lucys_mum
Champion
Posts:7
 | | 01/05/2008 10:12 PM |
| | Hi!
I'm new here and we just got our first puppy a couple of weeks ago. I've grown up always having many pets around the house and now that I'm a mommy myself, I can't break free up my upbringing :) I have 3 kiddos, 5 cats and our new puppy, Lucy.
Lucy is a toy poodle and bichon frise mix. Her mom is suppose to be full toy poodle and her dad is half toy poodle and half bichon frise. I got her from a private person (not a breeder) and I did see the parents. I am a little skeptical they are "toy" poodles and maybe more like miniature, but that's not a big deal!
Anyway, Lucy is only 2lbs and although I registered as being in Kansas, I'm actually in Atlantic Canada (the registration wouldn't take a Canadian postal code and I'm originally from Kansas)...anyhoo...it's very cold up here! Too cold to take her outside in the 3 feet of snow we have to go potty. So we have puppy pads. She uses them about 50% of the time. We try to watch for signs that she needs to go and get her to her pads if we can, but with 3 kids (5, 2, and 8 months old) I don't always catch her.
I know poodles are smart dogs and I have no doubt that when the weather gets better that we'll get her trained to go outside no problem, but what do I do in the mean time to get her to be consistent on the puppy pads? Right now, we have one covering half of her crate for night time (which she uses to potty, but not pooping...she whines to be let out of her crate for that) and we normally keep one puppy pad on the floor in front of her crate up in our room for bed and also when she and her crate are downstairs in the living room.
I keep saying that we need to just get her to her pad in time and then reward her with a treat or lots of praise and pats, but we just can't catch her all the time.
Any suggestions? Thankfully, we have wood and lamanent floors and since she so small, it's easy to clean up her messes. But we don't want to be cleaning them up all the time and I don't want the kids to accidentally step in them ;)
Any help would be appreciated! | | | |
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DPFrank
Best of Breed
Posts:386
| | 01/06/2008 6:14 AM |
| | L
feel free to contact me for housebreaking tips.
www.dpdogtraining.com | | | |
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PedigreeChallenged
Best in Group
Posts:1001
| | 01/06/2008 7:04 AM |
| Frank to the rescue again!!! Maybe you should change your name to
SUPERTRAINERHELPER!!
Lucy, just from my own experience (think little puppy - little bladder), bring her to the puppy pad at least once an hour and maybe 15 minutes after each meal.
Congrats on your new addition! She's adorable! | | | |
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beakay
Best of Breed
Posts:332
| | 01/06/2008 8:52 PM |
| | Hey Lucys mum. I have no advice because I too have a brand new puppy and my plan is to buy stock in paper towels and rug shampoo!
But good luck! | | | |
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DPFrank
Best of Breed
Posts:386
| | 01/07/2008 7:53 AM |
| | Housebreaking shouldn't be such a horror story! Yes, mistakes will be made in the beginning. If you follow the rules when a mistake is made the dog will learn quickly.Housebreaking is really is 90% vigilance 10%dog. Rescues, or "dirty" dogs ( dogs that crap in the crate, usually pet store dogs) can be a bigger challenge, but pups aren't that hard. You WILL need to go outside! Guess what, that's part of being a dog owner. If you have snow outside, shovel a 10x10 square in the grass area to make it easier for the pup. If it's cold out. put a heavier coat on. If you use a crate you just made your job a thousand percent easier. | | | |
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lucys_mum
Champion
Posts:7
| | 01/07/2008 7:44 PM |
| | Hi Frank!
She was crate trained when we got her and she does fabulous in it! She uses the puppy mat in her crate and won't soil her blankets, which is great. I'm just not sure what to think of her using her puppy mats sometimes and not other times. When she uses her mats (when we catch it), we put a treat down on her puppy mat (in a clean spot) so she knows we are happy with her going on the mat.
As far as not going outside, it wasn't because I was cold, but I was afraid of her being too cold. She's only 2lbs and it's been extremely cold up here with very chilly wind chills. The lady I got her from made the comment to me that I wouldn't be able to take her outside for potty time as she was too small (of course she was just giving me her advice) and I figured it made sense. The only time she's been outside is when we took her for a short car trip with us. She was whining and we pulled over and I stood with her on the side of a secondary road. She just stood there and shivered horribly. It took forever to get her warmed up again.
Also, another challenge is that she hasn't master stairs yet and there is a set of wood stairs leading down to our front door (bi-level) home, so I'm not sure she could make it down to the door to let us know she needs to go out?
So still try taking her outside? Or are there other suggestions to try?
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Domieyes
Best of Breed
Posts:291
| | 01/07/2008 8:59 PM |
| | I wouldn't put a treat down on the pad cuz u want her to pee and poop there not eat there All 3 of my dogs are inside/outside trained and the fosters i had for a couple mths where pretty well trained before they went to there forever homes I always made a "big deal" when i saw them go on the pads a happy good boy or good girl and a treat when they finished When ever they had an accident i would pick it up and put it on the pad and then act like they just went on the pad when they sniffed it after about a week they where getting the hint and doing pretty well thats about all i can say on this is patients and praise
Good luck :)
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PedigreeChallenged
Best in Group
Posts:1001
| | 01/07/2008 9:45 PM |
| Lucy,
RE the stairs: Once the pup learns that the stairs are the way "outside", keep an eye on the poochie. If she goes towards the stairs, she may be trying to tell you something (even if she still needs Mom's help to get down there) | | | |
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lucys_mum
Champion
Posts:7
| | 01/08/2008 10:04 AM |
| | Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll stick to giving her treats straight from hand or in her puppy kong. That's a great idea about putting her accidents on the puppy mat! I'll give that a whirl! | | | |
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doggieww
Champion
Posts:5
| | 01/22/2008 11:38 AM |
| | I find treats right from my hand works as well. :)
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