Some Random Questions After Having My Corgi For One Day!
Hello!
I just got my boy, Frankie, yesterday and he is amazing! He is almost 6 months old, so he is a bit bigger and more adult looking, but has a great personality! I did a lot of research before I got him, but realized last night that I still had some questions I didn't think of before he arrived. Hopefully you can help me with them. :)
1. He lived at the breeder's house until now, but he isn't potty trained really. He IS trained not to pee/poo in his crate, but he goes around my house sometimes. I've been taking him for walks to avert this, but it still happens. When he's not in his crate, I watch him like a hawk, but sometimes it's hard to tell if he's peeing or something because it's extremely quick and he doesn't squat when he pees. As soon as I notice, of course I grab him and put him on a mat, but I'm wondering if there are other ways to help him understand that excrement is only for outside. I know you are supposed to grab them and take them outside as soon as you see them start, but I live on the 6th floor and it would take a couple minutes to get downstairs. Often, he finishes peeing/pooing within about 5 seconds, so it seems kind of impossible with my circumstances to grab him in the middle of his business and go outside. I do have a balcony though, but I'm not sure I'd like him to do his business there. Anyways, does anyone have suggestions for a dog that is crate trained, eliminates during walks, but then also has accidents in the house that are quick and kind of unstoppable?
2. Even though he's 6 months, he cried every couple hours in his crate last night. I took him outside for two of those times (at 4 and 6am), and he did go potty, but I've also read that you should let them cry otherwise they'll think crying means being let out of their cage/someone will come get them. So, I let him stay in his cage until I woke up and he mostly went back to sleep/was ok/didn't have any accidents. Since he's 6 months, what do you think is best? I know he should be able to hold it for awhile, but I can't tell the difference between the "I want someone to play with me" cry and the "I need to go potty" cry. Any tips?
Besides that, he is doing wonderfully and I am totally in love! Thanks for any advice you can give. :)
Melyssa
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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It is common for a dog that is potty trained to still need some retraining in a totally different environment. People who sell their house and move to a new home with their well trained pets, often find this out firsthand .... Approach the problem as you would with a very young puppy, taking him out every two hours or so and keeping an eye on him in between, while not giving him yet the run of the house. The difference between a young pup and your six month old is that the training will go quickly, weeks rather than months. In a couple of weeks, you should be taking him out first thing in the morning, after meals and he should be good for about 4 hrs. Crate him when you cannot keep an eye on him, until he has had ZERO accidents for at least a month or two.
Dogs will eliminate to mark territory, especially in a new environment, and he will not be inclined to do that once he has established an elimination routine outside and has become secure in his environment. The process should not take long if you are consistent. I would not have him go on the balcony. He can hold it until you get outside, interrupt him if he starts to go and take him out.
For the night, find out what his routine was at the breeder's home ( timewise ) and try to replicate that, slowly making whatever changes you need to better fit your schedule as needed.
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Permalink Reply by Melyssa on
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Thank you, Anna! I think you are right that I need to treat him like a younger puppy since he doesn't have a schedule here yet. It's encouraging that it might take less time to train him, too!
I have another question about meals - it seems like he digests very slowly. Today I gave him breakfast and about an hour after eating, we went for a 40 minute walk, but he only peed. I had to leave for work (I left about 2 hours after feeding him) so my boyfriend came in and checked on him a couple hours later and he had peed/pooed in his crate. Also, tonight I fed him dinner at 6:30pm, took him for a walk at 7:30pm and also at 8:30pm, but he didn't eliminate at all. It's now 10:30pm and he's resting next to me/doesn't seem like he needs to go. Is this odd that it takes him so long to digest? I'm wondering how people feed their dogs breakfast and have them digest it and get it out on their morning walk before dog owners go to work. Hopefully that makes sense. It just seems like I'd need to feed him breakfast extremely early in order for him to eliminate before I need to go to work.
Thank you for your advice and help!! I appreciate it.
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The body is a creature of habit, just go traveling and see how your own patterns change. Frankie needs to get into a routine of eating and eliminating on a new schedule and knowing where it's OK to eliminate. If he does not, he'll hold it until he has no choice (unless he was used to eliminating in his crate at the breeder's...)
It's hard to have a new dog and have to go to work when there has not been time enough to set a proper pattern. There is no magic wand. My dogs poop in the morning before they are fed They get up, go outside, do their business and come in and eat. This all happens within 15-20 minutes. When we travel for 3 days with the dogs (cross Country), it was a hassle to get them to go. The first time we did this, the Corgi held it until the 3rd day. Now they've learned the routine and it's no longer a problem.
Scolding the dog will only make matters worse, unless you catch him in the act. He is between a rock and a hard place, not sure what to do or when or where. Be patient and try to create a routine.
See if the breeder has any suggestions, she is the most familiar with the dog, his needs and his patterns.
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Thank you SO much to everyone for your helpful replies. I can't believe how many people responded with great advice already. I am really digging this corgi community :)
Some updates:
- He slept through the night until 6:30am last night and did a great job going #1 and #2 on his walk. He wakes me up by whining which is really helpful.
- Since he had already walked around 7am, when I woke up again at 9am, I gave him breakfast first instead of going for a walk right away. An hour later, at 10am, we went for a 45 minute walk, but he only peed a little. I left for work at around 11:30am and put him in his crate. My boyfriend checked on him while I was at work (around 2pm) and he had peed/pooed in his crate already (first time). Also, I gave him dinner at 6:30pm, we walked at 7:30 and 8:30, but no poo/pee at all. It's now 10:30 and he still doesn't seem to want to go out (he's sleeping next to me). I'm wondering how long it takes for corgis to digest? When I left in the morning, it had been about 2 hours with nothing and now it's been 4 hours with nothing. If it takes awhile to digest, just curious, but how do people manage that routine in the morning before work? If I feed him right when I get up (maybe at 7 or 8) and then plan to leave for work 1-2 hours later, it seems like he won't pee/poop on a walk during that time. How do you feed him AND get rid of the excrement that his breakfast will create before heading to work? Do I need to feed him earlier?
- Today during all of our walks, he has started doing this thing where he'll just stop walking, sit down, and stare at me. I try tugging his leash gently, calling him, bribing him with treats, etc, but he is really insistent on sitting there and not moving. I'm wondering why this is. Could it be him trying to be dominant? Maybe just tired? Any ideas to fix it (treats aren't really helping)?
- He walks extremely close to me during our walks. I am always scared I'm going to step on him. Sometimes he even tries walking in between my legs haha. Is this just a puppy thing? I try pulling the leash to the side a little to get him to move over so I'm not so close to him, but then I'm pulling the leash and I don't like doing that. I know this isn't a big deal, but he is literally glued to me and since I'm tall, it's kind of hard to see if I'm going to step on him, though I do walk slowly and try to be very careful.
- His name has changed to "Monja." Monja was the other option and after calling him Frankie, I knew it just didn't feel right! Monja feels totally right. :)
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Permalink Reply by Kaitlyn L. on
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Hi Melyssa!
Jeff is 10 months old now, but he's had this schedule ever since I brought him home at 3 months old. We wake at 6:15am and he goes potty then eats breakfast while I get ready for work. I take him out for a walk at 7:20 and he pees & poops. Sometimes I'm running late, and he eats at 7 and goes out at 7:20- he will still pee and poop. Around 12:30 he goes pee and poop again, but now that he's older can hold it until 5 if needed. He goes pee at 5:30, eats dinner, then we go out for another walk at 6 where he pees and poops- usually multiple times! haha. In the evening he'll go out again around 8 and before bed at 10. Jeff holds it through the night with free range of my bedroom before we wake up and start the whole cycle again!
That wasn't really advice, but I hope it helps! It's nice to hear other schedules sometimes :) good luck!
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Hi Kaitlyn! Thank you so much for your advice and for sharing your schedule. You're right - it is helpful to hear what others do. I think I have been combining "walks" with "go potty," as in I take him for walks and expect him to stop to potty along the way. Now I realize these should be two different things in a way. That makes total sense to take him out to potty first thing in the morning and then to go for a walk later before I leave for work. I also like that you have a very set schedule - I think it's important that we set something clear too. Right now it has been generally the same, but there needs to be more consistency and routine for him. Thank you so much for your help!
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Permalink Reply by Jane T. (& Griffin) on
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Hi Melyssa,
Be careful when walking your puppy if he gets in front of you. When Griffin was about 8 months old he stopped in front of me and I tripped over him. I hit the street, taking a lot of skin off my knees and palms. Also, hit my face--just lucky I didn't break my nose.
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Permalink Reply by Lola and Paige on
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Hey Melyssa! I think what they are trying to tell you is to take Monja out to go potty and after he does his business then you can take him for a walk. When I first got Lola I would try to walk her a little to have her go potty and everyday it seemed that we would have to walk farther and farther up to the point where we were walking about three miles and she still wouldn't do her business. It was time to rethink my plan. Now right away in the morning when Lola and I get up (around 7:30-8:00) the first thing that I do is take her out to go potty because I know that I can probably wait longer than she can. I try to make sure that she goes 1 and 2 however, if not #2 then I try to take her out an hour later because I know that she hasn't gone for at least twelve hours so it's about time she has to.
Now, when she was smaller I did try to take her out about 30-45 minutes after she ate. My main goal was for her to pee since that was what she did most in the house. I brought her to a specific area in the yard and let her just kinda do laps in that area til she found an area that was to her "liking". If she didn't poo then I would try to take her out every half hour thereafter until she finally went. Which when she did finally poo I reacted like pigs could finally fly, I mean the whole nine yards of clapping, cheering, petting, and a treat to praise her good behavior (yes, I kinda looked like an idiot but she liked it and got the hang of it). Now she only has to go out about every three or four hours!
I don't mean to write you an essay but you should try to get him familiar with a certain potty area (sounds like he kinda is already), and don't expect him to poo right away they seem to take longer to get the hang of that. Like you said it is only the third day so he won't be fully familiar with his surroundings and may not feel completely comfortable with letting his business out just yet, it took Lola a couple of weeks too. But when he does just give him lots of love with petting and maybe a treat so he likes to go potty outside. Maybe he should feel like he just won the 800 meter dash in the Olympics!
Trust me, I did reach a few moments when I doubted whether or not I was the right owner for Lola and if I was doing something wrong. Now she is fully trained and loves going into the yard to go potty! You can do it!
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Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement! That makes a lot of sense now. We have been going for walks and I've been waiting for him to stop during out walks to do his business. I realize now that we need to go to a spot and basically wait for him to go and then we can go for a walk. I will definitely do that next time and add more excitement/a treat to the mix. Thank you so much! I am excited now, knowing we can do it! :)
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No problem! We all need a little help sometimes and it is good to have somewhere to turn to! Little Monja has a good mommy that wants to do the best for him so he's a lucky pup! Give it a few months and he'll be a star at going potty!
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Hey Melyssa, I just wanted to add that when Monja stops to look at you while walking that may be because he is nervous and unsure of his surroundings. When I walk Lola (just did in the rain...bad idea) if we reach a spot that we normally don't walk she may stop every so often and give me a glance. It's kinda like she is looking for reassurance that its ok and she's ok. Also I know that my Lola doesn't like cars too much and looks at me if there are too many around (don't know if that's your problem) but if one goes by and she doesn't tuck her tail or seek shelter between my legs I pet her and tell her "good girl!" Little Monja may just be nervous and looking towards his mom for some comfort. Everytime the season changes and there are new smells around Lola reverts a little until she gets used to it and realizes that it is still her home. He'll be ok, remember he is still a baby!
Also, it sounds weird, but when Lola starts to refuse to walk but I know it's just because she's a little nervous I made a rap for her, the Lola rap, and when I sing for her it seems to get her a little distracted from the cars and helps her calm down and keep going (yes weird and you don't have to sing to your pup but it works for mine haha!)
P.S. I don't give Lola too many treats on her walk now it's mainly petting and praise! Good luck!
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Thank you so much for your comment! You are SO right! I live in Tokyo and the area I live in is not extremely busy, but there are always people and cars around and I can tell he gets scared sometimes and he gives me the glance, too. I try to do exactly what you said and be happy and positive so he knows it's ok. I also pet him sometimes too when he's doing well. And oddly enough, I have a little rap/song I sing to him sometimes on our walks, too! hahah. Their faces are just so cute...I feel like they like songs haha. He did a lot better on our walks today and though I live in a semi-busy area, I am trying to find more streets nearby that are less crowded and I think he's feeling more comfortable. Seems to be working and he's doing great today! Thanks again :)
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