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Closing den at night


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I have been advised by local vet that it is best to close my pup in his pen at night. His pen is in the kitchen and covered on the top and sides with a blanket. I have done this for 4 nights now. He seems to accept this after an initial protest which can go from 2 -20 minutes of yapping. Once he stops he is quiet from around 11pm until I get up at 6am. Am I doing the wright thing? I was thinking of just letting him sleep in the kitchen without any restraint on his movement. No soiling during the night when in his pen and seems to only want to go toilet outside.Any feed back appreciated. Brian

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Sounds like you're doing the exact right thing. He's quiet for 7 hours, and he's only eliminating outside. If you remove him from the crate, he may be more inclined to pee or poop because he can do that in one spot and sleep in another part of the room. He can't do that in a crate. However, I would say that the 7 hours may be a little too long if he's still really young. If he's in the 8-12 week range, it's probably best to take him outside a little more frequently (i.e., every 4 hours or so). It can be hard for the little ones to hold it for that long.

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If this is the 10 week old pup from another post, then I'd recommend you follow your vet's advice. It's great that he's going through the night w/ no accidents, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's completely house trained yet. And if he's in the kitchen and you're sleeping elsewhere, you really don't know that he's sleeping through the night. If he's not, he may get into mischief if allowed more freedom. And he may soil given more room. The best way to prevent unwanted behaviors is not to give them the opportunity to occur, thus the crate.

I've also got to ask if there's a particular reason that he's relegated to the kitchen to sleep if he's in a crate? Dogs are pack animals and really benefit emotionally from proximity to their people. Is there a reason his crate can't be in the bedroom with you?

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I agree with Gentle Lake. But I admit that I have been referred to as the spoiler of dogs. I actually bought a folding table the same height as my bed and placed it adjacent to my bed with my puppy's crate on top of it. I thought it was nice because I could play with her for a few minutes before going to sleep. She did bark in protest some nights over being closed in the crate, but I solved this by covering the crate entirely with a sheet, which always seemed to work in pretty short order. She is almost 18 months now, and the crate is still there, with the door always kept open. She seems to have a routine now where she starts out sleeping in bed with me, then moves to the crate, then at some point early in the morning moves back out onto the bed along side me. 

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Thanks for all the replies. I may be doing the wrong thing by changing his routine but decided to leave him with freedom and sleep where he wants in the kitchen. All went well with no complaints and no soiling. As for why the kitchen. I appreciate dogs are pack animals but feel that he also needs his own safe place where he can go and feel comfortable being alone. He is not alone at any point during the day and we try to leave him alone in the kitchen for maybe a hour during the evening. May be wrong but I think this will prevent any separation anxiety at a later date. Any follow up feedback is much appreciated. Brian

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