New puppy while pregnant

Ashleyfurillo

We had to put out dog down Friday night and I went out and got a puppy on Saturday to help distract me and so out other dog would not be alone. Our current dog does not like the puppy at all! We are also crate training which is becoming a challenge because he's home in the crate all day while we are at work! He did great day and Sunday but peed in his crate yesterday and last night. Any tips would be appreciated!!

fluttergirlmoonchild79

As far as the current dog not liking the puppy, give it a little time.  They will get used to each other, plus if I remember right, the dog you just put down was 14, so your other dog isn't used to this kind of energy. (Whenever my dog is around puppies he gives this look like "seriously, calm the F down and take a nap or something!"

The big thing with everything puppy related is time and consistency.  Tire the puppy out as much as possible.  Sleeping dogs don't potty on things.

Best of luck!  DH keeps talking about getting another dog and as much as I'd love one, I don't know if I could handle it right now.

dobrydney

I think crate training was the best thing we ever did for ours dogs, so kudos on that.  We never used it as punishment, just as a safe place for them to be when we weren't home (as puppies) and where they slept etc.  My advice:  1.  Always give them a treat when you put them in their crate because then it's a good thing!  2.  Definitely, like PPs mentioned, try to get someone to let them out midday--it's too long for a little puppy to hold it and they don't want to go in their crate unless they have to.  3.  Make sure you make it a positive experience for your other dog too, like treats when they do well together etc. so he isn't like who the f is this please take him away.

dobrydney

ashleyross said:

mdharrison said:

Ditto Estreyas and I wanted to add to make sure the crate isn't too big for the pup, otherwise they will create a bed part and a potty part. I crate trained my labXshepherd and started her with half the crate sectioned off. She never made a mess in her crate from day 1. I also took her out at least every 5 hours which meant coming home and giving her a good run mid-day. They need a ton of time, a ton of attention and a ton of consistency.

All of this. The crate size makes a huge difference. We have a chocolate lab so we bought a large crate initially but were able to section it off. When she was a baby we literally only gave her 1/3 of the space. Also, we made sure to let her out in the middle of the night to go potty. (At least waking up in the middle of the night was good practice for a baby!!)

It worked out really well for us. She actually doesn't use her crate at all anymore (she's 4). But we have never had a problem with accidents in the house.

Ditto both of these!  I forgot about the sectioning it off, but we did the same thing--I think ours even came with dividers if I remember right.  Ours also generally don't sleep in their crates anymore, or if they do it's as a bed with the door open because they've had them since they were puppies and like them.

Ashleyfurillo

I have it sectioned off ... I think my issue is the amount of time ... I'm gonna start getting up at like 3am and letting him out. During the day is hard because I work to far away to come home and let him out and I don't have anyone who's close enough to be able to help .... I know it's not his fault and we don't use the crate for dicipline at all! I always give him a treat when I take him out if he didn't have an accident and when he goes back in. He also gets a treat when he goes to the bathroom outside. Hasn't wanted his treats today

LoveOfMikesLife

Everyone else gave you great advise! I personally think you are slightly crazy for getting a puppy right now between your pee breaks and puppy pee breaks you'll certainly be ready for a NB.

jaymayhatton

Puppy classes, crate training, and the dog park saved us with our puppy. He's now 8 months old and very well behaved. We started working with him as soon as we brought him home at 8 weeks. We taught him a trick a week, starting with sit, then lay down, etc. We made sure he didn't jump on people, ever. A lot of people think it's okay for a puppy because they are so small and can't hurt you but it's really worth putting in the time when they are small because you don't want him to jump on your belly when he's big enough to hurt you (plus your house guests will thank you).

@estreyes is right about the 1 hr per month rule. Their bladders aren't fully developed so they physically cannot hold it until you get home from work. I was fortunate enough that I could take a break midmorning to let him out and DH took a break midafternoon until he was 4 months old, then we would just let him out at lunch. Do you have a neighbor, friend, or can you hire someone? Dog walkers could really help and you only need them for a couple months.

Another thing that helped for messes in the middle of the night was putting the water up at 7:30pm. He's still going to have to go in the middle of the night but it won't be as frequent. I set my alarm for every two hours. Yes, it sucked, but it was only for a little while and it was good for him and his training.

We also took him on walks everyday and then when he had all of his shots, we started taking him to the dog park daily. You want to make sure that they have plenty of exercise, otherwise they become monsters  I read this in a puppy training book and it stuck with me: "You have work, friends, and a life but your puppy only has you."

Puppies are so much work but they grow up fast and it's all worth it in the end! Good luck with the new addition!

beccaxbooxbear

I potty trained my dog when I was pg with ds last year and we did the pee pad training and moved the pee pad closer and closer to the door each week then put it on the patio after so she scratched the door to go out and then took it away all together. You can do the pee grass too. Easy to transition. But ive also taken the dog out every hour and only give food twice a day (versus leaving it out all day) an
Bring her out 30 minutes after she eats and 15 minutes after drinking. If you have a local petco or pet store they have valuable info to train pets.

mom2curlygirls

We live in Hawaii where parvo is insanely bad. When we got both of our dogs we were told over and over again not to let them outside AT ALL until their third set of shots. Well, ours are smaller dogs so with the newest one she was four months old before we could even let her in our own yard. The only option we had was the pee pads. They are not cheap and kind of a pain in the arse but with you being gone so long during the day it may be an option for you. I have a metal play pen for the puppy and would make it a small rectangle where her bed was at one end and the puppy pad at the other. There was no walking room besides the pad and the bed. She would not defecate while we were away but she definitely would pee. She was tiny (like 3lbs) so I knew she wouldn't be able to hold it long at all. The transition from pads to outside was not easy either. She is finally there but trust me, if I had known I was going to get pregnant the month after we got her I would have said no way! Good luck to you! I'd look on craigslist or something in your area for a walker or sitter or daycare for puppies until he is a little older. 

Jralli11

In terms of crate training, 1 hour for every month old is the rule of thumb as many have said above.  Puppies generally need a walk in the middle of the day and would not be able to physically hold it the entire day. It's not a behavioral issue, its physiological.  

Did you adopt?