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T O P I C     R E V I E W mommies3littleangels I have read all about the crate training information that is on this site and I love the ideas but I was wondering because my husband and I work 8-10 hours a day is it safe to keep our mini dashound in there for that amount of time. I dont want to do anything to hurt her. She does stay outside when it is nice but as soon as she comes in she goes on the floor. Pulling my hair out on what to do with our wonderful little baby. And suggestion well wanted and thank you all for helping us. RTB Just reading your post and i've been going thru crate training with my puppy also. The rule of thumb for the amount time you can leave them in the crate is 2hrs longer than than their age. i.e. 2 months; then 4 hrs is the most you would want to keep them in there. the size of the crate should also be just big enough for them to turn around in, that way they will not soil the crate. Good luck with the training. cookies11 Please please please tell me that you aren't leaving your new pup in the crate for that long. There are many services in the area that will come to your home during the day to let your new baby out for a quick break and to let go of some energy. They aren't very expensive and it will prove to be a great asset for you and your family. I wish you the best of luck with your new family member. mommies3littleangels no im not leaving her in there that long. I have just been reading up on the crate training..havent started it..right now she stays in the bathroom (when raining) or outside if it is nice. I was just wondering I didnt think it was a good idea but have never crate trained one before. Thank you both for you information I greatly appreciate it my neighbor said that if I try doing the crate then she would come over ever couple of hours and take her out. Thank you again zeno we have a small house, two young kids and a year old 75 lb. Lab. She is in her crate at night and whenever we leave to do something. She is out most of the time but stays the longest in the crate at night. She puts herself to bed and it's a nice "den" for her to feel safe. mommies3littleangels thank you all for your advice. I think we are going to try and crate train her. She is to wonderful of a baby to leave outside all of the time. Also i was told that the puppy pads work good anyone used them? thank you VGotway If you have a doggie door, you can connect the crate to that during the day so she can go out when she needs to. Our dog is an outside dog, but we just have to let her have access to air conditioning so her kennel hooks up to the doggie door and she can go out when she needs to and is only locked inside at night and during bad weather. Bugman Zeno is right-on with their "Den" comment. Your little weiner dog may want to be part of your human family, but it has a lot of wolf instinct in it. Wolf dens are frequently very cozy and snug. Mama wolf would not be too please to have to clean up excessive puppy feces and she starts training them young; you need to do the same. A trusted neighbor kid to assist in letting out the dog is a great idea (and you can see if they do a good enough job to trust them with the pup when you go away.) Also Leave the door off when you are at home and the dog is running around. Frequently, they will go to the crate on their own for security. Make sure your dog has access to water, gets plenty of love and excercise, dry bedding to lay on and your dog will be fine. The only time I have used puppy pads is when assisting a veterinarian with treating a dog for Parvo; then they work great. However, for training, I do not like the idea of teaching a dog to deficate indoors even if it is on a special area. You end up teaching the dog to go inside, then you retrain it to go outside. [This message has been edited by Bugman (edited June 13, 2004).] [This message has been edited by Bugman (edited June 19, 2004).] kimmyfromcali Cudos for you for crate training. You can get great advice from traniners and rescue groups on crate training tips. often times the books do not go into details on problems or issues we really face while crate training. So seekign out help form other who train is great. I have worked in the pet filed for over ten years. But I have never crate trained thus far. My next dog will be crated. bbaker We have a 2yr. old spoiled rotten Chihuahua that we had problems training (used puppy pads). I didn't crate train her as by the time I found out all about it she had already wormed her way into our hearts and was already sleeping with us. About a year ago my husband found the most wonderful electric doggy door on the internet and installed it in our laundry room wall leading to back patio. She wears a sensor on her collar and when she needs to go out she just walks into the laundry room and the door opens quickly but will not close until she's out of range and then it closes slowly. She learned to use it in about a week (before she got the hint I had to put her in front of it) No more accidents and we've changed her battery one time. You can set the door where it will not open at all if you need to and the door itself is electric. This one in particular was for small dogs or cats. I think the total cost was around $250. Well worth it to us. I needed to edit this post because I just thought of something that I'm ashamed that I hadn't thought of before. In order for the electric doggy door to work the collar sensor must work (good battery etc.) so, just as a precaution I will start putting a fairly large container of fresh water on my covered patio every day just in case my little Fancy gets stuck outside. Especially important during the summer months. Her sensor has never failed but....you never know and Allen does lose power every now and then. bbaker [This message has been edited by bbaker (edited June 22, 2004).] mommies3littleangels thank you all again for you wonderful advice. I am going to look into the electric doggy door. i didnt think it was a good idea about the puppy pads because i didnt want her going in the house at all. Just looking for anything to help with our little puppy. Thank you all