Hi Megan! So why wasn't Valken in the crate while you were in the shower? Better yet, why didn't you make sure he did his business before you went in the shower and decided to let him be free? And why didn't you wait longer this morning for him to go on the pad, and when he didn't go, why didn't you put him back in the crate, and then try again in 10 minutes? Bad mommy!!! LOL!
You have to figure out how many times a day, and when, you know that he has to pee and how many times a day does he have to poop. How many times per day are you feeding him?? What times do you feed him?? You have to figure out, does he usually poop before you feed him, or after you feed him. Each dog is different. Does he usually poop just before going to bed at night?..... then the odds are he will poop after he eats breakfast the following morning Once you have that all figured out then use the pad training accordingly My Princess won't eat her evening meal unless she pees and poops first. Solution.....She goes out first, then I feed her. Four hours later she is ready to pee again. Princess only wants to eat once a day, with treats after she does her business, and she only poops once a day. Gigi always has to do both 15 minutes after she eats. She eats and poops twice per day..... Solution she goes on the pad after she eats. Scenario: Up at 7am.....Put the leash on and he goes on the pad...wait 10-15 minutes, if nothing or just a pee and not a poop, he's a good boy, but put the leash back on and walk to the crate for, wait 5 minutes....then walk back on the pad. If he still doesn't poop......then back in the crate, only this time feed him in the crate. (you should be feeding inside the crate all the time, except for snacks). Wait 5 minutes after he finishes eating.....then back on the pad and I can guarantee you that he will poop, if not....walk him back to the crate and wait another 5-10 minutes and then back on the pad and keep doing that until he poops. Lets say he did poop: Now he is free and you shouldn't have to watch him because he did his business. So lets say he is free for 1 hour, bear in mind he ate and probably drank, plus the running around.....time for the pad again for a quick pee. If he doesn't pee.......back in the crate and try the pad again in 10 minutes. If he still doesn't pee........back in the crate and try again in another 10 minutes. You keep doing that until he pees. If it takes another hour for him to finally pee, then you know that his holding time is 2 hours after he eats and drinks, which means that he can have 2 hours of free time and shouldn't have to be watched. If you find that walking him back and forth is too much, then block off the area where you are keeping the pad. You should only have the pad in one permanent place during the training period. If you block off that area, only make it big enough for the pad and a little space for him to sit or lie down in, but no bigger then that. This way if he is stubborn and wants to take 1/2 an hour to finally go while in there, you can do what ever you want in the meantime. If he doesn't go in 1/2 an hour then put him back in the crate and then try the pad again 15 minutes later. The whole idea is for him to associate that when he goes on the pad he is rewarded not only with a treat, and praising, but he is also free to play. When he doesn't go when he is suppose to, then he stays in the crate. As far as him wanting to eat his poop, a lot of dogs, especially puppies do that. Gigi did that constantly when I first rescued her and occasionally still does it, and she is 7 years old, but she came from living in a cage as a back yard breeder dog, and because those type of dogs don't have their cages cleaned regularly, the dog naturally wants to keep it cleaned, especially when they have puppies, so that's the only way to get rid of it. Another reason is that those type of dogs are on a cheap lousy diet and their body is missing something in nutrients so they feel eating tootsie rolls will solve it, or they are just plain not fed enough. unfortunately, puppies learn a lot from their mommies and they mimic the mommies behavior. That's the hardest type of behavior to break, because the puppies go through an imprinting stage, and what is imprinted in their brain is almost impossible to remove. So even if your puppy was kept clean and well fed, if he saw his mother doing that, then he learned the behavior. Their are some things that you can try to do. Teach him the command ' leave-it'' It is an invaluable command, because lets say you are walking him and he goes to eat something on the street, once you yell out ''leave-it'' he will back off and not touch it. Start with him sitting in front of you and have some treats in your hand. Put a treat on the floor in front of him and say Leave-It! and quickly push him back from it. Then point to it and say ''Okay" and let him have it. Repeat several times. If he doesn't get it during the first session, then try it again the following day and again that night. Most dogs learn it in 3-4 sessions. You are really teaching him 2 commands at a time...leave-it and okay. Now your ready to use that command when ever you catch him trying to eat anything that isn't good for him or touching anything that you don't want him to touch. They also have food treats that contain something that prevents the dog from eating their poop. I tried a brand on Gigi and it didn't do any thing. Others have said that it works, so I guess it all depends on the dog. Gigi stops dead in her tracks when I catch her and say 'leave-it' so that works for us. -------Original Message------- From: Megan Date: 1/31/2012 11:15:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] Housebreaking - Morning update - day2 Well - Valken kicked my butt yesterday and last night but I think we're off to a better start today. Didn't need to potty last night before bedtime (of course, he'd pooped on the rug while I was in the shower about 20 minutes before - Ted was really happy about that!). REALLY had to go this morning. I put him on the pad and said potty. he peed. we waited-nothing. so I let him go off the pad and caught him a minute later trying to poop on the kitchen floor. Told him "NO!" and got him to the pad, told him to potty and he did. He immediately and frantically tried to eat the poop. I had to fold the pad over it and keep him away from it to stop him. He was really concerned about that poop staying there. Thoughts? Suggestions? Compared to yesterday this is a great start. Not sure why he thinks pads are for peeing and the rest of the house is for pooping.LOL
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