Crate Training a 9 week old Golden Retriever Puppy

My husband and I are planning on adopting a Golden Retriever puppy who will be arriving in about 4 weeks - she'll be about 9 weeks old at that time.

We're planning on crate training her. We both work during the day time, but my husband is home usually by 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm every day.

Would this be okay for the puppy? Thank you.



Hi
Crate training is definitely the best method of housebreaking a puppy, and it's the simplest and quickest way.

However, at 9 weeks old your puppy will have VERY LIMITED bladder and bowel control. To expect her to be able to 'hold it' for 6 hours during the daytime is unrealistic I'm afraid.

Is it possible that either you or your husband would be able to go home at lunchtime to let your puppy out for a potty break, and a short playtime? If that's not an option, what about a relative/friend/neighbor or even a local teen or retiree who would be happy to do this, maybe for a small fee?

This would really be the best option, as leaving your puppy for extended periods in her crate will not help her to learn quickly because she may be forced to pee or poop simply because she can't 'hold it' any longer.

My crate training page has lots of tips, advice and info. on crate training and should be helpful.

If none of the above measure seem possible, you may need to confine her to a puppy X-pen or a small room with some newspapers or puppy pads for a few weeks until her bladder/bowel control improves. However, this is not a good solution as it involves re-training her later on so that she 'forgets' that it was okay to pee/poop indoors. You'd be surprised what long memories little puppies have!

Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your new puppy. Best of luck with her!