Puppy Blues !

Recently a proud owner of an extremely luvable 2 month old mini schaunzer, "Teddy"'s her name (why ? coz she reeaaally looks like one!) ;) BUT along came weeks of poo and pee cleaning, morning before and evening after work :( Despite the constant depotation act of catching her in the act & bringing her to designated poo tray, Teddy never failed to "surprise", especially in the rush mornings, by pooping in or around her crate vicinity :mad:
Any pup owners experiencing / experienced puppy blues, appreciate any advice. *sigh* cant wait till this stage gets over. :p

your babies are gorgeous!!

Having 4 dogs of my own the only advise I can offer is what has worked for me.

The first 6 months of the dogs life should be spent in a crate at night. This will mean getting up at 4am so she may relieve herself if necessary. This also means that in the morning, first thing, take the puppy out of the crate to do her business. What that meant for me is that sometimes I was struggling to "hold it" while I waited for my puppy to "go potty". This will ease as the 6mo age mark nears, but its so vital that you do no waiver from this. I have done less than 6 months with one of my dogs and it has not been pretty. The others are golden.

I have also found that sticking their noses in the mess is ineffective. 9 times out of 10 it is after the fact where the puppy has no idea what you are scolding them for. My best experiences is to watch my baby like a hawk, more or less walk them every frickin hour, and when they would show behavior of having to go potty (trust me, there are signs) I would take them out BEFORE damage could be done and offer MUCH praise when they did good.

2 of my dogs were paper trained initially. They now are firm believers of relieving themselves outdoors. (and FWIW, I work 20 miles from my home, a full work week and then some. My advantage I believe is that I have a doggie door with a fenced back yard....)

A few things I've learned throughout the years:

Take Teddy to her designated area immediately after waking or eating. Wait until something happens. Be patient - it could take 10 minutes or more.
Praise profusely.

If Teddy is soiling the crate, the crate is too big. Get a smaller crate.

I'm assuming that Teddy is inside while you are at work with no way to get outside, correct? If so, invest in puppy pads. They are treated with a smell that will attract a dog to that area to relieve themselves. After Teddy becomes old enough to hold it, you'll slowly move it to the door & then outside, if that is the final destination. Patience.

Watch Teddy when she isn't in the crate. The minute you see the action (sniffing, running in a circle) take her to her area (outside, if that will be the final destination.)

When you find an accident, get a rolled up newspaper and walk to the area. Take the newspaper and repeatedly hit yourself in the head while chanting "Bad owner! Bad owner!" OK, that's a joke. Seriously, don't spank when you find an accident. Clean it up & let it go. The dog doesn't associate the spanking with the action, especially at 8 weeks old.

Clean it with a solution that will eliminate the smell. If you have tile, vinegar works well. If it is carpet, you might look into a commercial cleaner for this task. Check Petsmart or some other pet store.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

If Teddy is soiling the crate, the crate is too big. Get a smaller crate.

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To add to what Dogmama said, if the crate is too big but will be the right size when your dog is full grown, you can place a sealed box in the back half of the crate while the pup is small to reduce the available space now. You'll want to get a box that doesn't have tears or flaps that would be attractive for chewing though.

My sister did this with her dog and replaced the box with smaller and smaller boxes as Dixie grew, which slowly alllowed more space for the dog but not more space than she needed. It worked well and saved my sister the cost of buying multiple crates.

Just agreeing with what everyone else said, and adding, what adorable pups you have!!!

I have a new baby as well - she's 4 months old. I feel your pain with the peeing & pooping. Kasey is partly housebroken- she'll do it outside as long as
we watch closely for the signs. It's helpful to monitor the baby's intake- you'll have a better idea when to expect output!

Crate train!! I didn't stick to my guns on it and have had heck to pay for 5 years. I can't wait to get a yard for my little schnauzers.

Your little gal is so cute! Of course I have a soft spot for the little white one, I am assuming Teddy is the brown one?

This sounds odd - but put a string of bells on whatever door you use to let her out most of the time at dog nose height. My boss did this, the local trainer feels that this makes the dog associate jingling bells with going potty.
My bosses dog, now 2 years old, goes over and rings the bells whenever she has to go out, and a human knows to come open the door.
Worked like a charm for her.
Cute dogs, worth all the effort to house train.

This is why I love cats. I like dogs too, and those puppies were so cute! but I LOVE cats.

We have a 10 week-old kitten. She was wild and terrified when we got her at 8 weeks, so we left her alone for a day or two in the bathroom with a bowl of water, a bowl of food and a cat toilet. When we came in she'd be under the chest of drawers hissing at us, but left alone she ate and drank and used the toilet perfectly.

After two weeks she's now the undisputed queen of the household :)

ohhh look at the lil' pom!!! What a cutie! you guys are really making me want another dog.....and 4 is plenty!

BTW My mom did the bell thing with her toy poodle. It worked like a charm for her too. Now she has a tiny doggie door installed tho so its no longer needed. (She lives in a condo with a tiny back yard)

I feel your pain!

Except I have a 7 year old Maltese who has decided she isn't house trained anymore.

Basically, she pees on the floor before I wake up in the morning.

I cage her during the day, for 12 hours (yes, I know, horrible... but it's the best I can do with my work schedule)... so I hate to cage her at night too. That, and she will bark the entire time.

My solution? Diapers. Yep. She wears diapers at night. And for some odd reason, she doesn't realize that she is peeing on herself every morning. It's annoying... and I have to spend 30 minutes every morning cleanin her up and washing the diaper.

After the new year, I'm going to look into options to find her a new home. I love her to death, but obviously I can't train her and my lifestyle doesn't work for her.


Otherwise... your dogs are SO CUTE!!!!

KSH, I'd take the dog to the vet to make sure something else isn't going on. She's too young to be incontinent due to old age. Old enough to know better.

Karen

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Originally Posted by KSH

I feel your pain!

Except I have a 7 year old Maltese who has decided she isn't house trained anymore.

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Get her to a vet. You might have a kidney or bladder problem. Dogs do not normally pee on themselves.

awe cute puppies!

when i was going through potty training a while back i was frustrated too. what saved me was getting a doggy door. so nice. that and she was happy she could go outside on her own and 'tan'.

when i moved up here no doggy door and she thought downstairs was outside. i busted her one time going potty downstairs and that was all it took. the rath of mom. :eek:

the main thing is to catch them in the act, which is hard, but once you do its really affective.

i like the bell idea. never thought of that. though my two would constantly ring the bell, that's just how they are. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KSH

I feel your pain!

Except I have a 7 year old Maltese who has decided she isn't house trained anymore.

Basically, she pees on the floor before I wake up in the morning.

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My dog (spayed) started developing incontinence at age 6. My vet said its not uncommon for spayed females to start as early as 4. They loose control of the smooth muscles that keep them from holding it. This was easily fixed with medication. There are a couple of options available, some involve a pill 2x a day, depending on the severity of the condition and the dog's response, or sometimes they can go on another type of med, involving 1 pill every 6 days or so, again, depending on the dogs response. We have hardwood floors, my dog would let herself go, then I'd see this puddle and say "Kelly!" and she'd start wagging her fluffy tail, spreading pee everywhere, it was terrible. Not a problem anymore.

Morphine, I feel your pain (no pun intended). Our younger dog, a lab, supposed to be a smart breed, right?, took 5 months to house break. Everytime I'd turn around she was peeing on the floor. Just keep at it, they will eventually get it. I agree with what everyone else has said. For us the crate training helped immensely after she was about 16 weeks. Before then it didn't do any good. Some say until 16 weeks they may just not get it, just cover your floors with newspaper and hope for the best, but keep trying!