# New Puppy Coming - Crate Questions



## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Hi everyone! Well after much thought, deliberation and research, I have found a poodle breedere located here in PA. He was born on February 10th & will be brought home on April 13th 2013. My breeder has been totally awesome. She sends me photos daily of my pup so I can see his growth and we talk roughly once a week. The one thing she is very big on is crate training. I have never done a crate before as the one time I did it, it turned into an absolute nightmare. Lesson learned - yes pooch needs a big crate, but as a puppy you need the divider panel in it...too much room as a puppy means poop/puke etc in one end and a scared dog at the other end... With that being said it has been 17 years since using a crate. I have ordered two of them, one for home, one for shore house. Both are the midwest life stages crate with divider panel. My question is where do I put the crate? At the shore house it has to go in my bedroom as there is no room to put it anywhere else. But what about my main residence - should I put the crate in my bedroom which is on the second floor, or should it go on the first floor near the door that leads outside? I have been in touch with two different trainers, one said to keep it in the bedroom, the other downstairs near a door where he would normally go outside from to do his business. Yes two totally conflicting answers. 

The crate would be used for the following:
1 - at night to sleep 
2 - when leaving the house to do errands & no one is home 
3 - on Thursdays & Fridays when no one is home due to work (roughly 8 - 4)

Hopefully he loves his den and will be happy in there for extended periods of time if required... 

I know reason # 3 is a long time - but I have the ability to work from home if required. When I do get the puppy, I will be working from home full time for 6 to 8 weeks to help transition him. :typing: Thank goodness I have an awesome boss & work with a very flexible company.

Also - I was considering purchasing one of these:
Snuggle Puppies - Snuggle Puppy - In Stock

Anyone have any experience with them? If so are they worth it? Any thoughts/advice is appreciated!

Thank you!!!


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

The crate should go where the puppy can see and hear the family. That way he can still feel part of it. Also good if close to door used for going outside. I used to carry the crate around depending on where I was. Of course I have toy poodles. Not sure of the size of yours. 

Crate training if done successfully is awesome. The puppy should only be able to stand up and turn around and that is it. If he has a free corner he will do his business there and walk away. Lol. 

Good luck.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Someone on here talked about the snuggle puppy and said it worked great. Do a search for it and you should find the thread.


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

wish I could carry the crate around - but it is big & heavy (42x28x31 - about 40/50lbs.) I had two delivered to the house same day - the UPS guy left them at the end of the driveway - probably cursing us as he left...


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Lol. I thought you might be getting a spoo. What about a smaller plastic crate until he grows? 


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## Angl (Nov 9, 2012)

I have a large crate in my sunroom that Max uses throughout the day. When he was younger I had a smaller soft sided crate that he slept in at night in our bedroom. When he outgrew it, he was sleeping through the night and we just close our door to keep him in our room with us.


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## Lea (Oct 20, 2012)

We have a giant crate in our room for sleeping. Then the next size down in our family room for when we go out. We used the slightly smaller one during the crate training/house training period. He only goes in it when we go out. Good luck and have fun! Post picks of your baby the breeder sends you please!


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Been trying to post photos all morning! Every single time I hit upload, the window where the attachments would be in show that there is an internet issue (pretty much it's like an error page that I receive) Will try again tonight at home, perhaps my work connection is not a fan of uploading photos....


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

I guess my biggest concern that yes having a crate in the bedroom and downstairs would be ideal - it's just not feasible due to the crate size (main home is a townhouse & beach place is a condo). If I had to pick just one spot - which would be the best for the crate to be placed...?


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

1 day old he is the white one towards the right sprawled out on top

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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Finally figured out how to load photos!!!!












in the second photo he is the big white butterball on top of the black pup


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Do any soft crates have a divider?


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

I could sell dog crates since I have them in 5 different sizes for various reasons. Lol. When Omar first came home he weighed less than a lb. and even the smallest crate was huge. I put a cardboard box in as a divider. Worked great. 


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Angl said:


> I have a large crate in my sunroom that Max uses throughout the day. When he was younger I had a smaller soft sided crate that he slept in at night in our bedroom. When he outgrew it, he was sleeping through the night and we just close our door to keep him in our room with us.
> 
> 
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I was thinking to do a soft crate as well for the bedroom since I can fold it to hide it quickly if needed. Doing the wire in my bedroom would take up way too much room...


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Lea said:


> We have a giant crate in our room for sleeping. Then the next size down in our family room for when we go out. We used the slightly smaller one during the crate training/house training period. He only goes in it when we go out. Good luck and have fun! Post picks of your baby the breeder sends you please!



They are up - more are under the poodle photos section


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

I'd strongly recommend having a crate in your bedroom and another downstairs wherever you spend the most time. The one in your bedroom can be much smaller, and it is only temporary. I borrowed one from a friend who had used it to crate train a smaller dog. Hopefully your pup will be housebroken and able to sleep through the night by the time he outgrows the bedroom crate. With a crate in your bedroom, the pup can wake you up to let you know when he needs to go outside. Also, the pup will feel a lot more comfortable being in the same room with you at night. Of course you could have him sleep downstairs and set your alarm to let him out in the middle of the night. Many people do that. But poodles like to be with their people if at all possible. :smile:


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## Rayah-QualitySPs (Aug 31, 2010)

NYNIC715 said:


> Hi everyone! Well after much thought, deliberation and research, I have found a poodle
> 
> I have never done a crate before as the one time I did it, it turned into an absolute nightmare.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on your new poodle puppy! Glad you are gathering as much info as possible before he comes home.

Crate training is *only* as *helpful* as the poodle owner wants it to be. If you have a poor attitude about the crate and its purpose in housebreaking then your puppy will not learn to love his/her crate. My puppies learn it is his/her area to eat, sleep and be safe. I place their water bucket attached by a double ended snap in the crate. The best toys are left in the crate. I feed my puppies their meals in the crate. In the beginning I do remove the water by 7:30 - 8:00 pm and return it in the morning. 

There is a ton of info on crate training on the internet. 

My attitude towards crates has improved over the years to the point where I think they are indispensable!

My puppies get a treat - very small - every time they run into their crate. Watch your fingers tho. Every time they come into the house from outside I expect the puppy to "go to bed". It does not take long until the puppy can beat you to the crate and will wait for the treat. The door is always closed while the puppy is eating the treat. Then you can let them out when it suits you. When your puppy first comes home you will find you are letting him in and out many times a day! 

My rule of thumb is the wire *crate should be* in the room *you are in the most*. If your family spends most of the time in the kitchen then the crate should be in the kitchen. If the room you are in the most does not have a door you may want to rethink your living arrangements for a few months.

Buy a used plastic/airline crate for your bedroom or see who has one you can borrow. Having a plastic crate also allows you to use it in your vehicle and keeps your precious puppy safe during travel.


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

I bought a soft foldable crate over the weekend for my bedroom - it is long but doesn't have a divider... Any suggestions on how to make a divider? I was thinking put a box in it that's high enough to act as a divider panel, but am concerned that it might be a chew toy for him...


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## Angl (Nov 9, 2012)

We used one in the bedroom and never put a divider in it. He squirmed around a lot in it and sometimes even flipped it over, lol. I put a big beach towel folded up and he dug in it. It was pretty long, but surprisingly, he never pottied in it.
Now, the big one in the sunroom had a divider in it for awhile.


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Angl said:


> Now, the big one in the sunroom had a divider in it for awhile.


The large one on the main level does have a divider - thankfully!!! Until he grows the divider will be in there and adjusted accordingly... Hopefully Polo won't be flipping the soft crate in my bedroom at night lol


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

NYNIC715 said:


> I bought a soft foldable crate over the weekend for my bedroom - it is long but doesn't have a divider... Any suggestions on how to make a divider? I was thinking put a box in it that's high enough to act as a divider panel, but am concerned that it might be a chew toy for him...


I think the box is a good idea. If you put toys in the crate with him, I think you will be fine. You can keep an eye on him to be sure that he doesn't start chewing on the cardboard (eating it).


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## JagsMom (Feb 6, 2013)

I'd never used a crate before either but I'm SO glad I did. When I got my 10 week old Spoo back in October I found that everything I read strongly encouraged using one. From the get-go though I've had the crate in the family room rather than the bedroom which is where most people suggested. A crate in the bedroom was not the right choice for me since I often to get up during the night and sometimes turn on the lights or the tv--not conducive to puppy's getting good restful sleep for sure! You're going to get SO many opinions and, that being said, I'd suggest that you weigh them all and then do what feels comfortable and right for YOU. Don't worry, know that you're going to make some not so great decisions at first (we all did) but you can change course as the weeks go on. Raising a new puppy is not for the faint of heart lol!


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Quick update to all.... Polo LOVES his crate!!! Ok yes the first 5 nights was sheer hell..!!! He whined cried barked the whole 9 yards...soon that stopped and he'd cry around 2-3 in the morning - pee time! I'd let him out, he'd do his thing...and back to sleep he went. Fast forward to where we have been for the past few weeks - Polo is now 13 weeks old. At night when we turn off the TV & lights off he goes right into his crate without being told to! Truly love a crate - can run out do some errands and not worry that there is poop somewhere or something destroyed!


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## NYNIC715 (Oct 15, 2012)

Most importantly I know he is safe if no one is around to watch him!


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