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I have heard Crate Training is the best way to housetrain my new puppy. What is it and how do I train my dog this way?

Crate training is an effective and easy housetraining method using a wire or plastic crate (kennel) to confine the dog when you are not able to supervise it or when it is out of the crate. While it is a good method for some puppies or dogs, it isn’t for all and it can be overused and misused.

Using a crate makes housetraining easier for the owner by preventing the puppy from roaming the house unsupervised. Since dogs usually choose not to *go* in their sleeping quarters, they will not soil in their crate, instead holding it until they can go outside. It is not a tool to use while you are at work all day unless you are able to come home midday to take your puppy outside or have a pet sitter, friend or relative help out. If a puppy is left in a crate for too long, he/she will soil one end of it, thereby taking longer to housetrain.

My rule of thumb for crate training with a new puppy goes like this:
For every hour the puppy is confined in the crate, he should be out for fifteen or twenty minutes. I recommend an all day schedule based on this rule of thumb, starting with a new pup in the crate for one or two hours, outside to eliminate then playing for fifteen to thirty minutes, building up to three or more hours in the crate. That means if your puppy is in the crate for three or four hours, he needs to be out for 45 to 60 minutes … supervised, or course. I don’t recommend going beyond four or five hours until he is several months old and certainly caution against moving too fast with this schedule. This method can take from anywhere from a matter of days to weeks.

You want your puppy to have good associations with the crate so I recommend feeding his meals there in the beginning. A puppy can usually sleep there all night, usually with only one potty break in the beginning, quickly working up to sleeping all night. Puppies don’t need to go as often at night as they are quiet and not running around *stirring up* things in the bladder, so to speak. It’s when they are moving about that they need to go more often.

Remember it is very important to work out a crate/elimination schedule and stick to it as much as possible each day, even weekends. Size of crate is important for you don’t want him to have too much room as he may go to one end to eliminate rather than learning to hold it until time to go outside. Usually he requires enough room to stand up, turn around and stretch out when lying down. It is important to not acknowledge whining and barking to get out unless you are sure he needs to go potty or something is wrong.

Happy Housetraining!

Anne Hudson, CDBC, FunPups Training & Behavior Solutions

Our daughter was given a Betta fish. She loves having it in a bowl on her desk, but it looks very lonely there. Someone told us we could put it in our son’s freshwater fish tank. Is that right? Patty G., Hampton

In the wild, Betta splendens, otherwise known as Siamese fighting fish, often live in less than an inch of water in Thai rice paddies—that’s why they developed a labyrinth organ that enables them to breathe air, and that’s why they can live in a bowl rather than a tank with filtered water. Most other fish can’t, however, which is why you shouldn’t add any to the bowl. African dwarf frogs are an exception as they can also breathe at the surface.

Bettas get along fine with non-aggressive fish species like mollies, some tetras, dwarf gouramis and so on, and your daughter’s betta will probably be a lot happier in a tank where waste doesn’t build up like it does in a bowl. Everyone thinks that bettas are the meanest things on earth, but in fact you should watch to make sure that the other fish aren’t picking on HIM by nibbling his long tail! Don’t ever put a male betta in with another male betta or even a female because once they breed, the male is likely to hurt the female. In fact you’re better off sticking to one betta per tank. There are a variety of fancy bettas also available such as the crowntail bettas if you'd like something more exotic. These bettas heve spiky dorsal (top) fins and long, trailing tail fins.

Always follow the rule of one inch of fish per gallon of water, and be sure that everyone has a place to hide out. Bettas like to hang around at the top of the tank, where they breathe oxygen, so floating plants are great for them.

Tiffany, Blue Planet Aquariums

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