QuestionHi, thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I can't believe she has started using the play pen I built for her to potty in! It took me almost 3 hours to build that play pen and now I'm going to have to tear it down :(
I really like the play pen because it also keeps all her toys in there organized instead of scatterred all over the place because she has tons of toys. But I definitely cannot keep her unsupervised inside the play pen anymore for ANY length of time. I guess if she is inside the play pen I must treat it the same way as if she was loose inside the house.... watching her like a hawk. Therefore that defeats the entire purpose of the play pen and it is useless thus I should really just tear it down and only use the crate in that case. Since having her loose inside the play pen is EXACTLY like having her loose inside the house. Defeats the purpose.
It's a shame that the play pen is too big of a confined area. I don't understand why it's too big though... I mean I've read many articles on housebreaking and a lot of them say that a small confined area such as a kitchen or a bathroom or a play pen is perfect for housebreaking... but apparently that is NOT correct because obviously such a method includes too large of a space afterall.
Even though I have housebroken dozens of dogs before SUPER EASILY and have NEVER used a crate before. I housebroke my 25 pound american eskimo in the past by using a play pen this exact same size (never a crate) and she was SUPER EASY to housebreak. But I guess since Foxy is a toy breed pomeranian (not an american eskimo)... you really have to ditch that way of housebreaking and doing it completely different by strictly using a crate only and NO play pen.
It took me 3 hours to build that play pen... I hope I'm doing the right thing by tearing it down... I mean it's clear that this method is not working... so I have no choice.
I just find it so puzzling as to why normal sized dogs are super easy to housebreak with NO crates (I mean they really are)... by just keeping them in a play pen because they know the play pen is "their space" and don't want to soil there... but pomeranians don't work like that. That is very strange? And it's not because pom's can't hold it... do you think it's more of a mental issue with these toy breeds?
It just doesn't make sense why a normal sized dog can easily be housebroken in a play pen with no crate... but that a toy breed cannot be housebroken in a play pen and requires strictly a crate.
P.S- The main reason I built that play pen for her is because I feel sorry for her leaving her in the crate for so many hours. She loved to stay in her play pen the entire day to play... because even though I work from home on the computer e.t.c. (I'm home all day long 24/7) but really have to have 100% focus on my business. If I play with ehr for an hour in the morning... and then put her in the crate (taking her out every 2 or 3 hours)... and then play with ehr for another hour in the afternoon... then put her back in the crate... isn't that too many hours in the crate? I feel sorry for her to do that... that's why I loved the play pen because she wasn't trapped... but played with her toys like crazy in the pen while I was at home working...
P.S- I can't keep her in the yard in a play pen. I live in florida and the heat and humidity is unbearable outside. Plus it is rainy season and pouring outside nonstop with constant thunderstorms. I wonder if I can't just section off the play pen and make it MUCH smaller of an area do you think?
Also, she does pee everywhere else... not only in the play pen. She will pee if loose in the house anywhere as well. The only place she does not pee is inside the crate.
Thanks for your time and input,
Juliet
AnswerFirst of all the toy breeds are harder to house break. But I would not keep her confined to a crate for more than a
couple of hours at a time. Puppies need exercise and crating causes health problem as far as I am concerned.
Can you put her in an utility or bathroom where she can't get out? I know how you feel about newspapers but you are
going to have to get her to use a place in the house where
she can go without it being a problem. After she gets the
idea that newspapers are where she can pee/potty and after
several months take a newspaper out to the yard that has pee on it so you can start to train her to go there.
Just remember she is a baby and its take patience and time.
