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Our family recently got a puppy. She is a Yorkie-Poo. I am a stay at home mommy so I can take her out all the time... which I do... ALL THE TIME! I watch for signs (I noticed the sniffing the floor like shes tracking something thing usually means she has to pee) and STILL she pees and poops on the floor. I can deal with it during the day but she is peeing and pooping in her kennel at night.
For example: last night we stayed up late (well for us, we have 3 kids LOL) till llike 1130ish and she still pooped in her kennel. When we take her out we gently set her down and give the command: Go pee, go potty. She goes right away almost all the time. We dont rush her and yet she still does her buisness inside. HELP. What do you suggest? Are we doing anything wrong? Could we do something better/different? I would love to train her to ring a bell to go out-- anyone have success doing this with a smaller dog?
Also, I have noticed that our puppy (Penny) gets nippy when playing. I do let her get her energy out and play with her but I can't let my younger kids because I dont want them to get nipped. I say that because she doesnt really bite, just nips. Will she out grow this? Any suggestions on how to avoid this? I do want to say the kids just love her and I can see that, even though she is a puppy, she really loves them too
OH and one more concern (sorry!) Penny has found our cat's litter box. I have caught her taking cat poop out!! WHY?!? any suggestions on how to show her she is not allowed to do that? I was thinking maybe a clicker to get her attention and redirect her? We need help LOL.
the Why about taking the poop out of the little box is a no brainer. yummy snacks.... every dog and cat owner has to do with this some time or another.
ok I didn't realize I needed to explain the litter box issue in greater detail but here goes: Yes we DO clean out the litter box. Very often infact but to be realistic I do have 3 young children so there's going to be time where there's poop in the litter box. (We don't sift through the litter box, we completly empty and clean it everytime!) GOODNESS!
Penny is about 9 weeks old. almost 10 weeks I think.
Yes, I think we need to wake up and take her out! I am kinda new to this so please be nice people, just asking for a little help.
This thread shows the bible of housebreaking!
Regarding nipping, tell her "No!" firmly and then completely ignore her for several minutes. This is pretty normal puppy behavior. It will take time to correct.
Regarding cat poop (kitty roca), that's pretty normal dog behavior! About all you can do is try to find a place for the litter box that she can't get to. She probably won't outgrow it. Sorry.
You don't say how old she is. When she's old enough to have had the required shots, I highly recommend a puppy class. She and you will learn a lot and the socialization with other people and dogs is very valuable.
Our family recently got a puppy. She is a Yorkie-Poo. I am a stay at home mommy so I can take her out all the time... which I do... ALL THE TIME! I watch for signs (I noticed the sniffing the floor like shes tracking something thing usually means she has to pee) and STILL she pees and poops on the floor. I can deal with it during the day but she is peeing and pooping in her kennel at night.
For example: last night we stayed up late (well for us, we have 3 kids LOL) till llike 1130ish and she still pooped in her kennel. When we take her out we gently set her down and give the command: Go pee, go potty. She goes right away almost all the time. We dont rush her and yet she still does her buisness inside. HELP. What do you suggest? Are we doing anything wrong? Could we do something better/different? I would love to train her to ring a bell to go out-- anyone have success doing this with a smaller dog?
Also, I have noticed that our puppy (Penny) gets nippy when playing. I do let her get her energy out and play with her but I can't let my younger kids because I dont want them to get nipped. I say that because she doesnt really bite, just nips. Will she out grow this? Any suggestions on how to avoid this? I do want to say the kids just love her and I can see that, even though she is a puppy, she really loves them too
OH and one more concern (sorry!) Penny has found our cat's litter box. I have caught her taking cat poop out!! WHY?!? any suggestions on how to show her she is not allowed to do that? I was thinking maybe a clicker to get her attention and redirect her? We need help LOL.
First, put your puppy on a leash and tether her to you. You move around the house, the puppy follows. You sit down to watch t.v., the puppy is there with you. The puppy won't have time to complete the task when she's right in front of you. You see her "assume the position", you pick her up and take her outside.
When she pees and poops outside, you throw her a ticker tape parade.
Puppies cannot hold it for very long. Two or three hours at the max, depending on her age. To think that a puppy can hold it all night long is wrong. You can't just go to bed at 11:30 and not expect her to have to go until you wake up at 6 or 7 or 8. You have to get up, out of bed at least every two hours and take her out. YES, it is hard. BUT, it will be worth it later on if you do this. This is why puppies are EXHAUSTING. If you have kids, you should know this.
Also, if she's going in her crate, the crate is too big for her. You need to section it off. She needs just enough room to stand up and turn around. Anything more than that, she's going to go in a corner and still have room in the crate to avoid the mess she just made.
Also start working on a command, like, "hurry up" or "go potty", (if you don't mind saying that around the neighbors), each and every time you take her out. When she does it, you reward her tremendously.
But most importantly, keep her tethered to you until she learns to go outside to pee and is old enough to hold it for longer than a fricken hour. She's a puppy, it's not her fault, it's the owners.
Training to ring a bell comes later. Right now you just need to train her to go outside, not inside. And that means you have to be vigilant. It only takes a puppy a second, literally, to start peeing on your carpet. You have to watch that puppy at all times. That's why tethering them to you with a leash is a great way to keep you alert. It also helps them learn to follow you around and establishes where you and the puppy stand in the family. Two birds with one stone.
Nipping is not to be accepted. The time to stop that is now. When she nips, be as dramatic as possible and say, "OW!!!!!" loudly. She's not going to like that and it helps stop the nipping. You don't want her to get in to the habit of nipping, thinking it's cute or that she'll grow out of it. You need to teach her bite control and that nipping is unacceptable.
Edit: Also, if she's tethered to you, she can't get in to the litter box.
the Why about taking the poop out of the little box is a no brainer. yummy snacks.... every dog and cat owner has to do with this some time or another.
You know what, I think I may have read this wrong. Sorry for my short responce in my previous reply!
Ugh! The kitty rocca was one bad behavior we were never able to end, the fresher the better to my gross dogs, there is no kissing mama on the face in my house. Now that my cats have passed they go and raid the neighbors yard where his kitty does his business. I've only know one person who solved the kitty poop problem, she had her dog trained with an invisible fence and they set up a small "fence" line closing off the laundry room where the litter box was.
The housebreaking link that Subject2Change posted is the best way to go, it takes some work but in the long run will save you carpets.
Remember that a puppy doesn't have bladder control until around 4 months or more of age. and the "bible" for potty training you already have a link too.
The only thing that has not been covered is for every month old the puppy is it can hold it's bladder about an hour. (i.e. 4 months, 4 hours)
After play, eating, drinking, and sleeping they need to go out (plus the other signs you have been looking for.)
Best of luck!
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One moe thing...
