Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/13/2007 7:15 PM |
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I dont know what to do!!! I've never ever had a problem house breaking a puppy before!! Hunter is tricky!! I have paper/wee pads out and sometimes IF he wants he will go on them but for the most part where he stands when he has to go pee is where it drops and three times now its been in my bed!!! Normally when he is in the bed he will go to the edge to be let down (he's too small to jump)but these 3 times he never even walked to the edge..he just stood up and let it go...I dont know what to do..and I dont have a pen nor do I want one...
Thanks for any advice
Hunters Mommy
ps. how do I correct him so he knows he did a bad thing...I scold him and he appears to know Im upset but it hasnt had any effect on the act itself |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/13/2007 9:33 PM |
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Well, my first instinct is to suggest crate training - it can be a real God send. I'm not sure what to tell you other than a few basics - I know some others here have successfully potty trained without using a crate, so maybe they will see this and have some advice.
Are you training him to solely use the puppy pads as opposed to going outside? Again, I've no experience with that either.
Scolding him is good to let him know you are not pleased with what his done. A stern "NO" will suffice. If you can catch him "mid-stream" so to speak, take him and place him where you wan't him to go.
When he does go on the puppy pads, you need to be there to see it and IMMEDIATELY praise him - really really exhuberantly so that he's clear that this pleases you.
The key is both negative and positive reactions to behaviors MUST be immediate or the dog will not associate the relationship between what he has done and whether it has made you happy or not. And these dogs love to please.
Also, make sure you are taking his water up early in the evening and giving him plenty of access to his puppy pads before bed. |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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Lucy's Colleen
Bratty Ratty
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| 04/13/2007 10:40 PM |
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| Patients is key. Lucy was not the easiest pup to potty train. It took longer than I would have hoped. Be consistant, and make sure to praise when they go potty in the right spot. Of course though this did lead to Lucy taking millions more than needed piddles just so she could get that treat. Lucy had accidents until she was almost a year. When she was young I did have her in the kennel at night so she wouldn't potty everywhere. Sorry I'm not much help. Tracey has given some good information though. |
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Colleen
Flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7797281@N05/ |
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Mitzy's Mom
PAWesome
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| 04/16/2007 6:56 AM |
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My first thought would be crate training but if you don't want to do that I would restrict his movements in the house....I didn't crate train but I put a puppy gate up so Mitzy couldn't get into the carpeted areas. Luckily when we were sleeping I always woke up when she did so I could take her out....never had either pup pee on the bed.
Other than that the others have given you good advice. Consistency and patience! My two were the hardest to housetrain compared to any other dog I've had but that's also because I'm gone 10-11 hours a day...it was hard for them! |
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Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids
Georgia Foster Mom, www.newrattitude.org
Pics of my current fosters:
http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/caradoc
http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/fiona
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 04/16/2007 10:51 AM |
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| I don't think I would let her on the bed for long stretches. When Jack first came home we penned him at night in a playyard with pee pads and his open crate. He did very well. During the day I made sure to take him out at least every hour. Are you home all day? What does she do when your gone? Consistency is key. I have been leashing Jack to me on a long lead because he was pooping in the house and it helped me keep an eye on him. It has worked great. Lots of praise too, Good Luck!! |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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talleysmom
Ratastic
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| 04/16/2007 1:05 PM |
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| You just have to watch him closer - he's getting to many opportunities to wee without being snatched up and taken outside (i know - that answer sucks - sorry but its always true when my dog makes a mistake).... and patience. i have a doggie door and it still took talley almost 6 months to house train - he has a short attention span :-) |
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rattytatty
Newbie
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| 04/16/2007 1:15 PM |
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You say you don't want to put him in a "pen".... does that mean you don't wish to crate train him? Trust me... the crate will be your most valuable housetraining tool. How old is Hunter? Unless you can monitor him 24 hours a day (which is highly unlikely), don't expect the house training process to be completed until your puppy is at least 6 months old.
If you absolutely do not wish to crate train Hunter, then you are pretty much left to confining him to a small, 'puppy-proofed' room and paper the entire floor when you are not home. Put his bed, toys and food/water bowls there. At first there will be no rhyme or reason to where he eliminates. He will go every where and any where. He will also probably play with the papers, chew on them, and drag them around his little den. Most puppies do this and you just have to live with it. Don't get upset; just accept it as life with a young puppy. The important thing is that when you get home, clean up the mess and lay down fresh papers. While Hunter is confined, he is developing a habit of eliminating on paper because no matter where he goes, it will be on paper. As time goes on, he will start to show a preferred place to do his business.
When you are home... take him outside frequently and let him do his business outside.
I would definitely use the crate if I were you... but if you are against it, try what I've suggested if you want. |
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chips mom
Rattie
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| 04/16/2007 3:05 PM |
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Crate training is magical. Talk about a good night's sleep? Annie is in the crate all night. She is new to us and very tiny. I don't think she would make a mistake in the middle of the night, but I fear stepping on her if I got up. Both Annie and Chips are crated while we are at work. BTW I use those plastic bird dishes that connect to the side of a cage (crate) for food and water.
You need to also realize that not only does a crate keep your house clean, but a crate keeps your things in one piece. Many of our ratties will chew things while we are gone from the house for any length of time. A combination of boredom, angry at being left behind, and mischievousness. |
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Judy Mom to Mr. Chips and Annie
"home those in need before you breed"-www.chincare.com
The greatness of a nation and its progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
.....Mahatma Gandhi...
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Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/18/2007 11:54 AM |
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Hi
Im at work all day and Hunter is home alone. Actually he only peed on the bed at night once because I got up to use the bathroom myself and saw he was sound to sleep I let him be, I guess he had other ideas...but the two times he did it was day time and I was sitting on my bed with him. He basically looked at me as to say "watch this mommy" lol...I think I'm going to try the crate training and with any luck he will get the hang of both pads and outside potty..I think the pads are great for those terrible weather days and long periods of time when Im at work and he is home alone...but right now I'd take either outside or pads!!! I'd love to be able to open up the entire house..right now he only has access to the kitchen when Im not home...I swear my kitchen floor is the cleanest in the world considering Im mopping it 2-5 times A DAY!!  I do like the playyard pen idea..I'll look into that!! thank you  Im also considering crating him while Im at work but I dont want him to resort to barking and crying which will upset my neighbors..so far he has adjusted to being home alone VERY well!!! And while he doesnt have access to anything that he could destory his potty habits are difficult to keep up with.. |
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Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/18/2007 12:00 PM |
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I think I've had a change of heart...looking into crates now!! Hunters daddy told me its time to get one and as much as I dont like crating him for long periods of time...I think what is important is what is in the best interest of Hunter and not me although its starting to sound like it maybe in my best interest as well ...I've read everyone's advice and am thankful for the insights! This is a great group!!
Posted By rattytatty on 04/16/2007 1:15 PM
You say you don't want to put him in a "pen".... does that mean you don't wish to crate train him? Trust me... the crate will be your most valuable housetraining tool. How old is Hunter? Unless you can monitor him 24 hours a day (which is highly unlikely), don't expect the house training process to be completed until your puppy is at least 6 months old.
If you absolutely do not wish to crate train Hunter, then you are pretty much left to confining him to a small, 'puppy-proofed' room and paper the entire floor when you are not home. Put his bed, toys and food/water bowls there. At first there will be no rhyme or reason to where he eliminates. He will go every where and any where. He will also probably play with the papers, chew on them, and drag them around his little den. Most puppies do this and you just have to live with it. Don't get upset; just accept it as life with a young puppy. The important thing is that when you get home, clean up the mess and lay down fresh papers. While Hunter is confined, he is developing a habit of eliminating on paper because no matter where he goes, it will be on paper. As time goes on, he will start to show a preferred place to do his business.
When you are home... take him outside frequently and let him do his business outside.
I would definitely use the crate if I were you... but if you are against it, try what I've suggested if you want.
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/18/2007 12:13 PM |
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| I believe you're making a wise decision. As I've said before, crating was invaluable in helping Daisy adjust to our household and vice versa as well as with potty-training. She sleeps contendly in it now when we are gone during the day. She sleeps with us at night and is in it rarely if we are home. |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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KlondikeCafe
Rattie
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| 04/18/2007 12:47 PM |
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Posted By Hunters-mommy on 04/18/2007 11:54 AM Hi Im at work all day and Hunter is home alone. Actually he only peed on the bed at night once because I got up to use the bathroom myself and saw he was sound to sleep I let him be, I guess he had other ideas...but the two times he did it was day time and I was sitting on my bed with him. He basically looked at me as to say "watch this mommy" lol...I think I'm going to try the crate training and with any luck he will get the hang of both pads and outside potty..I think the pads are great for those terrible weather days and long periods of time when Im at work and he is home alone...but right now I'd take either outside or pads!!! I'd love to be able to open up the entire house..right now he only has access to the kitchen when Im not home...I swear my kitchen floor is the cleanest in the world considering Im mopping it 2-5 times A DAY!! I do like the playyard pen idea..I'll look into that!! thank you  Im also considering crating him while Im at work but I dont want him to resort to barking and crying which will upset my neighbors..so far he has adjusted to being home alone VERY well!!! And while he doesnt have access to anything that he could destory his potty habits are difficult to keep up with..
My largest fear is potty training! I am always saying I am the worst potty trainer in the world. However, its been over 10 years and we didn't use a crate before.
Our little girl Bohda is 9 weeks. Knowing that I just know that it will most likely be MONTHS before she is fully potty trained. Just knowing that has helped stop any emotional issues on my part if their is an accident...I've only had her a week and half, and I have months to go.. no point in allowing myself to get stressed yet...lol...
We decided from the beginning that we would use the crate and it has be fantastic!! There are just times I can't watch her, or times I have to cook dinner, take your pick, if I can't watch her and no one else in the house can, she is crated.. We have crate toys for her, and will sometimes give her a "soft" food chew in her crate... Usually in the morning when I won't be home and I know she didn't get all her puppy energy out before I had to leave, it helps to keep her occupied and use up some of that energy..
Over all here are my tips, not all will work for you because your not home all day but maybe a few will, they are also geared toward crate training although some might help with a "play area, or playpen"..
We have crate toys and house toys, the house toys are layed out all over the living room where she is generally confined when she is out with us. This includes toys on the floor and at least one on each couch in case she is sitting with us. We like to keep a toy handy so if she starts to chew something she is not suppose to we don't have to reach far to grab what she should be chewing on to correct the behavior and be able to give her lots of praise.. We have also payed attention to what toys she likes and got those.. Right now she prefers soft cloth toys over rubber ones.
We try and ALWAYS make sure she is good and worn out before putting her in the crate. We learned this in the first 3 days. The first night she was worn out, the second we let her nap after the kids went to bed from 8 to 10.. We were ready to go to bed but she just woke up and was full of energy, so she cried a lot.. Thinking about this and how it wasn't going to work (her crate is in our room), we decided to wear her out first.. It worked GREAT.. The third night after the kids went to bed we let her sleep from 8 to 9pm and than woke her up and took her outside and played with her and ran her around until 10.. she was good and ready to sleep after that and no more whining.. We haven't had whining since this because we just know we need to wear her out first..Well, no whining at night anyway..lol.. Like I said, we can't always do that in the morning, so we have a particular soft food chew treat that we offer, and we don't offer it any other time,we also don't offer it every single morning. Some mornings she has to deal with a rotation of a living room toy so shes not bored. We don't want to offer the soft chew every morning as we don't want to her to "expect" it every morning and freak out one morning if she doesn't get one...
We offer water through out the day..but the key word is "offer". we set her water down and let her drink and than pick it back up. We know that right after water we have to take her outside, and hourly after that, unles she is napping. When she wakes up we know we have to get her outside ASAP. We know from observation that she will generally go poo 3x a day. First thing in the morning, a few hours after breakfast, and a few hours after dinner.. We feed dinner about 4pm, so we know she needs to poo before bed. I'm sure all dogs are different, but even at this age she has a schedule and we just wrote it down the first few days so we could learn it.
Before this site kind of crashed (sometime last week) I read in an article that puppies can only hold their bladders for how old they are plus 1 hour. So if your puppy is 8 weeks old (2 months) that would be 2 hours plus 1 hour which = 3 hours.. I have found this to be SO true. Due to this I just know that I will be up at least once in the middle of the night. If she goes to bed at 10pm I know she will wake me up (from her crate) or I will need to wake up no later than 2am (4 hours later) and she is again let out with my finacee at 5am, and again at 8 when I get up on my days off, and after that about every hour. So if your not using a crate and have your puppy with you at night or for a nap during the day you might want to let them out every few hours, no matter if its in the middle of the night or not.
As a disclaimer, I haven't potty trained a puppy in a LONG time and still have a lot of questions myself, but so far this is what has worked for us. When we got her I started to log her potty habits and sleeping habits, this has helped me and the whole family learn her habits so we could act appropriately to ensure as many positive experiences as possible for everyone.
Good Luck!!
April in SC
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KlondikeCafe
Rattie
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| 04/18/2007 12:51 PM |
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Posted By Hunters-mommy on 04/18/2007 12:00 PM
I think I've had a change of heart...looking into crates now!! Hunters daddy told me its time to get one and as much as I dont like crating him for long periods of time...I think what is important is what is in the best interest of Hunter and not me although its starting to sound like it maybe in my best interest as well ...I've read everyone's advice and am thankful for the insights! This is a great group!!
Good for you! Honest I don't think I could do this if we didn't have one!! LOL
I believe I noticed an article in this part of the forum for crate training. I glanced through it and it has some great advice for getting your puppy used to it so he's not whining as much... I know Bohda is quiet when I'm not home, but boy she sure learned the sound of my truck fast!! If I had my window down I can hear her start the minute she hears my truck and I run in to let her out! LOL
Again, good luck!
April in SC |
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Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/19/2007 2:09 PM |
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ok I got the crate today..I got one that has a divider that you can adjust as the puppy grows...Hunter LOVES it!! I put his pillow inside and he jumped right in and laid down...I'll leave the door open and let him get used to it and then try closing the door later...
I dont feel so guilty seeing how comfy he seems in it thanks for all the awesome advice.. |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/20/2007 6:03 AM |
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| Yeah! Good boy, Hunter |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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rattytatty
Newbie
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| 04/20/2007 10:42 AM |
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| I'm glad to see this. I think you'll find that with some patience and consistency in your efforts, Hunter will become a good little boy! His crate will become his haven.. his refuge.... (after all, dogs are den animals). Please keep us posted on your little guy's progress! |
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Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/23/2007 11:43 AM |
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Well Hunter just loves his crate! It has a divider in it so you can make it smaller and adjust it as he grows but I elected to leave that part out and let him just enjoy the entire crate..he has NOT gone potty in it once even though he could easily go in one corner and sleep in the other. Also I've almost given up on the pee pads completely. I leave one of them out just in case but I've been trying to get him outside often and as soon as he lands on the grass he goes! It amazes me!! I could sit in front of him for 30+ minutes on the pads and he wont even drip a drop but he lets it flow outside..perfect! now if only I didnt live on the 3rd floor 
Saturday night Hunter was "missing" my boyfriend and I looked for him but never thought to check the crate..sure enough there he was sound asleep in the crate...he is such a perfect puppy!! Ratties are AWESOME dogs!!
OH YEAH! Check out his new picture in the picture forum..he has on PJ's |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/23/2007 11:45 AM |
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| I'm so glad it is continuing to go well with Hunter. You're doing fabulously, though the 3rd floor apartment thing is kind of tough! But, at least you're getting a workout |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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Hunters-mommy
Rattie
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| 04/23/2007 12:12 PM |
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| yep I call it my poormans-stairmaster |
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kent2001
Rattie
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| 05/04/2007 2:02 PM |
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| what a cute pup Hunter is. he has freckles on his belly like my Hardy did - but they faded after he reached about 8 months. I miss them. |
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PamWh
Rattitude Problem
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| 05/04/2007 4:24 PM |
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| I think there is a fake grass thing you can get to keep on your balcony for the dog to use as a potty. It has a tray to catch the pee and is easily cleanable, kind of like a litter box without litter. |
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PamWh
aka Bob's Mom
If your rattie ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! |
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Justin Stonewall
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| 08/29/2007 4:21 PM |
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I'm the new owner of an 8-week old. I think we're making a LITTLE headway after only a few days, but it is frustrating.
We reward him with a special treat when he goes outside. This particular treat is ONLY for potty training. It seems to be working, very slowly but surely.
All these tips are great!
Ed |
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 08/29/2007 4:26 PM |
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| Congrats on your new baby and welcome to the site. They are quick learners and it sounds like you have a good plan! Keep it up and ou'll be there in no time. Whats his name and what color? Pics please! |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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Justin Stonewall
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| 08/29/2007 4:27 PM |
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I forgot to add my picture! 
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 08/29/2007 4:28 PM |
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| Oh I just saw his pic under your bio! He is ADORABLE!! If you upload that under the avatar section it will show up with your posts. |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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Justin Stonewall
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| 08/29/2007 4:29 PM |
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Thank you! I've been having a bit of trouble with that, as you can see!
:-)
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 08/29/2007 4:31 PM |
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| You have to make sure the .jpg is lowercase |
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Sarah
Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan
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Justin Stonewall
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| 08/29/2007 4:40 PM |
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That did the trick.
Thanks so much!
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buttonbutt
Newbie
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| 09/01/2007 10:09 AM |
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| You got your avatar picture up, Justin. What a darling puppy! |
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wmars1776
Terrier Terror
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| 09/01/2007 12:32 PM |
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He is adorable - tough being "Pissed" at him. |
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Bill - "Smokey's" Dad
Cumberland, Rhode Island
"To everything, there is a season"
www.myspace.com/wmars1776 |
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