I’ve been reading so many forums, websites books etc… but I say you can never know enough about pets! So any extra advice is a bonus.

Ok, so I’ve heard about crate training… I’ve read/been told that I should get a crate that is not too big, it should be big enough for the dog/puppy to stand up, turn around and stretch out. If the crate is too big the puppy could start using one side as a loo! When that is actually something I don’t want hence the crate training! (yes… mistakes can/will happen). So if a puppy is pretty small, which most are lol, what sort of size crate should I get? The smallest I have seen is: 61.5 long x 45.5 Wide x 52cm High (24.37Lx18Wx20.5H inch) DOG CAGE/CRATE SEAPETS . I can’t seem to find any that are smaller than that. My puppy is rather small (toy breed), so even in this “small” crate she is going to have plenty of room, I’m just worried there will be enough room for her to use it as a toilet as well as a bed.
I am not worried about having to buy a bigger one as she grows, that isn’t a problem. I just don’t want to create the perfect place for her to sleep and be able to poo and wee too, as we know most puppies/dogs wont soil their bed area (fingers crossed) obviously only if they are being let out often enough to not need to go in their crate.

What's been your experience with crates/crate training? Small or big.

I work part time, about 3 - 4 hours a day, but there is always someone at home, so to be honest the puppy will probably never be unsupervised.

I will be confining the puppy to my bedroom, the hallway and the bathroom (and her crate of course) at first. It looks as though I am going to have to use newspaper to let her do her duty on until it is safe for me to take her out in the back garden to start outdoor toilet training. I hope this isn’t going to make things more difficult. I wish I could start the outdoor toilet training as soon as I get her home, but as she is so small the breeder wont give her vaccinations yet, she advised me to wait. So I will be booking her in for her first vaccinations in the first week of bringing her home.
The reason I wont take her out into my back garden is because my aunty often brings her dog/s with her when she pops round and leaves them out in the back garden while she is visiting. So they are sometimes pooping and weeing in our garden. So therefore my garden has been used / is being used by other dogs so I shouldn’t really take my unvaccinated/newly vaccinated puppy out there should I? They have just gone for their booster today (which was due this month), so in a way I know they are up to date on their vaccinations. I am not totally knowledgeable about how puppies catch these diseases, so with my aunties dogs having access to parks and other strange dogs they could also carry it and pass it on that way? I would rather be very safe than sorry!

Also, with her having her first vaccinations within the first week of me getting her home… I obviously wont be able to let her near strange dogs, go down on the floor in areas where other dogs have been etc. But can I take her out and about if I carry her, or use some sort of carrier to put her in? I’ve read it’s good to do this as early as possible to get them used to noises and stuff like that.
As long as it’s safe to carry them around outside like this, then I’ll go for it, but obviously wont do it if it’s best not to.

I will be having a good chat to my vet about all this stuff when I take her in to get her vaccinations done (need to phone around first to enquire about prices, I‘ve also been told that some vets charge through the roof and others are nearly half the price)… it’s just nice to know a bit before hand and be somewhat prepared before the new one arrives.

I also need to make sure about worming, I forgot to ask the breeder about the puppies current worming situation. Has anyone used “Worming Syrup for Kittens and Puppies 45ml by Sherley's“?

At the moment I am just stocking up on all of her bits and pieces that she will need. Food, crate, bedding, bowls, grooming equipment, wormer, toys etc… all the essentials. I want to be as ready as possible.

Sorry for the essay, I just hope I have explained myself well enough lol.

Have a look here reputable dealer


Dog Cage - Dog Cages - Dog Crate - Dog Crates -

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I have a very nice crown, its big and it has a gheco on it, have i got it on murray??

You can start toilet training outside straight away as the only dogs that have been there have been vaccinated, no worries there. Training on paper often makes it harder to make them go outside, so start as you mean to go on.

If you are going to carry her about you may as well walk her about as, contrary to popular belief, many diseases are actually airborn . We didn't take our pups out until after they had their second vaccinations but it is believed that pups are covered against diseases from immunity passed through the mothers milk. Not a risk I wanted to take though.

You can get very good quality crates for really good prices on eBay, I've just got my two some and they are far better than the one I got for Milo from PAH which cost a fortune. If it is too big to begin with you can buy dividers and adjust accordingly as the pup grows.

If you aren't sure about worming pop her up to the vets and get her done, you'll want to get a full health check done once you've got her home anyway.

Oh I take it you managed to get a little Pom pup

It's like saying you can't take any adult dogs out for a walk when you have pups for risk of them bringing something horrible back that the pups could catch. There is a risk there, but a very minimal one. Depends how over protective you want to be.

Or yourself out for a walk

Exactly, it could get really rediculous! D

We only put paper down for a couple of days after we got the pups and then just concentrated on getting them to go outside, next time I wouldn't put paper down at all and train them to go outside from the very begining. If you think about you're just training them to do something you don't want them to do really. D

Exactly ! Thanks for your help ajshep1984!

Do you know where I can purchase the crate dividers from? Not seen any in the pets shops, unless I missed them. I'll have a snoop around ebay first.