Can I crate my 4 month old puppy for 8 hours (10-6AM)?

Question

We went to the vet today and asked her the same question and she said she definitely should be able to. The only doubt in my mind is that she said my puppy can hold it for 6 hours, but we would be crating her for 8 (the family is big on sleeping. haha).

Will she still be okay? She's a small breed puppy, Sheltie/Bichon mix. We crate her during the day, which has worked extremely well, but we ruin all the training by putting down puppy pads at night and generally giving her run of the downstairs when we're home. We're trying to be more consistent without crating her all the time yet with as few accidents as possible.

Thanks for all the responses so far. And thank you for concern of my puppy. :) Yes, we are also concerned with the amount of crate time, and I assure you all this is going to be temporary until she learns to go outside.

We keep her out of the crate as often as possible, and until tonight, have kept her outside the crate at night with puppy pads. During the day, she's only in the crate while we're at work, and we come home for lunch for potty and some playtime before going back in the crate for just a few more hours.

She is outside of her crate all other hours. And we hope we can keep her out of the crate longer as she picks up when to go and not go. Vet said this should be almost immediate, so hopefully we can lose the crate altogether within a few weeks.

Answer 1

by the time a dog reaches 4 months old, they should be able to hold it in for up to 8 hours. Please understand however that the first couple of times it may have accidents because it may not be used to it. There is an old thought that a dog should be taken out every number of months it is old up until it is 6-7 months. For example, 3 months everything 3 hours, 4 every 4, etc. However, most people (including vets) will say its okay but expect accidents the first couple times. I will say however, if you could make it closer to 6-7 would be better. Anything over 8 hours can do damage to the dogs bladder.

Answer 2

Spend more time training the dog to be good when its out of its crate and less time worrying about how long you can keep the dog in the crate. As far as I can see you're basically saying the dog is inside that crate for the majority of the day/night, and thats no life for any dog. Also depending on the area you're in you could put even a small run outside and you wouldnt have to worry about it other than picking up the mess when you get home and let the dog in when you come home. If you can't do that then maybe one of you could come home during the day and let the dog out to use the bathroom, or at night someone could get up a little earlier long enough to let the dog out to use the bathroom. Good luck with your new pup!

Answer 3

YES. This is the only way your dog will learn how to hold it... No dog wants to be around its on poop.. LOL. He will not be able to hold it for a while. But make sure that you clean the crate everyday after you take him outside. Take him out as soon as you walk in the door. Reward him with a treat. Make sure that you play with him extra hard when he is out of the crate so that he will sleep through the entire night. You are doing great by starting him early on crate training.

Answer 4

General rule of thumb is the dogs age in months, plus one. So if your dog is 4 months old, 5 hours is the longest your pup should be crated without a bathroom break.

Particularly in female dogs, withholding water or making them hold it too long encourages the growth of bacteria that can result in urinary tract infections, which can be difficult and expensive to treat.

Until she is a little older, if you are unable to make it home during the day to let her out, you may want to consider doggie daycare, or a petsitter that can come by your house to let her out.

At night, let her out just before going to bed, and then just accept that you will need to get up once and let her outside during the night. It's a minor inconvenience that lasts only a few months. It's part of having a puppy, and will go along way in successfully housebreaking her.

Answer 5

To figure out if you can logically crate a pup for a certain period of time you need do do it this way: (age in months X 2=Number of hours you can crate it logistically.) Now your pup is right on the edge being four months old which would mean that you can crate it for 8 hours using the formula, however for the last hour or two I would be aware of its actions just to be sure.

Answer 6

In general, a dog can hold it one hour per month of age, so a 4 month old puppy can hold it for 4-6 hours. My 2 month old can hold it for 6 during the night, though, so that's obviously not a definate. We get up in the night to let my puppy out, but if it's just for crating at night, pick up their water about 3 hours before you go to bed, then take her out right before. When we remember to do that, Toby can make it through the entire night. ;) Good luck!

Answer 7

Puppy pads just teach them to go on the floor. My 2 year old toy poodle still goes on the floor where we used to put the puppy pads at. She only goes there when we don't see her "I need to go outside" indicators, but still...some dogs don't learn how to indicate at all, like my 3 year old mix who we also trained using pads.

I didn't crate my poodle for that long when she was that old. I woke up when she whined at night and took her out. If she holds it for too long, she will develop an UTI or she'll just use the bathroom in her crate and ruin crate training altogether.

Answer 8

Yes she should be most defintely fine. Just make sure she has plenty of water and food! And for holding it that long.......I have known a dog to hold it for longer believe it or not. Crating her that long she wont 'go' because dogs are very tidious when it comes to thier 'den'! As soon as you get home though, let her out and carry her outside so she wont go inside but rather out and that will also teach her to go outside.
I have had many dogs and many different breeds. I knew of someone that crated her dog because she was house breaking her and it was around six hours a day.

Hope i was of help to you..........

Answer 9

I think you are right to let her run around at night. If you crate her all day and all night, she will not have much of a life. My beagle would have accidents in the crate which they say dogs rarely do (except my friends' beagle too) I wouldn't crate her any more than you have to.

Answer 10

remove food at 7 pm, remove water at 8 pm... take her out right before bed time..
do NOT give her puppy pads - these only confuse her training...
keep her with you at all times or keep her in the crate if you cannot watch her.. this means she could even be on leash in the house...
crate her for 8. she should be ok