Potty training help please. I''m dying here!

[luckystar112]

It's only been 5 days.....I know. But is there any way to make this potty training thing go faster? I have another dog that I potty trained myself, and I thought the process was pretty easy...but not with this dog, ohhhhhh no.
I take him out once every half hour or so, spend about 5 minutes out there each time, yet somehow this puppy has a gallon of water in him at all times.
I don't think he's so little that he can't control it. Sure, he's little, but I'd say (without knowing too much about terriers) that he is closed to full grown. He's almost the size of my year-old cat. So, I pretty much think that whoever had him before me just never trained him.
And here's the thing....if he CAN'T control it, then am I supposed to put him in a crate when I leave? We haven't been putting him in a kennel/crate (Great surprises when I get home. Usually it's about 3 per hour I'm gone.) because I know they don't like to pee where they sleep, so I'm afraid he'll try to hold it and damage his little bladder. Do you think it can, or do you think it would be a good training tool?
FI is also buying a gate so we can enclose him in the kitchen while we are gone. We had a gate, but we couldn't find it.

So, apart from playing with him and giving him treats when he goes to the bathroom outside, how am I supposed to let him know that it's BAD to go inside? Usually I run and pick him up in the middle of doing it, and tell him "NO!" in a stern voice, then put him outside on the grass. I just hope I'm doing it right, because my mother has a maltese that even though he is potty-trained, STILL pees on her stairs.

Oh yeah....we're keeping the puppy!

 

[DMBsGirl]

I have a yorkshire terrier and many friends with small dogs. I dont know if it''s just our dogs or a small dog thing, but they are DIFFICULT to potty train. My dog, now almost 6, sometimes ummm makes mistakes although she is potty trained. She also goes pee a lot! We have her trained to go on a wee-wee pad, otherwise it would require taking her out to pee about five times a day. Stay consistent and I''m sure your little guy will get it, and hopefully it will stick!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Is there anyway you can ratchet the time in the crate...while you are home. Try 1 1/2 hours before you let him (?) out and then while you are away do the 2 1/2 to 3. (OUT does not mean freedom/free range...out is to potty only.)

It won''t hurt them in that small amount of time...that is what kennel training is all about. I think you biggest hurdle is the fact that this one has gone when ever and where ever it wanted to. Bad. Bad. Bad girl!! Go in the corner and put your nose against the wall and stay there for 30 minutes. YOU!! not the dog!

Get some odor eating spray like Odoban and hit all the areas it has gone. Until you have this potty training down...there is to be no out of kennel indoor play time. You can''t risk the darling taking a liberty in habit. Pick up dog every time it leaves kennel, let down only outside...or upon the return put him back in kennel, ONLY. That is the only way you are going to break this pattern. You slip once...you are back to square one again. Potty...kennel...potty...kennel...potty...oh I get it...I only potty outside. OK...Depends on the dogs attention span...it may only take 20 corrections...it may take 120. But it isn''t going to fix itself. Only you can do it.

And you can!!

DKS

 

[tanuki]

I thought this was going to be a toilet training a child question but it turns out to be one about dogs.

It seems unusual for an animal to pee a "large amount" every 30 minutes. What goes out should be comparable to what liquid has gone in minus what has been metabolized by the body.

How much is the dog drinking? And what happens if you limit the amount of fluids for a few hours? Does the dog pee less?

If the dog doesn''t concentrate the urine under fluid restriction you may be dealing with some sort of metabolic disorder of the diabetes variety. A quick way to tell if your dog has sugar in the urine is to watch and see if ants rush to the place where the dog has recently peed. Urine isn''t supposed to have sugar in it.

In humans we would also consider some sort of bladder infection. I assume dogs can get these as well. They can cause a sense of urgency and bladder spasms. In order to check this you would probably have to have the urine checked by the vet.

 

[luckystar112]

He has complete access to his water at all times, since it is our other dog's water too. Should I move the bowl and leave the toilet bowl open for my other dog? lol.


DKS! I'm being GOOD by trying to train him. Imagoodgirl.

It was the evil, irresponsible previous owner that didn't potty train him correctly. For the last two days (the I've been here the rest of the time) I didn't think I had a choice BUT to leave him out, but if I can put him in a kennel, at least while I'm at school, then that would be ideal. We are going to try to make him sleep in there tonight. Hopefully he doesn't freak out the way my other dog did!!!

Edit:
My schedule is pretty limited. Two one hour classes 3 days a week, and one class two days a week. But I also work from 1-5 on MWF, so that's a 4 hour period he is home without supervision.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Is this an adopted older dog or a pup, lucky?

Either way, the crate will be your best tool. When we brought our newfie home at 9 weeks I would take him out of his crate on the hour to potty, but he was fine with holding it for 2, so I quickly adjusted. I created a schedule with him which was basically: sleep (in crate) potty, play, potty, sleep (in crate), potty, play, potty, etc. I would play with him outside AFTER he pottied, never before-- you want to reward the good behavior. Also, I would be sure to say "go potty" and "good potty" so he knew that the particular act of pottying is good. We never had an accident in the house using the crate.

I doggy sat my sister''s maltese mix when it was 10 - 13 weeks and used the same process with success: 1. use the crate and 2. Have a set schedule allowing for play time outside of the crate with a potty break immediately before and after. She did really well and I would keep her in the crate for 1.5 - 2 hours at a time with no accidents. The pup is now 6 months old and because my sister doesn''t use the crate consistently, she''s having potty training issues.

 

[Eva17]

Ditto what Door Knob says...

ONLY crate and potty. and carry to the potty spot. and NO anytime access to water. the only thing I did different, was when the puppy did go in the potty spot, I would give 5/10 min of supervised free time with the leash attached.

This WILL work.

 

[luckystar112]

So should I FEED him after playing? I just don't want him to think that THAT'S his reward.
His kennel also has two bowls that attach to the door, should I feel him while he's in there?
Right now I'm just letting him eat/drink whenever he wants. (I only put food in the bowl once a day, and the water bowl is one of those ones with the jug attached that constantly refills.)

Edit: You were seeing things...it's always said "feed", never "feel". lol!
Edit 2: He's in the kennel right now and not yapping at all!

 

[thedreamer]

Hi! I have a 5.5 month old min pin and I was just going through the potty training thing a little bit ago. What I did with her was watch her CONSTANTLY. She wasn''t allowed to wander where I couldn''t see her and this way she quickly learned that she couldn''t sneak off and pee anywhere. I also took her out every hour, and you say you do it every half hour! When I took her out I always asked as I was taking her out "do you have to go outside/potty" and then I would take her paw an gently scratch the door. Then once outside I would ask her again if she had to go potty. If she went I would let her back in and give her a treat, and if she didn''t go I would put her back in her crate for 10 minutes and then try again. She caught on really fast, which is surprising because min pins are supposed to be a terror to house train.

Another thing, if I ever saw that she was going to squat I would jump up and shout as I was going towards her, this usually made her stop, sometimes before she even started, and then I would repeat the whole: do you have to go outside ordeal. Now whenever she has to go out she either comes to me and whimpers or runs to the door and scratches at it.

She was also peeing constantly for a while. Actually until about a week ago. I couldn''t handle it, she was asking to go outside literally every 15 minutes and she was peeing in her kennel whenever she was crated. I took her to the vet and found out she has a UTI so she is now on medicine and her need to go out has gone down drastically in the last week. You might want to take the little one to the vet to check because I never thought she would have an infection, but thats why she was needing to go so much! Also, the diabetes thing could be a real issue too, that would cause the dog to drink a lot and pee a lot. Also, I wouldn''t restrict water because if a dog is drinking, then it is thirsty and it seems cruel to me to keep a dog from drinking in order to not have to clean up pee. . .

Good luck! And I would stick with crate training, it is a magical thing and most dogs will love their crates as it becomes their home

 

[msb700]

oh dear..i have nothing of value to add to this thread, and i apologize for thread jacking here, but when i read ur topic, i thought u were talking about potty training a toddler!! bahahahaha...and i came in ready with what to say and what book is a lifesaver yadda yaddah...then i noticed u were talking about a dog..ahahah...sorry....

 

[door knob solitaire]

Sorry to hijack: The dreamer...what a great story. Good job! I love how you are actually conversing with the dog. You will end up with a dog far more determined to understand you ...than one that is not included in language. Ours are like parrots. They have a vast vocabulary here are some: brush, toy, snack, rain, wet, ni night, peanut butter, ride, walk, quiet, bark, vet, bath, potty, potty potty, leave it, gate, inside, outside, (these you have to point; look, there), go, squirrel, plane, bug, kiss, love love, and of course the normal commands. I just love your making the scratch part of the communication. As long as your door isn''t a good one!! Have you see those door chimes? You put it on the floor and it is battery operated. The pup puts his paw on it and it chimes...you come running and viola the door gets opened.

Keep working Luckystar...it has only been 5 days. Just agree on a gameplan and stick with it.

I think while training there should be a specific feed time..and water time. Keeping in mind that it is possible that a flat tire or traffic issue may keep you later...you do what is best for the animal. Ours have food and water always...but they did not while training. The kennel water bottle may be a reflex form of comfort for nervousness. Something that gives constant interest-would be a sensory object such as that cool metal ball and constant flow of water. I would remove it while you are home and if you know you will be back in 3 hours. Making sure now fluid draining rawhide toy is left also. They need more water to compensate for the dry hides.

DKS

 

[angel_nieves]

Luckystar I am wishing you the best of luck with your puppy. I am so glad that your hubby let you keep him

. I wish that I had helpful advice here but I am going thought the same thing with a puppy that I just adopted (pic later). I think it might be the breed terrier is a stubborn breed; my little one is basset hound and Jack Russell mix. I am wishing you the best.

 

[door knob solitaire]

"Making sure now fluid draining rawhide toy is left also".

Oops...I meant make sure NO fluid draining rawhide is left. (when there is no water access)

DKS

 

[NewEnglandLady]

The Dreamer, I had a similar experience with our pooch in that he would go to the door and bark once when it was time to potty. Soon he learned that when he went to the door and let out a woof, I''d let him out, so I had to start only letting him out when I felt he actually had to go.

I was talking with a dog behavioralist about this and he said that the bells on the door or any signal that puts him in control is the wrong thing to do. Instead of him indicating when he is hungry/when he has to go potty, etc., that is something that you should control, i.e. you tell him when it''s time to go potty and not vice versa. I thought this was interesting because I had taught our pooch to let us know if he had to potty, if he was hungry, thirsty or what have you. I think it just depends on how alpha the pooch is--ours is extremely laid back and not alpha at all, so I think it works well for us, but I can see where it would be a problem with more alpha dogs.

Sorry, didn''t mean to hijack at all, I just know that among trainers and breeders the whole idea of using tools for the dog to tell you when you have to potty is controversial--who knew!

 

[thedreamer]

Again, not to hijack but I had to respond! DKS that is amazing how many words your pups know! As of now, she knows go potty, outside, walk, park (a super favorite), hugs, bed, and car ride. I have never heard of those chimes for the door, I will have to look into them! She is tiny and doesn''t scratch hard on the door, its more like lifting her paw and looking at me like: i need out there!

NEL-- I had never heard that allowing them to let us know if they need to go out was a bad thing! She isn''t dominant at all, with min pins especially it is very important to assert dominance early on. . . so she knows that I''m the alpha

I can see where you are coming from though, if they get to be in charge of when they eat/drink/go out, then they might think they can be in charge of everything.

Keep us updated Luckystar! I hope everything works out for you. . . and because he is a little bit older, this whole potty training thing may take just a bit longer. . . hang in there!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 9/20/2007 8:32:57 AM
Author: Macie
Luckystar I am wishing you the best of luck with your puppy. I am so glad that your hubby let you keep him

. I wish that I had helpful advice here but I am going thought the same thing with a puppy that I just adopted (pic later). I think it might be the breed terrier is a stubborn breed; my little one is basset hound and Jack Russell mix. I am wishing you the best.

Macie, sorry to hijack/sidetrack...is that Ghandi in your avatar? It''s been probably 20 years since I saw the movie...just curious.

 

[door knob solitaire]

New England lady...oh I hate to hear that advice. I so love the interaction with my dogs. Any level of communication I would always encourage. I had no idea the pros advice. I would have thought the door chime would be a positive tool. Oh drats. Thanks for the correction.

I will tell you every once and a while Ginger pup will let a slow pitched growl out at me...and I know she is expressing her standing. I just dominate and the growl turns into a pat of butter...and I feel accomplished.

I forgot to mention I can say get in the house...and they will step inside and stay at the threshold for the next command. But the most thrilling is Plane...and see them look up in the sky and wait to catch a view through the tree canopy. I just want to squeeze them silly!

DKS