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potty training

20 11:37:06

Question
QUESTION: We got a puupy at 15 weeks and had NO concept of going potty outside.  This dog is now 18 weeks and is still not getting it.  He is not a terrier but a maltese/shih tzu.  We crate train him but also let him stay outside on our deck at times.  He still has NO concept of going outside.  At night I will bring him up to my room and let him lay with me while I do work on the computer and tonight he just laid there went on my bed after I had JUST taken him in from the outside.  Do you have any suggestions.  We do keep him in his crate at all times because of this.  He spends the weekends with me on the soccer field and has plenty of opportunity to go outside and just wont. I am thinking of getting rid of him.  Thank god my house is all tile and hardwood.  But to go right on my bed.  Do you think he has a problem?  Thank you

ANSWER: Pattie,

There are a lot of things that could be going on here. Unfortunately if I am to give you some solutions I would need to have more information.  If you can answer a few questions for me I will be happy to give you the answers you seek.

Here's what I need to know:

Did you get him when he was 15 weeks old (instead of 8 weeks)?
Did you get him from the original owner or someone who purchased him at 8 weeks?  You said he stays outside sometimes on your deck, can he get to the yard (dirt or grass) while he is out there?  You said you were crate training him, I need to know what you mean by that and how you are doing it.  When you said he laid on your bed and went on it, did you mean he urinated on the bed while he was laying down or did he stand up and urinate?  Have you had him to the vet to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with him?  When he urinates in the house what do you do with him? Punish him and if so how etc.  Do you have any other dogs or animals in the house?  Does he have water available 24/7?  How long is he home alone or in his crate at one time?

If you could answer these questions I think I can help you.  I will wait to hear back from you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Melinda,

First of all thank you so much for getting back to me.  I have answered all your questions and hope this helps.

1.  Yes.  I bought him when he was 15 wks. old instead of the usual 8 weeks.

2.  We did get him from the original owner.

3.  No he can not get to the yard from the deck.  We have it blocked of so he won't leave the deck.

4.  Yes.  We do have a large yard with grass (no dirt) but we do not let him off the deck.

5.  We crate him when we are home and when we are away.  He spends a lot of time there because we are hoping he gets the concept of being in there and going outside to potty.  The reason we do this is because when we are home if we can't be with him at  times he will just go on the floor.  Unless we can give him our undivided attention he has to be in his crate.

6.  I think he urinated while he was lying down.   It happened so fast,  I'm not sure.  I had just brought him in the house seconds earlier.

7.  We have not had him to the vet.  The original owner did and he had all of his shots including his rabies shots.  I own a day spa so I am experienced in taking care of hair ( he has hair, not fur).  I bathe him and groom him.  I brought him to Petco for a bath once and had had his teeth cleaned and his nails clipped.

8.  When he urinates in the house I show it to him and spank him and say NO.  He will sometimes go on the puppy training pads and I praise him and give him at treat.

9.  we have no other animals.

10.  He does not have water 24/7.  Not even close to that.  How do I give him water 24/7 if we are crate training him?

11.  He is alone around 17hrs. a week.

I hope this helps!! Thank you again.

Pattie

Answer
Pattie,

The first thing you need to do is get him a doggie diaper so you can begin working on re-training him.  It is not his fault that he is not potty trained and I feel so bad for the poor little guy.  You mentioned that your house is all hard wood floors and tile.  Your back porch is wood also so how can he tell the difference between good wood and bad wood?  You are using training pads to teach him to go potty which is probably why he has urinated on your bed.  To a dog the material is very similar especially a puppy.  How is he to tell one from the other?  Also, by giving him a treat when he urinated on the training pad you are teaching him that if he urinates he will get a treat and that is never a good idea.  The poor little thing is probably so confused.  Think about him as being the same as a two year old.  Can a two year old distinguish between hard wood and porch wood?  How about the difference between a paper pad and a bedspread?

Basically what is happening here is that he is trying to please you but you are sending him mixed signals.  This is really not your fault its just that sometimes when we get frustrated we sometimes end up running around chasing our own tails lol forgive the play on words.  

The reason I say you should get him a doggie diaper is because until we can erase everything that you have taught him up to this point he is going to have accidents.  Re-training is more difficult than training and if he has a doggie diaper on it will be less stressful for both of you.  Pattie, I could give you the standard potty training stuff that I normally give out but I think your situation is different from most.  I wonder if you would mind calling me so we could actually talk about this instead of me trying to type out everything that I want to tell you?  I don't usually take calls from people but on occasion I feel that in order to handle a special problem it is necessary.  Because this is a public forum and I don't want to give out my telephone number if you e-mail me at this e-mail address: sales@petremembrances.com,  I can send you back my telephone number so you can call me.  If you don't have long distance I can call you, you just need to tell me when and give me your number.  Do not post your number here just send it to me at the e-mail address I gave you above.

If you do not want to call or give me your number I will send you the standard potty training stuff.

I hope you do want to speak directly to me because I think that if nothing else I can help you decide if you want to take on the task of re-training him or if it would be better for both of you to find him a new home.  I hope to hear from you soon.

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