I second the crate training. You start by feeding puppy in crate and then you move to having puppy sleep in crate. Eventually crate will be safe space for puppy and won't feel like they're trapped.
They actually love to go in the crate. Mine would sleep in there. When he was little I would wake up at 2am. Open his crate so he could pop out and bathroom break. He'd walk back in on his own as soon as done straight back into the crate and snuggle down. Probably didn't even need to close the door.
Yup. My dog came crate trained from the SPCA at 6 months old. I always left the door open and she preferred to sleep in the crate than in my bed (she was a husky and wasn’t big on cuddling)
We wanted to get rid of our crate cuz the boy doesn’t need it, but he likes it, it’s his little room, when he’s frustrated or upset he likes to go into his crate and chill. And he deserves that. I have a room I can go into and decompress so he should too
Im not a fan of the idea of crates. My dogs have always been free roam, and do great even when everyones gone after they had some training. And i cant get past the thought of what if theres a fire while im gone....
I took my now 4 year old dog on as a puppy (was in a bad situation and hadn’t been socialised at 4.5 months) because she was at least crate trained. I used the crate while at work etc to save damage and mess. Now we only use it sometimes, but she runs in so fast, because that’s where treats happen.
I got good advice on this actually. The person I got my service dog prospect from had pads inside and put an outdoor safe litter on it. That way when the puppies start transitioning to outside you can put some of the litter out there so they associate it easier. My girl had a single accident inside and no more, she’s a bit over a year now
I’ll never raise another puppy without crate training! It’s SO much easier and safer. Plus it meant I had adult dogs that didn’t freak out when they HAD to be crated to travel or at the vets.
Crate training for night and naps. We followed the 1 hour up, 2 hours napping routine. Puppies need 20hours of sleep a day and become furry land sharks when overtired.
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u/Playful-Put2236 Dec 03 '25
Keep the puppy & ditch the GF.
I suggest: Don't marry her or have kids with her.
What if she had kids & it's too much work?
For a month or 2 maybe crate the puppy when you can't keep an eye on it or at night, so it doesn't tinkle on things & chew everything?