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Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:29:27 AM

bleusparkles

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You should hear the plaintive whimpers coming from my bathroom as we speak ...

I bought a babygate, assembled it with care; tucked the puppy up inside the bathroom with a training pad, waterbowl, a couple of toys and her bed. Toilet lid down and shower curtain inside the bathtub so as to avoid any mishaps.

She is not amused.

Its breaking my heart ... To see that little black nose and those big brown eyes peeking out at me through the gate. She sounds like I'm slowly twisting her little tail right off at the nub.

But ... You know what breaks my heart even more?

The cost of the steam cleaner I'm going to need to get her training mishaps out of my carpet. Grrr.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:49:32 AM

CalifChick

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Why are you locking her up when you're right there in the house?

Cali

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:51:23 AM

mnottertail

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quote:

ORIGINAL: bleusparkles

You should hear the plaintive whimpers coming from my bathroom as we speak ...

I bought a babygate, assembled it with care; tucked the puppy up inside the bathroom with a training pad, waterbowl, a couple of toys and her bed. Toilet lid down and shower curtain inside the bathtub so as to avoid any mishaps.

She is not amused.

Its breaking my heart ... To see that little black nose and those big brown eyes peeking out at me through the gate. She sounds like I'm slowly twisting her little tail right off at the nub.

But ... You know what breaks my heart even more?

The cost of the steam cleaner I'm going to need to get her training mishaps out of my carpet. Grrr.

remember to catch her doing something right!!! when you catch her peeing or pooping as you require, she gets to come out for a little, big old good girl and all.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:52:29 AM

GreedyTop

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Blue... get her a crate. Petsmart/petco/etc can give you advice on the proper way to do crate training.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:57:19 AM

KatyLied

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Everyone I know who have done crate training have been pleased with the results. One owner told me that her dog automatically goes to the crate when he needs alone time and at bedtime.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 9:59:37 AM

sub4hire

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Crate training doesn't work with Beagles. We have two to prove it...and another who visits who lives in his crate most of the time.
That is until his owners bring him out for a while..then...well things happen.

I have heard wonderful stories of crate training though.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:07:44 AM

Bound2One

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quote:

ORIGINAL: CalifChick

Why are you locking her up when you're right there in the house?

Cali

Cali's right. If you're home, she needs to be on a leash right next to you at all times so you can take her out often and catch her before she makes a mistake. As soon as she starts sniffing around, take her right outside, saying 'let's go potty' or some other (usually inane!) command. She wants to be with you. You can't catch her doing something well, unless you're with her almost 24/7 for awhile, and she needs to be positively rewarded when she does something well. When she progresses to being able to control herself for awhile, perhaps you could gate her in the kitchen, somewhere you spend a lot of time either in or around, so she can hear you and see you without being on a lead in the house. Then she'll eventually be able to hold it safely in the rest of the house.

Where is she spending her nights? I'd definitely recommend crate training if you can do it, and taking her out every 3 hours religiously for the first month or so (I think it's a month) because she can't hold it much longer than that.

Puppy training is a LOT of work. lol I have a 2yo golden retriever, so the memory of the first couple of months is fresh. Good luck!!

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:09:28 AM

faerytattoodgirl

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pet her cat....pssst kitty...your sooooooooo much less of a hassle than a dog is...
dats why i wuvs you much...just...next time...dont make your poor STINK SO DAMN MUCH!!!

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:31:50 AM

bleusparkles

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Wow ... lol

She's too small for crates to work. I'm a major advocate of crate training but in this case, its just not a viable option. Just makes for a messy crate and a messy dog.

She's locked up because I work from home and I also do school from home. I have to do these things. Doing these things means I can't keep her on a leash next to me ... I'd never get anything done. I'm studying to become a vet tech, by the way.

I'm taking her outside every hour. If she "goes" outside within ten minutes she gets praised and we play for awhile until she gets tired. If not, we come back in until the next hour. If she does on the pad, thats fine. I'm not going to praise her for it anymore because thats not the desired result but I'm not punishing her either.

I'm not just locking her up and forgetting about her ... I guess I made it sound that way though.

edited to add

She a Malchi and weighs 4 lbs. She's six months old. I got her at six weeks when she weighed less than a pound and it was too cold to take her outside for fear she'd die or something. I'm paying the price now because she's gotten too big to use the puppy pads without missing the edges. I guess she is too ... Fortunately its getting warm enough here to take her outside with a sweater on.

< Message edited by bleusparkles -- 3/4/2008 10:34:18 AM >

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:35:42 AM

Bound2One

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Sorry, Bleu ... I didn't mean to make it sound like you were abandoning her. :-)

Can you keep her with you in the kitchen or wherever you study/work after she comes in after peeing for a bit? That might alleviate some of her loneliness.

What kind of dog is she?

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:44:54 AM

bleusparkles

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The bathroom was the best choice because of the layout of my apartment ... Its the only room without carpet and a doorway she can see me from. My desk is about ten feet away from the bathroom door.

She's settled down now ... Napping now that she knows I'm not going to disappear from sight.

Malchi is half Maltese and half Chihuahua ... Most of them have soft curly hair but mine has a short, smooth coat and NO body fat. Its only in the last couple of months that she's been big enough to wear even the tiniest sweaters and up until a week ago, they were still big enough to get her hung up in them if she tried to run around.

If you look at my profile you can see her as a newborn.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:46:24 AM

GreedyTop

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wait.. you make your puppy wear CLOTHES??

(just teasin')

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:47:00 AM

Sinergy

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I agree with the posters who talked about crate training and keeping tabs on the dog.

A puppy is similar to housebreaking an infant, their personality is not formed to the point where they can understand
the outcomes to their behaviors, which is why negative reinforcement has limited value, and need to be shown by approximation and repetition how to live in their new "pack."

An example of this is a dog that runs away. Is gone for a long time. Comes home and is punished. Dog learns that returning home results in punishment.

If your dog starts to run away, turn around and start walking the other direction. Chasing the dog convinces the dog you want to play tag.

The dog wont go to the bathroom in it's crate, and every time you take the dog out of the crate, the dog goes for a walk with you (or goes outside with you) and is praised for doing it's business outside.

Keeping the dog on a leash with you while you are home will allow you to monitor the dog to see when it is about to go, at which point you can grab it and it's genitalia and take it outside to where it can go to the bathroom. Praise the dog constantly every time it does what you want.

The other aspect about keeping the dog on a leash all the time is known as "lunging" when training horses. The dog learns that it needs to be within a certain distance from you. As my dogs got older I would let them off the leash and convince them to come back by offering them dog beef jerky when they did as I asked. Three months after getting them, I would walk them in canyons for miles, and they never went further than 20-30 feet away from me and always returned when I called them.

The trick is to not give them a treat each time, but never be stingy with your praise and kind words, unless you want to name your dog ButterBall.

The Dog Whisperergy

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 10:51:47 AM

soul2share

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You can always try a small radio playing in the bathroom, but puppies are just like babies...they need almost constant attention. House training is just as much of a bear as potty training...trust me! And locking her away, while I can understand the reasons why, are just going to breed separation anxiety issues. One trick I remember from when we were house training our Saint Bernards.....keep pads NEAR the door, show them to her....when she approaches the pad, let her out. She will learn fast, even tho it seems like it's taking forever. As for your carpets, well, you can always try those huge plastic paint dropcloths....she'll crinkle for a bit, but at least the mess won't sink into your carpet.

I don't have any answers, but if you can bring her out of the bathroom for at least part of the time, you can watch her habits and body language that indicates that she has to go. Taking her out every hour on the hour is setting a pattern for her, instead of her following her normal urges.

Congrats on your new little furbaby addition......this will be worth it! Pets give us so much, and ask for such very little in return.

And faery, I have to agree with you.....cats are the best! The odor problem you mention comes from feeding wet cat food.....I have been trying to get mine off of it for a while.....or at least to cut back on it.....KB can clear the bathroom and kitchen with his stinky butt!

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 11:08:41 AM

Sinergy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: soul2share

You can always try a small radio playing in the bathroom, but puppies are just like babies...they need almost constant attention. House training is just as much of a bear as potty training...trust me! And locking her away, while I can understand the reasons why, are just going to breed separation anxiety issues. One trick I remember from when we were house training our Saint Bernards.....keep pads NEAR the door, show them to her....when she approaches the pad, let her out. She will learn fast, even tho it seems like it's taking forever. As for your carpets, well, you can always try those huge plastic paint dropcloths....she'll crinkle for a bit, but at least the mess won't sink into your carpet.

I don't have any answers, but if you can bring her out of the bathroom for at least part of the time, you can watch her habits and body language that indicates that she has to go. Taking her out every hour on the hour is setting a pattern for her, instead of her following her normal urges.

Congrats on your new little furbaby addition......this will be worth it! Pets give us so much, and ask for such very little in return.

And faery, I have to agree with you.....cats are the best! The odor problem you mention comes from feeding wet cat food.....I have been trying to get mine off of it for a while.....or at least to cut back on it.....KB can clear the bathroom and kitchen with his stinky butt!

When my kids were born, I went around the house exhaustively and modified the entire place so that the kid could have the run of the place without my having to go to daily, extraordinary measures. Knives were up high. Glass was up high. Tupperware and metal cookie sheets were down at the toddler's level. Then I watched the chaos build, stifling laughter as my youngest built his huge tupperware fort in the kitchen every morning. He outgrew it, but his approach to doing it almost made it seem like he had to get up to do his job.

I would disagree with putting down a drop cloth. You are trying to teach the dog to not go to the bathroom in the house. Putting a drop cloth down is something you are doing because you dont want to take the time to raise your dog and teach it how to be a productive and wanted member of your family. In doing so, you are the one who has to take responsibility for the fact that when the dog is an adult it goes to the bathroom in the house.

Wet dog food breeds tooth decay and are not nearly as healthy as Science Diet or one of the other quality brands. The last dog I had was allergic to gluten, so I had to use a gluten free dog food or deal with all his hair falling out and him itching all the time.

Good luck!

Sinergy

_____________________________

"There is a fine line between clever and stupid"
David St. Hubbins "This Is Spinal Tap"

"Every so often you let a word or phrase out and you want to catch it and bring it back. You cant do that, it is gone, gone forever." J. Danforth Quayle

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 11:16:46 AM

sirsholly

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crate training really is the best. Since she is so tiny a cat crate might work.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 3:01:30 PM

windchymes

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Just my 2 cents....it really IS a good idea to praise her for going on the pad. One day, she might be out on the carpet and suddenly have to "go"....but she'll start looking for the pad, rather than just letting loose on the carpet.

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 3:09:30 PM

smilezz

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We have a 6 week old Male Beagle.......the boy is testing my patience......but love that lil guy to no end.

Thorns just decided that as soon as the boy is trained we will be getting the carpets done. LOL! it was that time of year anyways, now there is just more re-enforcement. The boy is doing prettyyyyyyy good, but much more training to follow.

This is our first puppy together and our first Beagle ever!

~smilezz~

< Message edited by smilezz -- 3/4/2008 3:56:48 PM >

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 3:12:42 PM

smilezz

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Awww...she sounds adorable.

I am using the pads with MoJo also........he is not doing to bad with them. He does VERY well at night using them too. I just think it's all in taking one step at a time and trying not to pull your hair out. It will take some time potty training, but it will happen.

congrats on the new puppy and good luck!

~smilezz~

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RE: Tough Love - 3/4/2008 3:48:52 PM

MsLadySue

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I'm curious about something so now would be a good time to ask since there seem to be some well educated animal people here. With a dog that small, could it not be trained to a litter box? No idea how large it will be when full grown.

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