Cheez-capade day 3 (!!Potty training disaster!!)
Today, cheez-it was a little terror. He suddenly developed a taste for shoes. I walked him around the house with his leash on, I sort of held im next to me in the heal position to stop him from eating the leash. He is doing alright with the leash, but he absolutely refuses to use the bathroom while it is attached. Our first and last leash-walk began after he pee'd in the usual spot in my living room, and ended with me reeling him in like a Marlin, fishy movements and all. This is when I noticed a fatal flaw in my house-breaking plan.
He doesnt really give a warning when he pee's. When he poops its the obvious circle walk and start squatting. But peeing, oh no, no warning for you James. It so happens that to benefit his little-to-no warning on peeing he is also so short that I cant really tell if he is going or not. He doesnt raise his leg. So by the time I catch him he's already pee'd his max teaspoon amount and when I run him outside he doesnt have to go!! So what do I do?
Well at first I took him inside as soon as I figured out he was just goofing off outside, and I cleaned my carpet. I use a spray cleaner, some soaking, dry it up, put down some peroxide, let sit, dry it up, then finally febreeze the carpet. He still goes in the same area, just a different spot. Well, I decided that next time we go out we are staying out until he goes.
So he pee's without warning, I leash him and take him out, we spend a while outside and nothing happens. He just thinks it's funny to run to the end of the leash and perform his marlin-maneuver. So 1.5 hours later, no playing, no nothing, just watching him and waiting, and no pee. It occured to me that mabye he didnt have to go, since he just went (inside) and hasnt eat/drank since coming out. So we go inside after a quick leash battle, where he promptly runs to "that area" and eliminates!!!!!!!!!! I had this all planned out, what is going on here??
I'm going to do something geeky, I am making a database with a simple flash-application for ease of data-entry and cross-platform compatability. This is to track his peeing of course, as well as other dog-related actions. I want to know the average time he pees without eating/drinking/playing and the time after such actions it takes to pee. He is pretty predictable, thats what gets to me so much, that I am always 1 step behind him! If I can get him outside around the time he should pee, wait it out and repeat, we should have this potty-thing down in a week. (Besides occasional accidents, to leave a margin for error).
The final flaw in my plan is Dog-bones, yes it's a flaw, and I am to blame for this one. At first he was great with eliminating outside. We go out, he goes, we come in, it's dog-treat time. He already knows this. If we go out, nothing happens, and we come in, he still thinks its treat time. He stands by the kitchen near the treat-box and waits. No manner of calling will break his attention from the treat-box. Toys? Invisible to him. He did this for 30 minutes until I caved and gave him one. I can see this leading to "pretend-I-have-to-go-out-when-I-dont-and-come-in-and-get-a-treat-itis". Tomarrow were working to remedy this, as well as mabye trying a basic "sit" command.
Oh well, were making it an early night, there's a vet-appt. in the AM that I am sure he is going to love!
He doesnt really give a warning when he pee's. When he poops its the obvious circle walk and start squatting. But peeing, oh no, no warning for you James. It so happens that to benefit his little-to-no warning on peeing he is also so short that I cant really tell if he is going or not. He doesnt raise his leg. So by the time I catch him he's already pee'd his max teaspoon amount and when I run him outside he doesnt have to go!! So what do I do?
Well at first I took him inside as soon as I figured out he was just goofing off outside, and I cleaned my carpet. I use a spray cleaner, some soaking, dry it up, put down some peroxide, let sit, dry it up, then finally febreeze the carpet. He still goes in the same area, just a different spot. Well, I decided that next time we go out we are staying out until he goes.
So he pee's without warning, I leash him and take him out, we spend a while outside and nothing happens. He just thinks it's funny to run to the end of the leash and perform his marlin-maneuver. So 1.5 hours later, no playing, no nothing, just watching him and waiting, and no pee. It occured to me that mabye he didnt have to go, since he just went (inside) and hasnt eat/drank since coming out. So we go inside after a quick leash battle, where he promptly runs to "that area" and eliminates!!!!!!!!!! I had this all planned out, what is going on here??
I'm going to do something geeky, I am making a database with a simple flash-application for ease of data-entry and cross-platform compatability. This is to track his peeing of course, as well as other dog-related actions. I want to know the average time he pees without eating/drinking/playing and the time after such actions it takes to pee. He is pretty predictable, thats what gets to me so much, that I am always 1 step behind him! If I can get him outside around the time he should pee, wait it out and repeat, we should have this potty-thing down in a week. (Besides occasional accidents, to leave a margin for error).
The final flaw in my plan is Dog-bones, yes it's a flaw, and I am to blame for this one. At first he was great with eliminating outside. We go out, he goes, we come in, it's dog-treat time. He already knows this. If we go out, nothing happens, and we come in, he still thinks its treat time. He stands by the kitchen near the treat-box and waits. No manner of calling will break his attention from the treat-box. Toys? Invisible to him. He did this for 30 minutes until I caved and gave him one. I can see this leading to "pretend-I-have-to-go-out-when-I-dont-and-come-in-and-get-a-treat-itis". Tomarrow were working to remedy this, as well as mabye trying a basic "sit" command.
Oh well, were making it an early night, there's a vet-appt. in the AM that I am sure he is going to love!
Comment
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Comment by Bridget on April 29, 2008 at 7:42am
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I read your trials in the rain and loved the title! I will be reading your posts with great interest since our puppy will be joining us soon. I am going back tomorrow afternoon to finalize which pup will be our new friend. I can't wait!
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Comment by Tammey & Caven on April 28, 2008 at 7:24pm
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Hey James off the subject of peeing and on the subject of music, Bear loves music, guitar etc. Our great dane Joni however can't stand it. Love that pup of yours.
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Comment by Twinky on April 28, 2008 at 5:27pm
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Bitter Apple is the best, and will put a stop to the chewing. I agree with most everyone, the crate is a must, or when he gets older, a play pen area so he can't get into too much mischief. I've heard the boys are harder to potty train- Not sure if that's true or not! I used to take Twinky out ever 15 minutes and sooner if she had eaten or drank. It was exhausting when she was little, but keeping them on a schedule really helps. Keep us posted! :)
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Comment by James on April 28, 2008 at 1:25pm
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Thanks for the help, Im going to go out and pick up some bitter apple tomarrow when he passes out for his usual afternoon siesta. I have noticed 2 or 3 specific things he tries to chew. He started trying to eat the carpet by the door, the corner of a couch, and my winerack. He hasnt done any damage yet, and gets corrected everytime. Best to discourage this behavior now I suppose. Thanks for the tips too.
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Comment by Carlie on April 28, 2008 at 12:28pm
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Oh yea, one more thing...our breeder has some helpful tips on her website about leash training, potty training and that kind of stuff, her website is: www.honeyfoxcorgis.com
Just thought it might also be helpful. Good luck
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James, yes it's called "Grannicks Bitter Apple" it comes in a spray bottle, with a yellow label and green writing. I bought it at Petco, which means you can probably find it at any petsmart. Kiwi hates it, and has completely stopped chewing on the coffee table and other furniture. Also, with the shoes, I've kind of just learned to pick them up and put them on a chair or something she can't reach. In addition, Vic and I started this from when she was 8 weeks old, we started saying "leave it" with anything she wasn't supposed to have, and now, she's 12 weeks and when we say it, she lets go immediately, that way we don't just say "no," but leave it is a little bit more specific and when he lets go, praise him like crazy, so he learns that it's a good thing to let go. We also do it with her toys, just so that she doesn't try to dominate while playing, (I think it just reminds them, who is "top dog") and then we give it back to her after we praise her (the toys...not the shoe,sock or anything else she shouldn't have). We've been taking her to puppy kindergarten, so we have all kinds of helpful tips fresh on the mind, so anything you need, please, please feel free to ask.
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Comment by Parker on April 28, 2008 at 11:29am
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I'm not at ALL sure that this works, but I read somewhere that if you put a treat on a paper plate or even a bigger hand full of kibble and put on that spot that they are soiling in that house, it will deter them from soiling there again because they don't want to soil where they eat. Again, I have not clue if this works or not.
I say start treating outside for sure, then maybe he'll start to associate the treat with peeing outside. And also I agree with the crating. We just don't let Grover get out of our sight while inside unless he is crated. Which is never for very long, except during the day. GOOD LUCK! Don't get discouraged! He'll learn! Good luck with the Graphical Analysis!! Keep us posted!
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The little Cheez-ball is conked out after our vetrinary-outing this morning, today he is being really, really good. He got up, went out, did his thing, came in, got treat, played, went out, did nothing, came in, got kenneled w/o treat, went out again, did his thing, came in, got treat.. Then the trip to the vet was an adventure, he loves attention and wiggles around like a little worm to all the women coo-ing at him. I can tell he's exhausted, and he finally let me rub his belly for about the 20 seconds today he was laying on his back.
Carlie, I am going to have to look up that bitter apple stuff. It it something readily available at pet stores?
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I was reading some of the replies to your post, and I happen to agree with all of them, Nature's Miracle is great. It supposedly gets rid of the smell for you and for the pup. I know that Kiwi hates the way it smells and walks away from it after I spray it. As far as the potty training, I think with Kiwi, we just made it part of our routine, she knows that as soon as she gets up from taking a nap, playing, sleeping (pretty much any kind of change in her activity) she goes outside. It definitely took her a while to get used to the leash, she hated it at first, and she hated peeing with it on. Also, maybe try bringing him out for about 10 minutes at a time, so he doesn't have time to play around outside, and if he doesn't go, you can put him in his crate when you come back in for about 10-15 mintues, and then take him out again. I would definitely try really hard not to cave in when he's begging for a treat, they learn so quickly how to take advantage of you. I know Kiwi probably thinks she has me wrapped around her paw.
It's funny that you want to make a database of when he eliminates, my husband wanted to do the same thing with Kiwi, then he realized that there was no set schedule or amount when she was so little. All I can say is that patience is key, there were so many (and are still so many) times when I would get so frustrated, but I kept reminding myself that she's just a little baby, and needs to be taught. One last thing...bitter apple is great for keeping him away from your shoes. Most dogs hate the smell and taste of it, so they leave things alone. Good luck with everything and feel free to ask more questions!
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Comment by Charlie on April 28, 2008 at 10:28am
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I wouldn't worry about Cheez-it feeling punished by the crate. You're obviously going to be a good doggie daddy and give him plenty of physical and mental stimulation when he's outside the crate. At this age, Cheez-it is probably sleeping 16-20 hours a day, so spending a lot of that down time in his crate will only have him associate his crate as a safe haven to calmly chew on a toy, rest, relax and nap. When he wakes up from a nap in his crate, take him outside. He is very likely to pee right after a nap. Then spending a half hour or so playing with toys, and mentally stimulating him with training basics, or grooming will wear him out again and he'll be ready for another puppy nap. The more you exercise him physically and mentally, the more he'll be ready for that next puppy nap in his safe place. Good luck! Sounds like you're doing a great job so far. : - )
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