# Kennel (farm) Raised puppy



## slacking (Jan 5, 2011)

New puppy owner here.

My puppy is 3 months old and I have had him for a week today

He is purebred beagle who was born and lived in a kennel environment on a farm with his parents and bothers and sisters.

He sleeps through the night no accidents with me in his crate beside my bed and sometimes when I am a bad owner I let him sleep in my bed 

The problem is when I leave for work he stays in his crate for <4 hours and he has now pooped and peed in it. I have tried to put his bed in and he poops and pees. I put a puppy pad in and he peed i think.. hard to tell when the puppy pad is in a million pieces

I have tried to take him out immedietly after eating which I was told dogs will want to go but he doesnt want to go at all no matter how long I keep him outside. 

I tried leaving him in the X-pen for the day and he dragged it and his poo all over the house

I believe that the kennel upbringing is causing issue with his understanding of the crate.

I have looked through the stickies but didn't see anything dealing with kennel raised dogs

Has anyone dealt with this at all? should i provide him with a sudo kennel ie crate attached to X-pen? and just lag the pen to something?

Am I just expecting too much too fast? 

What kind of time-lines should I expect for standard dog potty training? 

Sorry for all the questions I just want to understand and help my puppy get accustom to my life


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Do not put any bedding in the crate. Plan on taking him out 20 minutes after he is thru eating and then be prepared to wait him out. Clean the crate with white vinegar every time he soils in it. This should make it less inviting. If he was raised inhis own filth in a crate (puppy mill dog sort of situation) he will not be easy to housebreak. 

If you get a day off, or better yet a few days off in a row, take him out every 30 minutes all day long. Tether him to you so he cannot get out of sight. Do not put him in the crate at all and eventually he will have to pee/poop. If he tries to go while inside and tethered to you, interrupt him and get him out and praise with treats, like he has made you gold when he goes outside. At night, if there are not problems, continue what you are doing. 

When you take the dog out, go out with him. Every time. On leash. In the morning when he first wakes up, get him right out on the leash and praise for pooping and pee'ing where he is supposed to.. and yes.. you may have to wait him out.. so be prepared.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Congratulations on your puppy!  You're not a bad owner for letting your puppy sleep in your bed! Lots of us do it, including me! BUT, I would recommend NOT letting him sleep with you anymore until he's potty trained, because it's really gross to have dog pee or poop in your bed! 

Lots of people have different preferences, as far as crates and ex pens. BUT, here are some of my thoughts:

- IF you decide to keep him in the crate while you work (lots of people do) DON'T put his bed, or even a puppy pad in it. These things will soak up the pee and so he won't be inconvenienced by a puddle. IF he has a puddle in his crate, he will realize (hopefully) that it's icky, and will try harder to hold it.
- NOW, you may be right about how being in the kennel at his previous home made him think it was ok to pee and poop in the crate, but, if you put a blankie, bed, or pad in there, and it soaks up the pee, it will just keep that going, because it's still comfy in there when he pees.
- By the way, is his crate the right size? If it's too big, he can pee and poop, but still have room to get away from the pee and poop and be comfy.
- Lots of dogs/puppies who come from shelters or the pound have issues with peeing or pooping wherever they happen to be when they need to go, but you can overcome it!
- When he goes potty in his crate, make sure you clean it with an enzymatic cleaner! Other cleaners will leave enough of a smell that a puppy's nose will sense it, and be attracted to going there again!

- Puppies generally have to potty: after waking up (even naps), after playing, exercising, after eating and drinking. BUT, you've only had the little guy a week, PLUS he may not be used to being taken out to potty, if he was left in a kennel most of the time and just went potty there.
- Take him out, say the same potty words every time, give him a super yummy treat and lots of praise if he goes.
- If he doesn't go in about 5 minutes or so, take him back in the house, but watch him like a hawk, because he may squat and go as soon as you come back in. Take him back out in 5 minutes and try again. Repeat this until he goes. The thing is, you don't want him to get the idea that he can just take his own sweet time when you take him out to pee/poop. He can sniff around for a few minutes, but that's it. Puppies will get easily distracted outside, so give him a few minutes, then take him back in and try again in 5 minutes.
- If you catch him starting to go in the house, interrupt him with a sound, and whisk him out to try to finish outside. If he does, give praise and treat!

- I had our puppies in an ex-pen, with the crate inside the pen, and water and toys. 

In general, I think you are expecting a bit much. He's in a new environment, new smells, sights, sounds, people. PLUS, he's still a baby! Puppies generally don't gain full physical control of their bladders and bowels until about 6 months of age, give or take. SO, you can expect potty training to be a process that can last awhile! 
Some people have early success and think potty training is over! But, keep being vigilant, no matter how well your boy does, because, as they change and develop they can have set backs.

Your job is to be so vigilant in taking your puppy out, that you don't even give him the CHANCE to have an accident (unless you're at work, in which case, it can't be helped!)

Good luck and enjoy your puppy!!!!!


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## slacking (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I have all weekend alone with him and I will be with him close for the whole time. I will try the 30 minute thing see how it goes. I think it has a lot to do with weather as its below 0 Celcius daily with snow. I got him a sweater that is helping but he still doesn't like to be outside and starts to shiver. 

Thanks for the input on the timing. I know he is still a puppy I just wasn't sure what to expect. I take him out hourly (when not at work) and he has gone once or twice and I gave him a treat and acted all happy.

One question about the x-pen .. you said you had the crate in the pen .. did you leave the puppy in the crate and closed? or were they still able to go out in the pen? 

Thanks again for the help!


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## PiperPuppy (Nov 28, 2010)

> Tether him to you so he cannot get out of sight.


This was the best piece of advise I received. It was a pain in the butt to have my puppy tethered to me, but it worked!! 

Good luck. I am glad you have all weekend with the pup!


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Yes, it's great to have the weekend to bond! And, to start the training process! 

We had the crate, open and available to the puppy, inside the pen. That way, they could crawl inside for a nap or just to be comfy. But, they had toys and water available in the pen, so they could drink and play, and if they couldn't hold it and needed to potty, they did it in the pen, not the crate.

It would be preferable for them to potty in the pen as opposed to the crate, if they couldn't hold it, because you really don't want them in the habit of pottying in the crate. Just make sure that you put the pen/crate set up in an area that will have relatively easy clean up. We used a corner of the kitchen, which had laminate flooring, so it they couldn't hold it, and I was gone, it was easy to clean up!


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## Kazmir (Jan 21, 2011)

We use an Ex-Pen during the day for our puppy and i just put down a blanket but he doesnt soil it. To hold it in place you could use coffee cans full of sand or rocks on the corners to block it. put it against a wall to provide a good base.

That is a hard one, but keep on the housetraining and it will all work out. Puppies seem to want to please!


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