Floor Protection Questions

doxiemom11 wrote:
First off I wouldn't keep a puppy in a crate for months until it's housetrained. It does take several months for some to be reliably trained. We had hardwood floors and toenails were not a problem except for large heavier dogs. We always rescued and the 1st was a 9 yr old puppy mill dog who had never been in a house. We kept her in the kitchen at night with a bed etc on an easy to clean floor. The rest of the time she was in or out with us and always near us. We took her to the same place outside time after time and told her to go potty. Once we got her to go a couple of times she started understanding what we wanted. Often at first so we could catch her going outside and praise her and give treats. It only took a couple months to reliably train her. She was trained with love , praise and treats and never harshly scolded if there was an accident.

Neil was a rescue Collie stud from a puppy mill that had been shut down. He had never been in a house and was not that fond of humans. His world had consistented of a kennel. When he came home he was uneasy with all the open area and hid under a pine tree. I went out and bought a kennel and dog house for him. He was happy. I started to leave the kennel door open but he always had his safe place. After a while the kennel was no longer needed and sold off. Never being in a house before he was going to pee in the dining room. I clapped my hands to startle him then took him outside. From that point on he went outside. Neil and Lassie (a kennel female) were the only two rescues that had never been indoor dogs I've had. The rest were older and house trained.