A good rule of thumb to follow is one hour in the box for each month of age. A three-month-old puppy should be OK in the cage for three hours. Puppies should sleep in their cages at night, as this helps them learn to sleep through the night. Once your puppy can sleep safely through the night, cage training pays off.
Some puppies bring to their cages after just a few days; others require weeks or months of sustained nightly training in cages before the benefits pay off. Ultimately, cage training is one of many ways you can strengthen your relationship with a new dog. Angie Krause, DVM, CVA, CCRT, a holistic veterinarian based in Boulder, CO, and representative of the holistic pet food brand I and Love and You, said: Start with the box in sight of your bed; this way your puppy can see you. In some cases, you may need to put the box temporarily on the bed.
Small puppies should be taken to the toilet during the night, but they will slowly begin to sleep during the night. Older puppies and adult dogs can be left in their cage for up to eight hours. A 12-week-old puppy can stay in its cage for one to three hours during the day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. At night, you'll need to go out once or twice because you won't have enough bladder and bowel control.
Plan to go out with him every four hours. By the time you're 4 to 5 months old, you can stay the night. This reduces the time your puppy spends awake in their cage, helping to foster a strong and positive bond between your dog and their nighttime home. This was part 6 of an 8-part series detailing everything you need to know about using a cage and training your puppy.
On the other hand, a cage that is too small for your puppy often makes them unable to sit and whine or bark. A little training is needed, the Smart Bell alerts you when your puppy needs to go to the bathroom and it's also great when you're working on the “Touch” cue. This should include dinner a few hours before bedtime, time to chew on a toy suitable for decompressing, several pauses to go to the bathroom to make sure they are empty, and then a quiet entry into the sleeping box. Don't worry, the following is more detailed information on the do's and don'ts of training puppies at night with a cage.
When you want to teach your puppy to go to the bathroom while you're at work, ask a friend or family member to take him to exercise, go to the bathroom, and play during the day. And until you've fully trained your puppy in cages, you won't be able to take advantage of the many benefits it offers both you and your puppy. While accidents with potty training may simply be the result of a failure in the training process, they may also be an indication of an underlying medical problem. To help cool your puppy, make sure you've placed the cage in a cool, well-ventilated place.
Perfect is a cage attached to a playground for puppies, or simply for the baby to leave the rest of the house and keep the puppy in a room. At 14 weeks, you should be able to go through the night without a bathroom break, as long as you follow the advice in the “box training at night” section above.
