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 Elizabeth Throneberry on
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When my husband an I lived in an apartment we got the giant grass potty pad for the back porch he would go on. Then during the day take him on walks. The grass potty pad is sold at local pet stores. It's grass that drains on to a potty pad. When you go to take your dog potty scratch at your door at his level and say potty outside he will eventually pick it up that he needs to scratch before/ or a bell hanging from the knob and hit it and say potty outside before . Also reward him every time he goes out and when I say reward pet him give him a treat say "good boy potty outside" he will pick up fast.
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Permalink Reply by Melyssa on
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Thank you Elizabeth! I will definitely start trying that scratching method or I might just buy a bell. I try to reward him when he goes with lots of petting and kind words, but adding a treat is a good idea. Thank you!!
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Melyssa,
1. Read and re-read the FAQ on potty training.
2. Stand your ground, take him out to potty first thing in the morning when you open the crate, head straight out the door, you need to build up a routine for him to follow. Good luck!
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Thank you Sam! I will keep doing that and hope the routine starts working out.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Congrats! It will probably take a month or so to get in a routine and he has to learn how things "work" at his new home. I recently got a 1 year old pup back and the 1st thing he did was walk in and lift his leg. Within a few days he learned the rules and was fine I never grabbed him just sternly said "no".. I would cut the out of his cage to once during the night and phase that out in the next few weeks. He is also probably confused as to what to do and maybe lonesome but that should get better soon also a good toy like a Kong or antler to keep him busy may help. I agree that when you get him out ...be ready to walk out the door with him. After about a month mine has free reign of the house when I'm home and is fine but I do crate him when I'm gone...he has decided it's really nice to curl up on the bed and snuggle:)
Good luck....can't wait to hear how well he is doing!
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Hi Jane, thank you for your advice! I think you are right about his behavior (confused, maybe lonely, etc). I need to be patient and remember it's only the third day. He's still a baby :) I have a Kong, but I think it might be too big. After researching corgis, it seemed like they were ready to chew through anything, so I got the black/most strong kong, but he can't get a good grip on it yet. I did add some peanut butter/kibble into it once and he enjoyed kicking it around to knock them out. Do you have any suggestions for the kong? It seems easy to get food out of, but maybe I'm not using it properly. Also, what is an "antler"?
Thank you for your help!! :)
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I have all types of kongs and rubber Premier toys that look like bar bells. Many can hold treats and keep them busy when kenneled even if he can't chew on the kong if he gets peanut butter treats in it and likes it that's fine too.. The red kongs work great and I have a purple bottle shaped one also.
I use large(6") deer/elk antlers for all my dogs!
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Permalink Reply by Lola and Paige on
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Even though he is a little older you can't be sure how and what the rules are at his previous home so he has to re learn what is right. It may be a good idea to take him out every couple hours (specifically 2), this may include nighttime, when he gets up in the morning, and about a half hour after he eats. Dog digestive systems are shorter than ours so he may have to go. It may be a good idea to establish a potty spot outside to kinda get into his head that he has to go. But don't hit him because he might get the idea that going potty is bad wherever he is. Also everytime you take him out say "outside" as you head out the door (if he doesn't already know it) so that he can get the hang that outside means potty time! But good luck I hope this helps!
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Hello Lola and Paige and thank you!! Today I took him out about 4-5 times so far (it's 10pm). Usually he is not keen on doing his business right away, so we walk around for awhile, especially near his usual elimination spots. I'm wondering if I am walking him too much. In total today, we have probably walked for almost two hours. It is at a fairly slow pace, but he is still small and I don't want to overwork him. He has started to randomly just stop walking in the middle of our walk. The past couple walks have been strange in that way - we will walk for a few seconds and then he'll just stop and stare at me and not budge. Does this mean he doesn't dig the walk? Or maybe he's getting too tired?
Thank you for all of your advice!
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Permalink Reply by Nina & Nellie on
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1. You can try a weekend potty train, i.e. put him in his crate, take him out every hour, then back into the crate after a treat and a short walk/turn around the yard. DogStarDaily has a good method of potty training too that doesn't involve being put back into the crate right after potty. If you don't want to crate that much, you can also try leash bonding, so that he's always with you and you can tell right away when he's going to go.
My 2 cents: I would advise taking him for a walk AFTER potty, not FOR potty. This reinforces the pottying outdoors, as he'll learn that if he potties when mom tells him to, he gets to go on a walk! I had a foster dog who somehow learned that if she held it in long enough she would be taken for a walk, and she was a pain to try and potty train because she would actually refuse to go in the yard. Her record was 18/24 hrs! I felt really bad for her so I took her for a walk and out came the waterworks... Despite being able to hold it that long she still wasn't indoor trained and I remember hanging out with my friend in the living room and seeing poop on the rug. However, even if he refuses to go without a walk, don't give in! He'll eventually have to, and then you can show him how good he is by taking him for a short walk :)
2. Take away his water around 3 hours before you go to bed/his last potty trip. This will cut down on him needing to go during the night. My 10 week old, amazingly, never needed to go during the night. She might be an outlier in that sense but I always take her bowl away at 8pm, sometimes earlier. Once he's reliably potty trained you can probably just leave water out for him.
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Thank you for your help! I have a question about your idea of taking him for a walk after he potties. Does this mean he should potty in the house and then immediately after, we go for a walk outside? I think I might be confused - wouldn't this make him think if he potties in the house, he gets to go for a walk? Or is my logic off? It sounds like it could be a good idea, I'm just misunderstanding it a little bit. Thank you!!
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No no, not in the house. If he potties outside, you can take him for a walk. Hopefully you'll get used to his signals so you can catch him in the act and make him do it outside, and then he can get a walk too.
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