LuLu has been ruling the roost, erm, I mean living with us for almost a month now and it has been wonderful, and fun, and daily life is full of surprises (some times little smelly surprises!), and that brings me to the reason for this post.....how do I get her to know WHERE to do her business??? LuLu has learnt her name, where her beds are (all 4 of them), she's learnt where the food and water is, she's learnt the sound of her bowls being prepared for her daily feast, she's learnt that the cat is the QUEEN, and that you never mess with the QUEEN, she's learnt that her travel bag means we're going out, she's learnt that mummy's new fluffy slippers taste very good and the fluff pulls out quite easily if you use enough force, she's learnt that little puppy claws get caught in the screen door if you try to climb it, and that the screen suddenly pops open once little claws slice through it.......yes, my darling little LuLu La Rue has learnt a lot of things in her short time here, except where she's to go to the potty! HELP! I don't remember having this much potty training trouble with our other beloved puppy, Paris Fifi, and I do understand that LuLu is still just a baby at 9 weeks of age, but HELP! If I put her on her potty area she will use it no worries, but there's no way on earth that she will seek it out to use unless we place her on it. So, puppy lovers out there, do you have some advice or tips for me please? All council greatly appreciated! I'll be back later to check in and visit with you, but I have to run now, things are just a little TOO quiet, if you know what I mean! LuLu, where are you? Uh oh........
Love Amanda & LuLu La Rue xxx
15 comments:
Consistency is key! Take her outside every half hour for a few days. I know, thats quite often! And after everytime she drinks, eats, or wakes from a nap. I know too that this sounds like a lot of work but I assure you it will be worth it in the long run where the messy surprises are no more! I have a big baby, nearly 100 pounds, and at the age of 8 weeks when she first came to live with me she was almost 30 pounds! Well, her breed is known for being stubborn and tough to train. It took us some time, and trips out to the yard what seemed like a billion times a day (and night) but after a couple of weeks she was a perfectly trained girl! No more stinky surprises!!
Hope this helps!
I agree with Melinda....consistency! I had the same issue with my Lab. I would have to take her out many, many times during the day and night. Just like having a human baby! : ) I watched her like a hawk. Each time she woke up from a nap....outside! I put her down right outside the door and then guided her to her potty spot so she would figure out where her potty spot was on her own. I didn't ever carry her over to her spot...she had to learn the way. Eventually...a couple of weeks later....she finally figured it out! Now getting her to figure out the doggy door was another matter! LOL! Good luck!
1. Crate train. You will save yourself all sorts of potential problems.
2. At 9 weeks she is very very young. Lower YOUR expectations.
3. Get potty pads from your local dollar store or whatever store you have there.
4. Start in one room with her pad. When you see her squat, pick her up (and yes... she will tinkle most likely as you head to the pad) and place her on with the command "go potty" or whatever works for you.
5. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE.
6. When she has pottied, I would play with her for just a minute or so on a tuggy.
7. Gate off all rooms but the room you are in at all times. Also have pad in said room. Never, ever leave her unattended at this young age.
8. I add 15 minutes longer to each week of age for the take out every 30 minutes. This trains up their bladder.
9. Crate at night. This controls her area and MOST dogs don't want messy beds. Now, understand-she may tinkle in there for the first night or even a week. But work with the crate.
Let us know how this works. I have a boston terrier that hates wet ground.... I still offer him potty pads on wet days. Better than getting upset at him when "I" should know he hates wet. :)
Good luck.
She is sooooo cute! Love all your stories about her too. I wish I had advice. I don't know enough about puppies. Our dogs are older and were given to us older. Kathi
I love your new background
I agree with the consistency rule. That worked well for Kipper. he took awhile but as he did, Lulu WILL get it!
I also agree with the crate training. Did not do it with our first puppy and it was awful! With Kipper, it saved a lot of headaches.
Lulu is so little and so precious! Grace is here looking at her picture and oohing and ahing!!
What a joy she must be!
Love,
sue
I agree about consistency - she is young so it might take her a bit longer. I'm a big fan of crate training. I would strongly encourage it. Also - take her outside every 30 -45 minutes - all day - and if you wake up, during the night. After she eats - outside; after she drinks - outside. And praise, praise, praise her everytime she goes outside.
Yes to Crate Training!
I have NEVER trained a puppy, BUT, my friend who nannies for the rich (and the rich have exotic expensive dogs in exotic expensive houses that they DON'T want messed up) was trained to crate train THEIR dogs because it is "the method" that is "most successful".
That's what my friend reported, too, that it really really works.
The highlights I remember my friend pointing out are the same as previously listed with a major emphasis on
"They WON'T soil their bed. They won't." That's what she said. She says you need a crate small enough that the whole thing is their "bed" ... not TOO small, but not like a "room" either. Small!
And you have to be SUPER CONSISTENT in taking her out. I'd use the previous guide. 30 minutes, but if there are accidents, make the time shorter. Add minutes for aging.
Open the crate door. Put on the leash. WALK OUT TO THE POTTY AREA FAST.
ALWAYS put her back in the crate. ALWAYS. Major emphasis on always. Until she masters the training (a few weeks) ... otherwise she will have accidents and you and her will both be upset and she will leave little stinky spots here and there in your house that will attract her to them again.
This is the full report from my friend. :)
I don't know what they did at night. I mean ... how does a little bladder get through the night?
My own thought is if you keep her in her adorable purse she totally won't want to pee in that. That must TOTALLY feel like a bed. Out for pottying, playing, and then back in the purse. Does she like it in there? If so, you could use it to your advantage. My thoughts ... not the professional's thoughts.
Hope these observations help. Hang in there!
Oh yes!
And keep the crate CLEAN. Any accidents? Clean them up immediately. You don't want them to associate body functions with being in bed.
Oh that Lulu is a little Luv...what a cutie!
I don't know nearly enough about training...my little Trixie has a mind of her own. The only two things that help are consistency and puppy pads!
Wishing you all the best!
Blessings,
Pam
I don't know that I can help much. My only thoughts are, when training a little dog to use a piddle pad, I think it's hard for them to distinguish between the what's pad and what's the house. We have a little Pomeranian we paper trained, she's 12 and still goes on the floor sometimes. My Nana also has a Yorkie and has the same problem. My suggestion would be to train her to go outside and skip the pads. I know it's harder, but I think they get the association with the outside being the potty place better. It could be, we didn't do it right too! Who knows what goes on in the mind of those little doggies!
Hi Amanda :)
OHMYGOODNESS!! LuLu la Rue is soooooo cute!!!! I haven't been here in so long, I didn't know you had a new baby! Shame on me!! LOL
You named her after me, didn't you? ;)
Give her big kisses and hugs from her namesake LOL
xo,
rue
This is so hard to do but it worked for Truman...
The puppy is in the crate for 30 minutes or an hour. Take outside to potty. If the puppy goes, then let her play in the house for 30 minutes. Place back into the carrier for 30-60 minutes. Repeat process. After awhile, lengthen the spaces between crate time and inside time. The dog learns that they are to pee/poop outside if they want to play inside.
Amanda,
Our little Peanut was pretty easy to train. One thing we did is to purchase puppy pads and put one downstairs and one upstairs. He was really attracted to them. Then we would let him out several times a day to let him do his business. The puppy pads are scented to attrack dogs and they really seem to work. Another added advantage was at night our little guy will go directly to his pad and do his pee pee. This is great for us as we have coyotes and we can never let a small dog out at night time. Also, another plus is when it is raining, they learn to go on their pad, so no one has to go out into the rain. It also takes care of the problem of leaving him home alone at times. He knows where his pads are and just uses them while we are gone.
I don't know if this will be useful for you. I bet you don't have coyotes. If your little one can stay safely in your back yard when you leave him home, you might look into a doggie door. This way he can go out as he pleases to use the bathroom outdoors.
Pad training seemed to work for us. I think maybe because chihuahua's are such tiny dogs, that the pad training is really great.
Good luck. Don't get too frustrated, your little one is still young and she will get the picture soon. Chihuahua's are really smart!
Sincerely,
Darlene M
Oh my sweet Amanda! Look at that face, just look at the precious little innocent face! After a person gets through puppyhood we forget how hard it reall can be....just look at that face and know eventually it will all register in her pretty little head! I have always crate trained. They never potty in their crate. Little dogs love little crates, they feel so safe and secure. After every single nap, even little bitty puppy cataract-naps take her outside each and every time, I noticed that made a huge difference with our last puppy, that and the crate. You take the sweetest photos of her! I feel on the verge of another scrapbook.....
You have been busy! I have not been out in blogland for a while, I have missed a lot, and I have missed you! I am off to check out all your other beautiful postings my friend!
Love, Leslie
Hi, Amanda..I haven't got to visit with you in awhile. Hope things are good with you and yours.
I've never had an inside dog so can't help on the potty training.
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