Barkley the Beagle

Question
I just bought a very cute little chocolate beagle - he is only 8 weeks old. I have a few questions
1. Training - I put him in the kitchen when I leave put a plastic barrier gate (Petco) to block him from getting out when I leave - I feel like he thinks this is punishment. I also bought him a big cushion type bed which he goes to when let out of the kitchen - I am thinking maybe I should be crate training him? What do you think?

2.House training - He is ripping up his wee wee pads rather than going on them? Just poops where he wants

3.Outside - can he go outside yet?

Answer
Hello. Congrats on the new puppy...you have alot to learn and I'd be happy to help you learn it lol. He is indeed old enough to go outside to potty I take my pups out from the first day they arrive to get them used to peeing outside and whatnot. i don't recommend using puppy training pads and papertraining the dog so it pees in the house this is a bad idea. Below is listed what worked for my three dogs when they were little puppies:

Take the puppy out after naps, meals/drinking/long play times when you first get up in the morning and before bed...pick up the water dish an hour before bed or two hours to prevent him needing too pee too too many times over night but if its very hot where you are the dish must be left down of course. Make his last meal at around 5 or 6 PM a few hours before bedtime so he doesn't need to poop during the night. I had taken my pup out every hour or two whenever you think the puppy may need to go take him out. if you yard is large or badly fenced ie holes to go through or under/around boards leash the puppy attach a light weight nylon leash to his lightweight preferably nylon collar and take him out leave the leash by the door so you don't have to look around for it as he may not wait for you to find it!. After 5 months the puppy gets much much better at holding it and even at 4 months is fairly good with holding but the puppy can not be expected to hold it during an 8 hour work day until he is 8/9 months old and even then should be let out by a family member or neighbor once between your leaving and your coming time. I use a large puppy pen the floor covered with newspaper, a bed on once side, food/water bowls on the same side as the bowl and toys around the bed......the puppy will not "go" on its bed/toys/food and water area and only will go on the other side of the pen...or in your case the other side of the kitchen(you must paper the whole floor) newspapers are cheaper then puppy pads. You do this Only when your not home and cant watch your puppy. Feel free to leave his crate the door pinned open( a twist tie will work) when your not home...putting his bed into this will get him used to it thou once he is potty trained you could easily let him stay in the kitchen while your working anyway but its always a good idea to crate train a puppy. I have had little problems switching from pen to adult sized crate(will let the dog turn around without bumping the sides as an adult and fully stretch out) but you cant leave the puppy crate for more then an hour or two at this time and expect him not to pee his crate so I advise only locking a puppy in a crate once it is 5/6 months old and for sure has someone to come by and let it out before you arrive home from work...it can not hold its pee a whole day at this age. Be sure to leave only sturdy toys that cant be torn apart in his area when your not around as he can easily choke on stuffing of plush toys or rawhides left unattended with him( I don't recommend offering rawhide to very young puppies best wait until he is 3 or four moths old thou you can let him chew a piece while your watching never let him swallow a large chunk and never leave him alone with a rawhide). also when I said he can go outside I mean Strictly into your back yard to potty and come back in he shouldn't be allowed to walk around the block yet, shouldn't be allowed to Touch a petstore floor until he has had all of his vaccines and shouldn't be allowed near strange dogs or in dog parks until his vaccines are completed for his sake. A puppy with one vaccine is at risk of catching an illness from a dirty petshop or a pile of dog poop waiting under a hedge if you might walk your puppy too early. I improvised with my last puppy(Hannah my Boston terrier) I bought one of those things that straps to your chest sort of like the one for babies but this one has a solid bottom and a mesh front and drawstring top with a tiny leash to hold the puppies collar ...just incase the puppy wants to try plunging out it would feel the leash attached and think better of it lol. I took Hannah everywhere during her puppy stage last year...into petshops,dollar stores,malls,grocery stores, and thrift shops inside this contraption it worked so great since I felt bad leaving her home knowing she would have peed or pooped in  when I got home and would probably have walked in it also those big watery eyes are hard to resist! I also took her with her leash attached(thrown over my shoulder) in my arms into shops but when taken into shops like this i offen got booted out being told there were no pets allowed....some thought she was a tiny pitbull I belive was what the problem was  one nasty dollar store worker told me no pets were allowed, and walked away when she came back I was Still inline at the checkout and she said no pets are allowed and looked quite nasty I said i know and my friend was afraid /I would get booted I guess he said we'll be out in a minute lol....she I guess didn't care if I dropped my basket and walked out or not...I did stay to pay for the stuff and walked out nice and slow lol...at this time Hannah was only 4 or 5 pounds and quite tiny I didn't understand why someone could get so hateful over a tiny Carried* puppy that was ever so quite and falling asleep...oh well. Anyway i highly recommend one of these contraptions they work great and you can take your puppy shopping in the pet store and with you were the staff are friendly in one without them really noticing what's inside it works well because since you cant walk your puppy around yet it can still come this way it wont get sick from walking and licking petshop/other floors and sidewalk but still gets to come along it works until the puppy is about 8 pounds then it gets kinda hard on the back lol Here is what it was or almost i got mine from walmart for much less and mine has a mesh front with a drawstring top to keep the puppy secured and hidden: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244418...    

check walmart first hopefully you live near one the one I have is called Vegabound or vegabond and was about 14 bucks CND. Best of luck with your new baby and I have to date never seen a chocolate beagle only lemon and whites and tri colors he must be just beautiful. Feel free to Email again at anytime.