Hi all. I'm new!

We have an 11 week old cocker spaniel named Sally. We are unsure of what to do with her during the night. She has a crate in the utility room which we initially locked during the night with her bed on one side and newspapers on the other. She was distressed wailing in the night as she was covered in poo.

Then we resorted to leaving the crate open with newspaper on the floor and the door shut. Equal amout of wailing. Then the same but a sheet of wood across the door so she could see light from the kitchen. This seems to be working i.e. no more wailing during the night. But I am worried that she is now thinking this utility room is a big poo/pee area. She 'goes' in there and the kitchen during the day before I can catch her.

Am I storing up trouble for the future?

Surely it's a waste of time having a crate and leaving the door open?

We don't want her to come up the stairs at all so taking her to our bedroom is out.

Help! Please!

Lisa

Congratulations on your Excellent taste in dogs

My cocker is 5 months now.

Can i ask what her feeding routine is ?

Hi. thanks, she's a Blue Roan by the way - yours is a cutie.

Anyway, she's on Wagg Puppy complete (from breeder) small handful served dry at 7am, 12pm, 6pm then 9pm. She doesn't finish it all.

L

Does she poo before you put her to bed usually?

Mostly, at 11pm, but last night I wanted to go to bed earlier and couldn't get her to go.

anyway, even if she does go then she still poo's in the night too!

I am no expert but also have an 11 week old pup. I feed at 6.30am, 10am, 3pm and 6pm then nothing after that. He goes to poo at 10pm then in his crate from 10pm - 6.30am and never messed or weed in it.

Perhaps change your feed times to help her in going through the night. I feed royal canin dry only.

Mine isnt eating all the meals so from next week i will do 6.30am, 12 noon and 5.30pm which will fit in better with my other dog and make him a bit more hungry to eat.

I think the important thing is to find a routine and stick to it. My pup is crated in the kitchen in the dark.

Also, is the crate too big....you mention a space for newspaper which suggests you may have too big a crate. The idea is it is snug like a den then they wont mess in it. Bed only no water or food.

Hi,
What you have to remember is your puppy is very young and will not have any control until around 5/6 months old.

I suggest you watch her like a hawk and take her out every 30 minutes,after play,meals and waking,when she goes make a huge fuss and reward her with a treat,maybe link a word such as clean while she's going.If she has an accident in the house completely ignore what she has done,clean the area with bio washing powder to get rid of the smell.Never tell her off for toileting in the house,as this may lead to problems in that she may hide the evidence,go where she can't be seen or may not go in front of you.

At night,it is a very long time for a pup to go,without needing to toilet,maybe set your alarm annd get up with her during the night and extend the time each night until she goes through.

We crated ours in our bedroom for the first few weeks,so if they woke up I could take them out to toilet,no fuss,noise,etc,straight out and back to bed.This worked very well for us and eventually they were moved downstairs and sleep all night in their crates.

Good luck and remember patience is a virtue

It is really tricky as i also crated Oscar from day one but he NEVER messed.

I am not sure what i would have done if he had.

Does she go in the crate locked at all anymore?

It maybe that you need to start at the beginning with the crate training. I would buy a soft bed that takes up most of the crate to discourage toileting and then over the next few days give all feeds and treats in the crate with the door open.

If you don't have a kong buy one and progress to putting all of their feeds in there and shutting the door while they have them. Make sure you unlock the crate BEFORE the puppy cries to come out and make a big fuss.

I would make supper smaller and move it back to 8.30 (move the other meals a bit so they aren't too close together.

Really 11pm til 6am is the best you can hope for at this age and once the pup is happier being locked in the crate you can either -

a) Go cold turkey and ignore the pup. It will take a few nights and may cry all night to start with. I always cover the crate, leave a radio on and pop a small amount of kibble in a kong when i leave oscar (puppies like routine)

b) Go down at a designated time in the night when the puppy is quiet and without ANY fuss take pup outside for a toilet and then re crate.

The idea is if the pup is making a fuss it gets no attention, if it is quiet you will eventually arrive.

Take all paper/pads up from indoors and take the puppy outside every half hour. If it has an accident say nothing unless you catch them mid stream in which case say UH UH and lift the puppy outside.

Clean up accidents with biological w powder to remove the urine scent.

Bear in mind that toilet training can take up to 4 months to achieve and even then may still be a bit hit and miss.

Im wondering - does he sleep all the way through, fantastic pup if he does!!!! lol

Oscar did this too