What do you think it's best for my puppy, crate training or outside?

Question

My husband and I both work in the day time, I let the puppy out in the morning, but we both work 12 hours shift, and can't exactly let our 3lb Shih Tsu out in the yard without supervision, since there's an owl near by. Do you think we still train him to housebroken or do you train him to do his business on the papper mat?

Answer 1

Train him to go outside, and hire a dog walker while you are away at work.

Answer 2

Do not even consider leaving the dog outside - that is a terrible solution. Make sure that you get a large crate or even an ex-pen. Dogs feel safe and comfortable in a crate. It's a natural den. Your dog will take 2-3 days to adjust. Your dog most likely will NOT eliminate in the crate. Typically they go in the morning and will wait until you return. If you buy an ex-pen, I would recommend puppy pads.

Answer 3

both - i would work on house training - and while your away at work - buy a child gate so you can block the dog either in the kitchen or in the bathroom ( looking for tile floors ) you should leave the puppy in the room with his crate open and his pillow or blanket ( what ever he/she sleeps on ) along with fresh water and since you are gone all day and it is a puppy i would leave a small amount of food also - put a mat on the other side of the room you could place ( nasty but helps train ) a peice of dried doggy dirt in the mat the first few times so he gets the idea that is the place to go -

Answer 4

Crate trainning is always the best method b/c it can create a pattern and it stays consistent. I have done this with a few puppies and it works wonderfully! You just have to get over the initial whining that the puppy will do when you put him in there. also when you put them in give him a treat so they know that it's not punishment, you should never use the crate as a punishment. and with the papper mats do you really want to have company over and them see the puppy pee right there or have them see the puppy going on it.
GOOD LUCK!

Answer 5

you want him to be trained for both.... crate trained and outside... you can always get a puppy round pen or play pen i call them then if you have an area like the kitchen you can confine her to the kitchen and put puppy training pads down but she will have more room than being in the crate all day... thats what i did for my poms when i was training them or had to be gone all day worked great.....
good luck!!!

Answer 6

I find crate training horribly cruel (crate training to LIVE in-- obviously putting a dog in a crate for travel is fine). Dogs are meant to run around-- NOT be stuck in a crate for 12 hours. Train him to go on a paper matt so he'll have space away from his mess to sleep. Imagine having to sleep next to your own mess for twelve hours...how horrible! Not to mention-- most dogs won't go in a crate and holding it in for 2 hrs is not good for their health.

Crate training is lazy, as far as I'm concerned. There's no more "training" involved than putting a rat in a cage. All it is is getting a poor dog used to being locked up half the day...that's sad. Using a crate for travel or the vet-- that's smart. But teaching a dog to live in a crate...I don't approve. How would you like to be stuck in a space the size and smell of your bathroom for 12 hours at a time?

The best thing to do would be confine him to one room with a child gate, with full access to food and water, and train him to go on a mat in that room.

Also, I know this may seem a bit rude and I'm sorry if it does-- but are you sure that you and your husband have time for this dog in your life?

Answer 7

You both work 12 hour shifts? Why did you even get a dog?
I don't know what you should do with her.. If I had to be gone for 12 hours every day, I wouldn't even have a dog.

Answer 8

12 hour shifts? theres no way she can hold it in a crate shell either soil herself or hold it in which is horrible for a puppy