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BayCrest Akitas
CRATE TRAINING
At BayCrest, we feel crate training is a very important aspect of Akita ownership. If introduced properly to the crate, your dog will learn to enjoy the time he spends in his own private den.
One of the most important things you will need to remember when training your new puppy is that all dogs (Akitas especially) learn through association. If the experience is pleasant, your dog will enjoy it, if it is uncomfortable or unpleasant your dog will resent it. With that in mind, we must train our dogs to enjoy the crate. NEVER PLACE ANY DOG IN A CRATE WITH A COLLAR ON-(Not even for just a few minutes-it only takes a minute for a dog to strangle to death if the collar becomes hooked on the crate)
HOUSEBREAKING YOUR DOG USING A CRATE
Have your crate ready for the puppy when you bring him home.
Place the crate in a place where the puppy can see the activities of the household, the kitchen, the family room, etc. It is perfectly acceptable to move the crate ie: if you want to place the crate closer to the bedroom for the night. It helps if the puppy has a straight shot to exit door, many puppies dribble to the door.
A crate should be of sufficient size for the dog to stand up and turn around comfortably. Since your Akita will grow considerably in the first year, I consider it perfectly acceptable to purchase an adult Akita size crate. You will just want to be sure that the bars are spaced close enough so that none of the puppys little parts can fit through
the bars. Add a soft bedding material, many puppies shred and or soil their first bedding. In order to save expenses you may want to start with some old throw rugs, or blankets. In time, your new puppy will accept laying on the bedding without destroying it. A couple of high quality safe chew toys should be placed in the crate with the puppy. Having several toys on hand and rotating them on a daily basis will prevent your puppy from becoming bored. Make these toys the puppys crate only toys. (The puppy should be allowed to play with these toys in the crate only)
Your puppy should be fed in the crate only! This includes snacks and treats. (A puppy/dog will not eliminate where he eats and sleeps) Each time your puppy is placed in the crate he should be either fed or given a treat (a pleasant association). I use the command kennel up each time when putting my dogs in their crates, they immediately enter their crate, turn and face me waiting for their treat. If you follow this method diligently, you will soon find your dog entering the crate, every time he assumes you are going to give him a treat or feed him. I do not place a water bowl in the crate with my dogs until I am sure they are fully housebroken. A puppy can and will drink water out of boredom while in the crate, thus needing to urinate more frequently while in the crate. I do make sure they have full access to water immediately after a meal and I feed all kibble fully wet with tap water. After meals leave the puppy in the crate for a while, you may notice he quickly falls asleep after eating (this is fine) but watch him closely, as soon as he wakes up he will need to go out. If he does not fall asleep watch for nervous behavior or signs of wanting to go outside, then take him for a potty walk.
A puppy can only hold his urine for a little while, but will quickly learn to hold it (the crate really helps). At eight weeks old, your puppy will not be able, to hold it all night long-thus the dreaded 3-4 am potty break. By 12 weeks of age, your puppy should be close to making it through the night without an accident or middle of the night walk.
A young puppy 8 to 20 weeks old will not understand the size of a house or its boundaries. At eight weeks old, the puppy should be restricted to one room in the house to explore or have the run of. The
Kitchen is usually best for this. When the puppy eliminates out side, give him lots of praise. Never scold a puppy for having an accident in the house-this only tells the puppy it is wrong to eliminate in front of you, not that it was the wrong place to go. A loud bell (Sleigh type bell) hanging near the exit door is a great way to teach the puppy how to let you know when he needs to potty. Hang the bell at the puppys elbow height and ring it each time you open the door to let the puppy outside, you will soon see your puppy ringing the bell when he has to potty. (Remember the association?-a ringing bell means the door opens)
CRATE TIPS AND TACTICS
When teaching your puppy to accept the crate, you must refrain from rewarding him for bad behavior by releasing him from the crate. This includes whining and crying. Wait until your puppy quiets down before allowing him out of his crate.
Do not use the crate for punishment, ever. Your puppy must always find the crate to be a nice quiet place for resting. It is perfectly acceptable to place your puppy in the crate when the household is busy or you are having company.
Crate your puppy at regular intervals during the day, have a naptime several times a day. Young puppies sleep frequently, and teaching them to sleep in the crate, can give you many quiet nights in the future.
My dogs remain crated for the first two years of their lives, when I am sleeping or not at home. Young puppies and dogs can find many dangerous things to do when you are not there to watch them.
When your puppy is crated while you are away, do not run to the crate and let him out. He has been in the crate for some time and has held it thus far. There is no reason to add to his excitement by immediately rewarding him with his freedom. Doing so, can and will create an anxious dog, which will become hyperactive with excitement at the sight of you. Avoid making over him with lots of praise, a simple quiet hello in a normal tone of voice will suffice.
When leaving your home, crate the puppy well in advance of your leaving the house. This allows the puppy to adjust to being placed in the crate, and will avoid his associating your leaving with him being placed in the crate (negative association).
Make sure you crate your puppy when various activities are going on in the home. Crate him at your dinner time, when you are having company, when the house is noisy, when the house is quiet, when he least expects to be crated, doing so will allow the puppy to adjust to many different situations.
Young puppies (eight to twelve weeks) should not be crated for more than 3 hours at a time, without a potty and excersize break.
Keep the puppies bedtime the same each evening, and within four to five weeks you will see your puppy enter his crate all by himself at that time each night.
If you have any questions and or concerns over your new puppys crate training or any other training questions please do not hesitate to call us. Our puppies are our children and we are here to assist you in any way we can.
Feeding Your Akita Puppy Feeding Schedule
This is only a guideline; not all puppies will eat the same amount at the same rate.
At 8 weeks of age, your puppy should be fed three times a day using approximately 2 cups per day divided among the three meals. If your puppy does not eat 2 cups per day decrease slightly, watch for when your puppy still seems hungry after the last meal of the day as a sign of when to increase daily rations.
I feed all kibble moistened, making sure there is plenty of fresh water on the side and available after the meal.
By the age of 4 months, you should be able to cut back to two meals per day. Your pup should be eating about 4-5 cups of food at this point.
Many adult dogs do well on one feeding a day, if your dog seems hungry in the morning daily rations can be divided allowing your dog a morning meal, perhaps a biscuit or two will satisfy the morning hunger. If your dog regurgitates yellowish bile in the morning, it may be due to stomach acid build up during the night, a light meal early in the morning will rectify this situation.
Akitas are very intelligent dogs; they have an uncanny ability to train their owners into bad feeding habits. Healthy table scraps are fine (fruits and vegetables). If your Akita shows signs of no longer being interested in his food resist temptation to make it more palatable. Do not add ingredients to make him eat. Put his food down, leave the food down as long as he is continually eating or 10 minutes if he is being picky. Take the food up and withhold all food and snacks until the next regularly scheduled mealtime. Offer him this same food again, decreasing it by half and follow the above 10 minute rule. If he again refuses to eat, halve the food again and repeat the rules above. A healthy Akita can and will survive with no ill effects for well more than 48 hours without a meal. By the end of a few days, you will find yourself with an Akita that will readily eat what ever is put in front of him, saving you many future headaches. An Akita should never be free fed-this will result in either a very picky Akita or a very overweight one.
As a large pup (8 months and up for most) your pup will be needing at least 6-7 cups of good quality kibble. This will stay a fairly consistent requirement for up to 1 to 2 years, depending on if your pups is still growing and filling out. The average adult Akita needs only 4 to 6 cups of a high Quality diet to maintain normal weight and condition.
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