to come a during the day a day until he can hold it every 5 hours (when I come home during lunch). Maybe I’ll pass out flyers in my building or something. I’m going to try and see if one of the stay-at-home moms will barter with me…if she comes twice a day to let him out while I’m at work, then I’ll babysit her kids on Saturday nights (I was a nanny for 11 yrs, currently work in the church nursery and am CPR certified). If that’s not an option, then I’d offer $7/day for letting him out 2x and then $5/day later on when he’ll need just one time. I’d also come during lunch to let him out and play a bit. So, that would give him 3 potty breaks for the 10 hours I’m gone at first, then it would be 2 potty breaks and then down to the 1 potty break when I come home during lunch…probably take a few months to get to that point (hopefully I’ll have bodazafa’s luck).

 

[Ruger]

Thanks