Hello,
Myself and my husband have been thinking about getting a puppy for a while now and we have finally decided on a puggle. Neither of us have had a dog before but I am reading a few books on training a puppy to prepare myself as much as possible. We are hoping to crate train the puppy so that it has a place for some quite time. My husband works from home so it won't be confined to the crate all day but will go in there for naps etc.
My question is what do we do at night? Do we confine the puppy to its crate at night in our bedroom and get up to take it for for bathroom breaks? Do confine puppy to crate in a downstairs room? Or do we put it in a puppy pen? How often should we take it outside at night to pee? Also any general advice for first time puppy owners would be welcome. I should add that I am not getting a puppy from a pet shop or mill or back garden breeder. It is coming from a reputable breeder.
Also the books I am reading in preparation are Before and after getting your puppy by Ian Dunbar and Perfect puppy by Gwen Bailey.

Get a puppy pad. It is a pad to put on the floor so they can use it for night time bathroom breaks. Start potty training a little later. But still have a pad down just encase. When potty training walk it on a leash and when it goes give it a treat. When your done with puppy pads and if he goes in the house put his nose down at it and spank him. Eventually it will whine at the door or scratch when it needs to go out.

Do not get puppy pads. Puppy pads are a crock. Think about it this way, it's a pad you lay on the ground and train the dog to pee on. A dog learns that peeing on a pad like object is okay in the house. Puppy doesn't know the difference between a pad, a towel, carpet, your clothes, etc. etc.

Start potty training right away. In the wild puppies are taught from birth not to pee in their den.

Patience, consistency, never ever ever put his nose in his accidents, never ever ever spank him, or hit him in any way.

Crate at night, let out when he whines. Crate no more than an hour for each month of age during the day.

Please do not listen to the above poster. I'm all for listening to different views on training, but the above posted couldn't be more wrong. There are different methods, but there is also clearly wrong, which this poster is.

Thanks alty, so puppy in crate at night, and should we keep the crate in our bedroom until trained to hold it through the night?
I really don't like the idea of puppy pads for exactly the reasons you stated, one of the books I'm reading suggests lining a litter tray with turf as an indoor doggy toilet (because we want puppy to pee/poo on the lawn when trained). Do you think this is a good idea?

The idea of punishing a puppy by rubbing their nose in it and smacking them is abhorrent. I have no intention of taking this line. It would be like smacking a baby for weeing in their nappy.

Glad you are ignoring the bad advice. This site helped me out when I got my dog please ask all the questions you need to so we can help you. Also we love pics when you get your pup :)

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Originally Posted by ukpuggle

Thanks alty, so puppy in crate at night, and should we keep the crate in our bedroom until trained to hold it through the night?
I really don't like the idea of puppy pads for exactly the reasons you stated, one of the books I'm reading suggests lining a litter tray with turf as an indoor doggy toilet (because we want puppy to pee/poo on the lawn when trained). Do you think this is a good idea?

The idea of punishing a puppy by rubbing their nose in it and smacking them is abhorrent. I have no intention of taking this line. It would be like smacking a baby for weeing in their nappy.

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I've always been big on having the crate in my room, I've found that puppy settles down easier that way. Think of it this way. Puppy came from a litter, slept with his litter mates every night. Suddenly he's taken away from his mom, and his litter mates, which is scary. Now he's expected to sleep alone as well. If he's in your room he'll hear you breathing, he'll sense your presence, and that will help calm some of the fear he's feeling. As he gets older, and is completely crate trained you can slowly move the crate out of your room if you like. But at the puppy stage I really do feel it's best to have him in the room with you. That way you can also hear him whine to be let out.

I wouldn't use any type of indoor tool to potty train, it will only confuse puppy. If you want him to pee and poo outdoors that's where he should be trained. Remember that a puppy can't hold it like an older dog. You can expect that he won't be reliable until at least 4 months of age, possibly later. Start right away, as soon as you get puppy. You'll learn to read when he's going to go, also, by watching him, you'll learn how long after a meal or a drink he'll need to go.

Take puppy outside, choose a potty word (potty time, pee pee time, make). Once you pick that word, never change it. Take puppy out, say the word over and over again. When he pees or poos, tons of praise, even a treat is good. Act like he just won the lottery. You're teaching him what you expect him to do, he can't understand English, he doesn't know what's expected of him, he needs to learn every behavior you want him to exhibit. Take puppy out often, I usually take my new puppies out every hour, unless I notice they're sniffing around, then it's outside right away. If you catch him in the act a firm no and interrupt him mid potty, mid pee, mid poo, and take him outside. It's not always easy to catch them in the act, but if you can it's great for training. Stopping him mid potty and taking him directly outside teaches him that what he was doing is not allowed, that he's supposed to do it outside.

It's going to take a lot of patience but dogs are eager to please, the more consistent you are, the more praise you give when he does what you want from him, the sooner he'll learn.

I've raised many puppies, and each has been different when it comes to training. Some have learned right away, others took months. It can get frustrating, but patience, patience, patience, consistency (everyone in the house has to be on the same page, doing the same thing) and your puppy will quickly go from the little ball of fur you thought would never learn, to the dog you always dreamed of having.

Any questions we're here to help, don't be afraid to ask.

Can't wait to see pictures. :)