Housetraining problem
Hello,
I have a 3 month old puppy and I lost control over her peeing behavior. Nothing I try seems to work. I need help!
Some facts:
1. The breeder taught her to pee on pads. She was never outside before I got her.
2. I started taking her out immediately after I got her. At first, she was scared of everything, so we took it slowly, but by now she gets more and more adventurous. My initial idea was to let her use the pads all day and just take her out every couple hours for her #2. That seemed to work.
3. Then I thought, maybe this situation is confusing -- both pads and going outside at the same time? I decided I will leave a pad in the bedroom for the night and during daytime I will take her out every hour if she is not sleeping.
4. I praise her every time she does her business outside and as a reward I give her some delicious peanut butter (she does not get it otherwise).
The problem is, starting this week, she seems to forgot what pads are for. She sleeps with me in the bed and usually, when she would wake up and start walking around, I would wake up too and just put her on a pad to pee. Now, she just sits on it, lays down or just goes to another place and pees there. She wants to do it everywhere, but not on the pads. Giving her a fresh one does not help.
She is healthy, has no issues with food, wants to play all the time and sleeps a lot. She looks just like a regular, happy puppy.
My vet suggested I should scold her if I catch her in the act. Tried that today -- she just looked at me with a "what do you want?" stare, finished what she was doing and went back to her toy.
Today I had enough. I've found two dried puddles, she peed in my bed and after a walk (she didn't want to move a lot, just sat in one place and observed people) she peed again after just 30 mins. I feel the only things I do during the day is watching her and cleaning...
It seems she does not see the difference between here and outside. What am I doing wrong? Should I just wait it out? Scold her louder?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marta on
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I think we made some progress. We, because it also took me some time to understand I have to be super alert if the pup is running around and if she pees every hour when awake, I have to take her out every single hour, period. So far, I limited the amount of accidents to only one per day :).
As for the crate, she has no problem getting inside to play with her toys or taking a nap, but still cries if I close it and go away for longer than 1 - 2 minutes.
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Get a longish leash -- like a training leash. Clip it to Pup's collar. Whatever room you happen to be in -- say you're in the kitchen fixing dinner or in the family room watching the TV or in the bathroom getting ready for work -- tie the leash to the door knob in that room, giving pup enough play to walk around the room but not enough to weasel out of your sight. Always watch Pup out of the corner of your eye: if she starts to sniff around, if she starts to act squirrelly, if she starts ooking or whining, immediately drop what you're doing and take her outside. Stay there until she performs. Congratulate generously. Return to your task, with Pup reattached to the doorknob.
This strategy works wonders not only for the housetraining gambit but also to head off any number of other Puppy Antics, such as chewing the furniture, kissing the electrical outlets, grabbing the cat's tail, and the like.
Eventually Pup will outgrow having to be tied down every living breathing moment and can slowly, gently be trusted at large for longer and longer periods, until such time as You and Pup coexist full-time in a seemingly normal way.
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Thanks for the idea, but my apartment is not big and a) the pup does not have many rooms to go to and hide b) if I tie her to the only existing door knob in the kitchen I will still not see her, because the furniture will obscure the view. I think I will just focus on the crate training, should be easier to manage :).
And watching her out of the corner of my eye wouldn't be enough - she doesn't start sniffing or going in circles when she has to go, just squats and starts peeing.
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:-D Got it.
I've been known to tie dogs to my belt, my wrist, and my ankle. None of those alternatives are very comfortable!
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Permalink Reply by Sandra on
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Quick question, was she going consistently on the pads before you started the switch? I have a corgi pup now, 3 months and she is still too young to bring out bc I live in the city and she has to get her vaccines before she can head out so I was curious bc eventually, when she can start going outside, I want her to go outside obviously and wondered about the transition period going from wee wee pad to going outside.
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Yes, the breeder taught her to do her business on pads. When I got her (at 2 months) I immediately started taking her outside, but at home - if she had to - she was still using pads for peeing (pooping on the bare floor only, though). Then, as I wrote previously, she kinda forgot what pads are for, so I just started taking her out more often and removed the pads completely.
But my situation is slightly different from yours, because I did not wait for complete vaccinations (I decided the risk is low enough and socializing the pup is way too important). If you have to wait, it might be easier for your pup to switch because she will be older (better bladder control).
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