Ok all you puppy lovers out there...need help

[DammitJanet]

I just became grandma or I guess really...Momma...to an 8 week old puppy. Yeah I know...I have stupid written all over me.

Cory got her...she is supposed to be "his" but he cant take him to his place because Mandy wont let him have her inside and people steal dogs from outside. Sigh! So I guess I am now owner. Just what I need!

She is cute...but arent all puppies? She is black and white and looks like she could be Lulu belles sister...lol. Makes sense since Dude and Cory are practically twins themselves...lmao.

Her name is Nina (pronounced the spanish way) meaning baby girl.

Now my problem: It has been forever since I have housebroken a dog. Tony is having a fit over me wanting to keep her inside so I want to get her trained fast if possible. I have her sleeping in a crate with my other dog now but can probably get another crate for her when I go up to Jamies at Xmas. He can get one from work for me. Do I have a snowballs chance at training her? How?

Please help me.

 

[DaisyFace]

Janet--

The fastest way is to keep them in a crate at night....scoot them out the door first thing in the morning....a little exercise, playtime....back in the crate....right out the door after napping....

and repeat....

The idea is the crate is small enough that they have nothing to do in the crate but sleep,a nd since they won't intentionally soil themselves they will "hold it" until the first opportunity. If you leave them in the crate longer than they can hold it...you will have a problem...but a "potty break" every few hours should be just right.

Good luck!

--DaisyFace

 

[DammitJanet]

So if you hear a middle aged woman in NC hollering...go potties...go potties! Good girl!

I guess you will know who it is...lol.

 

[donna723]

You'll want to make sure the crate is pretty small for now, just big enough for her to sleep in and stand up in. If they have too much room when you're housetraining them, they'll pee and poop in one end and sleep in the other. Some of the wire crates have a partition in them where you can block off part of it temporarily. Take her out every hour or so and immediately after she eats. And I hate to tell you but a puppy that young will probably be too little to make it all through the night without having to potty. And when she does it outside, praise her to the hilt and give treats - Cheerios make good 'rewards'.

 

[Lothlorien]

Ummmmmmm......pictures please!!!!

 

[Hound dog]

Ok, um why on earth did Cory get the puppy if he knew Mandy wasn't going to let him have her in the house??

Of course if she looks anything like LuLu Belle I'd have probably not been able to say no either. lol

Use the crate like a playpen. When you can't watch her closely, put her into the crate. Whenever she comes out of the crate she goes potty. When she potties have treats in your pocket. Lavish praise and give a treat.

Also, make sure you have plenty of toys/raw hides for chewing. She's going to be teething for quite a while. And it gives them something to do when they're in their crate but not ready for a nap.

Whenever my pups ate or drank or played they went potty, most especially the very young ones. If you get the idea I was outside saying Go PeePee a zillion times until I was hoarse you'd be pretty accurate. lol But the fewer accidents the better. They catch on faster. Although to be honest, I'm never surprised to find the occasional accident up until the age of 2. I dunno why that seems to be a magical age for no more accidents under any circumstance but it's been that way with all my dogs.

I never scold for an accident unless I'm actually catching them in the act. Then it's a firm no while I scoop them up and rush them outside, if they finish there then they get the lavish praise and a treat.

Have fun with your new baby. And I want some pics!

 

[DammitJanet]

I dont know why Cory got her knowing Mandy wouldnt let him have her. Dumb I guess but he also knew I was dumb enough that I wouldnt refuse to let her stay. And his dad just gets lost in the shuffle once I get my eyes on the puppies. He tells the boys they cant bring them to me because Im a sap. They do it anyway and he gets so mad...lol. He is furious because I want to train her and keep her inside. Both Cory and he keep telling me...she is going in the kennel outside but I keep saying...oh she is too little, she is shivering when I take her outside, she hates the cold, she needs a coat just to go out and potty, yada yada. They just sigh. Watch. Im gonna go get her a warm coat from walmart...lol. Pink!

 

[Hound dog]

OH, NO! She is way too little to be outside. Poor baby. She is just a widdle bitty thing. I lmao at the coat. *snort* Yeah, this baby is soooooo not gonna wind up outside. lol

 

[Star*]

BRING HER TO ME.

STAR and THUMPY's hotel for wayward pets....we call it.....the "INN"

 

[DammitJanet]

Star...if I bring her to you, will you potty train her and call me when she is trained? LOL. I would be forever grateful! She is trying really hard! So far only one mistake and that was because Billy didnt let her out in time. I have caught her attempting to squat twice and yelled loud and scooted her out the door fast.

She only settles down in the crate at night though if I put Buddy in there with her...lol.

I got her a sweater instead of a coat. Figured it would really be warmer cause its close to the body. I can see Im gonna have to buy a new one in probably a few weeks though...lol.

 

[Steely]

Oh, she will be trained in NO time. No worries. Tell Cory and husband to back off, and let the little thing adjust. She will for sure be potty trained if she is in a crate at night. And I think being with your other dog is great. It is like being with her mama. Lots of comfort.

Now the challenge is the day. Make sure she goes out every hour, and praise her with treats when she tinkles, and all is golden!!!

 

[witzend]

I stand out in the back yard "Yay! Potty! Good potty! Yay! Potty!" You have to keep saying potty over and over so that they will associate that word with going potty and what it is that you want them to do when they go outside.

Mandy was a street dog during the time she would/should have been house trained, so to this day, going outside doesn't necessarily mean going potty. It's just going outside. Even when she has to go, she doesn't understand that what she's out there for is potty.

It takes dedication, but it's worth it. It's so much easier with Bubba. He knows what you want when you say "Go potty". Mandy is not the sharpest tool in the shed, to be sure.

 

[Star*]

I do like Witz does, but keep in mind -

The times you take her out to pp? NO PLAYING - and you can say things like Witz says it's good idea. We say YEAH - do pp in the grass, GOOD PP in the grass and lavish praise. Then same for poo. Then right back in the house. NO PLAY

When we go out to play - we play. If she pees? There is no yippee, yahoo - it's just her doing her thing and we play.

As far as brining her here for potty training? Sure why not? WHAT IS ONE MORE? I MEAN I NEED ANOTHER HOLE IN MY HEAD...I NEED ANOTHER PIT IN MY HOUSE...5....FIVE AH AH AH (remember that Sesame street video of the County I sent to Donna) ROFLMAO....My carpets are shot....shot....Like 20 years old shot.....not from puppies...but I got a brand new roll of carpeting in the shop and it's just waiting for all manner of children and puppies to go OUT and then it will go in...

Problem is....see....we have black and whites and you MAY not get El Nina back.....bwah ha ha....OHhhhhhhhh is THAT what you were hoping for you evil little woman????

 

[DammitJanet]

LOL...that is what Tony is hoping for! I have to send you her picture. I dont think she is full pit. I think her head is too narrow. If she isnt...yeah for me! Id much rather have a mix. I dont think someone would have sold Cory a full for 25 bucks.

 

[DaisyFace]

The times you take her out to pp? NO PLAYING - and you can say things like Witz says it's good idea. We say YEAH - do pp in the grass, GOOD PP in the grass and lavish praise. Then same for poo. Then right back in the house. NO PLAY

When we go out to play - we play. If she pees? There is no yippee, yahoo - it's just her doing her thing and we play.

Yes the "experts" recommend using separate parts of the yard for "business" and for playtime. These areas don't have to be miles apart or fenced off or anything....just two different parts of the yard. Maybe near the bushes is business and near the driveway is playtime...

 

[DammitJanet]

That I am having a difficult time with. And will have a difficult time with.

My yard is big but only the small area around my front door is lit at night because I have a motion activated light at night. It only lights up about a 30 foot area around my front step area. From my front door out to where my cars are parked in the front yard. You have to understand we live in the country and cars are parked right in front of the front steps. We have no class...lol. No real driveway or parking area other than pull up in the yard. Well...our driveway itself is 300 or so feet long...lol.

So when I take the dogs out at night, in order to actually see them and not lose them...I have to stay in that 30 foot arc of light. Im not very inclined myself to go outside that area of light either because I really dont know what could be lurking out there! Its not that far before the woods starts! So we are pooping and peeing out around my cars and the edges of my mobile home and as far out as the light goes. Now in the day I will walk her a bit farther but still I dont go far. I never leave the small confines of my front yard because I dont want her to get used to leaving the area. Not a good idea at all. Bad neighbors.

 

[donna723]

Janet, can you take her out on a leash for the potty trips so you can keep track of where she is?

 

[DammitJanet]

LOL...one would think I would have one, wouldnt one? I have this big old blue one that we used on a giant dog years ago somewhere in the house but I cant find it anywhere right now. The expandable one that came with buddy is also missing. I never take him anywhere anymore so we dont use it. So far, she doesnt run from me. Im sure Im gonna have to either find that blue one or get her one eventually. I just bought her a little collar which she will probably outgrow in a month...lol.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

Here's the way we've handled the potty issue at my house, and it's worked great for two years now. My parents had a similar deal with the dog I had when I was growing up.

I have a stake in the yard and a coated cable attached to it (you can buy them as a set or separately). Like you, I have a motion light outside my front door. I placed the stake very deliberately, to control just how far the dog could go from the front door. The selection on those cables now is great--different thicknesses and lengths--as well as the stakes. I know you can get a 30 ft. cable, which sounds about perfect for the area around your door. As my dogs grew, I had to get heavier duty stakes that they could not pull out of the ground.

The best part is that the latch on the cable that attaches to the dog's collar is just inside the door. I have just enough room under my storm door so that I can do this, which lets me hook the dog securely and open the door for doggie while I STAY INSIDE warm and dry, watching until business is done and time to come back inside, close door and THEN unhook dog.

Growing up, we had a small dog. The ones I have now are giants in comparison. I figured out real quick that if I didn't do things in the right sequence with these guys, it wouldn't work. If I open the door before the dog is latched to the cable and the dog bolts, I can't do much about it.

Besides being easier on you, this would tighten the circle at potty time and widen the circle for play time. I don't see any reason why you couldn't attach two cables of different colors to the stake, and use the shorter one at night when you don't want as much room to venture, and the other during the day when you can give more room.

The only disadvantage I've found to the cable system is that I can't let both dogs out at the same time. They get to play hard together in the fenced in backyard though.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

We also used the "bell" system at first with good results. Hang a bell by the door. Teach the dog to slap the bell with a paw to let you know it needs to go out. This didn't take very long for the female to learn. Take the paw and slap it against the bell right before you open the door to let the dog out. When the dog makes a mistake, again slap the bell with the dog's paw while you are hurrying the dog outside to finish.

The male never got it, but the female would ring the bell for him and then back up from the door to signal that he was the one who needed to go. [Sigh.]