Should I get two crates?

by Diana Dove
(Fort Worth, TX, USA)

Greetings,

SO happy to have found this site; Thank you for being here.

We are bringing home our Standard Poodle puppy, Jet, in three weeks, (when he is 10 weeks old). My husband and I have different schedules; puppy will be on mine; I will be home with him. My question is, where to put his crate?

Should I have 2 crates, one for our bedroom so that he is on my 'getting up, go out to potty, begin our day' schedule; and one for the common area of the house for daily training, feeding, napping, playing, rest of the day & evening schedule?

Husband gets up around 5am, I get up at 7am. Sometimes I am up a bit later than husband at night.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jet's Mommy, Diana Dove

P.S. We also have a 'mature' maine coonesque beloved family member feline, Baxter; any advice there would be great too. Thanks again!


Hi Diana
I'm glad you're finding my site helpful, that's music to my ears!

As for the crates, I would say definitely 'yes' to having the two crates, it will make life much easier for all of you. Dragging a crate from the bedroom to the kitchen at 7am isn't going to be much fun!

At 10 weeks old your pup will have some basic bladder/bowel control, but I would expect him to need at least one potty break at night for a few weeks. However, all puppies are different and it will be a 'wait and see' type thing.

I expect you've read my Crate Training A Puppy page and will know that it's important not to buy a crate that's too big. That's a common mistake and really hinders the training process.

As your husband gets up before you, either he will need to take your puppy out for his first potty break of the day, or you'll need to get up with him to do it. You can put your puppy back in the crate until it's your 'normal' getting up time, but don't expect him to 'hold it' until 7am if he's heard hubby up and about at 5am!

You can expect some crying and complaining for the first few days, maybe longer. But if you're patient, loving and consistent your pup will get the message. If you read the submitted questions an answers on my House Training A Puppy Q&A page you'll get a good 'feel' for how house training is going to work.

As for the cat, your pup should learn to get along with him fine since he's going to grow up with him. Poodles don't have the prey drive or a German Shepherd, for example, and cats are usually pretty adept at taking care of themselves. Most will find a high spot and just sit there, swiping the pup with a claw now and then. It usually works out okay :o)

If you have other questions, feel free to ask. Best of luck with your new puppy.