new puppy

[cryforme1v]

i got my son a puppy a few weeks ago, and i'm a little at odds with the lil shit.
he's adorable and just fell in love with him and i dont want to get rid of him, but i may have to if this keeps up.
We take him and our other dog outside every 2 hours to potty and for about a week that was going great, he'd wait to go outside every time.
In the past week or so, he has been waiting till he comes back in to do his duty in the house.... and since he started that up, my other dog, a chihauha, has started doin the same thing. I'm at a loss. My mom said to try a slight tap on their nose but they are both tiny dogs.
the chihauha is a teacup-3 years old and not quite 2 lbs. and the pup is a pug that is only about 11 weeks old.
anyone give me some help! i dont want to break my sons heart by havin to find the pup a new home.

 

[Karal]

i got my son a puppy a few weeks ago, and i'm a little at odds with the lil shit.
he's adorable and just fell in love with him and i dont want to get rid of him, but i may have to if this keeps up.
We take him and our other dog outside every 2 hours to potty and for about a week that was going great, he'd wait to go outside every time.
In the past week or so, he has been waiting till he comes back in to do his duty in the house.... and since he started that up, my other dog, a chihauha, has started doin the same thing. I'm at a loss. My mom said to try a slight tap on their nose but they are both tiny dogs.
the chihauha is a teacup-3 years old and not quite 2 lbs. and the pup is a pug that is only about 11 weeks old.
anyone give me some help! i dont want to break my sons heart by havin to find the pup a new home.

Okay for the pup..the pug..there's probably several things to mention here that I have, from prior experience, ran into.

First at that age, bladder control is almost but not quite negligible. Unfortunately (IMHO) they're just too young to catch on. This is where patience comes into play, sorry to say.

Next thing..at early ages, any time there's physical exercise (read: playing) a bathroom break right after is a must.

Moving on, do you let the dog out into a fenced area or take them on a leash? The reason I ask is because the faster you connect the leash or certain verbal cues to potty time the faster the dog will began to "see" a routine. And I just simply cannot stress the importance of routine for a canine enough.

Right now I have a male 65 pound half black Lab, half Aussie Shepherd and a female half black Lab, half Border Collie that is also 65 pounds and they both live inside my home. The male is about 4 years old, the female 2. When I pick up the leash, both trot to the door and wait for me to attach the leash so they can go out. This is because I've worked at associating the leash and the same door over and over (repeat a gazillion times or so) to the act of potty breaks so they both know what to do.

Another thing to also query is about the leash again. The male I have will always go on a leash and do his business. The female, which I acquired from a rescue group in my area, had been in a non-euthanizing shelter for a bit and was allowed to run free in a fenced area to do her business. As a result, the female is vastly more reluctant to go on a leash than when I let her out into a penned area. She will do her business on a leash, but you best not be a hurry cause she sure won't be.

And on a final note, when all else fails..let me suggest a couple of more options....

I don't know what country you're in, but if you are in the USA and have access to a Wal-Mart, there's a simply fantastic product on shelves to help clean up messes.

Like you I was at my wits end with my first pup, and I had resorted after he quit to calling in Stanley Steamer to clean my carpets. Not a cheap solution, but ultimately necessary because of the state they were in.

With my second, I lucked up and found a product called "Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator" which does what most if not all the other products of a similar nature claim to do and fail. This stuff is pure awesomesauce in a bottle. It WILL get up dog urine stains out of carpet, also vomit and blood. And we're talking about dried stains as well. The trick with it is to follow the directions on the bottle for tough stains, and saturate the area well first, then put a damp cloth over the stained area for 24 hours. After 24 hours, pull up the cloth, let the carpet dry, and vacuum. Problem solved. I quite literally have a light tan carpet in my home and pet stains are more than conspicious; they stand out like spotlights in the dark. This stuff gets the stain out and makes the carpet look reasonably close to new again. Amazing stuff.

Also as a aside...I did some research and experimentation..if you happen to own one of those home carpet cleaners, here's a trick to seriously help with the carpets.

When you mix up your cleaning solution, do so like normal but add in one to two cups of white vinegar to the mix. Dog urine creates a sort of salt that crystallizes when it dries, and anything after just wets those crystals and brings back the smell (and the stain). However, white vinegar actually dissolves those crystals and will allow your carpet cleaner to remove them. Just remember to thoroughly rinse the carpet afterwards. You may end up needing to do a couple of rinse cycles, but it's absolutely worth it in the long run for the preservation and maintenance of your carpets.


Dunno if this helped..any of it..but if it did, I wish you the best of luck. I cannot possibly imagine my life without my dogs now. It's quite possible that when old age claims the male, I may come completely unhinged.

My dogs...are like my children..they're just furry and walk on four legs is all.

Edit: After mentioning the Wal-Mart website..I went and checked and could not find it anywhere on their site, although I know I got it there. With that said, here's a link to the actual product so you folks don't think I've lost my mind..not that you probably don't anyway.

http://www.woolitecarpet.com/Products/Product.aspx?p=Pet-Urine-Eliminator&MSCSProfile=E643FF728F825C96AE54FD4E74A9047A635460F804E9EFEAEB04CF4EECB6221167E4F852C97BA91682210DD3089362BF835BCD07AC9DCD5F1421E693A9D9BBA8628B02EAFD077298FD6D826709D77811CD47F3E26338690D3A72C90374F2973B267B916D72B7B03A5C2030B2EFA6477B2B76B7E5705BBCE9CC3CEE52B740CC151A9810A8619D6A7D

 

[bailadora]

Wow, lots of great advice already!

I googled "house training a puppy" and found a couple of articles that might help. (You're already on the right track with a frequent schedule of taking him outdoors).

This one from the Humane Society says that you should interrupt the pup when he starts to eliminate inside the house and take him to his "bathroom" spot out in the yard to finish his business. Then give him lavish praise and a treat as a positive reinforcement.

This article recommends not bringing the pup back in until he eliminates outdoors. The only drawback being that that could take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours.

Both articles also say after the fact punishment (verbal or otherwise), just isn't effective.

 

[cfuhrer]

My Beagle did the same thing with the toilet training going along fine and then all of the sudden waiting until we were back inside to do duty.

It was a phase. We just kept up the disciplinary measures we were using before and after about two or three weeks he quit.

Our older dog also reverted during that time. Our theory was that its a temper tantrum. "Well if new kid gets to go inside, why can't I?" Or, he was re-marking the territory he thought the pup was claiming. And at my house that was not be tolerated in the slightest, no matter the motivation or reasoning. He got the same discipline measures as the pup. And it only took the older dog a couple of days to get back in line.

 

[SweetErika]

It sounds like both of your dogs may be stressed. The puppy's issue is more understandable, but the older dog is probably responding to the attention the younger one is getting, going because he feels stressed about the new "baby" in the house, marking his space over the puppy's, etc.

Have you considered crate training? Put him in the crate, take him out to potty every hour for a couple of minutes. When you do this, you can use key words like "potty outside" or "time to potty!" in a positive, but firm voice. If he doesn't go, ignore him and he goes right back into the crate with no attention from you. If he does go, give him tons of praise (use the same words each time, like "Good pottying outside!") and maybe a favorite toy or treat. Keep doing this until he goes when you take him out, then lengthen the time and eventually expand his area (e.g. from crate to gated room with a hard floor to leashed to a larger area where you can still keep an eye on him and catch him if it looks like he's planning on going). If it looks like he's reverting, go back to the crate and start over right away. Here's an article that explains crate training and reverting behavior.

The other thing is to catch him in the act of planning/going and take him right out. If he's sniffing around and/or you think he might be planning on going, take him out just in case. Again, ignore unsuccessful attempts and accidents inside; heavily praise him when he goes outside.

Also, how are you cleaning up the accidents? Are you using a good enzymatic cleaner (like Nature's Miracle, or the generic version of it) properly so your dogs aren't cued to go in the same spots/mark over each other? And are both dogs fixed, or do you have two males who are potentially trying to mark their territory and compete running around?

I hope you'd never get rid of a dog for something like this. After all, it's not the dog's fault, it's a result of improper training and behavior on your part! And your older dog is simply responding to the situation (chihuahuas--especially very inbred ones--are notoriously nervous, touchy, easily stressed, spoiled, etc.). I know that sucks to hear, and I've had to face that fact myself with both dogs and my kidlet, but it's true that dogs and kids take their cues from us and do what we teach them. The great news is that when you catch it early, it's usually very easy to retrain them, and most of them are resilient creatures. But you're really going to have to make a good plan and stick to it, period.

If you've done the research, come up with a good plan (that doesn't involve hurting or shaming the dog) and you're still having issues, I'd suggest talking to an expert. The Humane Society and similar institutions usually have trainers on staff and great, affordable classes. They're usually happy to give you advice because they really don't want dogs coming into the shelters due to poor training/behavioral issues. You could also find someone who's a really great parent to at least one small breed dog, and see if they'll support you in learning how to train your pups. You can find such people at dog parks and even via enthusiast and breed rescue organizations. Simply look for the dogs who are extremely well-behaved (walking on a leash nicely, coming when they're called, fetching, heeling, not aggressing, etc.) and owners who use consistent, positive training methods. The good news is that "dog people" are often very nice and social; at least the ones we've always met at parks and such are extremely willing to share their time and knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask for help from those who clearly know what they're doing, and accept their tips gratefully.

 

[DrHappy]

I second the crate. He's not likely to go in the crate if he can help it.

 

[Netkeys]

As a 30 plus year dog owner. Competitive obedience trainer along with teaching obedience for our local dog training club the best advise is create training.

A create is a great aid. Unless your playing with the puppy it should be in a create. It takes 2 to 3 years for the puppy to fully mature so having slip ups at 11 weeks is totally expected. Keeping it created will also prevent damage when it enters the chewing stage.

I used creates with all my dogs until they where at least 2 years old. Sometime longer depending on the individual dogs temperament. I originally thought they where crucial but after taking advise I learned my dogs had no problems with the create. It was more of a problem in my mind then theres.LOL

You also need to spend some one on one time with your older dog. It went from being the only one to sharing and it feels left out. Remember that dogs when fully mature are like a 4 to 5 year old. They do get jealous.

Second is keeping to a schedule. You may need to take your dog out every hour during the day. Remove all food and water at least 1 hour before the last time out for the night. The put in the create for the night. Keep some absorbent rags in the create is case of accidents. As other have said have a party when you take the puppy out and it goes. Make it fun for the puppy.

Most of all you need patience. Remember that this is not your first dog. It will mature at it's own rate and will have it's own personality. So don't expect it to keep the same milestone.

 

[Trainerman]

praise

What has been mentioned least here is praise/reward.

Humans are great at telling an animal it is wrong and expect the poor thing to be telepathic and work out when it has got it right.

If you spend half the time saying "good dog" ( in a nice tone), as you do saying "bad" it will probably catch on .

David