Advice on crating a puppy please

I'm just after advice on how to make caspers current predicament easier on him. He's 3 months old and came to us on Tuesday. Within 6 hours I had him in the vet as he was limping after I'd shut him in the kitchen for 20 minutes as the family ate. He was fine prior to going in there. Anyway for the past 2 nights he's been at the vets as he has damaged a growth plate in the leg. The vet now wants him confined to a cage until at least Monday. He's not enjoying it one little bit bless him and this is his first night sleeping here. I'd not intended to crate train him, the intention was to let him have the run of the kitchen overnight until toilet trained and also while I'm out. So crate training isn't something I've looked into. I'm not even sure I will continue it once the vet says he no longer needs to be confined, but for now I know I must do it to prevent him doing more damage. But he's hating it and I'm worried he's going to end up hurting himself again despite being in there. So how can I make this easier on him? Vet has said that he can only come out to go to the garden to do his business and has to spend the rest of the time in the cage. I'm feeling incredibly guilty as he has come to a strange place and been put into a cage all day long. Poor thing must be wondering what's going on in his little life. Any suggestions?

Make it as comfy as possible with nice bedding.. Plenty of toys and maybe a cover just over the top so that it feels like a Den. I don't use a crate but I'm sure others can offer further advice.

This may help?   

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/crate_training

Thanks, I'd looked at that. So far everything I'm finding says to increase the time spent in the crate gradually. But because of the vets advice I can't do this so he's had no adjustment time poor thing. He has blankets in there and toys and will have water available all day but not through the night. I'm now also in the situation where I've had to work extra days to cover his vet bills so I won't be home as much as planned, so he will be home alone for a good chunk of the day. Up until this I was only working 9-12 mon to fri, but am now having to do some afternoons until 3 as well. He will get as much attention as I can give him both before and after work, but even that is restricted at the moment as the vet has said we're not to get him excited, and naturally being a puppy attention means he gets excited. He's not allowed walks either.

A stuffed kong is always good to keep them occupied, freeze it and it lasts even longer   

The crate should only be big enough for him to turn around in, this is because if it is any bigger they have room to defecate in it. As others have said, put a cover big enough to go over the top, back and sides of the crate so that it feels like a den and a safe place for him to go in. I did this when Meg joined our family. Used in the correct way, they are a terrific training aid. A kong filled with treats and sealed with peanut butter, then frozen will keep him occupied. Hope Casper gets better soon.

Ah I've gone for a bigger crate as I am assuming he won't be able to hold all night at his age so thought I'd give him the extra room so he doesn't end up sleeping in any mess he does.he does have a dark blanket over the top and over 3 sides. I shall go and get him a kong tomorrow. He does have a rubber ball that's sold as being designed to keep their teeth healthy as a chew ball, it has a small slit down the middle so I've managed to get some treats in there for him but I'm not sure he can actually get them out without having to lick and dissolve them on his tongue. But I thought it might keep him occupied trying to get them out. He's all quiet at the moment, he's been out to do what he needed to. He seems to be quiet for 10 minutes then starts making a right fuss and scratching at the bars while whining and yapping. I'm trying not to go to him to quiet him as I don't want him thinking all he has to do is make a fuss and he will get someone go to give him attention, but its hard as he is to spend so much of his day in there at the moment and I feel guilty for depriving him of the interaction he needs.

You will have to be careful as he may well associate his crate as a place to toilet, that's the reason why it should only be just big enough for him to turn around in. Don't beat yourself up about putting him in there, you must keep in mind that it's for his own good. Staffy's have a notoriously high pain threshold and he needs as much rest as you can get him to have if his leg is to heal properly or he will have trouble with it later in life. Do you have a neighbour/friend that can let him out to toilet whilst you are at work for the extra hours?

I didn't know they had a high pain threshold as a breed. I know Casper does as he didn't yelp when he hurt his leg or when the vet was checking his leg. The vet said he should be in a lot of pain with what he's done but there's been no reaction from him so far. He's already trying to put weight on it which is why the vet is keen for him to be confined as he really does think Casper is just going too try and run around on all 4 legs as normal without taking much notice of the injury. I do know its for his own good and will give him the best chance possible of a full recovery so will stick with it despite how guilty I feel. Guess its the old 'cruel to be kind' scenario

That's right. It's the only way to get an active puppy (especially a staffy) to keep still for any period of time!   

Just remember it's for his own good.

How's he little fella getting on?

He was howling and whining for about 5 minutes every half hour or so until about 3am but then went quiet. I took him out in the car at 6am and let him out into the living room for an hour as the kids were still in bed and the vet had said he can have small amounts of time out provided he's calm. He whined a bit when we left the house for work/school but was lying quietly when we came home. Obviously I have no idea how he was while I was out but I'm guessing he had some calm time as he was calm when we got back. He's putting more weight on his leg now than he was yesterday. He's not so happy now though so I'm guessing its when we are here that's a big issue for him which I can understand. And he only had a wee the whole time I was out! Which is fine by me, especially as I'd left him a bowl of water as its been warm here today

Sounds like he's starting to accept going in the crate. Good going. I know how hard it can be, as Meg strained a muscle in her front leg last year, and getting them to calm down a bit can be a bit of a nightmare!   

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully he won't be too bad over the weekend as we are all home now til Monday. I'm looking forward to getting him out around the house and starting on teaching him his commands. I've got the clicker ready

Good for you. I also read that you shouldn't walk a pup too much. General rule of thumb (as advised by the Kennel Club) is 5 minutes walk for every month +5mins. Apparently it's so they don't over do things as their joints grow in the first year. Obviously you can take him out more than once a day.

Once the vet says he can go for walks again I'm not planning on taking him further than around the block twice a day for the first couple of weeks. He's not overly keen on being by the road so I'm hoping a walk around the block will help solve that problem. Also there's a big patch of grass on the way around that other owners take their dogs to so it should give him a chance to meet other dogs and develop the social skills. Do you know if time spent in the sea is also part of the walking time limit? I live on the coast so plenty of beaches for him.

I don' really know about that, but thinking logically I would say yes it would be included in the time

I changed from keeping my pup in a 'safe room' to a crate when he was about 3/4 months old and its worked out brilliantly. Your wee guy might find it a bit tougher as he has to be confined a lot more but only advice i can give is hang in there. Otis whined quite a bit to begin with but now takes himself into his crate when he's tired and wants some peace and quiet lol

As long as you're taking him out for regular breaks he'll be fine and will learn to accept and maybe even like his 'den'

Most important thing is to remember he NEEDS this to recover so don't beat yourself up about it, he'll be fine.

Thanks. He's been fine today. A little bit of howling first thing this morning when he was put back in there after going out for the first time of the day. But I think he has now realised that making a fuss gets him nowhere as he has just slept most of the day (boredom I reckon) and made no fuss when awake. He's a lot better on his injured leg too so it's looking good for Monday and the vet saying he can spend more time out of it than in. I'm thinking I might keep it though for when I'm out and overnight seeing as he appears to have accepted it

I definitely think you should keep it when he's better. My pup is in his when we're out and overnight and it's great not having to worry that he'll come across something that will harm in and that the house will be in one piece when we're home lol

I had a cat that had his leg amputated after being hit with a car confined to a crate for 6 weeks ... that was a challenge lol

Hope your wee man gets well soon

Vet wants him crated for at least another week she says he's not fully using his leg properly, although is putting more weight on it, and he is too excitable to be allowed loose in the house. The poor thing has been stuck in a cage for almost a week (including time spent in vets) so it's surely perfectly normal for him to have been a little over excited on his first time out of the cage for more than the 5 minutes he's been getting for the toilet. My poor baby

I can symapthise. Toots broke her leg 4 weeks ago and has been virtually crated all that time.
It's very very tough, but we have to do it for the long term good.
I bought some interactive toys and a book about mind games for dogs.
You can do interesting things with them while they are calm, so be brave and stick with it! x

I know it's for his benefit long term but I feel cruel as he has come to his new home and lived in a cage ever since. Poor boy must be wondering what's going on. And it's holding back the training big time as I can't have him out to even work on basic commands. I am also keen to get him socialised. He seems content enough in his cage. Sleeps a lot of the time. I guess it's bothering me more than it appears to bother him

When they get use to the cage, they use it as a safe place. If it's not used for punishment dogs really like it. Debo use his cage when he's not feeling sure about something or scared. He sometimes sleeps in there

Lula loves her crate and was not happy when i took it outside today. I was changing her bedding and wanted to mop the kitchen so put it in the back garden because it was nice. Lula refused to leave my side while i sorted out her bedding and then insisted on smelling every inch when i put it back in her crate. I left it outside with the doors open and Lula playing in the back garden.
I was really against crates to start with and never used one with snoop. my sister used one but i always thought it was a bit cruel till i read up on them. when we got Lula i was really worried about a puppy getting into things it shouldn`t and decided to crate train.
Lula only goes in hers at night time and if we go out. It has never been used as a punishment or a time out.

A little trick you can try......when you take him out to toilet, have someone hide some small treats in his bedding, pereferably something he can smell, like cheap supermarket cheddar. When you put him back in his crate he will find the treats and will begin to look forward to going in to see what surprise are waiting for him. This is how I trained Bacchus to his crate and it's his little den now but never closed. After his last walk at around 11 pm I give him a stuffed kong in his crate. When we come back from this walk he goes straight to his crate and sits and waits for it.

He no longer protests at being in there. In fact he looks quite content in there. We have started giving him a treat when we put him back in there. So now he has treats for going to do his business outside and for getting back in the cage and nothing else so far. He has a kong when I go out too. He doesn't appear to be limping at all now so I'm hopeful the vet will agree he no longer needs confining and we can start walking him a little bit. I think I will deffo keep him in there when I am out and overnight even if the vet says he doesn't need to be confined, as he is ripping up all his toys in there. I dread to think what he'd rip up if he had the freedom of the house without supervison!

Fingers crossed for the next trip to the vet. I would say definitely keep the cage. We only use a cage and she sleeps in there all the time. If we're in the room the door is open otherwise we close her in whenever she's alone.
Pete

Good news! He's allowed out of the cage Hes only allowed short 5 minute walks twice a day for a week and then 10 minute walks after that. Back to the vet in 3 weeks for a check up. Now I have to work on calming him down when out in the house as he is running around like a crazy thing.

That's great news  

Great news!    Not be long before he's firing on all cylinders