# Crate Training Just At Night?



## Toy Mama (Feb 11, 2017)

My toy poodle, Wilby, is 10 weeks old. He's been living with me for almost two weeks. 

I thought we were going well with crate training at night time. Wilby goes into his crate without a murmur at 8pm and goes potty outside when I take him during the night. He still cries in the early morning when he wants to come out, but he's getting better. During the day, he stays in a puppy proofed laundry with full access to a small, safe, fully enclosed backyard while I'm at work. I work part time and I live on the campus of my work, so I come home about every two hours to play with him and tend to his needs. When I'm home, he comes into the rest of the house as well.

Potty training has been a bit slow (he's so tiny and quick, I don't always see he's peeing until it's all over), so I looked up some articles that make me wonder if I'm doing this all wrong. Am I supposed to be crating Wilby during the day whenever I'm not directly supervising him as well? Is that the way to make potty training more effective? 

I want to do this right, but I hate the thought of Wilby being in his crate during the day as well. It just seems like overkill. The more I read online, the more confused I feel, though. How have the rest of you done it? Any tips for helping to potty train toys in particular?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You should put him in his crate whenever you are not supervising him, not just at night. You do not want to give him any opportunity to be wrong and develop the habit of thinking peeing/pooping in the house is okay so long as you don't see it happen or can't get to him before he has finished. Since you get home every two hours he should be fine since he will most likely just sleep the time between your visits away. The crate, if used correctly, also become a safe place to rest and take a break from the world.

Don't worry that you have made a big mistake on this so far since he is so young he doesn't have deeply set patterns and you will easily make a new routine that will help him get the concept down.

One other thing you can think of doing while you are home and your pup is awake is to leash him to you so he can't run off to make a potty mistake. This way you can cook or eat lunch with him near you even though you aren't playing or cuddling.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

I second everything lily said. It sounds like you have a great setup where you get to come home every two hours. The crate is going to prevent most of the accidents, and the puppy is going to learn to hold it until you come home. The only thing to add is that make sure that the crate is small enough that your puppy doesn't start soiling inside the crate.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Sammy the spoo said:


> I second everything lily said. It sounds like you have a great setup where you get to come home every two hours. The crate is going to prevent most of the accidents, and the puppy is going to learn to hold it until you come home. *The only thing to add is that make sure that the crate is small enough that your puppy doesn't start soiling inside the crate.*



Yes, an important point!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Crating is still not the norm in the UK, yet the vast majority of dogs are house trained successfully in the end. If you are using the crate to toilet train, then I think it is important to be around to let him out before he reaches his limit of endurance - and for toy puppies that can be fairly quickly. Once he realises that it is perfectly possible to toilet in the crate any benefits of crating are lost. I have always used a longer term containment set up much as you describe, but without the benefit of constant access to a yard. Provided that you watch him like a hawk while he is with you (leashing can certainly help) and go out with him so that you can reward him immediately for toiletting where you want him to, he will get the message in time. Puppies are like babies - they don't have much bladder control, and don't really develop it fully until they are around six months or even more, so taking him out frequently and regularly is the key to building good habits.


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## Toy Mama (Feb 11, 2017)

Thanks so much for your suggestions, everyone. I tried keeping him on a lead in the house with me today and I'll start him in the crate during the day when I'm not home this weekend. We'll get there. ?


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