Leaving in her room

[sophiebell]

Hi! I am trying to transition a 14 week old puppy to staying in a room for a short amount of time and building up the time. I stay at home for now so I can put her in her crate for short amounts of time like an hour. But eventually she will need to stay on her own. So I'm going to put her in small room with a baby gate and I guess I will have to use pee pads. I currently take her out to potty. I don't know where to begin to do this help please!!

 

[bulldogs1501]

Hi! I am trying to transition a 14 week old puppy to staying in a room for a short amount of time and building up the time. I stay at home for now so I can put her in her crate for short amounts of time like an hour. But eventually she will need to stay on her own. So I'm going to put her in small room with a baby gate and I guess I will have to use pee pads. I currently take her out to potty. I don't know where to begin to do this help please!!

Hello! Our puppy is 17 weeks old so we are in a similar situation. We both work, but I am nearby so I go home for lunch. We have a pen area for him that is about 20 square feet and a crate. We started off on pee pads and he was quick to learn that's where to go when inside the pen. If we took him out of the pen he wouldn't make his way back and pee everywhere.

As it warmed up here for a couple of days and he got older (14 weeks) we started taking him outside. After 2-3 days of going outside he was quick to learn not to pee inside the house. I gradually increased the time in the crate so that he would learn to hold his bladder until I get home for lunch. You are going to have to test it out and see how your puppy is. Is it grasping not to go inside, or to only go on the pad? Also, you have to determine ultimately whether you want your pup to be going outside or inside. In my opinion doing both may confuse him or delay the process. Our guy no longer goes on the pad even if it's there. He waits for us to take him outside (even though he is too lazy to go outside :D).
You mentioned that you will have to leave her on her own at some point. Do you think you will have a walker that comes at lunch? I don't think they can hold it for 7-8-9 hours until they are adults.

 

[sophiebell]

Thank you for responding! So far she has only been going outside, no pee pads at all. But, that is because I am here all day to take her out. I don't want to confuse her but so far I don't know how long she can hold it. The longest that I have left her in her crate is an hour. She does sleep in at night and has had a pee accident a couple of times. I don't want to leave her in her room without a place to go potty. I think that would be a mistake and make her feel bad if she just went on the floor. I guess I am just going to have to try it out and see. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm worried that she is going to be upset. I pretty much devote all my time playing on the floor with her all day.

 

[cefe13]

I would say your strategy for the future is dependent on how long you will be able to stay at home. If you don't leave her until she is potty trained, you won't need any pee pad. We were lucky enough to be able to stay at home until Castor was potty trained and we have never used pads and no crate (and crates are actually against the law here - in Sweden you must not confine a dog to such a small space in your home).

Regarding her reactions, try not to worry about making her upset. Perhaps this sounds harsh, but she's a dog and you are the owner, and she will adapt to your schedule. However, the time you invest in her now is so valuable for her socialization and attachment - it's great that you can be at home now.

Good luck!

 

[bulldogs1501]

Thank you for responding! So far she has only been going outside, no pee pads at all. But, that is because I am here all day to take her out. I don't want to confuse her but so far I don't know how long she can hold it. The longest that I have left her in her crate is an hour. She does sleep in at night and has had a pee accident a couple of times. I don't want to leave her in her room without a place to go potty. I think that would be a mistake and make her feel bad if she just went on the floor. I guess I am just going to have to try it out and see. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm worried that she is going to be upset. I pretty much devote all my time playing on the floor with her all day.

I second what cefe13 said, don't worry so much about how she will feel. Bulldogs are stubborn and can easily get upset, but they also forget easily. The rule of thumb is how many months the dog is add one to that and that's how long the puppy can hold it in. So at 14 weeks the puppy should be able to hold it about 3 hours. Crating is a debated topic, I am of the view leaving the dog in a crate for a few hours is fine as long as it has access to water.
Moose can hold it overnight about 8 hours max, he lets us know in the morning when he is awake and needs to go. First few times he couldn't hold it till we got outside (We live in an apartment building) and he peed on me carrying him or just peed in the hallway. Slowly he's learned to hold it until we get outside. It's all about creating a routine, repetition and time, sooner or later they will get it.

 

[2BullyMama]

Thank you for responding! So far she has only been going outside, no pee pads at all. But, that is because I am here all day to take her out. I don't want to confuse her but so far I don't know how long she can hold it. The longest that I have left her in her crate is an hour. She does sleep in at night and has had a pee accident a couple of times. I don't want to leave her in her room without a place to go potty. I think that would be a mistake and make her feel bad if she just went on the floor. I guess I am just going to have to try it out and see. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm worried that she is going to be upset. I pretty much devote all my time playing on the floor with her all day.

General guideline is... they can hold their bladder for 1 hour more than they are months old... so at 3 months.. 4 hours is her limit.