potty training-help!!

Question
QUESTION: Hey,im only 11 and my parents are making me do everything for our puppy.  Thats fine with me but there is one huge problem!!  We are crate training her and she poops and pees in her crate and if i can not get her to stop then my parents will sell her and my puppy is my life!!  I mean she will go to the bathroom outside when i take her but she will go all over the garage when i let her run around and while im at school i cant take her out so she goes in her crate and when i get home at 2pm she is always standing in pee and /or poop and it makes me so mad!!  Because im sure we all have better things to do then clean up after dogs!!  I love her so much but i have no idea what to do, i take her out about every chance i am at home, but i am really tired of cleaning up after her!!  So can you please help me??

ANSWER: How old is your puppy? What are you feeding her? What breed is she? Small, young pups can only hold their pee and poop for so long and no longer, just like you, eventually they have to go. You may be leaving your pup in the crate for too long. Dogs by nature are clean animals and do not want to stand or sit in their poop or pee. Some dog foods, any of the ones you can buy at wal mart or the grocery store , are mostly filler, and those fillers are not digested by your puppy. They wind up as waste, which in turn you end up cleaning up. Which makes them poop more. House training begins with a few very important things. Time, patience, good food, and a schedule. You must never never punish your puppy for pooping or peeing. She must be rewarded and praised for doing her business when and where she should. And you MUST find a way to stop leaving her standing in her feces and urine. This is not only aggravating for you but it is very detrimental to her health. If you will answer the questions that I've asked you, I feel sure that I can help you out. :)
Cindi

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QUESTION: Ok, well my puppy, Keacha, will be turning one on March 15th, and I am feeding her Eukanuba for puppys 1-12 monthes, and we get her food from Petco.  Keacha is puggle and most people dont know what that is and so im going to tell you, but if you already know then sorry.  Ok well it is a pug and beagle mixed, and i dont know if this matters but it probabaly dosent but she is really rare, well not her breed but her colors, she is white and doesnt have a mask on her face like most puggles.  Is there any more questions, because i like answering them if so!!

ANSWER: Hi
She sounds like a very pretty girl. I'm familiar with puggles and she sure sounds like a special baby,
Check the ingredients of your dog food. It is not a good food to feed and has lots of fillers. For the price it's definitely not worth it. Have your parents take you to the petstore and get a premium food with no by products, no wheat, soy, or corn. Your girl will eat less , which means you spend less, and she will poop less. A good thing for everyone. She is old enough to go outside in the mornings and again when you come home in the afternoons without pooping. Pugs are notoriously difficult to potty train as are beagles and you have both :).
I don't know what time you're feeding her, but get up early enough so that she is fed at LEAST two hours before you leave for school in the morning. Make sure you feed her at the same time every single day no matter what. Schedule is very important in regulating potty habits in dogs. Put down her food and leave it for thirty minutes. Then pick up whatever she doesn't eat. She should go outside thirty minutes after she's done eating. Go with her and give her a key word, like go potty, when she finally does, lots and lots of praise. If she doesn't, bring her back inside and recrate her. Try again in thirty minutes. Repeat until she potties. Instead of crating her., see if you can find a way to close off a smaller area for her in the garage. Put her puppy pads or paper or whatever down for her along with water but NO FOOD. She only needs to eat twice a day. As SOON as you get home in the afternoon, take her out. Feed and water her and take her out again. This is going to take some diligence on your part but should see some great results within two weeks or three. Again make SURE she potties.SInce at her age this has become a very ingrained habit, you are not only training but retraining which is much harder. Be patient. Be SURE not to feed her after five PM and no water after 9pm. Make sure she is let out at LEAST every two hours when you are home. And that you go WITH her to insure that she potties. Take her to the same area every time and use the same keyword every time. Ignore mistakes and LOTS of praise when she does the right thing.NO running free without supervision until she has proven herself trustworthy in her potty habits. When you are gone during the day., rather than leaving her a big bowl of water, leave her a large bowl of ice. It will melt slowly and instead of drinking and gorging on a ton of water she will keep herself hydrated but won't drink excessively. Make sure she has toys to play with. Change them out often. And a soft blanket to sleep on, with her ice, bed and toys as far away from her her potty paper as possible.
Having a dog is a huge committment. It requires time, patience, money, and more time and patience. You will get out of your dog, whatever you invest in her in every way including emotionally.
Good luck and let me know if I can help.
Cindi

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QUESTION: Hey again, we cant use pee pads with Keacha because she chews them up and the dont work on her.  So you are saying that i should feed her twice a day??  Because she is in her crate the whole time im not there and we keep her food/water out in the garage so she cant drink any while im gone.  We bought her a bed at Petco and we are waiting for her to stop peeing and pooping in her crate so she doesnt mess up the bed.  I also only feed her when i get home from school.  So should i start feeding her in the morning??  I have no idea what do to so please help!!lol

Answer
She's in the crate for way too long. You're going to have to set up an area for her to have more room in your garage as I said. And yes she should be fed twice a day every day. She also needs lots of excersize and plenty of toys that are rotated every few days. You can't wait for her to stop peeing and pooping in her crate. The purpose of a crate is to teach her that she can wait to go potty. You have taught her by leaving her in for too long that she can potty in her crate and live in it. Now you have to start all over again.
It could be that possibly this isn't the best time for you to have a puppy. I know that's hard, but again it takes a great deal of time, money and committment to properly care for a dog. She should be walked every single day. Structured excersize is necessary for the proper physical and emotional stability of ANY breed of dog. Toys that occupy her mind and body are also necessary. No dog should have to go twenty four hours without eating or drinking. Not only is that not good for them, it's against the law. You're going to HAVE to use wee wee pads or newspaper for her in a confined area to teach her to potty AWAY from herself. Unless you want her to continue to potty in her crate every day of her life. Because she will. Dealing with a living creature is not always easy, convenient, clean and it's never cheap.
Good luck
CIndi