I have an 8month old dachshund and when we first got him we took him outside for a walk, but then realized that the two days I work, we were unable to get him properly trained. (should have crate trained him but felt that 8 or 9 hrs was just mean) So we started him on wee wee pads which I absolutely HATE! Anyway, when we moved last month, he decided he wants to mark his territory all over the house because the old tenant had cats..a month later its still a problem........Sooooooooon as of Friday I watched that show on Animal planet called "Its me or the dog" which gave me lots of motivation to train him to go OUT!!!
I put his bed in the crate so theres only room for his bed and enough room to stretch ...I showed him it and told him to go to bed to warm him up to it I drew him in with treats (as Victoria did on the show) I think he actually likes being in there now. He ONLY goes in his crate when we go to bed and when we leave or if I'm alone and want to take a shower i'll put him in there so he doesn't pee in the house) (Mind you, we have only done this since this Friday 4/30/2010
... The first night the crate was out in the living room and alls he did was cry and bark, so I pulled the crate in our room and he slept like a baby :) As for Feeding time: I only put his food down twice, once in the morning and once at night. Then about 10-20 min later I take him out....So far SUCCESS :) (Q1)Except my DF went out for like 3hrs because we knew he had to go.....and he finally he went after 3 and 1/2 hrs so I guess thats when he needs to go out is every 3 and 1/2 hours after he eats??
(Q2)Today I lucked out because DF wasn't feeling good and came home really early from work....so the dog was in his crate from 6:00am until about 8:30am. BUT tomorrow, what do I do? The dog would go in the crate after he eats and goes out at like 7am until 3:30 when DF gets home. thats EIGHT and 1/2 hours. Is that too long?
(Q3)Next week he'd be left Mon & Tues....I know he will get trained with time and patience .....How long would you say it might take him to catch on and be fully trained??
(Q4) How often do I take him out in between meals?
Wed, Thurs Fri Sat & Sun...I'm at home, so its two days he would be crated ...but are those eight hours too much (possibly a little more if DF gets stuck in traffic or has to pick up his cousin from school).....I feel sooo bad. Alls he does is cry when were not there :( What do I do? I need him trained soon especially with a baby on the way !!
Sorry for this being so long and thanks for taking the time to read and respond :)