# Puppy wont let us sleep!



## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

Hi everyone. My girlfriend and I recently picked up a 9 week old Male Boston Terrier that we both love. She'd had dogs in her past, but I don't think she was old enough to realy be involved with raising them. I've personally never owned a dog, so I have very little experience. Hes an absolutely adorable lil pup. We were both surprised how easily he seems to be to potty train so far. He goes on the "pee-pads" for the most part. And he seems to be behaving as expected so far. We have a good sized "pen area" designated in the the kitchen that we keep him in when we go to work or sleep. we also feed him in the pen and his bed and wee-pads are in there. we both work 8 hours a day so he's left alone in the pen 9~10 hours a day  . I wish there was a way around this, but it's unavoidable.

My problem is whenever we put him in the cage he begins to whine. LOUDLY. Its understandable i suppose, but we need to sleep sometime. Now, we've read that you shouldn't take him out of a cage/pen/kennel while hes whining/crying, because that would be like rewarding him for whining and that could cause him to think that if he whines he gets out of the pen. But he doesn't stop... For hours... at 2:00 in the morning... and we're in an apartment with neighbors... He has food and water, and his wee-pads are clean, so he just wants attention I suppose. I don't really have a problem with this, but i don't want him to get into a habit of needing attention at 2:00 am everyday.

I hope we're doing this right, and I hope this doesn't come across like we're terrible people, we really do love our new pup. But I have been up since fairly early this morning, and I am a little sleep deprived so i don't know if I'm explaining this right.

Thanks!


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

How long have you had him? Chloe is now 11 weeks old, and we got her when she was 8 weeks. The first night she cried and howled all night long. The second night, about the same, a little less. The third night, she cried in bursts every 2-3 hours. The fourth night, she slept quietly all night, and she has since then. Does he have anything soft to snuggle up with? Don't go to him at all in the night, and he should settle down soon. I couldn't believe how fast it worked for us, but it did.


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## Sawyer (Nov 14, 2006)

If your dog is alone 10 hrs during the day then about the same at night he may not be getting enough attention from you. He needs a lot of interaction right now. Spend as much time as you can with him. Maybe you can find someone to come in the middle of the day to walk him?? Also, take him for a long walk and playtime before his bedtime to tire him out.


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## AbbysMom (Dec 6, 2006)

*sleep time!!!*

Good morning,

I was in the same predicament as you when I got my puppy. I found this to be very helpful.

During the day she was in her "play pen" with a toy and a bowl of water (that was it because she chewed up all her blankets, and made huge messes!!!)

I was able to run home at lunch for about 1/2 hour (if you can find someone to do this for the first couple of weeks it will help you out big time in the long run!)

Once I got home I made sure she was played out and then I took her out off leash (in a safe park of course) for about 1 hour (around 8 / 9 at night). This helped make sure she was really tired!!!

At night I had her sleeping in my bedroom in her crate. When she made noise I simply told her it was ok, and ignored her. I think the simple fact of her knowing I was close by helped out a lot. 

Also, I didn't use puppy pads for training, I got up every 3 hours, then every 4 hours to let her out to go pee. Maybe your dog has to pee, and doesn't want to use the puppy pads? (I'm guessing here!!!)

If you need more info, don't hesitate!

Good luck and hope you get more sleep tonight.


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## Dulce (Oct 2, 2006)

I apologize in advance if I come off as rude.

You should NOT have a puppy, nor should anyone else, if it's going to be left alone anymore than 3+ hours a day!! 
Puppies especially at this age, NEED human contact. Puppies CANNOT be left in crates, alone, that long.

You are just ASKING for behavior problems in the future. 

I'm hoping BLackGavotte will chime in here soon. She can give you THE BEST advice there is. You can PM her, or wait for a repsonse


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

GLL said:


> My problem is whenever we put him in the cage he begins to whine. LOUDLY. Its understandable i suppose, but we need to sleep sometime. Now, we've read that you shouldn't take him out of a cage/pen/kennel while hes whining/crying, because that would be like rewarding him for whining and that could cause him to think that if he whines he gets out of the pen. But he doesn't stop... For hours... at 2:00 in the morning... and we're in an apartment with neighbors... He has food and water, and his wee-pads are clean, so he just wants attention I suppose. I don't really have a problem with this, but i don't want him to get into a habit of needing attention at 2:00 am everyday.
> 
> 
> Thanks!


HMMM, You've been taken away from your mom and siblings and beamed abourd and alien ship. They don't speak your language, they leave you alone for extended periods of time and your terrified and lonely. How would YOU react? How much time do you spend with him when you are home? Are you playing him out so he's tired? Is ther ANY way you can have him with you or your wife during the day? Here's the Doggy Zen post, start practicing this when you are home wit him, the mental stimulation will help tire him out too and you will build a bond with him. Take it slow nad be sure the first four steps are solid on a cold run before progressing. 

http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/2431-chewing-but-not-teething.html


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## ilovemychihuahua (Oct 8, 2006)

(sigh), join the club. my chihuahua puppy won't let me sleep either. She scracthes me to wake up!!!


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I'll see if I can answer all questions sufficiently.



mistyinca said:


> How long have you had him? Chloe is now 11 weeks old, and we got her when she was 8 weeks. The first night she cried and howled all night long. The second night, about the same, a little less. The third night, she cried in bursts every 2-3 hours. The fourth night, she slept quietly all night, and she has since then. Does he have anything soft to snuggle up with? Don't go to him at all in the night, and he should settle down soon. I couldn't believe how fast it worked for us, but it did.


We've had him for a whopping 6 days. And I would imagine this type of behavior is normal for a new pup in a new home, and I'm not upset by this. The reason I'm here is because I want to make sure we handle this properly, early.

The first night, he slept with us. I'm now learning that this was a mistake. We left him in his pen every night since, and his whining _seems_ to have subsided a bit.

He does have a woolly dog blanket lining the floor, and a dog pillow thing for a bed, and another flannel dog blanket. We usually leave at least a couple toys in there with him. So he's pretty well cover on the snuggly stuff.

I'd like to do what you suggest and just try to continue to ignore him, but we're afraid that the neighbors may have an issue with this...



Sawyer said:


> If your dog is alone 10 hrs during the day then about the same at night he may not be getting enough attention from you. He needs a lot of interaction right now. Spend as much time as you can with him. Maybe you can find someone to come in the middle of the day to walk him?? Also, take him for a long walk and playtime before his bedtime to tire him out.


Not really possible, everyone that we know works all day, or lives way too far away.

I'd love to take him for walks, but he hasn't had all of his shots yet, and the vet said that he should probably stay indoors until thats taken care of.



AbbysMom said:


> I was able to run home at lunch for about 1/2 hour (if you can find someone to do this for the first couple of weeks it will help you out big time in the long run!)
> 
> Once I got home I made sure she was played out and then I took her out off leash (in a safe park of course) for about 1 hour (around 8 / 9 at night). This helped make sure she was really tired!!!
> 
> ...


We both work over an hour from home  so lunch visits are a no go (good idea though). My GF travels a lot, so her schedule is not very "stable". But while she is in town, and in the office, she would be able to take him to work with her. We'd like to do this, but, like I said, her schedule isn't reliable. So I'd rather train him to be good with being in his pen all day 

He's been the main point of attention since he showed up. So we're doing everything we can to play with him and make him feel loved while we're here. Last night I really tired him out before bed. I decided that 9:00 would be bedtime, and he started petering out around 8:30. I actually kept him awake until 9:00 and put him to bed. He started crying around 4:00. Not too shabby.

Again, cant really take him out yet to go potty per the vets orders. He seems to be pretty good about the going on the pads, so we're going to keep rolling with that.



Dulce said:


> I apologize in advance if I come off as rude.
> 
> You should NOT have a puppy, nor should anyone else, if it's going to be left alone anymore than 3+ hours a day!!
> Puppies especially at this age, NEED human contact. Puppies CANNOT be left in crates, alone, that long.
> ...


Noted.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, please keep em coming! I'll be posting pics of the lil guy and pics of his pen so you can all better visualize the situation.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

cshellenberger said:


> HMMM, You've been taken away from your mom and siblings and beamed abourd and alien ship. They don't speak your language, they leave you alone for extended periods of time and your terrified and lonely. How would YOU react? How much time do you spend with him when you are home? Are you playing him out so he's tired? Is ther ANY way you can have him with you or your wife during the day? Here's the Doggy Zen post, start practicing this when you are home wit him, the mental stimulation will help tire him out too and you will build a bond with him. Take it slow nad be sure the first four steps are solid on a cold run before progressing.
> 
> http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/2431-chewing-but-not-teething.html


I completely understand _why_ he's doing it, I'm posting because I want tips on how to handle it properly before it becomes a major issue and more difficult to correct.

Thanks for the input I'll read the Doggy Zen post asap.


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## SCWT (Nov 14, 2006)

GLL said:


> Again, cant really take him out yet to go potty per the vets orders. He seems to be pretty good about the going on the pads, so we're going to keep rolling with that.


I understand not walking him around the neighbourhood until he has his shots, but do you not have a backyard where other dogs would not have been that you can take him out in ?

Also, Chuy whined when we first had him home as well. It was horrible the first 2 nights, then it settled down a lot. We kept the crate in the bedroom, but moved it closer to the bed on the 3rd night where I could put my hand out to let him know I was there. After a few nights he just whined very softly and I knew he needed to go out (I am a very light sleeper). After about a week of that we started moving the crate further from the bed each night. He was downstairs and slept through the night after about 3 weeks.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

GLL said:


> I completely understand _why_ he's doing it, I'm posting because I want tips on how to handle it properly before it becomes a major issue and more difficult to correct.
> 
> Thanks for the input I'll read the Doggy Zen post asap.


Move the pen out of your room, preferrably to a room where you spend time awake. When he goes in for hte night, have a frozen, stuffed kong for him to work on. This will help sooth and quiet him. Then, set you alarm clock to get up at least once a night to take him out and otherwise ignore him.


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## georgygirl (Nov 28, 2006)

First off, congrats on the boston! I have a 5 month old male boston myself named Joey. He did the same thing for the first few days and then he slowly got more comfortable. Is his pen in the same room as you when you're sleeping. If not he may be more comfortable if he was in the same room. After Joey would sleep in his crate all night without problems I decided to let him sleep with me. It works out fine for me, he lets me know if he needs to go outside in the middle of the night. But I'm used to my two cats sleeping with me so another little body didn't take much to get used to,lol. You're going to get lot's of different advice, the trick is figuring out what works for you. I think what you ultimatly need is a little time and patience. You'll get through it.

I'd definitely make sure that you give him enough exercise every night. My boston is a busy little guy. He gets a two mile walk everyday and also a lot of indoor time playing fetch or tug. He also likes to chase the laser pointer along with my cats. Bostons can be pretty busy dogs when they're puppies.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

Yep, thats kind of the feeling that I'm getting. Time and patience. Time and patience.

Anyways, his pen is in the kitchen heres a pic:










its actualy bigger than it looks in the pic...


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

cshellenberger said:


> frozen, stuffed kong


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

SCWT said:


> I understand not walking him around the neighbourhood until he has his shots, but do you not have a backyard where other dogs would not have been that you can take him out in ?


We're in an apartment. It's a dog friendly complex, so there's lots of little grassy areas around, but that also means that there's lots of dogs around...


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

GLL said:


>


Get a couple of 'Kongs', stuff with peanut butter (this is easiest done by putting the peanut butter in a sandwich bag, cut off one corner and squeeze the peanut butter into the kong) then freeze. You can also add apples, bananas, or sliced carrots.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

This is a Kong KONG Pet Toys - Legendary Strength, Quality, and Performance.


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## pupskersandhutch (Nov 20, 2006)

What I did with my little CRAZY Xena I will play with her and take her on walk right before we go to bed.Tha usually does the trick If you already have tried that try putting he/she on the bed unless you don't want them on the bed. They might feel lonely and just want to be loved.

 Hope that was some help also if you react to them whinning they want your attention so don't give them attention and they usually will get the point and go to sleep.

Love MEgs


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

The pup is too young to take on walks. Playing with the pup and doing short training sessions at home will help to tire it out and help it sleep better.


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

Dulce said:


> I apologize in advance if I come off as rude.
> 
> You should NOT have a puppy, nor should anyone else, if it's going to be left alone anymore than 3+ hours a day!!
> Puppies especially at this age, NEED human contact. Puppies CANNOT be left in crates, alone, that long.
> ...


How do you work if you never leave your puppy for more than 3 hours. 

When you have a puppy/dog you need to be willing to put in the time it just boils down to that. Lilly is alone from 7-noon then pet sitter time and then alone 12.30 -5ish. She graduated from a crate with her potty pads, to crate only no pads to crate with playpen attached. She gets 5am till 7am with us before we leave for work, has rotated toys every week, a wonderful pet sitter and is with us every moment we are home that is our "rule" and even sleeps with us now. And Lilly is just fine, does not have separation anxiety & understands the agenda and walks into her pen area at 7am and hunkers down with her treat and toys.

I know this doesn't really help the original writer but I just had to voice my opinion.


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## georgygirl (Nov 28, 2006)

Do you have a crate or just a exercise pen? Some dogs like the security of a den like crate to sleep in. I have a wire one for Joey and when I leave and I cover it with a banket so he feels more secure. He whines for a minute or two and then he curls up and falls asleep. My cats seem to be quite fond of it too for some reason.....but only when Joey's not in it, lol.

Definitely start with some training sessions. Bostons are smart little buggers and they'll pick up tricks pretty quick. Joey is the first dog I've ever trained and so far he'll do sit, down, roll over, crawl, and a fairly reliable come as long as there isn't a cat around to play with. He could learn more I'm sure if I were a better trainer. I'm hoping to get him in an obedience class next month so hopefully that'll help. Down was by far the hardest to teach him. Is little legs just sprung right back up! Good luck with your new addition! I'd love to see some pics of him!

This is my little boston terror......


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## Dulce (Oct 2, 2006)

LoveLilly said:


> How do you work if you never leave your puppy for more than 3 hours.
> 
> When you have a puppy/dog you need to be willing to put in the time it just boils down to that. Lilly is alone from 7-noon then pet sitter time and then alone 12.30 -5ish. She graduated from a crate with her potty pads, to crate only no pads to crate with playpen attached. She gets 5am till 7am with us before we leave for work, has rotated toys every week, a wonderful pet sitter and is with us every moment we are home that is our "rule" and even sleeps with us now. And Lilly is just fine, does not have separation anxiety & understands the agenda and walks into her pen area at 7am and hunkers down with her treat and toys.
> 
> I know this doesn't really help the original writer but I just had to voice my opinion.



I'm not sure if you're arguing with me..???  

But what you did was EXCELLENT. The puppy is alone in small increments throughout the day, and there's a sitter there in between. That's AWESOME!!

HIGH FIVE GIRL! (If you are a girl ) IMO, that's what everyone should do.

To the Original Poster: This is exactly what you should do. The transitioning, the rotating of the toys, etc. This is a very great way to get the dog accustomed to being alone. 

**(There's also another thread similar to this called "My Dog Barks in Crate"--I posted some great info on there)

Also, GLL:

The pic of the pen is FANTASTIC. You're doing everything RIGHT. Good job 

I kinda forgot what the original problem was..sorry... But from the looks of it, you're doing everything you can, and you're doing it all correct. Big props.


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## blackgavotte (Sep 28, 2006)

What I would like to see happen, is that you don't expect this young a puppy to hold his urine or bowels, whichever he has to use, all night long. I would advise you to leave him in his pen at night so that he can use the pee pads if he needs to. You can be very slowly getting him used to little jaunts into the crate meanwhile, but I always found it was around the four months mark that my puppies were consistently clean and dry when I got up in the morning, that's when I would start having them sleep in crates overnight. 

He is lonely, but he will adapt, other than the crating I think you have done well to try to do the best for him. Remember if he were in a wild dog pack right now, he would have parents and siblings to cuddle with, he would not be alone all day and then again with no one touching him all night. This puppy may also be crying not even because he has to go potty, he is just lonely. Dogs, remember, are social and pack animals and he's very young.

Big, plushy toys and blankets to cuddle with, a soft radio or t.v. on, even a music c.d. on low at night, ( and during the day for that matter ) so he feels some life around him, and especially the fact that he will get used to the long nights and quiet down if you are not getting up to him. That's why I never like to see these young babies put into crates, at least in a pen if they have to pee they can during the night. I think there's not much else you can really do, this too shall pass.


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## georgygirl (Nov 28, 2006)

Are you hoping to train him to go outside to potty or on puppy pads? If you're doing puppy pads I think your set up is great, but if you're trying to train him to go outside I'd wake up a few times in the night to let him outside to potty. I had to do this until Joey was about four months. Then he was very reliable about holding it all night, but this might be different depending on the dog. I tried to do both puppy pads and outside, but that just seemed to confuse him so I just stuck with outside. He's not 100% right now but he's doing very well for a guy that ended up getting hookworms. Poor little guy. His tummy is feeling alot better after the vet trip and he's going great on his potty training.


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## blackgavotte (Sep 28, 2006)

Yes, I agree with georgygirl, I forgot to add that you should also be taking the puppy even just outside the door to pee etc, so that the outside training is not neglected, you ultimately probably want him to use the outdoors, and best to start it now. 

He is too young and unvaccinated to be taking him out to parks etc, but putting him on a leash and just stepping onto the grass, even if you start with taking a peepad with you, can start the idea in that cute little head that the grass is a good place to "go". 

I envy you your Boston baby! They're nearly as adorable as Japanese Chin puppies... no fights now, people, I love them all.


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## blackgavotte (Sep 28, 2006)

Just went back to the pen picture. What I would change is, I would be putting the blanket, food/water, toys etc, at one end, and the pee pad down the other. It will be easier for him to understand to leave his food and play and bed, to go pee and poop on the peepad. I think the way you have it all on the one area could be confusing to him. Unless the little darlin' has just pulled everything together, and he may well do that anyway, but I would say at least try to separate the areas.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

Curbside Prophet said:


> This is a Kong KONG Pet Toys - Legendary Strength, Quality, and Performance.


Thanks! we'll pick one up.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

pupskersandhutch said:


> if you react to them whinning they want your attention so don't give them attention and they usually will get the point and go to sleep.


Yep, thats what we've been guessing. So far we've had mixed results, but with time I'm sure he'll adapt.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

georgygirl said:


> Do you have a crate or just a exercise pen? Some dogs like the security of a den like crate to sleep in. I have a wire one for Joey and when I leave and I cover it with a banket so he feels more secure. He whines for a minute or two and then he curls up and falls asleep. My cats seem to be quite fond of it too for some reason.....but only when Joey's not in it, lol.
> 
> Definitely start with some training sessions. Bostons are smart little buggers and they'll pick up tricks pretty quick. Joey is the first dog I've ever trained and so far he'll do sit, down, roll over, crawl, and a fairly reliable come as long as there isn't a cat around to play with. He could learn more I'm sure if I were a better trainer. I'm hoping to get him in an obedience class next month so hopefully that'll help. Down was by far the hardest to teach him. Is little legs just sprung right back up! Good luck with your new addition! I'd love to see some pics of him!
> 
> This is my little boston terror......


He looks a lot like Mr. Snuffles! 

We just have the excesize pen and one of those mobile pen carriers. Thats a good idea though with the blanket, we'll try draping one over the top of his pen at night. Maybe that will make him feel more secure.

We'll definately be taking some training classes. Our local Petsmart has classes pretty frequently and the people seem really friendly. We'll probably have to wait untill hes a little older first.

There will definately be more pictures coming!


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

blackgavotte said:


> What I would like to see happen, is that you don't expect this young a puppy to hold his urine or bowels, whichever he has to use, all night long. I would advise you to leave him in his pen at night so that he can use the pee pads if he needs to.


Yep, he sleeps in his pen with the pads. And he's actually doing really well with this. Last night he slept the entire night!



blackgavotte said:


> You can be very slowly getting him used to little jaunts into the crate meanwhile, but I always found it was around the four months mark that my puppies were consistently clean and dry when I got up in the morning, that's when I would start having them sleep in crates overnight.


We dont have a crate, just the pen. Is there actually an advantage to keeping him in a crate?



blackgavotte said:


> He is lonely, but he will adapt, other than the crating I think you have done well to try to do the best for him. Remember if he were in a wild dog pack right now, he would have parents and siblings to cuddle with, he would not be alone all day and then again with no one touching him all night. This puppy may also be crying not even because he has to go potty, he is just lonely. Dogs, remember, are social and pack animals and he's very young.


Yep, thats pretty much the feeling we're getting, that he's just lonely. So we have been giving him tons of attention when we're around. 



blackgavotte said:


> Big, plushy toys and blankets to cuddle with, a soft radio or t.v. on, even a music c.d. on low at night, ( and during the day for that matter ) so he feels some life around him, and especially the fact that he will get used to the long nights and quiet down if you are not getting up to him.


The TV has not been turned off since he came home . I was actually going to start another post about this (to see if there is any merit to leaving the TV on), but I guess it is a good move.



blackgavotte said:


> That's why I never like to see these young babies put into crates, at least in a pen if they have to pee they can during the night. I think there's not much else you can really do, this too shall pass.


That's why we dont have a crate, we didn't want to seem him locked up without someone being able to get to him easily, or for him to be able to get to his pads easily.

Thanks for all of your input!


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

georgygirl said:


> Are you hoping to train him to go outside to potty or on puppy pads? If you're doing puppy pads I think your set up is great, but if you're trying to train him to go outside I'd wake up a few times in the night to let him outside to potty. I had to do this until Joey was about four months. Then he was very reliable about holding it all night, but this might be different depending on the dog. I tried to do both puppy pads and outside, but that just seemed to confuse him so I just stuck with outside. He's not 100% right now but he's doing very well for a guy that ended up getting hookworms. Poor little guy. His tummy is feeling alot better after the vet trip and he's going great on his potty training.


I think we were going to try for half and half. We wanted him to be able to use the pads during the day while we're at work, and we would take him out on walks when we get home. Really looking forward to getting the rest of those shots so we can take him out.


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## GLL (Dec 6, 2006)

blackgavotte said:


> Just went back to the pen picture. What I would change is, I would be putting the blanket, food/water, toys etc, at one end, and the pee pad down the other. It will be easier for him to understand to leave his food and play and bed, to go pee and poop on the peepad. I think the way you have it all on the one area could be confusing to him. Unless the little darlin' has just pulled everything together, and he may well do that anyway, but I would say at least try to separate the areas.


Maybe the picture doesnt really show it well enough, but yes, the pen is split in two, potty pads on one half, bed/toys/food on the other.

And we'll try to start taking him out side a little bit as you suggested in you last post, just little jaunts should be okay I suppose.


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