Who is this unkind woman that calls herself my mom? Please help.

[FuFu]

Hello. I noticed a lot of people on here have dogs and some even just got new puppies. So I thought maybe I could get some help here. I just got a Siberian husky puppy 3 days ago and I’m already starting to get complaints from neighbors. The puppy is exactly 8 weeks old and the problem is, he HAS TO be right next to me. Can’t section him off in another room, kitchen, or anything like that even IF he can see you. The second I place him behind something he starts howling, whining, crying, barking. And he can go at it for 6 hours straight. Non-stop. I thought puppies just get tired and sleep a lot. I live in California, and the puppy is from Michigan. Before I got him, he lived with the breeders, his mom, and 13 other littermates. From what the breeder tells me, they sleep together, eat together, sleep on top of each other. I know he was only just jerked away from everything he’s familiar with, and he’s frightened and just wants to cry? And he’s probably wondering why his new mommy is so cruel and unkind, and would put him in a cage-like thing, closing the door on him so he can’t be right next to her and feel her touch. Then mommy leaves for something called “work”. Will she be back?

I have a picture of him here: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=My_Enigma_Heart
scroll down a little and there are 2 pics of him.

So, I was wondering if anyone, ANYONE can offer me some advice on how to help him with this. I’m trying crate training with him and my schedule everyday looks something like:

530am - Food and water
6ooam – 730am - walk him, go potty
730am – 8:50am – let him follow me around the house
900am – 1200pm – inside crate while he howls non-stop and I go to work
1200pm – 100pm – Come back from work, feed him, take him out to potty and walk
100pm – 500pm – Inside crate while he howls some more.

I really, really need some advice. Thanks so much everyone.

**edit** So far i have tried:
putting in a soft towel I've used.
putting in food
chew toys
play the radio
have the tv on
let him see me
not let him see me
cover the crate.

he just howls and howls... I mean, should I ignore him and let him do it till he eventually stops? Should I let him out then put him back so he knows I will come back for him? I feel like I'm abusing him, and it's heartbreaking the way he's crying...

 

[icekid]

hmm, is his crate covered with a blanket? it seems that puppies like to feel more enclosed, so maybe with a blanket over the crate he''ll get the darkness that he might have experienced with his littermates sleeping on him.

when my dog was a puppy, he was really happy in his crate. even though my family doesn''t make him go in there anymore, he still likes to sleep there. i bet he will get used to the crate with time.

not very helpful, but that might be something to try anyway...

 

[JCJD]

You might test this out to see if it works. Have a radio playing softly next to his crate. Having some ambient noise might soothe him. Also, does he have a blanket that absorbs body heat in his crate? Could you put one in with him? It might help soothe him and help him adjust.

 

[Strawdermangrl]

My grandmother is a breeder and here are some hints:

Place an old alarm clock (with the two bells on top) inside the cage- don''t set the alarm but make sure it is always wound. The sound reminds them of their mother and can help with anxiety.

Big stuffed animals so that he can cuddle

A heating pad under a piece of carpet for warm that can make him drowsy.....

Good luck!

 

[JCJD]

Forgot this! You have to completely IGNORE his whining!!! Telling him to be quiet or petting him to stop the whining and barking is actually reinforcing the whining because you are giving him attention in response to the behavior - he learns that if he wants your attention, he needs to whine and bark. What you should try this weekend is keep him in his crate, but stay close by (read or something perhaps), and if he goes 1 minute without whining, take him out immediately, verbally praising him immediately as well, and play with him, cuddle etc. After (I don''t know....) about 10-20 mins of fun, put him back in his crate until he doesn''t whine for 1 min 30 sec, immediately praise, take out and play for 10-20 mins, repeat, increasing the amount of time he has to be quiet before you play with him. This teaches him that being quiet is a good behavior, and he will do it more and more often the more you reinforce it. If he won''t go 1 min without whining, then change your criteria to 30 sec or shorter, something he''ll do, and then increase the time requirement as you see fit. Then, once he gets good at this (might take several days actually), start reinforcing him not whining with you further away from his crate, and then with you in other rooms. But you have to remember this - YOU HAVE TO IGNORE HIS WHINING AT ALL TIMES - for example, if you''re petting him and he starts whining, you need to stop petting him immediately and ignore him until after he stops whining. Once he learns that being quiet is good, he''ll progress quickly to more suitable behaviors, I think.

 

[movie zombie]

your dog is a pack animal and he has been taken away from his pack. why not call the breeder and ask for suggestions? this cannot be the first time they''ve had this happen.

i met a guy here in california that was exceptional with his young siberian. but he thoroughly understood the pack of this particular breed. he also said this type of dog is the closest thing to the wild wolf and you constantly will have to remind the dog that you are the head of the pack. getting to know more about this breed''s history and environment could help.

good luck.

peace, movie zombie, with 9 cats.

 

[sjz]

We got a mini schnauzer last May. She was 6 weeks old when she came to live with us. The breeder that we got her from gave us a blanket and a small stuffed animal that had been in the box with the puppy, her mom, and her littermates and had their scent. That seemed to soothe Daisy quite a bit when we were crate training her, which we did from day one. She cried some for the first couple of days, but soon adjusted to her new life. When she wasn''t in the crate, the kids and I snuggled and loved on her a lot so that she would bond with us, too. The kids also each gave her a small stuffed animal that had belonged to them, that had their scents on it as well. That way, we became her "new" littermates. Maybe you could contact the person that you got your puppy from and see if they have some small item with it''s mother''s scent. You might try the stuffed animal thing, too. It would give the puppy something to snuggle when you aren''t around.

We also noticed that when our puppy was in an enclosed crate and couldn''t see us, it bothered her. So we got her one of those wire crates that was more like a cage than a box. She could still see us and feel like she was part of the action, but she was still crated. We also placed the crate in an open spot. Sometimes, when we wanted her to sleep, we did put a blanket over the crate to simulate night, and she would go to sleep.

When we had to leave the house for any period of time, we would leave the TV on where Daisy could see and hear it. That way she didn''t feel like she was alone.

The first few weeks with a new puppy can be frustrating. Puppies are like people, no two of them are alike. You might just have to try different things until you find something that works for you. Some of the other suggestions here are good ones, too. Good luck!

 

[Mara]

you poor thing...

i feel your pain !! when we first got our darling little portia (!), she was 7 weeks old...we were very unprepared for what raising a puppy entailed.

brought her home...the first night we didn't have anything for her in the way of a crate (we had one that was WAY too small so we were going to return it)..so Greg rigged a box and put it in our bedroom with us and we put towels in.

she was fine when we put her in there and she would see us..but the minute we backed away from the crate, the most unearthly howls EVER would commence. we thought, oh she will cry herself to sleep. NO SUCH LUCK. the wails were horrible. we kept getting up to soothe her and then trying it again. finally in the end we had to stay with her until she fell asleep and then went to bed ourselves, being VERY quiet. she would wake at night and cry again.

the next day we setup our upstairs bathroom for her because we had to go out and rigged it so we had a box blocking the door so she had the whole bathroom to herself. unearthly howls again the minute we backed away. i am sure she howled for hours. she also beat up the cardboard trying to escape!

i won't go into more gory details but lucky for us our townhouse is 3 stories and we have great insulation so no one heard her, even though i was SURE that everyone thought we must be murdering or torturing her or something, those howls and cries she made were seriously freaky and spine chilling. such a tiny dog and such loud sounds!

anyhow...i was freaking out like you are...will this ever end? will she get anxiety and never want to be alone?

well she did grow out of it but we started trying to alleviate her stress every time we left. we got her one of those metal exercise pens that snaps together..they are expensive, like $90 and that was her 'pen' area..her crate was in here, food/water etc. she could SEE us through it and it helped SO MUCH. she really disliked not being able to see what was going on and to be 'shut' into something like the crate even though it had small windows and the door. the exercise pen was great.

also we started ignoring her when she howled, and then rewarding her for stopping her cries. that takes tenacity but eventually she grew out of it, and it paid off. i will say that nowadays she does not like to be penned up in the house if we are still in it...at night she sleeps in her crate (on the wkds she sleeps with us as a treat) and she is fine with it..but during the day if we are moving around she dislikes to be away from us...she wants to be where the pack is and where the action is and that is just something we accept about her.

but when she is alone, i baby gate the family room and kitchen off for her so she has that whole area and she can sleep on the couch and on her bed, eat, and drink etc. this of course started happening when she was older and stopped having accidents and knew her 'boundaries' for behavior.

anyway i won't ramble on any more but just be patient. i would talk to your neighbors and let them know you are very sorry but the puppy is in a growing stage, there is not a whole lot you can do IMMEDIATELY...the pup has to learn to feel secure and that you will not leave them or abandon them. try the exercise pen where the pup can see out of it's 'jail' and do rewarding for good behavior, no whining...eventually the pup will calm down as it begins to adjust to it's new surroundings.

i feel so horrible for you because this is all still very fresh in my mind..those first few weeks were SO trying for me..me particularly because i was not working at that time and i was home 24/7 with Portia and dealing by the minute with puppy accidents, howling, sharp claws etc. I was so happy when she started to learn the right behaviors and calmed down a bit to become more of a companion to us.

BUT one last thing, even though the pup is driving you insane now, enjoy this time! Everyone told us that and I was just thinking...whatever I just need to get through it...but now I struggle to remember what she was like as a small puppy, only 4 lbs, and I wish I had better memories rather than the unearthly howl moments. I do have some great memories of us together, but many times as you noted in your blog..for every great one there are 2 cringeworthy ones...hehe. Now, she is almost a year old and she's a great dog, a perfect companion for us, we could not have asked for better, and we love her to death. So hang in there!!

 

[Momoftwo]

I love Siberian Huskies. We had one 23 years ago for 3 years. He was a wonderful dog. We used to joke he was dumb as dirt, but he was so loveable. He had blue eyes. We had to sell him because I had a new baby and my DH was deployed with the Navy, we lived in a townhouse and it was impossible for me to walk him while pushing a stroller because he wanted to pull us. We sold him to a family with boys who could play with him. They are very emotional dogs and love attention, but also need exercise. They are bred to pull. They love human company and he cried every night for about 3 days when we put him in our bathroom with baby gates. He finally quit by day 4 and he was so easy to housebreak and leave alone while I was at work. Huskies usually dont'' bark much. They "talk" and whine. Crate training makes dogs more comfortable. They are actually happier in their "dens" than roaming free. Yours was from a large litter and is used to company, but he will get used to being alone. I agree with not talking to him when he whines or cries. It is reinforcing the behavior, because he sees it as attention. I''m not a big dog lover, but Huskies will always be special to me.

 

[sjz]

Date: 3/22/2005 9:31:58 PM
Author: Momoftwo
I love Siberian Huskies. We had one 23 years ago for 3 years. He was a wonderful dog. We used to joke he was dumb as dirt, but he was so loveable. He had blue eyes. We had to sell him because I had a new baby and my DH was deployed with the Navy, we lived in a townhouse and it was impossible for me to walk him while pushing a stroller because he wanted to pull us. We sold him to a family with boys who could play with him. They are very emotional dogs and love attention, but also need exercise. They are bred to pull. They love human company and he cried every night for about 3 days when we put him in our bathroom with baby gates. He finally quit by day 4 and he was so easy to housebreak and leave alone while I was at work. Huskies usually dont'' bark much. They ''talk'' and whine. Crate training makes dogs more comfortable. They are actually happier in their ''dens'' than roaming free. Yours was from a large litter and is used to company, but he will get used to being alone. I agree with not talking to him when he whines or cries. It is reinforcing the behavior, because he sees it as attention. I''m not a big dog lover, but Huskies will always be special to me.

I LOVE Huskies, too. And I would have one, if I could have an outside dog. I don''t think my husband would be ok with a large dog in the house, and we can''t have an outside dog where we live. Our property backs up to a commons, a lake, and a little creek. If we fenced off our yard, which according to the homeowners assoc. rules we''d have to do to keep our dog outside, we would block not only our access, but some of our neighbors access to the water and the commons. I am thinking of fencing off one little corner of our back yard so that Daisy can be outside this without a leash for extended periods. She deserves to have a little fun. Most of the time I use baby gates and gate off parts of our house for her to roam free. It''s mostly the parts of the house where there is no carpeting, in case she has an poopsie oopsie. That way, she has the kitchen, the mudroon, and the downstairs bathroom to run around and play. If she poops on the tile floor, I don''t care!

 

[FuFu]

Icekid, JCJD, Strawdermangrl, movie zombie, sjz, Mara, Momoftwo, and Feydakin, thank you guys SO much. I really, really needed some reassurance and comfort myself. I mean, in my heart I know this is most likely a puppy passing stage. But just hearing the wails and howling I was beginning to have uncertainties and started imagining all these horrible things like permanently having separation anxiety which Mara mentioned. And being in the same place listening to it really just makes me cringe. I did do the whole reinforcing positive behavior tonight, rewarding him with treats when he’s quiet, letting him out of the crate, and then putting him back in till he was quiet again. Even though every time that door closed he’d give it his all to wail at the top of his lungs, he was able to stay quiet for a full 30 minutes! Progress! I’m starting to feel hopeful again. I’m going to practice this with him every night. Thank you guys so much. This honestly has made me feel so much better. I was really getting scared imagining him at his full grown size and his wailing still not under control. I’ve also looked online for those exercise pens, I’m going to order one and try it out. Thanks for all the wonderful advice and saving ‘me’.

 

[movie zombie]

don''t get him a kitten. only get a kitten if you want one. additionally, siberians can be very wolfy....my brother-in-law in AU got two siberian pups and two kittens at the same time. it wasn''t long before one of the kittens was dead.

peace, movie zombie

 

[FuFu]

Yeah, I''ve heard... they have this instinct in them.. they see these little animals and they view them as prey. lol.. so no kittens for sure..

 

[Bagpuss]

Date: 3/22/2005 6:13:24 PM
Author: JCJD
Forgot this! You have to completely IGNORE his whining!!! Telling him to be quiet or petting him to stop the whining and barking is actually reinforcing the whining because you are giving him attention in response to the behavior - he learns that if he wants your attention, he needs to whine and bark. What you should try this weekend is keep him in his crate, but stay close by (read or something perhaps), and if he goes 1 minute without whining, take him out immediately, verbally praising him immediately as well, and play with him, cuddle etc. After (I don't know....) about 10-20 mins of fun, put him back in his crate until he doesn't whine for 1 min 30 sec, immediately praise, take out and play for 10-20 mins, repeat, increasing the amount of time he has to be quiet before you play with him. This teaches him that being quiet is a good behavior, and he will do it more and more often the more you reinforce it. If he won't go 1 min without whining, then change your criteria to 30 sec or shorter, something he'll do, and then increase the time requirement as you see fit. Then, once he gets good at this (might take several days actually), start reinforcing him not whining with you further away from his crate, and then with you in other rooms. But you have to remember this - YOU HAVE TO IGNORE HIS WHINING AT ALL TIMES - for example, if you're petting him and he starts whining, you need to stop petting him immediately and ignore him until after he stops whining. Once he learns that being quiet is good, he'll progress quickly to more suitable behaviors, I think.

This is such good advice! We have a program on tv about how to deal with children's problems - not sleeping without mom being nearby etc. The expert admitted that a lot of her ways of dealing with small children stem from how to train dogs. And, amazingly, the methods work for both dogs and kids.

She advised a method exactly like the one you outline and within a week the child was happily going to bed at a sensible hour and on his own and sleeping through the night. He was also much happier and better behaved during the day. The expert said that the poor routine he had before was actually causing him to be sleep deprived (this is how they torture prisoners!) No wonder he was so miserable before. End result - happy child, happy parents.

 

[elepri]

Fufu, i don''t think i have any other advice for you, last time I had a puppy was when I was 11 and I do remember her crying quite a bit in the first few weeks. But i just wanted to say your pup is absolutely adorable! What a cutie!

 

[Carey]

What an adorable puppy! Good for you that you care so much for him! Just remember that he is a BABY. All babies need physical cuddling time, right? You have to remember, that he''s so new - you''ve put him in a whole new world without his mom or siblings, who he undoubtedly misses incredibly! Give as much time over to bonding with him as you can possibly do when you''re home. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Your neighbors will have to deal with this when he''s in the crate... it won''t last forever! Is there a way he can sleep near you? That might help. Babies of every kind are a lot of work, but they''re SO worth it! Good luck, try not to get too frustrated!

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/23/2005 8

7:55 AM

But, if a kitten scares you, get him another puppy Dogs work best in pairs in my opinion.. It gives them someone to play with all day long when you are not around..

Yes, dogs do work best in pairs. And, as long as you set yourself up as the "alpha", I''ve had no problem with my dogs respecting our cats. Standard Schnauzers are very prey driven. By nature, they are ratters for farms. Since they have no doubt that the cats are my "chattle" they peacefully co-exist. In fact, our cats rub against my new gal & she in turn licks them cleaning.

If that is not feasible, all the advice given rings true. One thing that may help is sticking to a routine. Something that worked with us was after our pups ate & did their business we would have puppy lovefest - then leading up to crating them - not as much contact. Put him in his crate VERY uncermoniously except for a routine that you perform - like getting his favorite baby & a treat - then crating. Ignore the protest. And say - bye love in a happy voice. When you come home, be very uncerimonious as well. Don''t make a huge lovefest immediately. After a few minutes of doing your coming home routine, then pay attention to the pup. And, yes - love, love love - just have him not associate your leaving as isolation from your affection & your return as immediately bringing that back. Make sense - it''s all about association.

As stated, this is normal behaviour. Most pups grow out of it. In the wild, dogs that get separated from the pack will howl until someone finds them. The pup can''t associate the howling with becoming one with the pack again. It will only reinforce the behaviour.

Good luck! As Mara noted, they only go through that puppy time ONCE. You will miss that puppy breath in a few! Enjoy it while it lasts!

 

[Mara]

one comment on getting him a kitten or companion puppy....when we first got P....we were totally overwhelmed with her puppydom. no way could i have mentally survived two puppies and/or another living being at the same time.

so while some may say that two is better than one and some days i may agree, i think right now, for a first time owner with this level of stress, definitely stick to one. do not throw another one into the mix. if you want a 2nd dog or a companion pet....i would do it while the dog is still a puppy for acceptance purposes, but when he has at least learned secure and comfort of the home on his own. right now he is anxious because he feels insecure, has been pulled from what he knew. of course his cries are distress! he feels like every time you leave him, you may not be coming back. our trainer told us that part of the training in the first few weeks was to show him that no matter what you ALWAYS would return. that would eventually stop the howling.

one other comment was that we had a personal trainer come in for an hour about 2 weeks after we got P. i wanted her to look over the house, the dog, and me and watch us interact so ehat she could tell me how i was doing in terms of responses to the puppy, also we did some very very basic training...which i had no idea how to do either. it was $150 for the hour, not too much since we viewed it as an investment and i could ask her all the Q's that had been building up for the first two weeks. i asked her about how the house was proofed, what she thought of the ex pen, the crying and wailing (which lasted about 2 weeks though she did consistently get better), accidents in the house, teaching her how not to play bite, etc.

the result of doing this early early personal session meant that when we took P to kindergarten, at age 3 months...she was already reasonably well behaved, as opposed to one or two of the other dogs who would not pay attn to the owners, pull the owners, poo on the floor, etc. kindergarten for us just reinforced what we were teaching her, she got social interaction and we did learn new items, but for us it was great to get the basic basics down early on.

lastly, i have read that it is hard for dogs to retain much training until about 10 weeks old, but the trainer didn't really subscribe to that...she said to start ASAP, they are never too young to learn.

anyway, excellent advice from others as well, good luck!

 

[fire&ice]

They are never too young to learn. At this point, a pup can learn some very beginning basics. A pup will naturally follow you at this age (part of the keeping with the pack). Getting the pup to follow you whilst happily calling their name will help with recall later on. If you can not afford the money or time for a trainer to come to your house, there are several good books written on raising a puppy. Separation anxiety is always covered.

Shelby Marlowe''s - "New Art of Dog Training"
Monks of New Skeet "The Art of Raising a Puppy" & "How to be your dog''s best friend"

Two different approaches. I learned quite a bit from both. The Monks raise German Shepards. Both books address dog think - not human think that dog should think.

Good luck! Mara does make a good point about not bringing another puppy into the house (BTW, it''s never a good idea to adopt two from the same litter - too much bonding together). It''s been easier for us to have two. But, we have had a grown dog teach a puppy family traditions & behaviour. We also have been dog owners for about 20 years. Or in our last case, a grown dog teaching a grown dog family traditions. We never had to reprimand our new dog about not "begging" at the table. Our older pup herded her over to the rug where they lie when we eat. He made sure she stayed there. And, he knows they get a treat after we are done.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/23/2005 12

1:48 PM
Author: Feydakin
I''ve had dogs for 30 years now.. Always more than one.. What did eventually wind up happening, and it turned out to be a great thing, is that we staggered their ages.. Right now our ''puppy'' is 3 and our ''old man'' is 8 or 9.. When old man finally dies, we almost immediately go out and adopt a new puppy.. This makes the puppy old man and he becomes the new head of the house and actually does a wonderful job of training the ''newcomer'' in how we do things..

Precisely. It certainly makes our lives easier. And, I sure do enjoy their antics & interaction. People should learn to be more like dogs.

 

[FuFu]

Thanks fire&ice, Feydakin, and Mara for some more great advice and everyone else for the reassurance. This really is a great deal of comfort for me.

I was honestly freaking out and I felt like I really had no one giving me any advice I felt was reassuring. Whoever knew the “diamond” forum I frequent has so many people that can comfort me and make me feel at ease. (BTW, I love, love, love all the threads with the questions and pictures! A lot of very beautiful and unique pieces. I love sparklies so much it’s even fun just looking at other people’s and reading about their questions and stories.) I can’t say thank you enough. Samurai (my puppy) wasn’t the only one getting anxious. I was getting there myself.

I definitely don’t think I will be getting another pet in the near future. This one little monster is enough for me to handle for now. But I think down the road I will without a doubt consider another pup once I get a grip on things.

So for last night he did wonderful! I put him in his crate and after about 10 minutes of that awful noise he makes, he just stopped. Silence and stillness. And it stayed like that for an entire 30 minutes. I was SO thrilled! I let me him out, gave him a treat, took him outside to potty, and lots of hugs and kisses. I didn’t put him in his crate at night though. I think if he did just 3 minutes of that howling, I’d have some FBI come knocking on my door to hunt me down. So I just let him sleep on the floor next to my bed. And he did just that, slept. My alarm went off at 2am, took him out to potty, came back and went to sleep. And to my surprise, this morning he woke me up at 6:30am with one paw on my arm and a single bark. I looked around in bewilderment thinking he must have peed on the carpet already. But to my surprise, nothing. So could it be he already kind of knows he needs to go “out” to potty? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking huh? But I was a PROUD mommy this morning.

 

[JCJD]

Hooooooorrrrraaaaaayyyyy!!!!!! Congratulations "Mom"!!!!! Your baby is growing up!!!! Keep up the good work, and keep ignoring the whines and praising the silence!!! Congratulations!!!

 

[MissAva]

The crate should not be larger then twice your dogs lenth it creates a sense of unease for them. I have a boston terrier and when she was puppy this was an issue. I bought a crate divider and covered it with one of my scrub shirts and a towel I got from the breeder so she would have both my scent and the scents of her fellow puppies to comfort her. Be carfeul not to leave squeaker toys as they rile a dog up and keep them from calming down. The TV radio thing didnt work for us beucase then she thought I was just ignoring her to be a brat. When your dog is an adult and house broken how will she live? I live alone BF is 1200 miles away so I let mine sleep in the bed with me. When I was training her I would use cuddle/napping time on the bed as a reward for going potty outside. She doesnt bark at all unless someone smokes or if we are in NJ there are deer in the yard. It is nice to have a silent animal and bribing them with lovings works much better then yelling of spanking your dog. Good Luck and post some more puppy pictures... almost as much fun as diamonds

 

[Mara]

Congratulations!!! That''s fabulous...sounds like real progress is being made...!! Stick with it!

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/23/2005 1:41:18 PM
Author: FuFu

; And to my surprise, this morning he woke me up at 6:30am with one paw on my arm and a single bark. I looked around in bewilderment thinking he must have peed on the carpet already. But to my surprise, nothing. So could it be he already kind of knows he needs to go “out” to potty? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking huh? But I was a PROUD mommy this morning.

No, it just means that you get up when he let''s out one bark & a paw up. Silly humans - they are sooo easy to train.

Seriously, he could know he needs to potty. It could be a happy "accident". But, a very good one - wake up/go out and potty. Dogs are all about association. Always take advantage of good association and getting the dog to do what you want.

Way to go on your success! Take the baby steps & remember you will have set backs! Don''t let it discourage you! Your a good mama to take your little one out in the middle of the night. They really have a hard time holding it. But, that passes very quickly. Very shortly, we eliminated the middle of the night walk & got up earlier (we eventually pushed it back).

Our dogs have truly trained us well. One bangs his water dish with his paw when the trough is dry. My current male stands over his water dish & stares at me - like what are you waiting for!

Hugs & doggie kisses to your baby!

 

[icekid]

glad your new puppy is coming around! i want a puppy sooo badly... but alas, it won''t be happening anytime soon. he looks soooo cute in your avatar. post more pics of him!

 

[Momoftwo]

My huskie puppy was 6 weeks old when we got him and by 8 weeks he was totally housebroken. Easiest dog ever to train. And during those two weeks, only like 2 accidents. He could already be associating you taking him outside with "going". Most dogs sleep during the day when you're not home. My sister has two dogs, one of which she had with a different dog until he died last year. Anyway, they are always laying around when she comes home and on the days she is home, they rarely play together unless they're looking for attention from her or her family. She actually came home at lunchtime one day and caught one of them sleeping on the sofa where they are not allowed. Caught him in the act. It was so funny because he knew he'd be caught and acted so repentant after he tried to sneak off the sofa.

 

[FuFu]

Update on Samurai!! Yea, seriously, I think I AM the one being trained. It's ok though. As long as he STOPS howling "bloody murder" ... he's doing so much better today. I brought him and his crate to work with me today and put him in the back room. He did cry for about 20 minutes, and now I think he's sleeping. But he's lost his voice from all the howling. At least I think that's why. Is it possible for that to happen? Or he might have a cold? So far now he's been quiet for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Hopefully he's calming down and didn't stop just for now because he's tired and worn out. It's weird though.. everytime he cries for those 20 minutes, I still feel a little of my fear resurfacing. I hope I'm doing everything correctly and we're on our way to building our trust.... Thank you guys!

 

[FuFu]

And I keep saying "thank you" because everyone''s comments mean SO much to me. I was about to have a nervous breakdown just from my own imagination running wild. And I was just lost and didn''t know WHAT to do. So again, thanks for making feel sane again, and reassured.

 

[Mara]

Don''t worry...the little howling terror will soon look like THIS much of the time...