I just got a 10 week old Chi puppy, & she is very smart & adorable.

However, I have school 5x a week from 8-4. During that time I would crate her since she isn't potty trained yet. I did that when my older chihuahua was a puppy, & she did fine. She's perfectly happy & healthy, & loves her crate now..

I was wondering if I could do that with this new chi, if I leave her with food & toys & blankets in her crate, will she be okay? Also, how can I go about house training her in this respect?

Oh, also I did consider an exercise pen but my apt is too small & I was worried that she would learn it was "okay" to go potty inside.

Thanks

You'll need to have someone come by in the day to let her out and play with her a few times. She can't be in a crate from 8am to 4pm 5 days per week. She will not be able to hold it that long and she can't be stuck in a crate all day. You can do the pen route and just leave her a pad to potty on, and you can focus on the outdoor only training on the weekends. I just really would not advise trying to crate train her from 8am to 4pm every day, especially at this age.

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I agree.

If you try to crate her for that long five days a week, you are setting her up for a disaster. I would never recommend a young puppy to someone gone that much. I would try to find someone to come take care of her mid day anyway. It is extremely unfair to her to keep her locked in a crate for 40 hours a week because you don't want her to learn that it is "okay to do it inside". This isn't just about holding potty either. At that age, she needs regular attention and training or she is going to end up with behavior problems. Especially with all that pent up energy from being locked up all day.

It is manageable if she is penned with all of her stuff and a potty pad OR you have someone come during the day for her. Or both.


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How big is she? Like Caitlin said, you can get her a pen. I think that she will be fine if she uses a pee pad. If she is very small, you may just want to stick with the pee pad. My chi is 9lbs! I trained him initially to use a pee pad, and in August I took it away. He goes outside. He has had only 1 accident and 1 half accident - I caught him and took him outside.

It won't be easy, but it can be done. I assume your parents are both at work all day. Do you have any siblings that come home early and can help out with her, or a friend or neighbor?

I would say that the biggest concern, if she is very small, is hypoglycemia. But if you leave food for her, she should be okay.

Get a puppy playpen or just go with the exercise pen for now. She is a BABY and if you put yourself in her eyes, well a baby just can't go that long. With the x-pen you can have either a disposable pee pad, or go to a medical supply/pharmacy and get a washable pad. Then she can be alone with her food and toys. I'd get a couple of chew toys. That amount of time alone can be pretty hard for an 8 weeks old chi though.

What if I left her in my bathroom with a pad & her blankets/toys? Could she still be potty trained while doing that, & how could I go about that?

Thanks everyone

The rule of thumb is usually a puppy can hold their bladder 1 hour per month of age. Since she is 10 weeks typically she would need to go potty every 2 to 3 hours. This varies but it is a great way to know about how long a puppy can hold their bladder. At 20 weeks when we brought our Chi home he was still waking me up in the middle of the night to go potty because he could not hold it 8 hours.

Crate training is wonderful and my chi absolutely loves his crate it is his safe haven but you have to consider the age of the puppy for how long they can stay in a crate at one time.

I agree that you need someone to come over and let her out and play with her mid-day. Perhaps you have a break in classes at some point that you could even run home let her out and play with her for a few moments?

At this age socialization is key. If she is locked in a crate all day without any interaction with people or animals she will learn to be scared of everything.

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If there's definitely no one that can come by and play with her the. I'd put her in the bathroom with her open crate. Leave a puppy pad in there and just focus on puppy pad training evening and weekends. If she is in the crate longer than she can hold it then she'll get used to peeing in her bed and that is even worse. She may take a bit longer to train but that's better than being stuck in a crate all day every day. Try to find things to give her mental stimulation like a kong and things to chew.

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