Question-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have a 6th month old female Pomeranian whose house training has gone terribly wrong. We have a 9 month old male as well, but he is doing great, always going outside to do his business. She, however, has two problems: the worst is that she has developed a preference to urinate on the carpet or the kitchen floor. Even when she's outside she will go on the cement, rather than the grass. It is so frustrating! I had been confining her to a small area of the kitchen where I would put a towel down (the male will go on a towel), but she avoids the towel and pees on the floor. After getting some advice, I bought a crate that is just small enough for her to stretch out in and turn around in. I have been keeping her in this at night and for 3-4 hour stretches during the day for the past week, but the problems continue. What do I do?
The second problem is that she will start barking and whining about 4:30-5:00 every morning, and won't stop until someone comes down. I have been squirting her with a squirt bottle when she barks, but it hasn't stopped the behavior or even slowed it down like it did my male. Needless to say, we are all tired and fed up! Can you help?
Answer -
Hi Shannon,
I have a few questions. Did you purchase the puppy from a pet store? How long have you had her? Has she had free reign in the house during the day and at night until now? Can you give me a little more detail regarding how you are training her? What are you using to clean her urine off the carpet?
Carrie
Dear Carrie,
I got her from a small breeder in the Houston area when she was 8 weeks old. I already had the male, who was trained to go on a towel in the kitchen. I have always confined them both to the kitchen, but the female never would pee on the towel, preferring the floor. I bought them a wire "play pen," which further restricted thier movement to about 20 square feet. I put towels at one end and a bed at the other. He would use the towel, but she would lay on the towel and use the floor. I had also been taking them out this entire time, at which point the male will use the grass, but she will use the concrete. The only free time they had in the house was when I would fence off the living room and let them play in the living room if I was there to watch them and they had both just peed. She still will pee on the carpet, even right after she has gone elsewhere. I am trying to be firm about keeping her in her crate and taking her out every 4 hours (except overnight, when it's more like 8). When she has an accident I am using Simple Solution and soaking the entire area. The icing on the cake is that when she has an accident, the male comes over and pees on top of it! Is she causing him to regress? And what on earth am I to do about the early morning whining? I am considering buying a bark collar that will zap her when she starts it! What do you think?
Answer -
Shannon, I have one more question are your poms fixed?
No, as I intend to breed them.
AnswerHello Shannon,
I understand how frustrating housetraining can be. It sounds overwhelming just hearing about it! When you take her outside to go potty don't let her go near the cement. Put her on a leash if you have to. Take her to the same spot everytime and say, "Go potty". Give her a treat and praise her lavishly when she goes. She's probably whining in the morning because she has to go potty. Eight hours in a crate is too long for a six month old puppy. I don't recommend bark collars. I do recommend taking her to a puppy kindergarten or dog training class. Also, you may want to get books from the library regarding dog behavior and dog training.
The male is marking his territory when he potty's on top of her's. At nine months of age he is just starting to mature and it's only going to get worse. If you ever hope to get control over both your dogs pottying in the house you have got to get them spayed and neutered--and soon because your male is reinforcing his habit everytime he potty's in the house. Your female is probably marking territory as well.
Why do you want to breed them? MILLIONS of dogs are put to death every year in this country because there are not enough homes for all of them. Breeding should only be done by show breeders trying to improve the breed by following the breed standard.
Check out these informative sites:
http://www.foxvalleypets.org/dogs/?details=19&page=123
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/reason10.html
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/breeding.htm
Two days after I got my male neutered he stopped his-- almost daily habit of peeing in my house. He only had a few accidents after that and now at 3 1/2 years he never has a accident.
Here is a response I wrote on housetraining that you may find helpful:
It will take lots of patience and persistence. Some pups can take several months or so to train. Do not allow the puppy to have free reign in the house until he is completely trained. When you are home keep him with
you at all times. When you leave the house either put him in a crate (never for more than four hours at a time) or block him off in a small area (bathroom, utility room or kitchen) with a gate. Put newspaper or puppy pads in an area for him to use. Neutering him by five or six months
of age will help, and can prevent him from developing the habit of leg lifting. If he has an accident but you don't catch him don't scold him for it. He won't understand what he's done wrong. Clean up the mess completely. Using a product like Simple Solution will remove the stain
and the odor. If you catch him it the act, firmly say, "No" and take him outside. Never rub his nose in it. He can be trained to go in a particular area in your yard and to go on command. Take him to the same spot every time and use the same command like, "Go potty". Praise him when he goes! Of course you'll want to take him out frequently, especially after sleeping, eating, and playing.
I was never able to use a crate for training. My pom would go potty in it. I blocked him off in the kitchen and set up a dog liter box. I didn't use dog liter but lined the box with newspaper. Puppy pads would work
as well. I would put him in the box and say, "Go potty". If he did, I would praise him profusely. Sometimes I would give him a treat. I always took him to the same spot outside too. It took approximately two and a
half months and after I had him neutered at five and a half months he was pretty much trained. I kept him blocked off in the kitchen when I had to leave the house for about the first year. Now, he has free reign when
I am gone. He is liter box trained and trained to go in a
specific spot in the yard. Having him liter box trained is great for when I am gone and when the weather is bad. (Rain, snow, etc.)
Hang in there! Let me know if you need more help.
Best Regards,
Carrie
