Tomorrow will be Lexi's 2 week anniversary in our house. You will recall
that before he came, I asked about how long housebreaking might take. And I
was prepared for it to take a while. What I wasn't really prepared for was
that after 2 weeks there would be no progress whatsoever. I would have
thought that by this time, he'd know he should be going outside, and that
accidents would be because we didn't take him out in time or some such. But
he is, today, just as likely to go inside as he was that first day.

It's so frustrating for several reasons. First, it's very hard to tell when
he's squatting. He's so small, that he doesn't really squat -- he just sort
of leans forward slightly. It's the same as is "What's that?" pose. I'm
never 100% sure he's peeing, unless I duck down to look between his legs.
I've gotten better about telling outside that he's gone because he will stay
in that pose for a few seconds, and then move on. In other words, after he
is done peeing, I'm pretty sure that he has peed. Same thing inside -- I
can tell that he *has* peed, but not he is about to. So he has accidents
even tethered to me. And his bladder is so small, that if I scoop him up
and run outside when I notice, it's too late. His bladder is already empty
and he doesn't need to go anymore.

Second, he will sometimes go more than once. That is, I take him outside,
he goes, effusive praise, then I bring him back in. Moments later (or maybe
not moments, maybe 15 minutes), he goes again. So every hour or so doesn't
cut it. Yesterday we went to the park. He peed and pooed while we were
there. We came home, came inside, and he peed again.

Finally, he will pee on anything. Harwood floors, carpet, beds, pillows.
Last night after dinner, I took him out to pee, which he did. Then we went
upstairs and I had him with me on the bed, on his leash, while I read. He
was jumping around playing, diving into the covers, having a great time, and
then all of a sudden he was peeing.

So anyway, I've been *really* trying to be vigilant. He's tethered to me at
all times, and crated when I'm busy (or napping), and *still* it's accident
after accident. The most we went without an accident was something like 36
hours. And usually it's several per day. It's 7:31am, and I've already
cleaned up 2 poos (yes, he pooed outside first). The thing that gets me is
that despite all the praise for going outside, and yes he gets praised every
time he goes outside, he still seems to have no idea that's the desirable
thing to do.

Tell me there's an end to this!

Bizby

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 07:35:31 -0400, "bizby40" ,
clicked their heels and said:

First, it's very hard to tell when
he's squatting. He's so small, that he doesn't really squat -- he just sort
of leans forward slightly.

"Indicator hairs". Yep - feel if they're wet.

Yesterday we went to the park. He peed and pooed while we were
there. We came home, came inside, and he peed again.

He's too young to be taking to the park. Even so, pee before going
back in house.

Finally, he will pee on anything. Harwood floors, carpet, beds, pillows.
Last night after dinner, I took him out to pee, which he did. Then we went
upstairs and I had him with me on the bed, on his leash, while I read. He
was jumping around playing, diving into the covers, having a great time, and
then all of a sudden he was peeing.

He's a puppy, and a teeny one.

Tell me there's an end to this!

There is but without knowing every detail, it's hard to pinpoint where
you're going wrong, but it's clear you are, somewhere.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

"Janet B" said:

He's a puppy, and a teeny one.

Tell me there's an end to this!

There is but without knowing every detail, it's hard to pinpoint where
you're going wrong, but it's clear you are, somewhere.

What she's written doesn't sound all that unusual to someone who's raised
an active small breed, and even less so to someone who spends a lot of time
on JRT discussion lists.
How old is this puppy, how big is he, and what's his breed?

Bizby, I'm sure there *will* be an end to it, but I think your 2-week
expectation was a bit unrealistic.

"diddy" said:

Exactly Sally.

Sarah, actually. :-) (Although "Sally" *is* a nickname for "Sarah", it's
not one for me.)


Having larger breeds, I'm spoiled and accustomed to dogs where you
spend a couple sleepless nights, and bingo. It's over.

Interesting thing about Rocsi (who is now 14 lbs of solid muscle at 4
years, btw) is that she was able to sleep through the night from the very
beginning - although for the first few weeks, she did get me up an hour or
two before the alarm clock.
The fact that she slept in the bed undoubtedly helped, not only with her
ability to sleep soundly, but with her willingness to wake me up to take her
out. Her method was foolproof - she'd stand on my chest and stick her itty
bitty tongue up my nose. :-D

DAYTIME, however, was another story - she'd get busy playing, not realize
she had to go until too late, and then not be able to hold it.

One conclusion I came to, WRT small dogs, is that the interior of a house
is less likely to be percieved as the den, simply because of the relative
amount of space they have around them.
This was supported in Rocsi's case by the fact that she never peed in my
bedroom, which is small - the bed takes up 2/3 of the space - even when she
had to go Really Badly in the mornings.

"Janet B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 07:35:31 -0400, "bizby40" ,
clicked their heels and said:

First, it's very hard to tell when
he's squatting. He's so small, that he doesn't really squat -- he just
sort
of leans forward slightly.

"Indicator hairs". Yep - feel if they're wet.

Yeah, I can tell when he *has* peed, just not ususally when he *is*
peeing.

Yesterday we went to the park. He peed and pooed while we were
there. We came home, came inside, and he peed again.

He's too young to be taking to the park. Even so, pee before going
back in house.

This isn't a dog park -- he was just going along when my kids were at
tennis lessons. I didn't realize I shouldn't be doing this, but at any
rate,
the lessons are over now.

Finally, he will pee on anything. Harwood floors, carpet, beds, pillows.
Last night after dinner, I took him out to pee, which he did. Then we
went
upstairs and I had him with me on the bed, on his leash, while I read. He
was jumping around playing, diving into the covers, having a great time,
and
then all of a sudden he was peeing.

He's a puppy, and a teeny one.

Okay, but the experience is different from my Sheltie. It took a while to
housebreak her too, but she really only peed on the floor. She might
have had several accidents the first day, but it was quickly down to one
or two, then maybe every other day -- you know, there was progress.

Tell me there's an end to this!

There is but without knowing every detail, it's hard to pinpoint where
you're going wrong, but it's clear you are, somewhere.

Well, gee, that's helpful.

Bizby

"Sionnach" wrote in message
...

"Janet B" said:

He's a puppy, and a teeny one.

Tell me there's an end to this!

There is but without knowing every detail, it's hard to pinpoint where
you're going wrong, but it's clear you are, somewhere.

What she's written doesn't sound all that unusual to someone who's raised
an active small breed, and even less so to someone who spends a lot of
time
on JRT discussion lists.
How old is this puppy, how big is he, and what's his breed?

He's 10 weeks, maybe 6 pounds, mixed breed -- looks very cocker.
He isn't particularly hyper -- not yet at least. He will have some
pretty active play sessions, and then he will collapse for several
hours.

Bizby, I'm sure there *will* be an end to it, but I think your 2-week
expectation was a bit unrealistic.

I wasn't expecting him to be trained yet -- just to show some progress,
no matter how minor. Something to let me know he's getting the idea.
He's so smart in every other way. He already knows to sit if you have
a treat. He's learning down, stay, and come. He's leaving wires alone,
though we're still working on shoes, and socks may be a lost cause (as
well as getting two children to remember not to leave them on the floor).

It's just that I'm living at an extremely heightened level of alertness. I
honestly don't know that I can keep this up for 4 months. Being
harder to housebreak is not something I knew about smaller dogs.

Bizby

"Sionnach" wrote in message
...

"diddy" said:

Exactly Sally.

Sarah, actually. :-) (Although "Sally" *is* a nickname for "Sarah", it's
not one for me.)


Having larger breeds, I'm spoiled and accustomed to dogs where you
spend a couple sleepless nights, and bingo. It's over.

Interesting thing about Rocsi (who is now 14 lbs of solid muscle at 4
years, btw) is that she was able to sleep through the night from the very
beginning - although for the first few weeks, she did get me up an hour or
two before the alarm clock.
The fact that she slept in the bed undoubtedly helped, not only with her
ability to sleep soundly, but with her willingness to wake me up to take
her
out. Her method was foolproof - she'd stand on my chest and stick her itty
bitty tongue up my nose. :-D

Lexi is getting up between 4:30 and 5:30 -- usually more towards
5:30 to pee. I can't allow him to sleep on the bed, as he has already
wet my bed, and my daughter's, and that was with a human actually
awake and paying attention to him both times.

DAYTIME, however, was another story - she'd get busy playing, not realize
she had to go until too late, and then not be able to hold it.

And how did you know this is what happened, versus not realizing that
holding it was the right thing to do? That's where I'm at with Lexi -- if
it were only a matter of him not always making it outside, it would be
one thing. But he shows no indication whatsoever that he knows I
prefer the outside to the inside.

Bizby

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 09:00:13 -0400, "Sionnach" ,
clicked their heels and said:


What she's written doesn't sound all that unusual to someone who's raised
an active small breed, and even less so to someone who spends a lot of time
on JRT discussion lists.
How old is this puppy, how big is he, and what's his breed?

Oh, I agree. I don't expect this puppy to be housebroken (it's a
little fuzzy mix). But if he's peeing and pooping when tethered,, I'd
have to look at the whole schedule pretty closely.

Bizby, I'm sure there *will* be an end to it, but I think your 2-week
expectation was a bit unrealistic.

For a toy mix, hou betcha.




--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 09:44:09 -0400, "bizby40" ,
clicked their heels and said:


There is but without knowing every detail, it's hard to pinpoint where
you're going wrong, but it's clear you are, somewhere.

Well, gee, that's helpful.

Bizby


My point is, that without following you around all day and knowing
your exact schedule, mannerisms, etc, I can't tell what's going wrong.
Tiny puppies are hard and long to housebreak. You indicate
elimination when he's tethered, which I *DO* find unusual, and think
there is something amiss in some schedules or SOMETHING, but without
knowing a whole lot more, I can't tell you what. I consult for that
type of thing in person all of the time. You may want to find someone
in your area who does the same.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

"diddy" said:


My apologies, I realized that after I sent it.

Well, if I would remember to turn on my sig file, it would probably help.
G


I never thought of that.

Funny thing is, it seems obvious once the thought is there... but I didn't
100% come to the conclusion until after the fact, when discussing the issue
on JRT lists.