Sleeping Arrangements? (crating)

[Susan-n-Bijou]

To crate or not to crate. That is the question!

I need some feedback/guidance guys....

If Frenchies are sensitive little velcro companions, I can already tell you that I'm in big trouble. I'm really worried that Bijou will be out of the crate and in my bed after about 2 minutes of crying.

I was thinking that I could put a bell on her collar so if she got up during the night, I could hear her and whisk her outside for a potty.

Has anyone had success using crate/xpen by day to guide potty training, but snuggling the pup by night? ...or will this just confuse my puppy?

[mfixx3]

I can only tell you what I did. But it does require a few sleeping adjustments. Thankfully, it only lasts a short time! :)

I walked Augie at midnight. Then we came in and he was crated. Then he would sleep until about 4am. I put a bell on his crate so if he moved, I would hear it. At 4am, he went out. Then when we came back in, instead of crate, he got snuggle time in bed with me. By about 7am (when I get up anyways) he's about ready for another bathroom session anyways.

Eventually, as he got older, the times increased from 11pm, crate, 5am, bed snuggle. Now, he's 6 months old - 10pm potty, bed, 7am potty.

Hope this helps!

[BecksDad]

That's a good question.

Here's out situation: Beckham is in his crate during the day while we are at work. When we get home, he is velcro-ed to our laps on the couch. Sometimes we have naps in the bed with him. And lately, I've been sleeping with him in bed for a few hours, and then eventually placing him in his crate. Sean and I have allergies so we'll end up wheezing if he's too close for too long.

Anyways, so far so good. He hasn't gotten confused about where he is supposed to be. He doesn't like to be placed in the crate, but he'll go in and fall asleep once he's in there. I don't know if we got lucky with such a good little boy b/c if it were me, I'd be confused!

Diana

[imogene]

if your confused it is going to confuse the dog, so it's best to decide on one plan and stick with it. We chose to crate train both our Frenchies. We have two cats, and our bed is really the only sanctuary they have left and as much as I am nuts about our Frenchies - the cats were here first. Also our bed is very high off the floor and I would never be able to sleep for worry that one of them was going to fall out of bed and get seriously hurt. When we were in Banff -Belzie was with us and we let her come onto the bed in the Morning if we wanted to sleep in, but she always started out in her crate.

I crate them 1-2 times durring the day depending on how long they are ready to be crated for. Right now Sam gets crated for up to 4 hours. Belzie no longer gets crated durring the day unless we are going out - because she is 100% house trained and trust worthy. I did crate her until she was good with 7 hours, so I knew she had bladder control. Her last attempt to pee inside was at about 7 months and we caught her mid pee. After that she got it. If we have to go out for more than a couple of hours Belzie gets gated into the living room (we have hardwood floors, but have yet to come home to any presents) appicon

I have always led both dogs to their crate and encouraged them to go in with treats. The command I use for the crate is "go ni-nites" now when I give Belzie the command she will walk into her crate and sit there expecting a treat.appicon I have also hid treats inside their crates for them to find if they are not sleeping. Sam somehow associated peeing in his crate with freedom so I have resorted to feeding him in it as well. It really seems to have changed his attitude towards it. He as gotten much better about holding his bladder - he now can go for 3.5-4 hours easily. And he is good from 11pm until 7 am now. Only last week he had to go out around 4:30 am This morning I measured out his food and left it to warm . . .and noticed that he had disappeared. I found him in his crate looking at me with a 'where is my food, I want it now look on his little face' :) it was very amusing.:lol:

Oh and your puppy shouldn't need a bell unless your a really solid sleeper. Usually the ear shaking is enough to wake me- but I think you will be surprised at the window rattling volume that can come out of something so small. When they want to be hear they will be:D

[el scrubbo]

We do pretty much the same thing.

Take Roxy out late at night for her final potty break, and then put her in the crate. She wakes up between 4-5am to go out, and then we bring her into bed with us for the next 2 hours or so where she can snooze and snuggle with us. Then it's time to get up, so we take her out again.

So far she has done really well with this. Good luck!

[Susan-n-Bijou]

Mfixx3....Your routine is almost exactly how I trained my Lab. The only difference was she got in bed at 3am and played for 3 hours whilst I slipped back into a coma. Til this day, she will lay in bed with a chew toy and watch TV but will not put her head down to sleep. She will only sleep in her crate.

Diana....Oh boy I hope Bijou is the angel that Beckham is! If not, I may have to send Beck a phone card so he can call The Bij and talk her thru the first few nights.

[bulldoggin30]

Susan, how old is your pup? We tried to let Dutchie sleep with us (my daughter since I have a high bed and she is closer to the door) when we brought him home at 4 months since he was crated in the daytime, but she would wake up to a pee spot. She slept too soundly or he didn't make enough noise for her to wake up to take him out. So we crated him for another month and he could sleep a full 7-8 hours in the bed at almost 6 months old. He does sleep with me now and never tries to jump off the bed or roll around to fall off.

[gravy]

We have just started letting franc sleep in bed with us.
He has been crated at night since we got him at 8 months,
but he was peeing his bed, so we had to resort to getting
up in the wee hours to let him out. If he was wet I'd clean
it up and put him back. But lately we start out in the crate
but if he's good he gets to come to bed with us. Last night
was the first night we didn't crate him at bed time and he did
great. The first time he starts to wander instead of sleep I will
put him back in the crate, but so far so good. We've had him
almost 2 months. Freedom is a reward for good behaviorappicon

[Susan-n-Bijou]

I guess we're all in good company! :D

Dutchie...My puppy isn't home yet, so the sleeping arrangements are speculative at this point. We'll see what happens when she gets home.

I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to good manners, so I know I won't cave on basic behavior, but the whole crying baby in the crate.....sigh, I don't think I'll be able to handle it. The thought of a little Frenchie seperated from her Momma and littermates....oh geez...

[franp]

Crating is IMO the way to train... Dari's crate was next to my bed ( and raised up for the first few days so I could stick my hand in)..She could hear the noise in the bedroom and my voice so she did not feel alone..If she had to go out (thankfully she slept thru the night from the beginning ) I could hear her right away..She never cried and was not afraid..

Her last walk was at 9.At about 4 months I started to take her into bed at about 4 AM.. her morning walk was about 5:30..By 7 months she was sleeping the whole night in bed..no problems..

One of my cats never slept in the bed.. the other wanted to mother Dari from the start..so that was not a problem..

[ashley1135]

It breaks your heart to hear them crying! My Sulley never actually slept in his crate an entire night. We started out trying to crate but I'm not tough enough to hear him whine and ignore it. Sometimes during the day he'd stay in it for a nap, but very quickly we abandoned the whole crate idea. He would sleep in our bed and when he'd wake up, we'd put him down in his litter pan, then he'd go back to sleep. Fortunately we didn't have to be gone much when he was very little so we could take him our frequently. He still sleeps in the bed and we leave him loose in the house when we're gone. Even when I sleep in, Sulley does too. Now when we have to leave the house, he jumps up in his chair where he can see out the window and just watches the world go by until we get home. Crating just depends on your personal preference, lifestyle, and your dog's personality.

[phoebesmom]

The only time Phoebe has been in a crate was during her flight when we had to move to another country. I did train her about 6 weeks before we left and she was as good as pie appicon . When we brought her home as a pup she slept in the bed with me, hubby, and 2 cats... very cozy :lol: .

[bulldoggin30]

Oh Carol, I can only imagine! I used to shut my door at night and not let my cats in. Then I had Dutchie sleep with my daughter until this summer (she got to stay home with him all day evilicon ). Now I don't think I can sleep without him! :eek: