Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We recently became proud owners of a GSD. He is now 8 weeks old and have had him about 3 weeks. We also got a golden retreiver at the same time but he is a month older. We decided to crate train them. The Golden Retreiver picked it up pretty fast but the GSD is still having problems with it. We have tried everything I can think of. He whines or barks to let us know he has to go outside to potty and most of the time we are too late (or rather he has barked after he had an accident). I thought that a dog being crate trained would soon figure out that he would not want to mess in his bed. We are sometimes scared to let him out in the house for fear of messing on the carpet. We are also having trouble getting him to want to go into the crate. We offer him a treat as a reward for going in there but seems to care less about the treat. We welcome anyone's advice and suggestions on this matter. Gary

Sorry, but you are expecting waaay too much of an 8 wk.old pup and esp. one that apparently was taken away from his mother and littermates at least 2 wks. early. Those couple of wks. are crucial learning time for a pup. However, that is now not in anyone's control. Have patience! Some dogs take 6 mos. to a yr. to really become housebroken! And they might still have "accidents." A pup does not have physical control over these bodily functions at this age. Yoyr best bet is to take him out VERY often - like about every hr. or so ad then gradually increase the ime between outings. When he does eliminate outside give tons & tons of foolish praise. Look like an idiot and do it in a high pitched voice. This may also provide some live entertainment for your neighbors but it is the only way for your very young pup to really understand that he is doing what you want. As for the crate, my best advice is to try and make it a pleasant place for the pup to be- most of alla place that is safe & secure. Often this is ccoploshed by putting something soft for bedding and putting a sheet or light blanket over the crate to provide some darkness. Again, remember that the pup's age plays a part in this. He does not want to be separated from the rest of the"pack" as he is still very young and insecure. I am surethat others on this list will have better & more suggestions on how to deal with both of these situations - my point is mstly to hel you understand that you are dealig with approx. the equivalent of a human toddler at best right now. Very best wishes! Nancy

Nancy just about covered everything I was going to say LOL. I just wanted to add my two cents, having crate trained/housebroken many pups and adult rescues and my own dogs, and gone through several "puppies from hell".

Let the pup(s) be in the house with you. Use baby gates to keep them in the same room or tether them to you with a leash, so you can keep a close eye on them when they need to go. You won't get much warning, because they can't give you hardly any.

If you can't watch them in the house, crate them.

Feed them every meal in their crate. I don't agree with allowing them access to food whenever they want, it also makes crate training harder when their eating is not on a schedule. Giving them a meal and also something very yummy to chew on will help distract them from that feeling of "omg I'm in a crate!" and the eating then chewing IMO helps them relax and go to sleep.

And a note of chewies...stuffed kongs are great but I've never had a whole lot of luck with those being irresistible enough to quiet a pup down in during crate training. Marrow bones, soup bones (not cooked) are usually GREAT...they're cheap and you can buy them at most any grocery store.

An 8 week old's schedule is going to go something like this:
Wake up in the morning, go out to potty.
Play 5-10 min.
Go out to potty.
Breakfast - in the crate.
When they're done eating, Go out to potty.
Maybe 5-10 more of playtime inside or outside...go potty again,
then it's Naptime - in the crate.

When he wakes up, repeat. It seems like alot, but its not. An 8 week old still sleeps a whole lot. So you've got 20 minutes of a flurry of activity before an hour of naptime. If you kind of do it like that, the puppy will figure out:

Where to pee.
It doesn't get a chance to pee on the carpet.
Crate = mealtime, naptime, so crates are gooood.

Barking, whining, and crying in the crate is nearly always going to happen. Never, ever, let it out for crying. It won't take long before they figure out that you won't give in. Accidents at night are going to happen if you don't get up at least once to let them out.

Ok that was supposed to be a short post but look what it turned into...lol
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~Stephanie~
Vom Haus Thorn