Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carlie on February 1, 2009 at 2:52pm

We have Kiwi bell trained, b/c these dogs are so incredibly smart :) it only took Kiwi about a week to learn what ringing the bell meant. We also took her out pretty much every half hour to an hour when we were home with her, and we brought treats with us when we went. While we were housebreaking her we only gave her dog food to her as a treat ( just b/c she was so young). She seemed to catch on pretty quickly with the treats, and even now that she's just about a year old, we still bring treats out with us b/c she goes potty faster if she thinks we have treats (and with 17 degree weather, the faster the better :) ). If you want information on bell training I'd be happy to give you more details. I'd say the only downfall is that sometimes she just rings it for no reason, but when that happens we just tell her to go lie down and she normally (normally being the key word ;) ) listens. Good luck!!! Cherish this baby stage b/c it goes by so quickly!

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Permalink Reply by Wendt Worth Corgi's on February 2, 2009 at 9:07am

Another member of mycorgi.com trained their dog the bell also. I know she'd be more then happy to talk to you about it. She's a really nice lady and a dedicated Corgi fan. Here is the link to her page.
http://www.mycorgi.com/profile/JamiePalmer

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Permalink Reply by Edie on February 4, 2009 at 7:07pm

Thanks for the suggestion. We have had two days w/o accidents. My husband went up into the attic and brought down a crate that my daughter's large dog (chow/lab mix) traveled in from up north to South Carolina, and we added that to the living room right inside the door where she was wetting. She also got shots and deworming med from the vet which made her vomit and have slight diarrhea, so she was literally a "miserable little pup". We took her back later that day and the vet told us to get chicken and rice food and fed her a little at a time. She had accidents that night, but since then we've been setting the timer on the oven for 1.5 hrs and taking her out then, and she's been really good. I have read in one of the puppy training books about the bell thing, but when I spoke w/my husband he said he wasn't putting a bell on the back door...we go in and out of it too much! I appreciate your advise, and if we relapse, I may have to insist that we at least try it.

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on February 1, 2009 at 4:37pm

Hi Edie! Congratulations on the new pup. She is adorable!

Here is a link to a previous thread. It has some great advice and further links. I hope this helps! Corgis are smart and she will get the idea soon enough, though probably not as soon as you would like!

http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/housebreaking-help

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Permalink Reply by Edie on February 4, 2009 at 7:16pm

Thanks so much for the advice. I had read up on housebreaking for corgi's and it did say to take them out frequently and immediately reward a "performance". I keep forgetting to put the treats in my pocket when I'm taking her out, so we've just rewarded her when we come in and I say what a good girl she is to go POTTY, and repeat that several times while I'm petting her and giving her the treat. Hopefully she's smart enough to get the message even though she has a worn out old mom with a one track mind and the track is to get to the yard before we have an accident. So far, yesterday and today she has done VERY well. She is so cute and a real sweetheart!

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on February 1, 2009 at 7:47pm

Keep in mind that she is still a baby and is going to have accidents. You are probably not taking her outside enough. She should be taken out 8-10 times a day. The peeing in the house soon after coming in has happened to me and my corgi and my cousin and her corgi, I guess it is common. Just be patient with her.

Don't let her see you cleaning up her messes (some dogs enjoy seeing their owners clean up lol), and don't punish unless you catch her in the act. Make sure that you use pet oder remover (or vinegar) to cover the smell and prevent her from wanting to mark.

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Permalink Reply by Edie on February 4, 2009 at 7:24pm

Thanks, Jessica, for your advice. I had read that she would need to go out often, and have nothing on my schedule other than her first South Carolina vet visit on Monday (past 2/2). She got sick from one of her innoculations or the deworming med, and had to go back that evening. She recovered really quickly and is now getting chicken & rice for a few days. The last two days she really seems to have caught on w/the potty training, and if I say "Potty, Morna" she goes to the back door. We have a picket fence around our back yard and she could squeeze between the slats and under the fence in a few places where the land was uneven, so we had been taking her out with a leash. My husband put chicken wire onto the pickets with those plastic electrician fasteners, and yesterday and today when she went out she could run around and she seems to have picked on area for peeing and another for pooping. She hasn't had an accident since Tuesday morning.

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Permalink Reply by Amy on February 1, 2009 at 11:45pm

All I can say is be consistent. You will soon get her pattern down on when she needs to go out. My Maggie has a very distinguished pattern so I can now know when its time. The best thing I can tell you to do is to set a timer every hour or 2 hours to take her out. She will have accidents, just like when you are training children. :)

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Permalink Reply by Edie on February 4, 2009 at 7:28pm

Amy, Thanks for your advice. I replied to several other people and it seems that after her vet visit, and getting sick from one of her innoculations (Monday), she's had two days now where she is doing really well. I don't know if it's the temporary change in her diet, or the fact that my husband wired up about 2 ft on the picket fence around our back yard (she could squeeze between the pickets) and so now she can go out and run around the yard instead of being only on a leash, which is what I had to do before we closed all the loops, so to speak, and she is safely inside the yard....no squeezing out now. She had tried it when she was on the leash and so we had to use the leash every time we took her out there. Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Carlie on February 4, 2009 at 8:00pm

Just an amendment to my previous post, we have our bell on the wall next to the door, not on the actual door. I understand you not wanting to put it on your back door, we only use our kitchen door and if we had it on the door we'd go crazy. Anyway, I just wanted to make myself a little clearer. Hope the training is getting better.

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Permalink Reply by Laura on February 10, 2009 at 1:58pm

It took a long time to train Geordi. He used to pee while walking throughout the entire house which drove me nuts! The only thing that worked was a bell. We used a bird bell tied on a stretchy string so Geordi can hit it with his nose. Geordi thought it was great, almost too great, he rang it all the time and went in and out, in and out :) Eventually, he only used it when he needed to go out. The bird bell is a softer bell, not quite so annoying, and the string to the doorknob is removable if you get tired of it later. I still find it handy, its an easy way for him to tell me when he needs to potty since I can't see the back door from the living room.

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Permalink Reply by Spartan on February 10, 2009 at 4:52pm

house training takes time and you are doing everything correct. My Spartan lets me know he has to go by sitting at the front door and scratches at it. I feed him his dinner at about 6 or 7pm a few hours before bedtime and take him out right before bed to go potty. He's really good at night not having to wake me up to go. When I take him out to go potty I tell him "Let's go potty" and give him lots of praise when he goes.

It just takes patience and consistancy but, she will get it.

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