About to throw in the towel

**bamamomto4** · 06-14-2005, 10:25 PM

Are all puppies hard to house break? Man,I love this dog,but with 4 kids,a hubby,and a house to take care of, I'm tired of cleaning up doggy pee/poop!

First I couldn't wait for the day Jackson was potty trained,Now I can't wait for Chloe to be house broken!!! I'll lose my mind first.....

**mom2matty** · 06-14-2005, 10:59 PM

Our Toby never got the hang of it!!! I worked so hard to house break him but he wasn't interested in it one bit!!!! He is much happier to be outside and even now at 2 when we bring him in I have to follow him around and watch him like a hawk because he will squat wherever and leave me a mess!!!!

Good Luck with Chloe......I hope it all works out for you!

**bamamomto4** · 06-14-2005, 11:26 PM

My dh's cousin has a poodle and she sits him out the back door tied to a railing..he'll play around but eventuallu potty and go back inside.

I thought that would be aneat idea BUT Chloe is little (a yorkie) weighing 2 pounds. We have a black lab outside and even he wouldn't mean to,he would hurt her.

When we first got her she'd go to the pee pad like she was born housebroken lol Now....she likes peeing right in the doorway of the living room and kitchen and poops on the carpet by my desk.

At night,and I regret ever doing this and please dont tell me how bad of a mommy I am to her....I openly admit I made a mistake.

anyways--when we first got her I was afraid she'd get up at night and me not know it and she get hurt or something.So..I thought what can she sleep in that she can't get out of! The PLAYPEN!! We put her bed along with a pee pad in there and thats where she slept when we were sleeping or leave the house. But now.....She will only sleep/nap in the playpen and if she's in the living room and I put her in the playpen to pee...she'll pee.

The problem is......She thinks thats where she should be peeing.If I dont take her in there she can't hold any longer and pees in the living room even though I have a pee pad in here.She'll sniff it and sometimes even lay on it

but wont pee or poop...she'll go elsewhere.

Soooo what I'm thinking I've done is crate trained her with the playpen besides a crate......

**thrifty gal** · 06-15-2005, 12:30 AM

Don't feel lonely. I am housebreaking a German Shepherd puppy right now. He makes our second GS, and the first one was so easy to break. But, this one just doesn't seem to have any interest.

BTW, some vinegar and water *should* take the scent out of the areas where the puppy is using the bathroom. That way, she won't go in that spot again.

**Englishlady** · 06-15-2005, 04:01 AM

All of you with Dogs should do yourself and them a favour by reading "Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell.

This woman is a GENIUS with dogs! I only wish her book had been around years ago when my other dogs were alive.

In the book she explains why dogs do things in certain ways and what is logical etc. for THEM....in effect she is explaining dog behaviour from the dogs point of view. When you read it it makes complete sense.

We have a rescue dog who had been very badly abused by humans and poor little thing was a bit passive aggressive (understanderbly) anyway both hubby and I read the book and we now have the most adorable, loving playful and cute dog in the world

We were her third home so I KNOW this book works

If you have a dog not matter how long or short a time you have had the dog you owe it to them to read it, I think it should be compulsory!!

It is available on Amazon but it may be available in your library too.
All her books are worth a read but this one is essential!!

HTH
Karen

**YankeeMom** · 06-15-2005, 07:34 AM

I'm a huge fan of kennel training.
My 5mo old puppy is almost entirely housetrained. I think it would be easier (for both of us) if our house wasn't so darned big. There are so many doors to go to and the one we take him out to (the one he goes to to go out) is at the back of the house. I think I'm going to buy some bells to put on the door so I can bell train him.

Good luck, it is very frustrating!

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 06-17-2005, 12:35 AM

Most puppies aren't reliably house trained untilt ehy are between five and six months old. DON'T yell at her and don't make a big deal out of the mess. Chloe doesn't understand yet that this is wrong. Just take her out A LOT. As soon as she's done eating, take her outside. Take her to an area yo KNOW she's gone in (or you other dog uses). She will sniff around and smell the scent and go. Yes, you WILL go bonkers for the next few months, but be tough and hang inthere. At least it's not WINTER! I housetrained Gypsy in early spring--LOTS of standing out in the rain waiting for the &^%$ dog to potty.

Take her out every hour. Toy breeds have tiny bladders and can't hold it as long as larger dogs. For awhile, get up to take her out once or twice a night. I was bleary-eyed for a couple of months until Gypsy was big enough to hold it all night.

Hang in there--it IS worth it. You will have a housetrained, well-adjusted cutie in no time!

**YankeeMom** · 06-17-2005, 08:00 AM

Just another thing I thought of.
When you take her out, take her to the same spot, you stand in the same spot (and stand still, my dog is very distractable) and use the same word to tell her to go. We use 'go potty Topper'. Then when she goes use that same word in the singsong voice that dogs love to tell her 'good girl, Chloe go potty!' and love on her immediately. If you wait even a minute, she will not remember why she is being praised.

**Arizoso** · 06-25-2005, 10:41 PM

I've been very lucky in that respect. My husky was the last puppy I got and had to house-train (that was 9 years ago, and he was impossible!!) Since then, I've only adopted grown dogs who happened to come already house-trained.

The one thing I remember to be so very important is what goes in must come out... meaning, if your pup eats and drinks on a schedule, the reverse happens on a schedule as well. Meaning, as soon as the pup is done eating and drinking, you take it out and wait 'til it went potti (praise, praise, praise). Also, if you want the pup to sleep through the night, don't let it have any water before going to bed or it will never be able to hold it all night. And another thing is to limit the pup's access to the whole house. If you can't watch her, put her in a confined area - preferable one that's easy to clean, or a crate. You can build up to more areas of the house over time as her house-training progresses.

Methinks prevention is much easier on everyone involved than any after-the-fact cures. If you prevent her from messing in the house in the first place, she won't get used to doing it (takes longer to change a habit like that later), you won't have to clean up so much (and never use ammonia or ammonia-based cleaners for that), and with the puppy being on an eating/pooping schedule, house-training takes less of your time and attention (which I imagine is in short supply in a house with 4 kids).

Good luck to you... your post brought back memories from the dim past along with the corresponding shudders and thoughts of "not again!!!" I didn't know then what I know now.

**bamamomto4** · 06-25-2005, 10:53 PM

Thanks everyone. I'd say she is about 97.99% house trained lol
I have trained her using the pee pads. I've tried taking her outside but our other dog Hoss ( a lab) is very nosey and she wont go. She tries to play back with him and eat grass the entire time we're out. Soooo pee pads are working.

When are they no longer considered a puppy? I've heard 1 yr?

**homesteadmamma** · 06-25-2005, 11:00 PM

Tammy your right a year and some dogs even longer.

Does she have a kennel. Puppies usually will not go in their kennel if its the proper size. I'm all for kennel training a puppy and giving them lots of rewards when they do right and ignoring them when they make a mistake.

Kyla was so easy to train and in the year we've had her, she had one accident on the floor. They love praise and rewards. Even now, she loves to go in her kennel when she wants quiet time. The door is open all the time during the day.

**bamamomto4** · 06-25-2005, 11:06 PM

Yes CJ we have a kennel. She would never get any rest with my 4 around all the time.She actually likes going in there I guess to get away from the kids,the loudness, etc lol

I wish I'd started her out different and taking her outside. I just wanted it to be so easy and she'd just got to the door when had to lol
I started using the pee pads because thats what the breeder was using. And now,with Hoss.....I'm afraid he'll eat her up. I'd rather be safe than sorry so for now it's just pee pads.

**Arizoso** · 06-25-2005, 11:14 PM

Tammy, I just thought of something... a dog as tiny as yours could be litterbox-trained. Me, I'm used to thinking in dane-size, so it didn't come to mind right away, LOL! I can't remember where I read it, but it seems to be a favorite alternative especially for apartment dwellers. Would that be a possibility at your house?

**bamamomto4** · 06-25-2005, 11:18 PM

I did do a little reading up on it but haven't really put any thought in to it. I may do some searches and see what I find.I dont want to confuse her though....

**mommy2many** · 06-26-2005, 11:10 AM

We have always done the crate training method and all of our pups have been trained within 5 months. My little Boston Terrior is 6 months and she's pretty close to being trained she has been the hardest one yet.