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Comment by Cheryl and Bella on August 22, 2009 at 12:22am

Thank you, all of you for the great suggestions. It has motivated me to make a lot of positive changes and get into a stricter daily routine. I really enjoy this site because of helpful folks like you.
Thanks to all ~ Hugs~ Cheryl and Bella

Comment by Sunni A. on August 11, 2009 at 2:00pm

Remember that the delightful, luring poo-smell goes through the potty pads and essentially onto your carpet, that's why puppy poos in the same place, but not necessarily on the clean pad. I don't know if you do this already, but my advice would be to thoroughly deodorize the "old areas" that are left behind w/ smelly pet spray as you're trying to inch the potty pad towards the door. That way she isn't sniffing, trying to find the last place she poo'd. She'll just think, "Oh, great, there's that potty pad.", making it easier for you to finally get it out the door, and onto some grass.

Comment by Beth on August 11, 2009 at 10:14am

I was in a hurry this morning and didn't fully explain the "using papers inside" thing.

I think pee-pads have appeal because working full time makes it hard for people with tiny puppies who can't hold it.

I came home every day at lunch, but that still meant about 4hrs and 15 minutes that pup had to hold it, which was too long. So we put him in a round pen and lined it with papers during the day. That way he didn't make a mess if he had to go. By the time he was about 4 months old, he usually would hold it while I was gone, and by the time he was about 5 months old I took up the papers completely.

While we were home, though, we did the standard crate-training/ confinement housebreaking method and it worked well.

Comment by Lou Ann Lemaster on August 11, 2009 at 8:03am

I still keep the p-pads down for emergencies. Duncan lets us know when he has to go out, but then, they are there if we miss the cue or he isn't feeling well. Like last week! He had a case of "muddy butt" (my bad, I thought a little gravy from supper on his food would be a nice change....NOT!!!), and he had to go NOW in the middle of the night. I heard him crawl out from under the bed, where he likes to sleep and literally run to his pad and use it. Saved me a big mess in the middle of the floor.
Anyway, I usually take the dogs out in the morning and Duncan will pee right away but not poo. So, I come in, get my coffee, wait about 15 minutes and take him out again. If that doesn't work, I take him back in, take a quick shower and take him out one more time. He usually does it by then. Again, it's waiting the dog out. Most of the time, the second trip is all I have to do. Then, I take him out one more time just before I go to work to make sure everything is out of the system.

Comment by Beth on August 11, 2009 at 7:12am

Dogs can be reconditioned to go elsewhere. The biggest issue I see right now is sometimes reconditioning involves "waiting the dog out" (keeping it outside til it can't hold it any more) but at eight months, she can hold it for a long, long time.

We used newspapers inside, but they were just "for emergencies" and we neither praised nor scolded Jack for using them, just ignored it. He only really had access to the papers if we could not watch him (like while at work) and the rest of the time we kept him away from papers and used the normal crate-training method to housebreak. That worked well, and I think that pee-pads used in a similar way could be useful.

I've never tried it myself, but what some have done is taken the pee-pad OUTSIDE to where you want the dog to go, so she gets the idea what you want, then gradually reducing the size of the object (that would mean cutting it) til she's going on grass.

Comment by Cheryl and Bella on August 11, 2009 at 1:07am

I'm will try that. I've given her too much freedom ~ too soon. Thank you, I appreciate the advice!

Comment by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on August 11, 2009 at 12:49am

I would suggest maybe taking her for a walk after she eats on a leash and when she does go poo outside make a huge ordeal, praise her and give her a small treat right away! Is she crate trained,because if she is you can take her out to do her business on a leash and then if she doesnt do everything outside then bring her back in and put her in the crate and then bring her back out to go potty. Hope this advice helps.