Southpaw
06-16-2006, 10:07 PM
How long does it generally take to housebreak a puppy--specifically, small breeds?
There are moments where I am so proud of Lucy and I start to think we are getting so close, and then 2 days later I'll feel as if she is not grasping the concept at all.
On a good day she will sit by the door and whine when she wants to be let out, and I'd say 98% of the time when she does this, she actually does go potty when I let her out. Sometimes, if it's been a while after she's ate/drank, I'll say to her "wanna go outside?" and if she wants to go out, she'll get excited and run to the door. She usually then does go potty.
And then...we have bad days. She actually doesn't have very many accidents in the house, but she'll come so close and we are outside a lot during the day so that helps cut them down, too. But when she's in the middle of playing with a toy and suddenly bolts to another room, we know she is up to no good and so we go after her and let her outside. Or when she starts circling in one spot, it's very clear that she is going to poop. The point is, we still have to watch her like a hawk because she does not care if she goes in the house.
I think the most annoying was one day, I was outside with her for about 45 minutes and she didn't go potty. We went back inside, and within 15 minutes she peed AND pooped. :o
And to end this long post--I know it's "supposed" to take longer for smaller breeds, I just want to know how much longer we're talking because I am so ready for her to be housebroken, lol.
There are moments where I am so proud of Lucy and I start to think we are getting so close, and then 2 days later I'll feel as if she is not grasping the concept at all.
On a good day she will sit by the door and whine when she wants to be let out, and I'd say 98% of the time when she does this, she actually does go potty when I let her out. Sometimes, if it's been a while after she's ate/drank, I'll say to her "wanna go outside?" and if she wants to go out, she'll get excited and run to the door. She usually then does go potty.
And then...we have bad days. She actually doesn't have very many accidents in the house, but she'll come so close and we are outside a lot during the day so that helps cut them down, too. But when she's in the middle of playing with a toy and suddenly bolts to another room, we know she is up to no good and so we go after her and let her outside. Or when she starts circling in one spot, it's very clear that she is going to poop. The point is, we still have to watch her like a hawk because she does not care if she goes in the house.
I think the most annoying was one day, I was outside with her for about 45 minutes and she didn't go potty. We went back inside, and within 15 minutes she peed AND pooped. :o
And to end this long post--I know it's "supposed" to take longer for smaller breeds, I just want to know how much longer we're talking because I am so ready for her to be housebroken, lol.