puppy digression?

[ellabear]

I have had my imperial shih tzu now for about a week, and was so impressed that when we first got her, she would always potty either outside, (I take her out regularly) or on the potty pad. There had been no accidents at all! Now, all of a sudden she has just taken to squatting anywhere she is, at any given moment! Why? Is this digression normal in puppies?
Also, she is sleeping in her crate at night, and I have been leaving a little potty pad in there at night in case of any middle of the night problems. Every single night she pees on the pad; and wakes up at 7 am every morning, barking like crazy to get out! Should I NOT keep potty pads in her crate at night; is she old enough to hold it all night? She is now almost 10 weeks old, and only weighs about 2 pounds.
I think she is barking to get out because that potty pad is soiled, but I'm not sure. She is so quiet and good the whole rest of the day!
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

[Charliesmommy]

I for one hate potty pads. I think they only teach the dog to go in the house. If it were me, I would get rid of them ASAP and start over with the housetraining.

10 weeks is pretty young to hold it all night, depending on how long you sleep. Most dogs at that age need to go out at least once during the night. At least she barks to get out! That's great!

[StunnedMonkey]

I'm no expert, but I'd think the crate would be the last place you'd want a potty pad. You'd be defeating the entire purpose of crate training by encouraging her to relieve herself in the very place that you don't want her to...her crate.

A 2 pound puppy has a bladder the size of my sister-in-law's brain (I'm speculating here based on available evidence) and simply can't hold it for very long. I'd be taking that pup out every 45 minutes during the day when un-crated, and leave her crated no longer than 4 hours without a break. When she's dry in the crate consistently for 4 hours, then you can begin extending it. Getting up in the middle of the night to take a puppy out onto the grass is a pain, but it doesn't last long. By 4 months or so the pup will probably be good for a nice 7 or 8 hours.

Good luck. My pup is 4 1/2 months and still has the occasional accident in the house once a week or so, even though she clearly grasps the concept.

[ellabear]

thanks for the replies; I will definitely try removing the pads from her crate (I said they were potty pads, but they are not the scented "wee wee pads", they are just the plain underpads you buy at the pharmacy to put on beds and such), but I'm not sure about the getting up in the middle of the night to take her out; she sleeps in my son's room and he will sleep through anything! Putting her in my room is not an option either.
What do you think of her just all of a sudden using the floor as her toilet when that had never been done before?

[Blondie]

I think it's normal behavior for a puppy her age, be patient and she'll be fine in a couple of weeks.

[bubbatd]

Either you or your son needs to take her out during the night ..... decided whose dog it is and set rules .

[Blondie]

Christie goes at like 10PM and can hold it until 5:30 in the morning when we get up.

[~Tucker&Me~]

You'll need to decide on someone taking her out in the middle of the night.

It's not fair to ask the puppy to hold it that long.

~Tucker

[Toller_08]

I'd definitely get rid of the potty pads all together. I find that they just confuse the dog, and in turn, makes housebreaking take a lot longer than it should. My puppy is 12 weeks and while she is entirely capable of going through the whole night without going outside, I get up once for her anyway just because it isn't fair to her to make her wait. After a puppy hits four(ish) months old though, I stop getting up at night with them for the most part.

As far as the digressing thing goes, yes, puppies often do that. I'm not really sure why. Sometimes it's stress related, sometimes it could be an infection, sometimes they're playing and don't really understand the concept of going outside, so they just stop what they're doing and use the house, etc. It could be number of things. Just make sure you take her out often and eventually she'll understand.

[Dog Diggler]

You'll need to decide on someone taking her out in the middle of the night.
It's not fair to ask the puppy to hold it that long.
~Tucker

I agree!! and what a time to pass some open-all-night store that sells sweets :D But only when she's a puppy. gets to be a real pain if you don't discontinue later on..:popcorn:

[Mcpie]

I just went through the first month plus of my new puppy and, even though I have gone through this before, I had forgotten how exhausting it truly is.

I considered my guy good, and I made sure he went pee at 11:30 PM (whether the little bugger wanted to or not), and set my alarm for 4:30-4:45 AM. Let me tell you, the moment that alarm went off I was dressed and rushing to get him outside.

The result? He never went in his crate-- which I feel is the ultimate goal. I don't care if he gets outside of his crate and pees because he can't hold it, but having them release in their crate defeats one of the biggest purposes of crate training to begin with.

The good news is, it gets better, but not that much better for a while. Right now I can reliably put him in his crate at around 11 and wake up at 5, not rush and get him outside for a pee. I'm an early riser anyway, but there is no doubt that it takes its toll on you. To compensate, I stopped driving to work and took the transit-- now I nap on the subway! :)

Edit-- BTW, I think the word you're thinking of is regress. At least digress in this context makes little sense to me.