puppy

Question
we have an 11 wk old golden/chow puppy. We didnt want to crate her while we are at work and for 2 days sent her to doggy daycare. She loved it (was playful w/dogs,etc) but when she comes home her housebreaking has regressed. Would crating her at home be a better idea?

Answer
It depends on how long she will be crated. The rule of thumb is you can (possibly) expect a puppy to be able to "hold it" their age in months plus 1 = number of hours. So a not-quite-three-month old pup might be able to go 4 hours without urinating. If it's going to be much longer than that, you may be setting her up to learn to foul her crate, and that's a habit you don't want to create. If she'd fully vaccinated (I'd be concerned about having a pup with less than two rounds of vaccination around a lot of other dogs)you might try really supervising carefully at home - using baby gates, even tethering her to you, and making frequent trips outside with her. Sandy Case BFA MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com