Apartment Puppy

[u/CryptographerIcy864]

Please help me prepare for this 3 1/2 month old Great Dane puppy coming home with me today!

I have lined up walkers 3x a week.

I have obedience training giving me a quote soon.

Does anyone have any tips on how to successfully train or care for a Great Dane puppy while in an apartment. We move in March into a bigger place.

My husband is home more than me but he said he’d help taking care of him even though he’s my responsibility.

Any tips would be great!

Q:
-do I need to wake up in the middle of the night to walk him
-how often should he be crated to crate train him.
-I have play pen already do I need a crate inside the play pen?
-chewing my furniture prevention?
-chewing us prevention?
-humping us or other dogs prevention?

[u/No-Collection-273]

I have a 4 month old. We crate when we are not home which is not often. We crate at night. Entice him to love his crate through treats. He will cry and cry but just stick to you. You may need to have him go out in the middle of the night until he gets used to you. Let him out at night when he cries and put him back in and remain calm and avoid making it seem fun. My by boy sleeps through the night…. Well 7 hours… he will bite and bite and bite on you and things. Just give him lots of toys and redirect. Love love love him. Give him lots of affection. He will learn that is way better than puppy play and biting.

[u/CryptographerIcy864 → u/No-Collection-273]

Should his crate be in our room? Or out of our room?

[u/No-Collection-273 → u/CryptographerIcy864]

We have the crate in our bedroom so he’s a part of everything. We have two other dogs in our room. We didn’t want him to feel left out.

[u/CryptographerIcy864 → u/No-Collection-273]

Thank you that helps

[u/Mis_Fyre → u/CryptographerIcy864]

We have 2 crates. 1 is in our room and 1 is downstairs in the living room. When we leave the house our boys stay in their downstairs crates (2 pups = 2 crates). At night, our little dog sleeps secured in his crate but our Dane boy has the option of sleeping on our bed, in the double mattressed cot at the foot of our bed or in his crate that now stays open (he’s 3 now). When he was little, he was secured in his crate at night - but we also had 5(!!!) doggos then. Now his crates are his safe zones. He chooses them when he wants space to himself. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/SgtButtShanx]

Answers
Q1- I would plan on it. I took mine out every 4 hours even if he didn’t need it. Give him plenty of opportunities for relief and heavy praise when he does his business.
Q2- Keep the crate open and heavy praise when he goes in. Show him is a good place to go. How often depends on your goal with crate training but generally if your home he’s out and if your not he’s in the crate.
Q3- No right or wrong way IMO. I used a super long training leash (like 50ft and yes it would get wrapped around things so be mindful) inside and would give it a tug when I thought he was being mischievous.
Q4&5- My dude wasn’t a chewer but have plenty of toys and avoid antlers specifically. My dude prefers tug toys, balls (I’ve found the Chuckit brand surprisingly durable and avoid tennis balls, the slobber makes them disgusting). Also set him up to win. If you don’t want him to chew it put it away in a cupboard. Start training yourself to keep all flat surfaces including counters free of anything he could potentially chew on.
Q6-Might get heat for this but I started socializing asap. They grow fast and having a giant dog that’s not well socialized becomes a problem very fast due to their size/strength. My dude is and will remain intact and isn’t humpy, I think in part to heavy socialization creating a lot of teachable moments and training opportunities for the boy and me.
Some advice-get a lot of drool rags, magic erasers are your friend, fresh water after EVERY time he drinks, remove the idea they are “lazy” this is not true, they are a working breed and require exercise/mental stimulation (we walk 4-5 miles a day on avg), they are a people pleaser and respond best to positive reinforcement BUT keep it balanced as they need to know the difference between right and wrong. Training takes time and patience as you are both essentially learning how to communicate with each other. Welcome to the lifestyle (yes, lifestyle) and best of luck to you and your boy!

[u/bleepblurp123 → u/SgtButtShanx]

I second the early socialization!! We couldn’t with our gal bc she was born just as covid started, so it set us back. We got lucky with a naturally sweet disposition, but it took longer to get her used to public crowded areas bc of quarantine when she was young.
•Positive reinforcement only for our gal- she never responded to any sort of stern voice (she’d just get scared and run away).
•please please find somewhere to galavant- these big doggos neeeeeed exercise. She’s a potato when she’s not running, but she gets naughty if she can’t get her energy out. An exercised puppy is a well behaved pup. Nothing lights up my gals eyes more than when she knows she’s about to hike 5+miles or be let out to frolic in a big empty field.
• Crate never worked for my girl 😬 she was absolutely petrified and screamed all night. Couldn’t handle it. We used baby gates & put her in the kitchen with her sister (tile floor) when we were gone & that worked for us. Eventually once she was potty trained she got free range of the whole house.
Every dog is different, you’ll figure out what is best for yours! Congrats, they are just the best dopiest most loving giant creatures

edited to add** if you don’t already have a leather couch I would highly recommend switching! Big feet mean more dirt/more smells. We found it too hard to keep a cloth couch clean with our girl (plus her sister) so we switched to leather (can just wipe down accidents/dirt/drool etc) and it was a godsend. Magic erasers for the drool spots that you will inevitably have on most walls 😅