Housebreaking question

[vickaaayhay]

More questions on the housetraining! Please help!

Aimee is doing a lot of crying when I gate her in the kitchen to get some studying done. She does poopoo on her puppy pads but she has a fit during crying and steps all over it (and walks around the kitchen!)
I have a feeling she is learning that if she does that I have to come and clean up after her! Is this behavior normal? Does it get better if I leave her to herself more? This is my first puppy and she's only been with me for 3 days, so I don't know if it's just me expecting too much.. But it is frustrating to keep cleaning her and my kitchen

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

 

[Jess041]

I did exactly what you did, gated my puppy in the kitchen. Unfortunately she really wasn't comfortable there and would cry and panic. Moving her to a crate during the day made her much more secure and comfortable. Also, if you crate her, she most likely won't go to the bathroom in her "den". Then she'll quickly learn that she's supposed to go potty outside.

 

[Ann]

Puppies do learn quickly that if crying brings you in, what they're doing is working so they'll keep it up...even if the reason you're coming in is to clean up after her. You've said that she's gated. It would be easier for her to learn if she were in a crate. It's a smaller space, and puppies will try not to soil the place where they sleep. That's not to say it won't ever happen, but housetraining is much easier if you crate train them before giving them a larger space where they're free.

I don't know how old your puppy is, but an 8- to 9-week old puppy is capable of going through the night with a clean crate, with the occasional accident. Or a few hours during the day when you're not in the room and it's quiet. If you are in the room, and the puppy is awake and knows you're there, she should go outside every hour for the first month or so.

So the short answer to your question...you are expecting too much for a young puppy not to have accidents in a larger space. Try crating her and I think you'll see more progress. And remember to use lots of praise and high-value treats when you take her outside and she does perform. It's also important to remember that puppies don't have control of their elimination system until they're six months old. They can be trained earlier certainly, but there will be some accidents!

 

[vickaaayhay]

I did exactly what you did, gated my puppy in the kitchen. Unfortunately she really wasn't comfortable there and would cry and panic. Moving her to a crate during the day made her much more secure and comfortable. Also, if you crate her, she most likely won't go to the bathroom in her "den". Then she'll quickly learn that she's supposed to go potty outside.

Thanks Jess! Yes, she does stay in a crate in my bedroom at night and I wake up in the morning to an accident. What should I do to correct her when she does it? She's 8 weeks and I've been saying a firm "No." She is frightened when I do that though

 

[vickaaayhay]

Puppies do learn quickly that if crying brings you in, what they're doing is working so they'll keep it up...even if the reason you're coming in is to clean up after her. You've said that she's gated. It would be easier for her to learn if she were in a crate. It's a smaller space, and puppies will try not to soil the place where they sleep. That's not to say it won't ever happen, but housetraining is much easier if you crate train them before giving them a larger space where they're free.

I don't know how old your puppy is, but an 8- to 9-week old puppy is capable of going through the night with a clean crate, with the occasional accident. Or a few hours during the day when you're not in the room and it's quiet. If you are in the room, and the puppy is awake and knows you're there, she should go outside every hour for the first month or so.

So the short answer to your question...you are expecting too much for a young puppy not to have accidents in a larger space. Try crating her and I think you'll see more progress. And remember to use lots of praise and high-value treats when you take her outside and she does perform. It's also important to remember that puppies don't have control of their elimination system until they're six months old. They can be trained earlier certainly, but there will be some accidents!

Thank you Ann! She is 8 weeks going on 9. I will try the crate during the day as well. I just didn't want her cramped in there for hours during the day as well as night. Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex and don't have a safe area of grass to take her. Until she is fully vaccinated I have to take her to the puppy pads I lay in the kitchen.

 

[Jess041]

Thanks Jess! Yes, she does stay in a crate in my bedroom at night and I wake up in the morning to an accident. What should I do to correct her when she does it? She's 8 weeks and I've been saying a firm "No." She is frightened when I do that though

There is very little you can do to correct her unless you catch her in the act. It's my understanding that it doesn't really get the message across if you discipline after she's already done it. One thing I wanted to point out, not sure if you're already aware, but Shelties can be very sensitive. Sometimes being too stern with them does more harm than good. I know, I know, then it's like, "what do you do?". Just keep an eye on her reaction to your "No" and make sure she's not getting too freaked out.

Oh, question about your crate- how big is it and are you using a divider to limit her space? If you bought a bigger crate for her to grow into, and you're not using the divider, she might have too much space. It makes it really easy for them to go potty in one corner of the crate and still have enough room to do whatever in the rest of the crate. I promise, as long as she has enough room to turn around and such, she won't be cramped. Puppies sleep A LOT (mine being the exception. She was ridiculous). So don't feel guilty about keeping her in a crate while your working. As long as you take her out every few hours and have a good play time, she will be fine. Also, I found setting a timer on my phone very useful for reminding me when I needed to take her out. I'm very ADD.

 

[Lunatic59]

Thanks Jess! Yes, she does stay in a crate in my bedroom at night and I wake up in the morning to an accident. What should I do to correct her when she does it? She's 8 weeks and I've been saying a firm "No." She is frightened when I do that though

Unless you're catching her in the act, "No" will only confuse her. If she starts going inside, take her out immediately. If she goes some more, praise her profusely. If not bring her back in. IT goes much easier if you take a very young puppy out every half hour (at first). They have very little control of their bladders, so accidents will happen.

You also run the risk of imprinting your no as a scary thing permanently. Once when my boys were in the crazy puppy stage, they were racing around the house with the mad zoomies. To get their attention, I smacked the side of a kitchen cabinet with a dish towel. It made a loud "thwack" and they stopped in their tracks. However, to this day i cannot pick up a dish towel without them thinking they are in trouble and the shrink away from me.

Back to the crate ... As long as the crate is the right size and you never put her in as a punishment, the crate will become her happy place. As she gets older, she can spend longer periods in the crate and may actually go in there when she gives herself a time out. Years ago, the worst thing we did with our first dog was not to crate him. Every dog since then has been crated and they've all been very happy.

 

[BarbV]

I can't add anything more except to say I believe all the advice already pretty much nails it.

The only other thing I would add is that once you get beyond basic housetraining, then you are dealing with the chewing phase. I'm dealing with that with my 9 month old.

So while he does not need to confined in a crate anymore, I have his crate inside an xpen that measures about 4 x4. This way he can move around, get water, play with toys, but still retreat to his den for nap time. And no chewing! (Well except his toys.....stuffies are replaced with more durable chewiness for now!).

But beware! When they go through the dog version of terrible twos, their normal habits change. Callan has pooped in the house twice in the last week and peed in my store today. I obviously missed his signals. Just means until about 2 years, you still need to keep constant watch.

 

[vickaaayhay]

There is very little you can do to correct her unless you catch her in the act. It's my understanding that it doesn't really get the message across if you discipline after she's already done it. One thing I wanted to point out, not sure if you're already aware, but Shelties can be very sensitive. Sometimes being too stern with them does more harm than good. I know, I know, then it's like, "what do you do?". Just keep an eye on her reaction to your "No" and make sure she's not getting too freaked out.

Oh, question about your crate- how big is it and are you using a divider to limit her space? If you bought a bigger crate for her to grow into, and you're not using the divider, she might have too much space. It makes it really easy for them to go potty in one corner of the crate and still have enough room to do whatever in the rest of the crate. I promise, as long as she has enough room to turn around and such, she won't be cramped. Puppies sleep A LOT (mine being the exception. She was ridiculous). So don't feel guilty about keeping her in a crate while your working. As long as you take her out every few hours and have a good play time, she will be fine. Also, I found setting a timer on my phone very useful for reminding mue when I needed to take her out. I'm very ADD.

Her crate does have a divider, and I have it at just enough for her to turn around in! She does, however, shove her toys over to the other side all the time, it's pretty funny
http://tinypic.com/r/312edyg/8
I never use it as punishment, she actually runs to it when she knows she is in trouble. It is very hard to catch her in the act, but I will keep trying :/

 

[vickaaayhay]

I can't add anything more except to say I believe all the advice already pretty much nails it.

The only other thing I would add is that once you get beyond basic housetraining, then you are dealing with the chewing phase. I'm dealing with that with my 9 month old.

So while he does not need to confined in a crate anymore, I have his crate inside an xpen that measures about 4 x4. This way he can move around, get water, play with toys, but still retreat to his den for nap time. And no chewing! (Well except his toys.....stuffies are replaced with more durable chewiness for now!).

But beware! When they go through the dog version of terrible twos, their normal habits change. Callan has pooped in the house twice in the last week and peed in my store today. I obviously missed his signals. Just means until about 2 years, you still need to keep constant watch.

Oh boyy I thought I'd catch a break at 1 year old!