Yes, this definitely helps. It's very cold outside so my goal was to have him use the pads consistently. A litter box sounds like it might be good too-(I don't know what the advantages might be so if someone could tell me that would be good)I didn't want to make it harder for either one of us than necessary so I wanat to stick to either the pads or a litter box and have him trained to the one thing. If a litter box makes sense for him, I would think that now would be the time to make that switch. It sounds like the thing to try would be perhaps to either switch back to the small crate or make the xpen smaller so it is just big enough for his bed &food&water. Move the pad/box the kitchen (next room.) So his bed, food & water & some toys are in his "den". He'd be confined to the /crate/xpen for the night and I'd get him out in the morning and walk him to the pad/box. I admit to being terrified of not having a pad in the pen overnight -some wine should help with that). When I'm out at the barn or gone from the house, I can use baby gates to keep him in the family room/kitchen area so he can have access to his "den" and the pad/box. I'm thinking that i should keep him confined to that area until he really knows that the pad/box is his pooping place. Or - would you recommend the sort of scheduling you did with yours when you were working? and him being confined to his "den" when I'm out at the barn (it's usually 2-3+ hours)and let out and walked to his pad/box when i get back in? Right now, if he's not confined to the pen or kitchen with the gates, as soon as I see him running toward the other areas of the house, I have to follow him to see if he's anointing the rugs. My dream would be that if he sees a pad/box in any area of the house..he knows that's his place he can potty if he has to. That's where I want to get to with him...then we can deal with going outside.
--- In [email protected], Peggy & The Girls <phrpg5@...> wrote: > > Megan, I posted this the other day for Rebecca, maybe it will help you too, > to understand the way a puppy thinks when you are housebreaking it > > Well they say that a den (crate) is suppose to be safe haven for a dog. In > the wild, wolves sleep and eat in a den. They do there business outside of > the den. By putting the pan inside his den, it only confuses the dogs > natural instinct, and most dogs are not 100% housebroken. I know a lot of > people that put everything inside a crate, the pads or litter box, the toys, > the water, the food, the bed, and then there is no room for the dog to > actually walk freely without stepping on everything, so the dog will pull > everything to it's bed. A true house broke dog, will hold it in for 8-10 > hours if they have to. Just the way most dogs can hold it in all night, > which is an average of 8 hours. > > The only way a crate works is if it is a good 4 feet long for a chi, or you > use a playpen. That gives enough space in between the bed to the pad for > movement. Or you block them off in the bathroom or a larger area. Or you use > the old method of putting them in a crate that is only big enough to hold > their bed, but they still have enough room to stand on it and turn around > and stretched out when they lay down, and the water dish is hooked onto the > door of the crate. Then you put a leash on him and walk him to the pads, > which is much further away, instead of walking him outside. I prefer the > latter way, because I found that all my dogs were housebroken within a month > and that was when I was working full time. > > When I worked, I got up in the morning, and the first thing I did was walk > them to the pad and stayed there until they did there business. Then I fed > them inside the crate, and then let them be free to play while I got ready > for work. Just before I would leave, I again would walk them to the pad and > wait until they did there business. Then I allowed 15 minutes of playtime > and interaction with me and then back into the crate and I would leave for > work. Yes it was messy when I came home for the first couple of days, but a > dogs natural instinct is not to mess in there den and they really get the > hang of it after the first week. > > This was todays post: > > If you are trying to train him by doing two/three methods at the same time, > litter pan, pad, and outside, it won't work. It's too confusing for a puppy > to say now you go out, but later you go in the pan, or maybe later you go on > a pad. Choose your method, once you have him 100% of either going outside > all the time, then you convert him over to a pad or a litter pan. Or stick > to a pad or a litter box, and then change him to outside. If you are in a > warm climate all year, then training to go outside is fine, but if you have > harsh, cold winters, you may want to stick with either the litter pan or the > pad and not train him to go outside at all. > > Most dogs will go outside anyway, it's their instinct, especially to mark > their territory and that can be with pee as well as poop. As far as him > being a male....when I had my male maltese and was training him to go a pad, > as soon as he went to lift his leg, I bent over him and gently pushed down > on his rump and told him he was a good boy. That automatically made him put > his leg down, and I only had to do that two times and he understood. When we > went for walks, he always lifted his leg, so again he understood okay > outside, but not inside. > > Also bear in mind that a rigid schedule is very important, because you are > actually teaching him what time of day to go. He's is older now and should > really only need to pee 4x a day and poop 2x a day. Always put him on the > pad or whatever you decide to do, right after her eats, and if you have a > real long playtime and he is all excited, plus the am, the afternoon and > before you go to bed. > > > > > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: Megan > Date: 1/29/2012 5:38:38 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: Potty Poopy Training...arggghhhhhh! > > > Sounds like the same as we have set up in the xpen. There is more room for > him in the xpen. He sleeps in one end and the pad is at the other end. So - > are you saying that the thing to do would be to keep him contained in the > xpen for a period of time - so the pad is the only place he's able to go? > Sorry, I've never crate trained a dog and the crate we had for him was a > small one just big enough for his bed. > Megan > > --- In [email protected], Raven <iceponygoddess@> wrote: > > > > >> He's about 7-8 months old. We did have a small crate and he used it. > Then got the ex-pen and the whole thing seemed kind of redundant so we took > back the crate > > > > IMHO...a puppy needs to be crated trained and in a crate, until that > > puppy/dog is 100% potty trained. My chihuahuas go potty outside, they > > are not pad trained. > > > > If would recommend that use get a crate and use that crate...under he > > is left alone, for sleeping, when you go to work etc. And use the > > divider that comes with it. > > Raven > > Lucy & Stella & Hazel, the Girl Doggies > > Huginn & Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies > > > > I ride a pony, cuz heart is not measured in hands. > > > > My Blog > > http://iceponytrekking.blogspot.com > > > > Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all > creatures. > > > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! 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