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Subject: Female Puppy Potty Training

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Syl

Rattie

09/28/2007 8:19 AM
My 5-month-old female is such a quick learner, but potty training is killing me! I take her outside a lot, and she tee-tees when she goes out, but she comes right back inside and tee-tees more! I also have a 10-year-old male schnauzer and it's almost like she's learning how to mark like him. HE doesn't potty in the house though. In the past 2 weeks, she's gone on the sofa 3 times and in my bed twice. She sleeps with me and is now sleeping through the night, but twice lately I've found where she went in the bed while I was sleeping. When I try to crate her at night, she cries and keeps me awake. I crate her during the day while I'm at work and she doesn't tee-tee in her crate anymore. She knows she's not supposed to go in the house, because she runs and hides under the bed right after she does it! Any suggestions??? Please help - I'm at my wit's end!

Daisy&Dixie's mom

Ratterific

09/28/2007 8:34 AM
keep her crated at night, I know its hard to do when you hear them cry but its better for them in the long run. Also dont let her see you clean up. It brings attention to their actions. Tell her no and take her directly outside. While she is outside or in another room pick up her mess. Ratiites love attention and im learning that they dont always mind that it may be negative attention

swatson6

Attention Starved

09/28/2007 8:38 AM
For starters Welcome!! This is a wonderful place as you will see. I think you need to go back to square one with her. She should be crated at night again until she can be trusted. The crying ma go on for a couple nights, but just like a baby who learns that if they cry you will get them, you need to ignore her. The crying will lesson each night. If you need to move her to another room then by all means do so. How often are you taking her out? I would take her out often, and if you cannot watch her 100 percent so that if she does start to go you can correct her, then she needs to be crated. A short leash worked for me to hold on to when I wanted to keep my eye on them so the couldn't sneak off. So I think the first step is to act as if she is totally unhousetrained and start over. Somewhere along the line she lost track I think. She will get there, just be diligent. Good Luck! We are working on this too!

Sarah Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan

swatson6

Attention Starved

09/28/2007 8:40 AM
Posted By Daisy&Dixie's mom on 09/28/2007 8:34 AM keep her crated at night, I know its hard to do when you hear them cry but its better for them in the long run. Also dont let her see you clean up. It brings attention to their actions. Tell her no and take her directly outside. While she is outside or in another room pick up her mess. Ratiites love attention and im learning that they dont always mind that it may be negative attention I just have top say that I disagree with this. Letting them see you clean up their mess without actively scolding them is fine. I think they actually learn from this that that is not where they go potty, Also, if you don't catch her in the act, do not punish her as it will only confuse her. She will not know what you are scolding her for. Just be more careful to keep an eye on her.

Sarah Mom to Jack, Jeter and foster mom to Teagan

DaisysMom

Moderator
<b>Moderator</b>

09/28/2007 8:52 AM
Hi, and welcome to the site You have gotten some good advice so far and I too, would strongly encourage you to start completely over and use the crate. If you look towards the top of the threads under the Training Forum, you will find an excellent post on how to successfully crate train your puppy. One other thing that jumps out at me: She is going on the bed and the couch which are "soft spots" and is going outside and coming in going more...so I would also suggest a trip to the vet is in order to rule out a urinary tract infection. It's suspicious as well that she is peeing in the bed where she sleeps. Please also see my response to the post "Part time pooper" where I discussed a dog's "understanding" of what's expected of them. You need to have her within eyesight at ALL times so that you can offer an IMMEDIATE correction when she attempt to pee in the house. A stern "No" is all that's necessary, but you also need to immediately then take her outside to the spot that you would like her to use. And even more importantly, in my opinion, you need to be outside with her (at least for awhile) each and every time she pees so that you can IMMEDIATELY offer her very, very over-the-top praise for having gone where she's supposed to. I cannot stress how important this is...the corrections and the praise need to be immediate or the dog will never associate a behavior or misbehavior with your pleasure or displeasure, and therefore will not learn how to behave appropriately as a member of your household. I hope that some of the suggestions made here are able to be of help to you. Please stick around and let us know how things are going! We would love to see some pics of your ratty. What is her name?

Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom

buttonbutt

Newbie

09/28/2007 11:34 AM
I concur, Sarah, about letting them see you cleaning up the accidents without a scolding. I never scold for body eliminations. Mother wolves & wild dogs clean the den and puppies learn from watching her do so. I just say "pottie outside" in a normal tone while I clean up pee accidents with puppy curiously watching. I even go a step farther, and when cleaning up poop accidents, I have the pup follow me outside where I dump it out of the paper towel onto the ground in their regular pooping spot in the yard, and in a normal voice, say "pottie outside" again. That's what the momma wolf/wild dogs does with poop in the den, and the pups are watching all the while. In addition to reinforcing their learning of the word "pottie", it quickly reinforces their understanding of "outside" , too.

Syl

Rattie

09/28/2007 12:19 PM
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions! Reading your responses makes me think "I" may be the cause (sniff). I was told to spank her when she goes inside and to harshly say something like, "Bad girl. No tee tee inside." I'm probably the reason why she's been doing it!! I do take her out often when I'm home, and it's been frustrating because she holds it all day while I'm at work (and she's in her crate). So I know she CAN hold it. I will get her checked in case she has an infection (yikes!) I do walk her on a short leash and lavishly praise her when she goes potty outside. Like her big brother, she likes to spread it around and not just do it in one spot. I thought only males marked. Don't you think that's something she's learned from watching him? Is there anything I can do to encourage her to stay in one spot (other than walking them separately)? My schnauzer was SO easy to train! I kept hearing that girls were easier so I was expecting it to be a picnic, I guess.

DaisysMom

Moderator
<b>Moderator</b>

09/28/2007 12:28 PM
Please don't feel bad if you've gotten bad information before. You should definitely not be spanking her - ratties (and most dogs) do not respond well to harsh punishment. Don't waste a lot of time feeling badly, just learn and move on. Your dog will not hold it against you -- just another wonderful thing about dogs I would make an appointment for the vet as soon as possible to rule out a UTI: In addition to increased frequency of urination, the classic signs of a UTI are: * Urination in inappropriate places * Difficulty when urinating (straining) * Pink or red urine (indicating the presence of blood) * Strong and/or foul smelling urine * Lethargy * Fever If you notice any of these signs you should have your dog examined immediately. Your veterinarian will give your dog a urinalysis to determine the presence of bacteria – which will confirm that your dog has an infection. If your dog is diagnosed with a UTI, your veterinarian will probably recommend oral antibiotics to treat the infection. Treatment usually includes one to two pills a day for the duration of at least two weeks. If she would happen to have a UTI, trainign her not to go in the house will be very difficult until it's cleared up.

Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom

Syl

Rattie

09/28/2007 12:31 PM
Thanks so much, Tracey! She doesn't have any of the other symptoms of a UTI so hopefully she doesn't have one. I'll take her to the vet to make sure though. Thanks also for your kind words about my poor mommy skills. Now I can't wait to get home to my babies and give them lots of kisses!!!

buttonbutt

Newbie

09/28/2007 5:12 PM
Syl, I sent you a Pvt. Msg.

no1_ksu_fan

Rat Royalty

09/28/2007 5:44 PM
The best thing like said above. Is always have them within site. I still don't let my little go to far out of site. He doesn't potty in the house but he will get into things and tear them up so I am going through his destructive phase. Just keep up the good work and crating is such a wonderful thing. I am so thankful I did that!!

Toby's Momma

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