Puppy owner needing some words of encouragement.

[Shugardrawers]

I highly recommend using a child's pack & play when you can't watch them and being leashed is inconvenient. My toy poodle was raised in one and I never had any trouble with him. I'd get a used one since yours will outgrow it within a few months. Also, order a book called "How to housetrain your dog in 7 days". Follow it to the LETTER. It'll take longer than 7 days but that method has worked for everyone I've recommended it to.

When you take the dog out, don't come back in until he pees (&poops if he ate recently). Otherwise he figures it's just walk & play time. He needs to know when he goes out he better get to gettin' or he'll miss his chance.

 

[disykat]

My dog spent a lot of time in her crate the first couple of weeks. Our routine was something like crate, outside to potty, indoor playtime as reward, back in crate, outside to potty, indoor playtime as reward, back in crate, etc. Then we graduated to crate, outside to potty, indoor playtime, on leash time, crate, outside to potty, etc.

We potty trained during the summer when me and two kids were home to share the load. We even had neighbor kids around to continue the process if we were gone for a few hours. I'm not looking forward to doing it on my own when I get another dog. It really helped that we pretty much devoted our time to it for several weeks, it'll be so much more complicated with work thrown in!

 

[mad madam mim78]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice and stories. I haven't tried the tether method yet but he is always in my sight. I think sometimes I trust him too much (example: I'll let him sit on the bedroom floor while I take a shower because I assume his bladder is empty and he pees while I'm in the shower).

Or I see him chewing on a chew toy so I relax a little only to realize he at some point switched to my flip flop and chewed it to bits.

I do get up in the night to let him out. I do lots of praise. I think he gets a lot of mixed signals from my family as my kids act like maniacs themselves and I expect a dog to obey me. HA!!

I just wanted some reassurance because all I seem to hear is how easy everyone else's dogs are and how quickly they potty trained. I know he will be a great dog if I don't strangle him first.

I will keep all the advice in mind.

 

[MichelleVW]

I do get up in the night to let him out. I do lots of praise. I think he gets a lot of mixed signals from my family as my kids act like maniacs themselves and I expect a dog to obey me. HA!!

.

I think at 14 weeks he should be able to hold it all night, unless you put him in there too early and sleep too late. We got our puppy at about 8 weeks old and I think I quit taking her out at night after the first week because she was barely awake Lol. I had to carry her out to pee and she would basically fall over outside because she was so tired! My girl goes to bed somewhere between 9:30 and 11 (depending when we got to bed) and wakes up somewhere between 6 and 7 in the morning.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice and stories. I haven't tried the tether method yet but he is always in my sight. I think sometimes I trust him too much (example: I'll let him sit on the bedroom floor while I take a shower because I assume his bladder is empty and he pees while I'm in the shower).

Or I see him chewing on a chew toy so I relax a little only to realize he at some point switched to my flip flop and chewed it to bits.

I do get up in the night to let him out. I do lots of praise. I think he gets a lot of mixed signals from my family as my kids act like maniacs themselves and I expect a dog to obey me. HA!!

I just wanted some reassurance because all I seem to hear is how easy everyone else's dogs are and how quickly they potty trained. I know he will be a great dog if I don't strangle him first.

I will keep all the advice in mind.

If your dog is NOT housebroken, they should have NO free roam at all. The leash method works because when the dog squats to pee on leash inside the house you can give a tug, say NO and then promptly run them outside.

The key is that you are dog training. Oh and get a 6ft leather leash. It will be your best training tool.

The more you have the dog on leash, walking, heeling, sit, down, stay, wait, quiet, and so forth the more you get into tune with the dog and the faster they start to understand the rules.

 

[mom2aandj]

but he is always in my sight. I think sometimes I trust him too much (example: I'll let him sit on the bedroom floor while I take a shower because I assume his bladder is empty and he pees while I'm in the shower).

.

how is he always in your sight if you let him be free while you are showering??? You are making it harder on yourself in the long run doing stuff like that. A shower is the perfect example of when your puppy should be crated. You have to always, always, always be able to catch him in the act!! And you definitely can't do that while you're in the shower.

 

[TifffanyD]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice and stories. I haven't tried the tether method yet but he is always in my sight. I think sometimes I trust him too much (example: I'll let him sit on the bedroom floor while I take a shower because I assume his bladder is empty and he pees while I'm in the shower).

Or I see him chewing on a chew toy so I relax a little only to realize he at some point switched to my flip flop and chewed it to bits.

I do get up in the night to let him out. I do lots of praise. I think he gets a lot of mixed signals from my family as my kids act like maniacs themselves and I expect a dog to obey me. HA!!

I just wanted some reassurance because all I seem to hear is how easy everyone else's dogs are and how quickly they potty trained. I know he will be a great dog if I don't strangle him first.

I will keep all the advice in mind.

Hi! It's good to know you are getting up during the night. I learned it's best to take them out BEFORE they bark because then they won't be barking just to go outside and play.

I wanted to make sure you saw my recommendation to buy Bitter Apple spray. It is found in the petstores (Petsmart).... I think kind of by vitamins and shower stuff and things like that. You can spray this on your flip flops and when your pup goes to chew on it he will get a bad taste and not want to chew it again. Make sure you respray areas every day or 2 cause it seems it can wear off. This helped me a TON and is an easy and cheapish thing to do. Even if he is on the leash he might get his mouth on something before you say NO... and this way he will learn that he hates it. We've even sprayed our toes in the past to get him from chewing on those.

 

[TifffanyD]

Oh and also:

Show us your pup! Please???

 

[MichelleVW]

Hi! It's good to know you are getting up during the night. I learned it's best to take them out BEFORE they bark because then they won't be barking just to go outside and play.

See, I think taking a puppy that old out at night just shows them that they don't have to hold it all night and you end up having to get up in the middle of the night forever to take the dog out. There's no reason a 14 week old puppy can't hold it from 10pm to 6 or 7 am. Especially if you tire them out before they go to bed.

I've known so many people that have dogs that wake them up in the middle of the night to go outside, and unless they are sick, there's no reason for it.

 

[goofy4tink]

All I can is do not allow free roam with puppy in the house. It makes learning go so much faster.

The dog is either in the crate OR on a leash with you in the house.

This is called the "tethering method". Basically you are able to show your dog the ropes on what is allowed and what is not. The key about correction is timing. If you are not there to STOP the behavior the second before the pup does it, like peeing or chewing, it is harder for them to learn the rules.

If they are on leash with you in the house you can correct, correct, correct....

I had a border collie of course smart as whip and she had learned the behavior of peeing on carpet (she was a 4mo rescue). So after a couple of corrections on leash, she got it!

Also if your pup is not housebroken they should not be allowed free roam. You are making it harder to train the pup.

Good Luck! They do eventually get it. Esp. a standard poodle. You just have to up the training a bit more.

Oh and do a lot of walking outdoors with training, heel, sit, stay, etc...It helps with bonding and leadership.

This!!! A poodle is incredibly smart...should not be any issues training her. But once a habit is habit, it's hard to break. So...
No free roaming...ever. Not until she consistently does her business where you want her to. Period.
Get her a corral if you don't want her in the crate...but I kept my pup crated until he figured it all out. If I wasn't going to be right there, he was crated.
And food off the table??? Seriously??? I could leave a steak on my coffee table and leave the room...my golden would just sit and look at it, drool everywhere. That's what good training will get you. Start putting a piece of food on the floor.....as soon as that pup goes to it....bark, yell, whatever, loudly. Then say 'leave it' very forcefully. You need the dog to drop anything, at any time, on command!! It's for their own safety.
Until that is figured out, you don't leave food out if the dog isn't being watched..and that means working at the counter. Dogs are quick!!! Don't give her any opportunity.
The other thing to start working on is 'working for food'. My dog had to sit/stay before eating...every meal. He didn't just get his food..he worked for it. No, I don't mean he went out and worked the fields, but he did sit/stay for a fair amount of time...or, I put him in a down/stay. Teaching them to 'wait' is good as well...they figure out quickly that 'wait' isn't as bad as 'stay'!!!

And as someone else posted, lots of playtime and exercise. A tired dog is a good dog. Don't lose your patience....it takes time. But good training will serve you well in the long run.

 

[TifffanyD]

See, I think taking a puppy that old out at night just shows them that they don't have to hold it all night and you end up having to get up in the middle of the night forever to take the dog out. There's no reason a 14 week old puppy can't hold it from 10pm to 6 or 7 am. Especially if you tire them out before they go to bed.

I've known so many people that have dogs that wake them up in the middle of the night to go outside, and unless they are sick, there's no reason for it.

If I didn't take mine out in the middle of the night he soiled his cage. Trust me, I tried. It was much better to get up for a few minutes than spend the morning cleaning the cage and hosing him off. I eventually weened him off of it by getting up later each time to let him out. It does depend on the type of dog as well as the specific dog. I think the larger breeds can hold it longer due to larger bladders.

I definitely don't wake up in the middle of the night to take him out anymore!! But I did have to push the "middle of the night" wake up time in increments to teach him to hold it longer as he matured.

 

[SaraJayne]

Also, keep in mind that by tethering your dog to you, you are training him to stick to you like velcro.

So don't get mad when the dog gets older and you can't turn around without stepping on him or him being in your way, because that's the way you've trained him.

 

[TifffanyD]

Also, keep in mind that by tethering your dog to you, you are training him to stick to you like velcro.

So don't get mad when the dog gets older and you can't turn around without stepping on him or him being in your way, because that's the way you've trained him.

LOL I didn't tether mine and he still does this

I am in the shower and I see his little head poking through the edge of the curtain - great. But it's better than when he steals the bathmat and I have to step out onto the floor and get it all wet

those crazy dogs!

 

[PlutosFriend]

Congrats on your new baby!!! It WILL get better!! The chewing usually slows down when they lose their baby teeth..which should be happening soon. Use the crate during the day when you can't keep an eye on her..or you can always put a leash on her in the house to keep her by your side. Mine would always go and potty on some carpeted area if I let them out of my sight. It is very frustrating, but eventually they get it Have a routine. Feed him on a schedule and take him to go potty right after he eats. They have to learn that going outside is for potty, so if he doesn't go, bring him back in, put him in the crate and try again in a few minutes. This is how I did it with my two Cockers, that are were really tough to potty train. Now that they are older, I never have to put them in their crates. I have them here..and they choose when to go in on their own for a break from us Hang in there! I want a standard poodle some day!!

 

[diesel]

when potty training my puppy I always repeated the following to myself "if the puppy pee's/poop's in the house it's my fault not his".

 

[Pea-n-Me]

when potty training my puppy I always repeated the following to myself "if the puppy pee's/poop's in the house it's my fault not his".

Yes. Rinse and repeat.

 

[mad madam mim78]

Oh and also:

Show us your pup! Please???

I would love to put up pics but I have no idea how to do that. I've been trying to change my avatar pic since I've been on disboards and I have no clue!!!

 

[TifffanyD]

I would love to put up pics but I have no idea how to do that. I've been trying to change my avatar pic since I've been on disboards and I have no clue!!!

Well you have to store the picture somewhere first like photobucket or facebook...

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I am waiting for pictures too!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

words of encouragement?

well,


okay.....



GOOD owner, GOOOOOOD owner,

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yes, you are.

sit.

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