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Need House Breaking Advice


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Okay, so we don't seem to be getting anywhere with the potty training in the house. He doesn't go at all the whole night in his crate. We take him out first thing in the morning to do his business. We take him out every half hour to an hour depending on how he is acting. But it seems like it doesn't matter if we just took him out and then let him in he does well for 20-30 mins but then all of a sudden there it is. I can look at him and he is chewing on a bone then look over and it is too late.

 

He gets praised when he goes outside but just don't seem like we are making headway in the house. It has been a very long time since I had to break one in the house. What can I be doing to get him to not associate peeing in the house to be a good thing. This has to be the single most frustrating thing for me in the whole training process. New house + new carpet + being a carpet cleaner = I DON"T LIKE! I know some are easier than others to break/train but I need ideas here. He is a smart pup. Knows right where the food/water bowls are, he knows when he is doing wrong with most everything else but this one area he disregards. If he can hold it all night and not pee in his crate then what am I missing when he is peeing in the house. He is not doing this all the time but twice in the last two days.

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Hi Roy,

 

Is it possible to give him a much smaller starter space in the house? Can you use a baby gate to give him say 8ft X 10 ft some where where he's still with in eye shot? One of the issues with potty training for pups, especially those use to an outside environment, is that they don't understand the concept of inside. Crate training and keeping them in a small space at first is useful. You just need to be able to make a smaller space and it needs to be small enough that the pup isn't comfortable doing business there. Then he/she gets use to going out side and gradually gets privileges for more of the house. Not every house is set up well for this. We used a baby play pen for Waki for the first month or so. Just plopped him in there. He was close enough to be happy and yet contained.

 

You might have success with a potty bell hung on the door. This also worked for us until the GSDs decided to use it for such activities as I want out side because I hear the UPS truck and you don't and other helpful things...

 

Is he peeing in the same place or places? I have found over the years that if a pup has an accident he/she will tend to pick an out of the way spot and then that's the designated in-door out house. You will need to deny access to that spot or spots (close off /gate off rooms, etc). Use the pet pee removal stuff so that the musky components are removed and put a dab of your shaving cream on "the spot". We had a problem years ago with a pup and I used my perfume to mark the spot, the pup and random spots around the house. Pups won't mark lest it offend the alpha. If the pup thinks his/her pee is mistaken for marking they may stop.

 

Keep at it and eventually your little guy will get it. This too shall pass. Remember how my little Waki was playing the role of snarly evil ferret this spring? Well he's now 98% good and 2 % mildly ill tempered. He formerly hated his crate and now he self regulates - going in by choice, for self determined reasons, to chill-ax. He also brought Tara a toy yesterday and GAVE it to her. Formerly he'd bring a toy to THEM to play with (but he'd try to retain ultimate ownership) but he'd never dropped one and left it with her before. He's not perfect yet but we're getting there.

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Sherab, our house is pretty much an open concept with the kitchen,dining, and living rooms all open to each other. He has pretty much had the run of the house since we brought him home. We do have a 1/2 bath and our laundry room off the main rooms. The half bath is only about 5' x 5' that we could put up a baby gate as long as he didn't jump over it. He is getting big soo fast. We would just have to take the TP off the roll so he doesn't chew it into a million pieces. As far as where he goes it has been in a different spot each time. Last night it was right next to me. I am putting some product down on the spots as soon as he pees. I guess owning my own carpet cleaning business is paying off somewhat. :D .

 

I know I can't expect everything in three weeks but it just seems that with the potty issue we are not making any headway. I just need to find that one thing that will work. He has picked up on so much with everything else. It is just that I am not doing the right thing here on this issue. Once I can find what works then I am sure it will go well. Thanks for the advice. Always appreciated.

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I also remember you saying he drinks a lot of water. Maybe that is part of the problem. What goes in has to come out. And those little puppy bladders are not very big, nor do they have much muscle control. All they know is they gotta go, and it feels better after they are done.

 

He is still a baby, remember that. He may be very clever, and growing very quickly, but some things take time. He'll get there.

 

Maybe when he is not 100% supervised, he needs to be in an x-pen with an appropriate surface under it. We used the area segregation method, as our house has open LR/Din/Kit type plan too. We gated off areas, and just shut the gates behind us as we moved from one area (with the pup) to another.

I distinctly remember Jasper, at 11 weeks, walking under the coffee table (which has a lower shelf a couple inches off the floor) and on the way, he just peed on the shelf.. LOL And he had been outside about 20 min before.

 

Take heart, have faith, and try not to get mad at the little guy. He isn't doing it on purpose to spite you, he is merely ignorant and young. :)

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Well maybe I can cut some of his water out during the day. There are just times when he comes in after being out that he will gulp down about half his bowl of water. Kinda makes me think it wouldn't be right to take it away from him if he is really thirsty. I know the feeling. When you need a drink, you need a drink.

 

When I was younger my mom had a Pomeranian and she let him have water in the morning with his meal and then took it away. She only gave it to him a couple times a day. She said that helped more than anything with her potty training. It won't hurt to try that as well. I am going to get a baby gate and put in the half bath. I am also looking at those little play pen gate things for toddlers ( I think that is what Star is referring to) and maybe set it up in the livingroom. I guess it has just been so long since I have done this with a pup that I feel kind of lost. Thanks Star!

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I used something like this with Waki. http://www.amazon.com/Best-Pet-Folding-Play-Pen/dp/B002ABKBQA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1369928746&sr=8-4&keywords=puppy+play+pen

 

It had a floor and a zip on top (critical). Unfortunately when he got his teeth in he ate a hole in it.

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an x-pen is one of these- Xpen via Walmart

 

I just grabbed a handy link with affordable prices. Our pen is about 3' -3.5' high

And they can be handy for a lot of things: dogs, children, small animals...

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Roy, Please don't take the water away during the day. This little guy is still a puppy, needs the hydration. I would definitely pay much more attention to his bathroom needs. Don't take him out and bring him back in. Let him play, run and get the urge. As Star said, he's growing leaps and bounds but he's still a puppy and doesn't understand. Please don't get angry and frustrated with him. He's still exploring life in general. Remember he has never been in a house, he was born and raised in a kennel!!! It will get better but it will take time and patience -- lots of it.

 

JudyK in Michigan

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Judy, sorry I was kind of thinking out loud there. I am not going to take his water away. That is harsh. Yes I guess I am just venting here. It is a little frustrating but like I said it has been a while since I have done this. I have a learning curve to get around too. We will keep working on it. Since we don't have a fenced in area right now he is on a trolley type run. Where the cable is overhead and connects to the leash so he can run a little bit. He doesn't have the run of the whole yard but he can get around. When we are walking around the property I have him on a twenty five foot leash at times so he can romp and so forth. Then on or walks, on the way back we always jog the whole way back so he and I can get some excercise.

 

Usually when we get back I put him on a 25ft. run off the back porch so he can move a little bit. Then before bringing him in I will walk him again then it is time for inside for awhile. This gets repeated quite a bit. I will try not to vent so much and try a few different things. Like I said I know he is just going on 12 weeks now and doesn't know it all. This will take some time. Thanks for the advice and if anyone has anything to ad then please do. Thanks.

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Star, that is what I was thinking you was talking about. :) We might get something like that.

 

Sherab that looks like the bouncy house that we got for the girls on a smaller scale. :lol:

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I'd have to concur with the rest of the crowd that the pup will come around but only if you're consistent and provide guidance to the pup to pick up on which it sounds like you're doing just fine. We used Sherab's advice (which is excellent) with Waki's sister Lili when she came to us in Feb of '12 (in fact she & I were thinking of installing a white courtesy phone like they have at the airport for easier Waki/Lili communications when they were pups!....I'm kidding of course!).

 

Dsc_0014_sm.jpg (did someone ask for me?)

 

The first few weeks were 3-4 hour cycles, 24/7 of up & outside regardless of whether she needed to go or not. Pretty soon she'd adjusted her processes to fit this cycle that we'd created for her. She was crated at night & involved with us all day....we own our own business too & we take Lili to work with us everyday. Initially though Julie & I took turns staying home with her & working on her basic skill set.

 

Dsc_0015_sm.jpg (you talking to me?)

 

At nighttime she'd let us know it was time by howling or whining or the occasional bark and during the day we used the partition concept & got a baby gate (which, believe it or not we still use on occasion as reinforcement) & confined her to the kitchen/breakfast room portion of our house. We discovered that Lili responded very well to these regular cycles throughout her day & when those cycles were disrupted accidents occurred. This is important because she still very cyclical in her processes. Once we started taking her to the office with us everyday (about a month after she came to us) that disturbed our original cycle & there was a brief 'adjustment' period of random accidents & odd request for 'bathroom' breaks at weird times during the day & night. That was probably the toughest thing for us two legged types to translate into human understanding. She picked up on the idea that we don't poop & pee just any old place but our ability to get that concept translated to canine language was a tedious & involved process that is actually still on going.

 

Dsc_0026_sm.jpg (The never ending lobbying for Ida's affections)

 

Lili is a year and a half (June 7.....BTW happy soon to be half-birthday Wak) & there are the rare occasions where she'll drop a load down in the rec room (which more appropriately should be spelled wreck). To combat this we use the baby gate to limit her ability to roam around the house while we're asleep. Seems she'll only do that down in the back part of the wrecked room where we have our fitness equipment set up. We don't use that area of the house nearly as often as say the kitchen or living room or whatever so there's less of our 'presence' there from an olfactory point of view so the dog thinks that perhaps this would be an okay place to relieve myself instead of bothering their sleep. Generally we don't have to worry about inappropriate bathroom habits with Lili anymore but she does keep us on our toes occasionally so vigilance is the key.

 

The frequency of her emissions in the house are very far & few between nowadays but it's still a work in progress so stay the course, & keep the faith for this too shall pass.

 

Dsc_0013_sm.jpg (Can someone do something about her?)

Dsc_0028_sm.jpg

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This too shall pass... good pun. Wow she does her play groveling moves just like Waki. Happy Half B-day Little Miss.

 

Roy, the other thing to note is that both Lilli and Waki had giardia upon arrival. Waki also had Parvo so he had it going out both ends. Fortunately his signaling was to pull on my pants (or PJs). Not too subtle! He's also very regular like his sister and he's very particular about where he goes so that helped us a lot. Miss Lilli had the harder time with the giardia, we were fortunate (ours was a very intense month or month and a half but then all was well). Maybe the parvo meds cleaned Waki out. Anyway Lilli had a longer run, so to speak. It may help to imagine all that and feel some relief about your situation.

 

Miss Tara was a lot like Lilli in the potty training area. She took her time and kept us on our toes. It's funny how every dog is different. Same thing with the favored "remote" part of the house.

 

My husband just reminded me on crate potty training - if you take the dog out of the crate to go and it doesn't go it's suppose to go back in the crate and repeat until success. It's been 9 years since we crate trained so I forgot that. Waki was never successfully crated. He was so sick in the beginning he slept under the covers with his head on my neck for the first month and that's how I knew if he was going to evacuate from either end. We never had an accident in the house (except once - and that was not on my watch - he was older and it was a matter of being absorbed in work and not paying attention to signals). Now Waki isn't perfect, but I am proud of his potty record. I did keep my boots by the door and he gave me quite a work out that first month!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Don't forget the value of getting mad. Really mad. Yell, stomp your feet, tell them NO! Go back to the spot and tell them NO the whole time you have to clean. Remind them that this is YOUR house.

 

When they are pups, things happen, but as they get older, you have to make sure they know you don't like this! (signals can get crossed) Don't let them think for even one second, that it's okay. Just make a lot of noise. Make it as uncomfortable for them as it is for you. Sometimes that kicks them onto the next level.

 

If it continues, then of course you need to think about other causes. Don't continue to be mad. But there is great value in, just like their mother, growling and showing your teeth.

 

You'll feel better, too.

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Totally agree Allison, the few incidents that we've had with Lili having 'gifts' for us were met with gentle reminders & cajoling of the pup so as not to frighten & confuse her. Well, she didn't get the picture very well. She dropped one behind a rocking chair in the living room a couple of months ago and we woke up & started the day at which point I noticed it. I lost my temper, walked over to her, picked her up & plopped her down directly in front of the offending mess & very sternly & just below a shout level said, 'LILIKO'I...WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS? HUH? DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A TOILET TO YOU?'

 

She hasn't messed since.

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We have open plan as well, and I tied the pup's leash (pup attached) to my belt while she was really young. One thing I'd do differently is set a timer for 20 mins to remind *me* that she has to go out. When things aren't going well, start at square one until she gets where you want her to be.

 

Leasing the pup indoors works for lots of behavior problems, and my dogs have always known that when the leash goes back on in the house, things are serious. Just wearing it reminds them of what they need to do, and I still use it for Danza's barking tendency. It has long term upsides and downsides - she got so used to not having to work hard for my attention that even now her 'I have to go out' signal is to stand in front of (or even behind) me and stare at me. (downside) Upside is that you have a lifelong effective tool.

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We have been making good headway here. I have been paying more attention to him and his sign that he has to go. Haven't had an accident here lately. Thank goodness. He is getting to where I can let him in the house for about an hour before I take hime out. If he is romping and making a race track out of the living room and kithen/dining area then I take him out sooner. The only time he has dropped a load in the house was his first night home in the bathroom. Never since. Always pee but that has subsided so far.

 

Everything seems to be on the upside as of right now. Hopefully it stays that way for a while. Although he did nip my youngest daughter on the nose the other night. But that is another story.

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mooka is now 6 months and will pee like a race horse outside and run like crazy and play even if we are outside for and hour will not poo he holds it and wait till we are inside then after we settle down he goes ,he has gone outside a couple of times and we tell him he is a good boy and he gets all happy but still he thinks it is inside he should go,and when i tell him he should not do this inside he will bite my nose to and i get down to his level nose to nose,but i have not given up as we have been doing house renos since just after we brought him home and thank good almost done so we will not be living in out basement ,just dont give up and keep on him they are just like kids give them and inch and they want a mile lol ,well good luck and enjoy him

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OOcahtah - maybe since his pattern is to relax after being out you could try a U turn and bring him out on lead to poop (maybe keep him on lead until you see his signal and wisk him out side). Also consider confining him to a smaller space after outdoor play to see if you can get him to tell you he wants to go outside. Just a few thoughts.

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Another thing that I have seen may times, is after several months, they suddenly seem to forget and have a couple accidents. It just has to be dealt with. Not a real problem, just a minor setback. Do some growling.

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