Breathing deeply and trying to be patient....

621mum · 08-29-2005, 03:50 PM

I know she is just a puppy. And we've only had her 2 months to work on the housetraining. But, argh! She is 4 months old now and I was just hoping... She does great in her crate or on the leash with us (which she is 95% of the time inside). When she goes outside, we praise her and we use "park time" as our word for peeing/pooping outside. She is doing well with that. If she is on the leash, she will whine to let us know that she needs to go and start tugging on the leash. But, if we let her off the leash, she will jump up onto furniture (couch, bed, comforter piled on the floor) and pee. It happens VERY quickly. There is no circling or sniffing, just boom! We have tried to teach her to go to the door and ring a bell, but she doesn't even head for the door. I know that, for now, the solution is to keep her on the leash even more, but I didn't think I would be doing this when she was 4 months old. It makes me feel really bad for her

If anyone has any brilliant ideas, or just words of encouragement, I'll take them!

Barrett · 08-29-2005, 04:12 PM

Are you using a high value treat when you praise her for going potty? If not, use something only for "Park Time" and it has to be good...like lunch meat or some good soft liver treats, something she absolutely loves. Have the treat ready in your hand but don't show it to her. Give it to her along with the praise within 3 seconds of her going potty. Do this every single time until she gets the idea. You can slowly take the treats away over time, once she is good and potty trained.

mrsgrubby · 08-30-2005, 11:27 AM

I had a couple thoughts. I recently learned that when a puppy goes pee, it does not empty it's bladder. Instead it usually just goes enough to "take the edge off". This means that it will have to go again soon. The best bet is to either make it run around outside and it will pee again, or bring it back in but let it out again in 15-30minutes. This might go on as long as a year. My puppy is 9 months old and still has to pee several times after she has been "holding it" awhile, like in the morning and in the evening after being crated for several hours. She will usually go right away and then maybe 10 minutes into our walk.
It was my dog trainer that told me that puppies are unable to empty their bladder all at once and just "went" enough so they no longer had the urge.

Also, remember, puppies always have to "go" after something exciting or running around. So if you are taking her off the leash to play ball or chase her, or to run around, she will have to go pee because of the excercise. Try playing a few minutes, letting her out and then playing some more.

08-29-2005, 03:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
621mum in the House of Chaos Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 101 Rep Power: 63	Breathing deeply and trying to be patient.... I know she is just a puppy. And we've only had her 2 months to work on the housetraining. But, argh! She is 4 months old now and I was just hoping... She does great in her crate or on the leash with us (which she is 95% of the time inside). When she goes outside, we praise her and we use "park time" as our word for peeing/pooping outside. She is doing well with that. If she is on the leash, she will whine to let us know that she needs to go and start tugging on the leash. But, if we let her off the leash, she will jump up onto furniture (couch, bed, comforter piled on the floor) and pee. It happens VERY quickly. There is no circling or sniffing, just boom! We have tried to teach her to go to the door and ring a bell, but she doesn't even head for the door. I know that, for now, the solution is to keep her on the leash even more, but I didn't think I would be doing this when she was 4 months old. It makes me feel really bad for her If anyone has any brilliant ideas, or just words of encouragement, I'll take them!
	__________________

08-29-2005, 04:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	Are you using a high value treat when you praise her for going potty? If not, use something only for "Park Time" and it has to be good...like lunch meat or some good soft liver treats, something she absolutely loves. Have the treat ready in your hand but don't show it to her. Give it to her along with the praise within 3 seconds of her going potty. Do this every single time until she gets the idea. You can slowly take the treats away over time, once she is good and potty trained.

08-30-2005, 11:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
mrsgrubby Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,476 Rep Power: 144	I had a couple thoughts. I recently learned that when a puppy goes pee, it does not empty it's bladder. Instead it usually just goes enough to "take the edge off". This means that it will have to go again soon. The best bet is to either make it run around outside and it will pee again, or bring it back in but let it out again in 15-30minutes. This might go on as long as a year. My puppy is 9 months old and still has to pee several times after she has been "holding it" awhile, like in the morning and in the evening after being crated for several hours. She will usually go right away and then maybe 10 minutes into our walk. It was my dog trainer that told me that puppies are unable to empty their bladder all at once and just "went" enough so they no longer had the urge. Also, remember, puppies always have to "go" after something exciting or running around. So if you are taking her off the leash to play ball or chase her, or to run around, she will have to go pee because of the excercise. Try playing a few minutes, letting her out and then playing some more.

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