Crate Question

[HopVol]

Finally got my little guy home! I would like some opinions on crating please. Is it best to start my English Mastiff pup in his crate in our bedroom at night or elsewhere in the house?

Do any of you leave yours out over night or when at work once potty trained? I would like to do this at some point but don't know if that's a realistic goal.

Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

 

[cinnamon roll]

I left the crate in the living room as I have about 18 stairs going to my bedroom.

And yes once she was potty trained, and out of her chewing stage I stopped crating her. UNTIL we hit the wonderful teenage stage lol

 

[Robtouw]

Beautiful pup! Crate placement is up to you but keep in mind that you use a crate to establish a routine and create a safe sanctuary for your pup. He is going to expect it to stay in place and later as he matures you may not want it in your bedroom. Also, you want your pup to be able to go to it voluntarily when he needs to! We used a soft crate for two months, then placed a big piece of linoleum over our carpet in a bedroom and gated it off, eventually allowing our guy to roam after he earned our trust. My best piece of puppy advice is to create a schedule and keep it as routine as possible. A good routine is the best training assist!

 

[DennasMom]

Lots of different options for this one - pick the one that works for you.

For us, we started with the crate in the bedroom, and kept it there as long as possible (she still sleeps in the bedroom, just not in a crate). When she outgrew the XL crate and moved into the CONDO crate... that one had to go in the living room (no room in the bedroom). We only needed the Condo during her destructive phase, which lasted past the time when we could comfortably leave her in the XL crate...

The pluses of the crate in the bedroom:
1. Puppy is close to you, so...
a. it should be easier for him to relax and fall asleep, knowing you're close, so whining should be minimized.
b. when he whines in the middle of the night because he needs a potty break, you'll hear him. This will help with potty training by keeping accidents to a minimum.

The cons of the crate in the bedroom:
1. Puppy is close to you, so... if he whines like crazy and refuses to stop, you'll hear it.

We didn't have any trouble with Denna whining. We gave her a blanket with the smell of her mom and litter mates on it, along with a pillow from our bed (lots of her new people smells), and she curled up and zonked from day one. She only ever whined when she needed to go out and potty.

Our bedroom is up a half-flight of stairs, so we carried Denna out to potty until she was going on 35-40lbs or so... but by then, she could hold it long enough to make it outside walking herself (we made sure she took the stairs sloooowly), so it was all good.

Denna didn't need the crate from a potty training perspective from the time she was about 5 months old. But... she did need it to keep her out of stuff she shouldn't be in (i.e. de-stuffing pillows from our bed... the one in her crate is still in one piece, but the ones we still use were open game??) until she was about 18 months old. Now, she's perfectly fine with full run of the house any time.

I'll add, the general rule for puppies, is that they can go one hour in the crate for each month they are old. So, for an 8 week old puppy, 2 hours in the crate max during the day. Night time is different... and varies with each puppy. Denna could go about 5 hours over night at 8 weeks... and 8 hours by the time she was 12 weeks old. But only at night. During the day, she needed to go out every hour or two until she was ~4 months old... then it was 2-3 hours for another month, then 3-4, etc. She still (at 2 years old) likes to get out every 4 hours or so, but she can go much longer than that. Since I work at home, she doesn't need to, though.

Quite the cutie you've got there! Enjoy!!

 

[RissyRenee]

Our DDB is in our bedroom crated and has been since she came home with us at 10-11weeks. SHe is still crated during the night and while we are at work, primarily because she is just finally exiting (I hope I don't jinx this) teenage stage. hope this helps.

 

[HopVol]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I think we'll keep him in the bedroom at least for now. I'm not sure Ill hear him whine at night downstairs. So as far as being able to let him roam and just go in the crate when he wants to, am I looking at least 1 year old? I really want to start with good habits because when he's 200+ lbs I don't want to have problems where I cant trust him out and it would be very difficult to force him in a crate at that time. Trying to think ahead.

 

[Armster]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I think we'll keep him in the bedroom at least for now. I'm not sure Ill hear him whine at night downstairs. So as far as being able to let him roam and just go in the crate when he wants to, am I looking at least 1 year old? I really want to start with good habits because when he's 200+ lbs I don't want to have problems where I cant trust him out and it would be very difficult to force him in a crate at that time. Trying to think ahead.

We took the crate down for our first one at 18 months but before that and at around one year old, we put a gate up in the kitchen where her crate is and let her decide where she wanted to sleep - On the bed on the floor in the kitchen or in her crate. Most times she chose her crate anyways. Now she sleeps in our bedroom in her bed every night. Nice puppy you have btw.

 

[Ahdeeos]

My Cocoa has been crated in my bedroom since she came home @ 11 weeks she will be 15 weeks tomorrow. At 14 weeks I put her crate in the living room, she whined all night long so I put her back in my room. She does minimum whining in my room and she goes into her crate by herself. Except for when she is ready to relieve herself. I don't know whats best for you im just giving you my experience.

 

[jsarra]

It all depends on the dog. We crated our EM in our room with us till he was about 6 months. We then tried letting him out at night and he did fine. We gradually worked our way up to a couple hours out during the day while we were not home. The transition took about a month, so by 7 months he was out of his crate.

 

[HopVol]

It all depends on the dog. We crated our EM in our room with us till he was about 6 months. We then tried letting him out at night and he did fine. We gradually worked our way up to a couple hours out during the day while we were not home. The transition took about a month, so by 7 months he was out of his crate.

I was thinking a transition. Maybe 6 or 7 months down the road start leaving him out at night and try to leave him out for an hour or so while we step out during the day and see if we can work our way up. I dont want him crated whenever we're asleep or at work forever but I dont want him to destroy the house either, lol.

 

[Armster]

It all depends on the dog. We crated our EM in our room with us till he was about 6 months. We then tried letting him out at night and he did fine. We gradually worked our way up to a couple hours out during the day while we were not home. The transition took about a month, so by 7 months he was out of his crate.

7 months? That's impressive. At that age, ours was still a full on chewer. We would have been replacing kitchen table legs if we tried that.

 

[jsarra]

We were SUPER lucky! We spent a lot on bully sticks to deter him lol. He only ever chewed 2 things.....my husbands shoe and sandal.....both the left foot! I thinks its cause hes sooooooo lazy that he cant be bothered to do anything but sleep hahaha

 

[HopVol]

Well, last night did not go well. Sam has been waking up once or twice a night. We take him out, he does his business then he may eat a little or play a few minutes then he goes back in his crate no problem. Last night however he was up every two hours whining and howling! My wife and I take turns taking him out and he would pee but it seemed all he really wanted was to be out. When we put him back in the crate he would begin the whining again. I told my wife to ignore him and the first time it was probably an hour before he went to sleep. The next three times same thing but he stopped after about 15 minutes. He has a raccoon he likes to chew on, I put that in with him but it didn't seem to help. I figure if I know he doesn't have to go to the bathroom and he isn't hungry or anything just let him cry it out. Is this the correct approach? He also went to the vet yesterday and got his 2nd shot and worm medicine. I don't know if this had an effect but the vet told me the medicine could make him sleepy. It seemed to have the opposite effect! Any advice appreciated.