puppy issues!

M

mommacody

Cathlete
i know this isn't a pet forum, but i know lots of you have pets, and i value your advice! we purchased a puppy from a pet store (i know, bad move) at the end of march. turned out she had pneumonia and was hospitalized for a few days. she then came home and we had her trained on wee wee pads, and were just transitioning her to go on the pads outside when she relapsed and was hospitalized for two weeks. after spending my children's college funds to save her, she's now officially healthy and has been home with us for about 3 weeks. she's doing well with the pads in the house but refuses to entertain the thought of going OUTside. any tips from people who have trained puppies? she is a lhasa apso and is really a very well behaved dog, and smart too! she trained very easily for walking on a leash, sit, come, no biting, etc. but she doesn't want to go to the bathroom outside. i've stayed out there with her for an hour at a time when i KNOW she has to go, and she'll hold it until i bring her back in.

x(
 
Take her for a walk, they all pee eventually and poop after they move for a while. Take a clicker and some treats with you. Click after she done with her business and give her a treat.

Otherwise, if you are talking about the backyard, take the pads out in the yard, so she understands what is expected of her, again, if she does her business, click and give her a treat. After a couple of times you can probably omit the wee pads.

How old is your dog? It takes longer in some dogs, my Labrador was almost 7 months before being completely housetrained, my Aussie was 4 months when he quit having accidents.

Give her a little time though, being hospitalized is pretty traumatic for a dog. Just be patient and keep working with her.

Hope this helps.

Carola
 
Ok, I have 2 dogs and tried 2 different methods of potty training. The BEST one that I can tell you is kennel training.
Here's what I suggest:
Feed and water your puppy in the morning. Take up the food and water let the puppy outside. If you have time to watch your puppy keep him or her out of the kennel. If you don't have time to keep a constant eye on your puppy, put him or her in the kennel. I've even heard that while you have time to watch your puppy still keep him or her on a leash inside. This way they can't sneak off and pee or poop in a corner.
Only feed and water your puppy 3 times a day. This way you can moniter when they are eating and drinking and it will be easier to guage when they will need to go to the bathroom.
Make sure you praise your puppy when they go outside, not with treats, but tell them what a good dog they are and hug them and love them. If they go to the bathroom inside, keep a rolled up news paper handy. Hit the floor next to the dog only if you catch them in the act. This load noise will scare the puppy, they will not like it and therefore will not want that to happen again.
You will more than likely have your puppy trained within 4 weeks if you do everything that I just mentioned.
I tried the no kennel thing, it took a year. With Kennel 4 weeks.

Kathy
 
Praise, praise, praise when he goes outside! I mean, really act like he just did the greatest thing on earth. Little dogs can be very difficult to train (I've got a pom, along with a larger dog), because they can be so sneaky. I know my neighbors probably think I'm nuts, but I make a huge fuss when the little guy goes. It also helps to use the same language for "going." When I let the dogs out in the a.m., I always tell them to "go pee-pee" Good luck!!
 
Ditto on the crate training. I had housebreaking problems w/my pug for YEARS until I finally broke down & started crating him. Not only did he stop going in the house, I was pleased to find he actually LIKED the crate. I've also heard the same thing about keeping your puppy by your side, leashed if necessary, while s/he's not in the crate.

Puppies require constant attention during the housebreaking stage & must be monitored or crated at all times. I once heard a great lesson for puppy owners. Keep a rolled up newspaper handy, & whenever your puppy goes in the house while you're not watching, hit yourself over the head w/the newspaper & say "bad puppy-owner! Bad puppy-owner!" :)
 
Do you have a doggie door? I have been EXTREMELY lucky with Athena (GSD pup). We trained her in a weekend. She goes in and out at her leisure. We also noticed immediately the signs of bathroom time. We did not use the pee pee pads. I have had other large breed puppies and did not have any luck with them because I do not kennel my dogs.

Disclaimer: She has an older brother (Jake the Husky) and she didn't have any health problems.

HTH!
 
I had a heck of a time housetraining our corgi. She would do the same as yours. Go outside and not do anything, and immediately go when we came back in.

Taking her for daily walks was what did it. I think it's because she was able to finally differentiate the inside of the house as her den. They won't soil inside their den.

Lots of praise when she goes outside and try to catch her in the act and correct her if she goes inside.
 
You know, this really does seem to be a small dog issue. I've had 2 retrievers, both of whom were housebroken w/in 8 weeks. They would've exploded before they went in the house.

Then along came the pug & I discovered I was not the expert dog trainer I'd originally thought. I did discuss it w/a couple of vets & they both said the same thing--smaller dogs are harder to housebreak b/c the grass tickles them, the snow makes their bottoms cold, etc. They're just much closer to the ground than larger dogs. Cute & funny, but a total PIA (pun intended }( ).
 
First of all - thank you for sticking with the puppy through all of the problems you've had with her. So many wouldn't. Nice to know you're in it for the long haul. Have fun with her!

As for training - I think taking the pads outside is a great idea. She already knows she's to go on the pad. If you take the pad outside and not offer it in the house, she'll get the idea that she should go outside now. And gradually make the pad smaller until you can take it away completely.

Now, of course, I have an Aussie who is fully housebroken at 4 months because he's an Aussie and smarter than I am, so like Laura I most likely think I know more about training than I really do.
 
Try this website, www. bestfriends.org It is a fabulous animal organization, their website has all sorts of information.

Karen
 
LOL!!!!! You are funny, Lauramax!

Lucky for me, my puppy Rotweiler has only had 1 accident inside since I got him 3 weeks ago. And that was totally my fault for not going after him when he walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. He wasn't housetrained when I got him from the breeder but I guess he just prefers to go outside.

Good luck!
 
thanks for all the responses. i honestly feel better just knowing that it's not that abnormal. i feel like i AM doing everything "they" tell me, but it doesn't work! i know now to just keep at it and not pull all of my hair out yet.

and the excitement little daisy (that's her name) shows when i get home makes it all worth it!

thanks again :)
 
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