>I wouldn't assume this puppy described here has even anxiety though, without further evidence - I mean, this is a 12 wk old puppy which poos and wees on the floor - show me a 12 wk old puppy which doesn't!  So far there's nothing to show this is not just a toilet training problem brought about by an owner which works long hours and can't supervise.

Seconded! :D

okies, can i just say that being left for 5 and a half hours wasnt a regular occurance..... im taking as much of this advice onboard as i can, the pet gate is in place and im now off to buy a crate for her, 1 question actually, the shops are recommending a 48 inch crate, will this be too small????? it doesnt look very inviting to me

I think 48" is the largest size they make - I have a 48".  Anyone else know?

yes 48" is the largest and should be plenty i would have thought

Crates need to be big enough for an adult dog to stand up and lay down full stretch in - 48" will be big enough I'm sure :)  They don't seem that inviting to us people but for most dogs once they're used to it they become a real place of safety & retreat for them providing they've been used properly of course (i.e. not for punishment).  Seeing as your Goldie pup is already given 'free reign' of the kitchen to get her used to the crate I'd recommend you set it up in the kitchen, either leave the door open or take it off, and let her go in and out of her own accord for about a week.  You could also put her meals in there (in the bowl of course ;) ) to encourage her to go in and out of it.  Then, after about a week while she's eating her meals you could start closing the door for a couple of minutes.  As soon as she shows any sign of distress or she's finished her meal open it and reward her with much fuss and a treat.  Then start building up the time she's left with the door closed.  Eventually (well, the theory is) she'll be happy to go in there with a toy, stuffed kong etc for a couple of hours while you're out of the house and feel perfectly calm and safe :)  Are you going to put half bed half puppy pads in it just in case she does do her 'doo' in there?

Our crate (a 48" for a Sheltie - oops!) has a massive doggy duvet type thing with a cover on it.  Not that our girl uses it much like cos the doors off permanently and the only time she's 'locked' in the kitchen (i.e. baby gate shut across the door) is when we're all out of the house - me at uni and my parents out shopping or whatever.  Its never been longer than 3 hours and is usually no longer than 2 :)  She does have a bit of a howl after people when they go out of the front door and she realises they're not gonna be back any time soon though :rolleyes:  She sleeps in my bedroom in her bed on the floor............... well, for some of the night anyway cos most of the time she's on my bed keeping my feet warm ;)

Here is an excellent crate training link: http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/crate-train.pdf

erm!!! problem people!!! 48 incher in shops looked too small to me, like i said, although advice taken that its plenty big enough, thankyou. Next prob is i can prob only fit a 36x24 in my kitchen otherwise im blocking either the outside door or internal! these things are never easy grrr..... um, im presuming that constantly moving a crate for which the pup would feel security, would be a bad idea? im thinking a 36 would definately be too small for when shes fully grown. her current basket is the plastic open type which is exactly 36x24 but with a crate, obviously being enclosed i cant see me being able to change. The only other option is to buy the 48 crate and place it in my large living room, just placing her in it at night which im guessing would be defeating the object because she wont always have access to the crate whilst im at work, making it a negative place where she is 'put' at night, i think this is a non starter chap n chapesses

The 48" is actually intended for giant breeds, and a goldie is a large breed, not a giant one.  So it's _definitely_ big enough!

Secondly, you may not need the crate when she's fully grown - a lot of people just use them for house training.  For house training purposes the crate needs to be small enough that she can't mess at one and and sleep at the other end, so even if you got a 48" one, you'd need to partitiion it off somehow so it was smaller for now.  So you may as well get the 36" one for where you are at the moment.

I agree that it's a bad idea to put the crate in the living room and only let her have access to it at night.

actually, with it being the same as the size of her basket now i suppose i could use it whilst shes small then jus take the doors off when shes older, which would make ideal sense i think, right this forums costing me a fortune!!! but my Sasha's happy:o))))

I have missed the beginning of this post but why would you want to put a dog in a crate? unless it chews and you cannot train it otherwise?

Sorry hate crates for dogs!!! I too have a goldie but the start of this topic has disapeared.

um, the way i have looked at it, the crate is a home for Sasha, not a horrid place, the chances are the doors will be off cos i really dont have ther heart to box her in, although im still house training, the past 2 days have been a complete transformation, ive started a proper routine now and shes taken to it almost immediately so for now (when the crate comes), it will be 'her place' which is a bit more private than her basket, thats the theory anyways:o)

I wouldn't take the doors off, animal - what's the point in having a crate which can't be closed??  May as well just have a dog bed!!

You're right, if trained in the right way, the dog will come to see the crate as a bed and home and "den" - here is a link to explain how to introduce the crate correctly:

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/crate-train.pdf

thanks for that 123 (sorry quicker to write:rolleyes:) i was going to put them on again if needed but if i get her used to the doors, she wont be as shocked if i do need to use them at any point. hehe she keeps dragging the quilt doggy thing thats on top of her mattress around the house

As a den it doesn't sound too bad! good luck with the toilet training :).

how old is your goldie louise:o)

we used a crate with our goldie pup when we first got him. Indoors we used an old baby cot with the legs cut off and one end hinged to make a door. He never toileted inside it but we were really diligent with taking him out every half an hour for the first two weeks. He even woke us up  by whining one night when he had an upset stomach. We used a crate in the car with him (the large one from Argos) but he is now too tall for this at seven months. I wasn't keen on crating to begin with but have to say it was the best thing ever for a puppy. I am probably tempting fate but he has only ever peed indoors twice and that was because we didn't believe him that he wanted to go out because he had only just come back in. I spent many an hour out in the garden in all weathers for the first two weeks but it was so worthwhile. The crate also meant he had somewhere safe to go when we were answering the door or taking things out of the oven etc. We took the crate down a couple of weeks ago and so far so good ( but have still got it just in case!).
Crates are wonderful for house training and I know we wouldn't have had such quick results without it.

He is coming up two this year but is proving to be a bit of a bugger, he is fine in the house but out on walks he can be a bit of a handful.