good pet/puppy forums?

[holden j caufield]

I've got some questions mainly about 2 puppies 4 months old. Sometimes they have to stay outside when nobody is home as they chew and knock stuff around. Anyways they have a doghouse but they don't seem to want to stay in there for long. It's been raining and they seem to like the rain though it's pretty cold like 58 degrees and raining.

 

[GasX]

crate train them and leave them inside.

 

[Sam334]

Agreed/ Crate training. Make sure to put toys and snacks in the crate so they think it's their personal space. That way they won't shit/piss in there cause they usually don't mess their sleep area. Put them in the crate at night also. Trust me, it's a lot harder to crate train a 1 year old dog. Start now.

 

[Hankerton]

Isn't crate training a little confined and cruel to a puppy if they're going to be left in there for extended periods of time?

 

[Sam334]

Well, it depends. You should definitely not leave them in there for over 3-4 hours during the day. Since they're still puppies, they need to eliminate frequently.

 

[GasX]

I think the rule of thumb is 1 hour per month of age. However, if you dog is of a breed that requires a lot of exercise, you better let it run for hours when it gets out after a long spell...