A bit of everything..

Question
Hi Karen, I recently purchased an 8 week old maltese x shih tzu. She's now 11 weeks and I think Im doing things all wrong. Firstly, Im not really sure how to train her with toileting. The idea is for her to be a house pet but she just doesnt seem to get the idea of using her mat to eliminate. It's very hard for me to block off an area in our home just for her as it is quite open plan so I just keep trying to catch her in the act and then quickly taking her to her mat to eliminate and encouraging this with a treat and good girl and all that. Can you help?
Also, the breeder she came from mollycoddled her and often slept in the kennels with his many pups. I fear my pup is used to this as every night for the past 3 weeks I have her in her box (which is quite large) and she has whined and barked for a good 10 to 15 minutes. She is now trying to get out of the box though. Tonight I am letting her roam the house as she continued this whining and barking for about 45 minutes. My husband and I are so unsure of what to do because we dont want to encourage this. I ideally wanted to be able to place a pet bed out for her (which I have already purchased) and for her to sleep on that in the kitchen area which I could block off. Should I just be doing that now and get rid of the crate. Please help me. If I cant work her out my husband thinks she should be an outdoor dog.
Also, how do I get her to stop biting at our toes??

Answer
First of all, get yourself the book, "How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With", by Rutherford and Neil. It is an excellent little paperback and worth its weight in gold.

You need to get this puppy into obedience classes and start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with her. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  These two are as much for YOUR benefit as hers as they will help to teach you to become more alpha.

Frankly, I am not a good one about knowing how to break to a pad, as I believe that dogs should potty outside, not inside. But I will say that my last litter was in an exercise pen, with papers at one end, and they quickly learned to potty in only that area (before they were able to hold it throughout the night).

I would recommend that you do something similar with your dog if you wish to train her to a pad (or a litterbox). Get yourself an exercise pen, put her crate in there with the door off, and put the pads off to the side at one end. Keep her in there whenever you cannot watch her and during the night. It does sound to me as though you are giving this puppy too much freedom too soon. You need to catch her *before* she potties, not after.

As to the barking and whining, she should be ignored when put into her crate, however, there is nothing wrong with her learning the command "QUIET" either. I will let mine go on for a few minutes, and then I will startle the puppy by either throwing a shoe or swatting the crate with a flyswatter, as I loudly say "ENOUGH! QUIET!" (A pop can with a few pennies in it works well also.) As soon as the puppy stops the noise, I say, "GOOOOD quiet." Correction must always be followed immediately by praise. **NEVER TAKE HER OUT OF HER CRATE WHEN SHE IS FUSSING!** That just rewards her for her bad behavior.

As to the biting, when she does this, quickly pinch her lip HARD, stare her in the eyes, roar in her face like a lion, and then tell her loudly and in a deep voice, "DON'T BITE!" as you release her lip. This is all done very, very quickly. You are essentially correcting her in a similar fashion as her mother or littermates would.

Verbal corrections should be in a deep growly voice, while praise should be in a happy, upbeat voice.