I realize Moxie is almost 9 weeks old, but house training seems impossible. I take her outside and 90% of the time she will not pee or poop. But when she gets inside...she will pee and poop.
This morning I opened the door and went outside and called for her to come out....she peed right in the doorway before she walked out.
I did find out the 2nd day I had her that she had a UTI...ugh. Her pee stinks and she pees more than any puppy is have seen. The vet has her on antibiotics. Not too happy with the breeder right now...
But in any case...she's peeing and pooping everywhere...I give her praise when she actually goes potty outside....and I know I've only had her for 5 days...but i feel like im doing something wrong. I don't recall having this pee/poop problem with my other golden..but maybe I forgot how it is to raise a puppy.
Carry her outside to go potty so she doesn't have the chance to go in the house. You may also want to leash her so you can go out just for potty and not to play every time. If she has a UTI she needs to go out at least every half hour to avoid accidents. It's not fun but she really can't help it. My rescue pup came home with a UTI and I had to take her out every 2 hours or more at night. She'd wake up and start crying or screaming in her kennel. It was worse than caring for a newborn. You'll just have to struggle through the issue in order to have a great dog down the road.
I agree. You must carry her for the first few weeks. Puppies wake up and pee, eat and pee/poop, play and pee, it is what they do. They do not think "I must hold it until I get outside". Put her down where you want her to do it and say the magic words "pee pee" or what ever you use. Always the same each time. Lots of praise when she does it. She will get the message after a while.
I used to put an Xpen in the area of the garden where I want them to do their business and put them in it with the magic words. After a time you can remove the the Xpen and they will naturally go to that place. It also stops them playing around and not doing what you want.
Consider carrying some treats with you when you take Moxie outside and when she does go, immediately, give a couple of tasty treats, and lots of praise, perhaps a little play, every time she has been successful, letting her know that she got it 'right'. Consider whether she may need to be taken outside more often, her bladder is pretty small, or may need to stay out a little longer, it is a big world out there, pretty interesting and distracting for a pup.
If she is dealing with a uti, she is likely consuming a fair bit of water, which is a good thing, but it also means needing to pee more often, once the uti is cleared up, life should get much easier for both of you.
Unless she has an inverted vulva, there's nothing the breeder did or didn't do that caused a UTI. They are extremely common in girl puppies. An inverted vulva makes them much more likely, but even then, the breeder just should have warned you....told you to (and you can do this whether she has one or not) cut her hair short on the vulva, to about 1/2"- so there's not as much hair to drag at the grass after she pees and then wick who knows what up the hair into her parts... and to keep her well hydrated, crated more than usual so her body gets a 'hold it' message, and take her out every 20 minutes.. their little bladders hold about a TB at 8 weeks, 2 at 9 weeks so she isn't really able to think 'I need to pee' and not immediately pee unless she's in a confined area where she can't pee comfortably. Loose in the house she's going to drop and pee as soon as the urge hits.
A puppy that young will need to go frequently. Don't forget, they are tiny. That means the water they drink only has a few inches to travel until it gets to the bladder. And it's a tiny, tiny bladder. And they have not learned how to hold it yet.
A puppy will need to potty in the following situations:
-Just woke up from sleep or nap
-10-15 mins after eating/drinking
-After 10-15 mins of play time
-Starts sniffing the ground (or other signals)
-Right in the middle of your TV show
-When you just sat down
-In the middle of dinner
-When you just came back in
Potty training will take time. It doesn't happen overnight. And even once they are potty trained, they will still need to go out frequently. With my girls, it was several months before I could get through an entire sitcom without pausing for a potty break.
Use a potty command. Personally, I use a separate one for the two actions... that way they're not confused when you ask them to do #2 after they just did #1.
When the puppy does go potty outside, reinforce the potty command and, throw a potty party. Treats and tons of praise.
If they have an accident, do not scold the puppy. They don't know WHY you're mad. They just know that you ARE mad. Instead, take the puppy outside to the potty place and say the potty word. If they go more, it's a potty party.
I know I've blocked out all of the training issues I had with Cassie. All I remember are the good times. I barely remember the times when I was in tears because I thought she was deaf because she wasn't listening to me. I mean, how could my 10wk old puppy not understand English?? :wink2:
I know I've blocked out all of the training issues I had with Cassie. All I remember are the good times. I barely remember the times when I was in tears because I thought she was deaf because she wasn't listening to me. I mean, how could my 10wk old puppy not understand English??
At 9 weeks it's all they do. Our girl is 13 weeks old and she's finally getting on a schedule and able to hold it for longer than a millisecond. Even still, there are days when she decides that peeing inside far supersedes everything we've worked on! It'll come- utilize the suggestions here & it'll come.
haha.. Mochi has peed "while" having his leash put on... I don't think it's anything abnormal, basically they don't know to hold it for 1 more second, and they don't know the concept of peeing outside.. they just basically go when they feel like it...
don't get discouraged, they are all routine-animals.. as long as you are consistent, the bladder will grow and they'll learn to hold it!
She did so well this morning. I woke up to a poop and pee on the pads...and then I brought her outside to the place I would rather her do her business on...and she went potty like a good girl....
But then tonight she peed on the floor again. She's getting better though.
I think that using pads sends mixed signals to puppies. I never used them for this reason. It tells them it's okay to go in the house. Also, outside was only potty time...never playtime until they get the basic idea of going only outside to potty. IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but I never had a lot of issues housebreaking pups in the past using this method.
Gracie has struggled with a UTI since she has been home. It didn't go away with the first round of meds. We had a terrible time until the UTI was better. Now she is doing great with potty training. Still some accidents now and again, but it takes time. Hang in there.
She is so cute! Don't worry, she will get the hang of it. You might need to take her out more frequently. If you were going every 30-40 min. drop it to maybe 20 minutes. I remember with our pups, every 2nd commercial on TV I would get up and take them out. Some just can't hold it as long as others. Every few days you can increase it by a couple of minutes, and soon you realize you are up to 45 min to an hour before needing to take them out. Good luck!
I agree that you should put her into her crate if she doesn't go outside. Only give her free reign in the house after she's done her business. I had to carry Cooper outside for the first week or so because if I didn't he'd just pee as soon as he came out of the crate, but after a while he was able to hold it just long enough to walk to the door himself.
I second kwhit - pads are so confusing to the puppy (how is she supposed to know that she has to do her business outside if there's places inside she's allowed to do her business on? And how is she supposed to know that *this* section of the floor is different from *that* section of the floor?) I know some members on here have had luck using the potty pads, but if you're struggling with housebreaking, then I'd get rid of the pads. Take her out as soon as she wakes up, after meals and after she drinks, after she plays, and 20-30 minutes otherwise. It's a lot of work for awhile, but it pays off if you really stay on top of it.
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