So upset about small dog potty training?
I have had this maltese for around 2 months. She was born in Sept.
The last owner gave her to me because she could not train her and could not put her in a crate during the day during day care hours.
She will have a panic attack if you put her in one. I have never seen anything like it. She shakes and salivates enough to make a puddle.
I love this pup already. But I am at my whits end.
Things I have tried:
I take her out every few hours, she comes in and pees in the middle of the floor.
I walk her for 30 minutes and she come in and pees and poops within 10 minutes.
So I walked her twice a day and longer. Still she will not go till we get back home.
I sit outside with her and wait for 30 minutes and nothing.
I have my boy dogs go potty with her and nothing. One squats so I figured it would help. She just sniffs it and nothing.
I tried to do a treat and praise. It worked one time. i put her in the doggy run for two hours today. she came back in and peed within 5 minutes.
I am ready to get rid of her myself. I put down potty pads for my blind dog who is 12 when it is raining out. She wont use them to pee but only poop.
she has picked 3 spots to do this and I have blocked one off. And tried an other the living room but she will jump the gate. Which by the way is way taller then her.
Any ideas?
Tagged with: About • Potty • small • Training • upset
Filed under: Dog Potty Training
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since she doesnt like the crate potty training is going to be a bit more difficult. small breeds like that tend to be a bit stubborn..i know i had min pins lol….a good way to start getting her to go potty outside is to take her out as soon as you get up and DO NOT bring her back in until she has gone potty and as soon as she does say good potty and praise her and brin her in the house…she will need to use the bathroom after 15 min of eating and playing….keep on eye on her when she drinks water you know she will need to go out….take her out before bed as well and remember to leave her out there until she goes potty…if you take her out and she just stands there try moving to a new area and just keep doing it till she pees…she will catch on just keep her on a routine schedule i take my dog out when i get up…around noon and then around 5 and then before i go to bed and she now knows at each time that she is supposed to pee…even if she doesnt she will at least let out a tinkle
You may want to confine her to a small bathroom when you can’t watch her. Or you might want to train her to like the crate. Use wonderful treats to lure her in the crate. Don’t close the door just allow her to go in as far as she can. Slowly work on it never forcing her. I’m wondering if you put the potty pads in the spots she likes to pee. It sounds as though you have tried everything. You may want to limit her water and food to certain times of day trying to get her on some sort of schedule for pottying. I hope I was able to give you some helpful suggestions.
Have her checked for possible UTI first. Small breed puppies are very hard to train to pee/poop outside but that is where you need to get her to go. Sometimes its a year before they are trained. You seem to be doing all you can.
The only other suggestion is to take her out – stand there and do nothing else with her but encourage her to “potty” – eventually she will catch on and you can almost get them to go on command.
Can you afford to talk to a dog trainer? Maybe you should call and apply to be on the Dog Whisperer.
My dad has a sweet, but very stupid Chihuahua, and he hasn’t trained her, after a year. It’s ridiculous. We tried pee-pads too. Nothing else is working for us, either!! We’ve tried it all..
You could try bell training her. Before you take her out, put a little peanut butter on the bell (make sure it’s low enough, but not too low) and she will lick it off, making the bell ring. Then take her outside and praise her afterwards. If you keep doing this then she will eventually learn that if she needs to go potty she will have to ring the bell to let you know
Take her to her potty spot, use your commands, sit in a chair and wait, praise her when she does good, don’t let her back in the house until she goes potty. You really do have to tell them what you want from them, and then make sure they do it. I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it. I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate. Dogs don’t potty where they eat and sleep. When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on. So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them *out. I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time. They have to graduate to more space. If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them. I take them out the same door each time. I tie a dinner bell to the door handle. Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it. So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go *outside to potty. When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty. Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty. Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn’t. So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her. So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy. If she has an accident, make a disgust sound like “tsst” and take her out right away. I never yell* or spank* my puppies. Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, before nap, finish romping, when their activities change, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go poop until 10 minutes later, so wait for the poop. I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not. Puppies train at their own pace. While I may have a puppy that hasn’t had an accident in several weeks, I don’t let my guard down. I don’t expect my puppies to be “fully potty trained” until one-year-old. If they have a setback, shake it off, and start over. I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them. When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her. All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a “big girl.” This is the time I train her how to behave in the house. So we are practicing “no barking”, ‘no biting”, “no jumping”, and “don’t eat the furniture.” I also have to practice “playing inside” so she doesn’t knock over things. You must keep the puppy in sight when they are little because they don’t know the difference between newspaper and carpet, and you don’t want them sneaking off and getting into trouble. Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.
REVISIONS:
*I use a CRATE to train with. It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried. I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured. The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. . However, use the method that works best for you…..a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, x-pen, child gates, whatever works for you.
*OUTSIDE, pee pad, litter box, whichever method you are using. When the puppy is first little, keep the pee pad, litter box near the food and water dish, so the puppy can eat and drink, and then go potty. You can move it away as they get older. The pee pad has a scent that smells and initiates potty. Sometimes a pee pad makes a sound that scares some puppies, so you might want to use a litter box if that happens. The pee pad allows a puppy to walk around, but a litter box keeps the puppy in one place.
*BEDROOMS, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me. Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty. While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to. They don’t have to sleep in the bedroom forever.
*TREATS. While I use treats for training, you don’t have to. I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them.
*SOME PUPPIES will go potty in the same spot each time. Some puppies have to be told to go potty. A command like “go out” for pee, or “go finish” for poop, might work for you, keep saying “go finish” until the puppy poops. This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs. By using commands, the puppy won’t get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a new home. The command will tell them what you want them to do in an unfamiliar place. You might also want to use a leash method, so the puppy doesn’t sneak off, or for strange places.
*YELLING. It is not a good idea to “yell” or “spank” your puppy and then take them outside when they have an accident. They may get confused and think that going outside is punishment. While you want to correct them, if you are extreme, they may not want to go outside again. Shake it off, and resume your schedule. You have to keep it real. Puppies train at their own pace, but a puppy can only hold their potty for a few hours. A guide would be 1 hour for each month of age, plus 1 hour, so a three-month-old puppy should only be expected to hold their potty for 4 hours at most.
SOURCE: These tips, tricks, and ideas were contributed from many brilliant minds. Thanks for your help!
The keys to good housetraining include:
* Using a crate to prevent accidents and make it more likely that your pup will eliminate when you take her outside; and
* Rewarding your puppy handsomely whenever she does the right thing in the right place. Punishing your pup for mistakes can actually make housetraining harder.
http://bit.ly/housetraining_puppies