We do not judge those who crate train, but when healthy boundaries are unknown or misunderstood, we are here to educate and hopefully guide our customers to a more humane and safer way to train, since we are aware of the statistical tragedies and cruelty, which are always a concern to us. Having rescued so many puppies and dogs who were inhumanely crate trained, sometimes unknowingly by their owners, we have a solution that works. For puppies, we recommend puppy exercise pens, that are set up to train puppies on potty pads from the instant they start walking at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old. All their needs are met in a 4 foot X 4 foot or a 4 foot X 6 foot pen, which include having room to run, play and where their food, water, bed, toys and potty pads are available to them 24/7. When you are unable to watch them while they run around outside their pen, their pen has everything they, need, want and continues their training. We send a picture of the set up here ahead of time, so our customers can set it up the same way, for a seamless transition into their new home. This not only makes the puppy feel the most at ease and comforted, but all the training from our home continues, that we have done her for two plus months here, before they leave to their forever homes.
Once your puppy has had all it's vaccines at approximately 5-6+ months old, depending on their size- meaning big enough, start putting a harness on them around the house. At first for a few minutes , then an hour, then a few hours, increasing a bit each day over a two week period. By the second week, add the leash to the harness and let them walk around with it, with and without you holding onto the leash. Do this before walking them anywhere outside your home and if you have a backyard, you can also start by walking them around your yard by the second week. We do not believe in collars in the home and only those connected to the harness when they leave the house with you.
