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Comment by Gina and Zak on April 10, 2008 at 9:50pm

Our Rosa hated her leash as well, she would bark at it and chew on it, she finally grew out of it. The thing that worked best for us was we got a bell and hung it from our door and she dings the bell when she needs to go out. It just seemed to click with her. She can still take forever outside finding the right spot, it takes lots of patience. Good luck!

Comment by Amy Parish on April 10, 2008 at 7:37pm

I don't want her to go down the stairs yet, but it is difficult to get her downstairs before she has to go. I thought maybe she was getting scared, knowing she can't go down by herself. She is scared of the elevator too. I think it's the ding. Thanks for the advice.

Comment by Eruc on April 10, 2008 at 6:22pm

At 15 weeks are you asking her to climb stairs by herself? Our breeder didn't want her doing down on the stairs before four months. The down can put a lot of load on the front legs before they are formed enough for her weight.

Also, one thing I learned was to take Emma out right after a nap. She usually had to pee at least and this helped get her in the habit of knowing what going outside was for.

Comment by Pa'ani on April 10, 2008 at 4:44pm

I used to live in an apartment as well. Pa'ani had a hard time going up and down the stairs at first. Just be patient one day she will realize that stairs arent that scary. I would say that because shes so young AND shes a corgi it will take her a while to get the potty training idea. It took about 6-7 months for Pa'ani to get it (hes a boy). Reinforcing with lots of treats while shes really young will really help her out. If you want to take her off the treats do it very slowly. Maybe for a while make sure you have plety treats with you wherever you go, then slowly wean her off them. it takes time, just be patient. corgis can be a very stubborn breed. good luck!

Comment by Amy Parish on April 10, 2008 at 3:57pm

We are in an apartment complex, so we have to go down the stairs (which she won't do) or down the elevator (which scares her). We go to the same spot every time. There are so many dogs around here that I think maybe she is just getting so distracted. She used to stay outside for 30-40 minutes just investigating, etc. Now, she just sits at the door. I suppose I just need to stay patient with her. This is just as new to her as it is to me. Sometimes I want to stay out longer than her! I feel bad having her go in her crate to play, but I don't want to continue to have accidents in the house. Thanks for all the advice....We will be trying it out in a few minutes...(She is waking up from napping...in her crate! Yeah!)

Comment by Ginny and Diggory on April 10, 2008 at 3:34pm

Are you going outside with her to go potty? I would recommended going out with her, on a leash (even if it is in your yard) ask her to go potty and then praise her when she does to reinforce the behavior. We were having the same problem about a month ago. When she was at my dad's, she could stay out for two hours and then would come in and pee. It was especially bad because she kept going on the expensive oriental rug! The trainer said that even though there is a fenced in yard, we needed to work with her by going out with her, asking her to go potty, then rewarding her and praising her for going outside. Then she said for a week, when she was in the house, she needed to be on a leash with us or in her kennel if we weren't watching her. Take her out every 1-2 hours until she can hold it longer.

As for the leash, just give it some time. Put it on her in the house so she can get used to it. Give her treats and praise her so she learns that the leash is a good thing. Ginny bucked like a bronco when she first wore her leash. She HATED it. Now, at 5 months, when she sees me get the leash, she comes over because she knows the leash means we are going out, so she's come to associate it with good things.