Good morning, I am having this running battle with my Husband I want to cage the puppie when all the family are out for an hour or so, puppie hates it !
the Vet last night said to my husband don't have to cage him,But I said my other puppie of 8 months is very big and I am just afraid he will hurt the small one.Vet said no the little one is very strong ,But this morning I came out and caged little freddie for my peace of mind. Am I going to get told off at lunch time

Hi Patricia,
I'm a supporter of crating (caging)...especially since you have another dog in the household. I think of it like a playpen for puppies. It keeps them safe, a place for them to go, & it keeps your possessions safe from puppy. Likely your puppy is feeling the stress around esp. with your hubby not happy about caging him.

He (the puppy) might holler & carry on, but he does know when you're around. You might want to work up to the hour in 15 minute increments, but if you can't, don't worry. Just don't go to him after placing him in there with a treat & toy. Just leave quietly & when you return, don't necessarily release him immediately. If he can learn to settle when that front door opens, he won't pick up the crying barking habit that demands you set him free. It won't hurt him at all to be confined for an hour and it will save you the worry of whether or not he's safe.
good luck,
toodles

Hi Patricia if you do a search on cages (above) this subject has been well covered with good arguments for and against :)

Well I really think I have lost this argument ,Husband came home Freddie pooped on the paper and rolled in it and was screaming and had to have a bath.In my mind my husband is making a rod for his own back he phoned me up to tell me had to take freddie under his coat when he took Zac for a walk Freddie could not bare for both of them to leave him what a wimp puppie we have LOL .

pAT XX

Hi Patricia, I gather from your last message that you have newspapers in the cage, please remove them, this just encourages the pup to wee/poo in its bed. I have a pup, and ive not had a newspaper down since I brought him home. I also use a cage when going out for a short time and for his bed all night, I don't come home to any mess at all, and I just lift the pup out of the cage and put him into the garden when he "goes" he gets lots of praise, I also find a Kong filled with some food/treats also helps the pup settle in the cage especially if you stick the food in so its harder for them to get it out, sometimes I find when I get back home the pup is still trying to get all the food out of the Kong, this is just a suggestion for you, something that has worked for me with my last two pups. My older one is no longer caged when I go out, but, she still has her Kong to play with, and they are in seperate rooms, so the other cant get into the pup, this keeps down the barking as well, and another tip for you I always leave a wireless on so it seems someone is still in the house.