norther inuit puppy

Question
hi, we have in the past week, got a little inuit bitch - she was 13 weeks when we got her. The breeder kept her with her parents and a couple other dogs and they were used to cages. We have had a terrible week trying to get her used to a cage with us. She goes in when im out a work - 4 hours, and then when i pick my kids from school - 1/2 hour and then at night. She has been really noisy at night, plus during day and night stress poo'ing/wetting in the cage, which she is treading in etc. She has also found her way out of the cage three times now, and sees it as something unpleasant. We are desperatly trying to do the right things, ie: toilet just before bed - my partner has also stayed downstairs to settle her before coming to bed, but she keeps waking up during night and really makes a racket!!!! i would like her to be in the cage (only until she is house trained and past the chewing stage) but we want her to be settled and happy. Someone suggested putting the cage in our ensuite so, she can hear us sleeping! although i would like a pet free room, but im not totally against for the interim period. Are we expecting too much due to the fact that she has only been with us for a week? also, we have noticed that she likes to eat her own poo! but we are being very cautious to make sure we clear it up quickly and tell her no! any suggestions would be great.

Answer
Hi Angela

Thanks for all the detail.  I would agree you are expecting too much - she is a baby and was kept with the breeder far too long (ideally pups should go to their new homes at around 7 weeks) so it is now really hard for her to adjust.  Just like a human baby, keep her in your room, by your bed (caged) at night.  Then you will hear if she needs to go out and can quickly take her to the yard then return her to her cage.  This is the quickest way to house train a puppy.  As she settles in you can move her gradually to where you want her to sleep.

She may eat it as she is being forced to go in her cage, which no dog would choose to do and so is trying to clear it up as it is unpleasant to be near it.  It then becomes a habit (its actually a natural dog behaviour) once they have discovered it so can be tricky to stop.  Just try to prevent it (as you are doing) but avoid telling her off as making her anxious will not help with the other probs.

Just take it slowly and give her lots of time to settle in and get used to life without all she has ever known

All the best

Lucy