Gun Dog Forum

I've done a lot of research on this topic and just would like some info from other bird dog owners. I leave him in a wire crate inside my house in the living room. He would whinned almost all night. He goes inside the crate at 9:30pm and i take him out at 4am before i goto work. He is very good at holding his poop until i let him out in the morning, but he pees inside his crate. I've tried the radio and it doesn't work but haven't tried the ticking clock. It's only been 2 days and i know it will last a while until he figures out that he's with a new family. Before he goes to bed i play with him for an hour.
Would a plastic crate be better? Should i cover the wire crate? Any help or ideas is greatly appreciated.
He is an 8 wk old gwp vdd.

Two days... give him some time. He's in a strange place and misses his litter mates.

I think a covered crate is better, more den-like. I prefer the shipping crates because if you cover the wire crate with a blanket, there is the issue of him pulling it through the bars and eating it.

I suspect that both you and the pup are going to have to tough it out for the home sick whining phase.

(I put new pups in a crate by my bed, so I can put my fingers through the bars and speak to them when they whine. That settles them right down and they will go to sleep. Of course, then you still have to go through the transition of moving to sleep in the crate alone in the living room)

What we have always done is get a 1/2 gal glass canning jar and fill it hot tap water. Not too hot though. Cover it with a towel and put it in the crate with the pup. Dad did this with pups when I was a kid and have kept doing it. Only pup it didn't work with was a terrier, but they ain't normal dogs anyway.

I would move the crate to your room the pup can hear you sometimes that's enough to stop the crying .I would set my alarm for every 3 hours to wake up and let the pup out .their bladder takes awhile to mature for them to hold it much longer. puppies are hard work but the payoff is worth it.

I let them cry ; I put in ear plugs and go to bed. In a couple days they are sleeping for hours.( I worked at the jail for 20 years so am not very responsive to whining . )
Two things I never do with puppies: Never acknowledge barking / whining and never call them to me unless I'm going to go and get them if they don't come.

I let them cry the first night or 2 . Then after that if I get woke up they get told quite 1 time. If they keep whinning they get put out side if they go to the bathroom they get let back in right away and get a treat or a quick rub down and back in the crate. cuz to me getting woke up cuz they need the bathroom is better then cleaning a crate in the early AM. After a chance to do there business if they just mess around they stay out for a bit in the dark (with the yard light) and no one to play with don't take long and wont think its any fun being out there alone. I live on a farm so I don't go out with them just watch from the window. When I let them in straight back to the crate they go. Don't take long and they get the hint if they whine they get put out side. First few nights of doing it I get out of bed few times a night some times not even a hr apart but only have to do it a night or 2. This has worked will with the 3, 2 are older and if I wake up to one whinning its bc they really need to go out to the bathroom. The 3rd just got done doing this with and have no problem at night except when she dose need to go out witch is 1 time the past few night. I do get up for work at 4:30 so she gets let out that might help as well.
I'm sure there is a million ways to do it what ever way you pick wont take long and and when its finding birds for you, all you will think is the whinning wasn't that bad and so worth it

I put my pup's plastic enclosed dog crate up on a table that set it right even with my bed. Pup would wake up and whimper a bit and I'd reach over and put my fingers through the grate. Pup licked 'em for a minute and fell right back to sleep. I barely woke up to do it and after a week or so, he slept just fine knowing that I was so close by.

I know some old timers cringe reading that and maybe it wouldn't work for some pups but it made my life easier and he transitioned to the floor bed just fine.

I'm in the same boat as you. We picked up our GSP puppy last Saturday. She's done very well. No accidents inside yet. The crying has got better everyday. She sleeps in a wire crate next to my 3yo GSP. Last night was the first night with no crying. Now if I could just get her to quit biting my feet every step I take...

Also I should have said I only do this for the first few nights.

The weather is still warm, put him out in the truck.

Our pups always spent their first few nights in the kennel out in the shed, usually with other dogs nearby. And we always separated the puppies we raised and sold so they would already accepted the separation from the litter which hopefully let them cope better with the new environment of a new home. That plus trips in the car hopefully made the first week more comfortable for both pup and owners.

Ezzy

Gordon Guy wrote:The weather is still warm, put him out in the truck.

Hey , you think like I do.

CWT wrote:What we have always done is get a 1/2 gal glass canning jar and fill it hot tap water. Not too hot though. Cover it with a towel and put it in the crate with the pup. Dad did this with pups when I was a kid and have kept doing it. Only pup it didn't work with was a terrier, but they ain't normal dogs anyway.

I used the same trick... Plus a cheap analog clock next to the crate. Pup still whined some but less than before.

CWT wrote:What we have always done is get a 1/2 gal glass canning jar and fill it hot tap water. Not too hot though. Cover it with a towel and put it in the crate with the pup. Dad did this with pups when I was a kid and have kept doing it. Only pup it didn't work with was a terrier, but they ain't normal dogs anyway.

LOL No they aren't. I've had 4 JRTS and you better know your stuff if you're raising one of them

I would echo the advice given here, put the crate in your room and shush him when he whines/wakes you up. He should probably go out at least once between 9:30 and 4:00, at least until his bladder matures. good luck.

7.5 hrs in a crate at 8 wks????
know wonder hes peeing in his crate .
and i'd whine all night too if I had to sleep in it !!!!

A pup can hold its bladder for about 1 hr per month in age .
the pup should let out to pee every 2 hrs at that age.
every 3 at 12 wks

twistedoak wrote:7.5 hrs in a crate at 8 wks????
know wonder hes peeing in his crate .
and i'd whine all night too if I had to sleep in it !!!!

A pup can hold its bladder for about 1 hr per month in age .
the pup should let out to pee every 2 hrs at that age.
every 3 at 12 wks

Got my pup at 8 weeks. Let him out every 1.5 -2 hours for two weeks. Never had an accident in the house past 12 weeks. He was in a kennel or being played with 24 hours per day. I also took those first two weeks off work which certainly helped.

Good luck


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Limiting the water they drink before bedtime can help cut down on the trips outside.


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DarbyWHOA wrote:I'm in the same boat as you. We picked up our GSP puppy last Saturday. She's done very well. No accidents inside yet. The crying has got better everyday. She sleeps in a wire crate next to my 3yo GSP. Last night was the first night with no crying. Now if I could just get her to quit biting my feet every step I take...

That's one of the cutest things with a puppy though...although the teeth can really cause you to gasp...especially when you're roughousing with the pup and it gets your nose...

It's a puppy. You may have to put up with it for a week or 2 before he settles. You just have to wait it out. Buy some ear plugs

GSPONPOINT32 wrote:

twistedoak wrote:7.5 hrs in a crate at 8 wks????
know wonder hes peeing in his crate .
and i'd whine all night too if I had to sleep in it !!!!

A pup can hold its bladder for about 1 hr per month in age .
the pup should let out to pee every 2 hrs at that age.
every 3 at 12 wks

Got my pup at 8 weeks. Let him out every 1.5 -2 hours for two weeks. Never had an accident in the house past 12 weeks. He was in a kennel or being played with 24 hours per day. I also took those first two weeks off work which certainly helped.

Good luck


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Yep! Think human baby for a while. Pups mature much faster than babies so you don't have to go thru it for as long. Take him out every couple of hours and set his crate by your bed. Besides keeping him quite and comfortable it will help him to bond to you. It's worth it.

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to kenneling them w/ another dog?

We've always just let them sleep with us for the first week or two. They sleep longer and sounder, and we only have had to get up one time a night on average. ( Disclosures - we had to get up at 4am for work anyway, so that cuts into the night hours; also I used a waterproof mattress cover just in case). This never interfered with getting the pups crate broke, or caused other problems, and none of them except the terrier which ain't a normal dog anyhow prefer the bed to their own spots elsewhere.