All sorts of puppy problems....

[Taylor&Me]

Hello,

I've been enjoying reading this forum and learned a lot. Now, I have some questions to ask about my adorable puppy, Taylor. He is now 9 1/2 weeks old Beagle/Poodle mix. I had him for a week now.

1) Potty Training - As of Sunday, I really thought Taylor was making progress on his potty training. He gradually slept longer throughout the night, 5 hours! Woke us up and we'd take him out to potty. He had very little mistakes in his crate. He was holding his pee longer and longer even when he was awake. However, when I came home yesterday, he had poop all over his crate! He was going absolutely crazy! I don't understand it... he had pooped in the morning and he was walked in the afternoon.... he didn't go during his afternoon walk. We cleaned him up, fed him, took him out to potty, and he went back to his crate while my sister and I went out to eat dinner. We were gone an hour and half at the most. When we got back, we found pee in his crate! Then later that night, he peed on the couch (my fault, I left him 5 minutes while he was taking a nap)! I woke up this morning to take him potty (after hearing him whimper), he pooped outside but no pee. Checked his crate, and he had peed there sometime this morning?!

I was so excited that we were making progress last week, but after yesterday, I feel like he "forgot" how to hold.... He doesn't even give much signs. Is this normal? His crate is the recommended size, just enough room to turn and stand. Do other puppies do their business in their crate this much? How long will these mistakes last?

Also, it seems like he is crying and whining more in his crate now since his poop accident. Before, he used to just whimper, but now he barks while he's in it. Is he traumatised?

2) He is a hound dog, so naturally, his nose is constantly on the ground. But this makes it hard on me to walk him and I hate seeing him eat things off the ground, like dirt, cigarette butt, chewed gum, etc. How do I control this? Is it okay to pull?

3) He absolutely loves people and other dogs. People also love him because he is just the cutest thing on the block! This distracts him when I try to make him potty. He goes to people and whimpers to have them pet him. I like that he is loving, but how do you make him stop from going up to every person??

Thanks for reading, and I'm sure I'll have more questions.....

 

[Herschel]

Hello,

I've been enjoying reading this forum and learned a lot. Now, I have some questions to ask about my adorable puppy, Taylor. He is now 9 1/2 weeks old Beagle/Poodle mix. I had him for a week now.

1) Potty Training - As of Sunday, I really thought Taylor was making progress on his potty training. He gradually slept longer throughout the night, 5 hours! Woke us up and we'd take him out to potty. He had very little mistakes in his crate. He was holding his pee longer and longer even when he was awake. However, when I came home yesterday, he had poop all over his crate! He was going absolutely crazy! I don't understand it... he had pooped in the morning and he was walked in the afternoon.... he didn't go during his afternoon walk. We cleaned him up, fed him, took him out to potty, and he went back to his crate while my sister and I went out to eat dinner. We were gone an hour and half at the most. When we got back, we found pee in his crate! Then later that night, he peed on the couch (my fault, I left him 5 minutes while he was taking a nap)! I woke up this morning to take him potty (after hearing him whimper), he pooped outside but no pee. Checked his crate, and he had peed there sometime this morning?!

He is still a very young puppy so try not to expect too much from him. However, it is your fault that he went in his crate. You need to walk him until he goes--and if that means being late, that is the price you pay for having a puppy.

I'm not surprised that you found pee in the crate after being gone for 1.5 hours. During waking hours, your puppy can't hold it for more than 30-40 minutes at a time. At night your dog is sleeping so the story is completely different.

You've had several pee accidents in the crate. This means that you are expecting too much out of your puppy and not taking him out often enough. At such a young age he should never have the choice of "having to go" or not. Walk him until he gets everything out.

By the way, is his crate too big? It should only be big enough for him to lay down and turn around. If it is bigger than that then he won't have a problem going to the bathroom in there.

You should consider keeping a log of all of his bathroom behavior. It is foolproof and will speed up your potty training tremendously. Write down every time he eats, drinks, has an accident, and goes #1 or #2. You will quickly see that he has a schedule and will need to go out every 30 to 40 minutes, after every meal, and as soon as he wakes up from naps.

I was so excited that we were making progress last week, but after yesterday, I feel like he "forgot" how to hold.... He doesn't even give much signs. Is this normal? His crate is the recommended size, just enough room to turn and stand. Do other puppies do their business in their crate this much? How long will these mistakes last?

He didn't forget anything. You never taught him! He has had far too many accidents to be considered reliable at all. You need to get him on a schedule and prevent accidents from happening.

Herschel had a total of 2 or 3 accidents in his crate. All our fault.

Also, it seems like he is crying and whining more in his crate now since his poop accident. Before, he used to just whimper, but now he barks while he's in it. Is he traumatised?

He's found his voice. He will probably bark at more things now, especially considering that he has beagle and poodle in him. Don't reinforce the crying or the barking. Never take him out of his crate until he has calmed down and completely silent. (Except for at night. The "I need to go to the bathroom" cry is very different than the "I don't want to be in the crate" cry.)

2) He is a hound dog, so naturally, his nose is constantly on the ground. But this makes it hard on me to walk him and I hate seeing him eat things off the ground, like dirt, cigarette butt, chewed gum, etc. How do I control this? Is it okay to pull?

He is a puppy and he learns by exploring with his mouth. If he picks up a cigarette butt, gently pull him away and keep walking (or call his name a lot like a crazy person and speed up your pace). Don't make a big deal about unwanted behaviors, just try to redirect him to something more desirable.

3) He absolutely loves people and other dogs. People also love him because he is just the cutest thing on the block! This distracts him when I try to make him potty. He goes to people and whimpers to have them pet him. I like that he is loving, but how do you make him stop from going up to every person??

We still have a rule with Herschel--no play before potty. We've been doing this since he was a puppy and he knows that as soon as go outside its all business, then we can play. Do the same with your puppy--don't let him say hi to other people or other dogs until he goes #1 and #2. Walk him until he does both.

Each time you reward the whimpering by letting him pull and meet other people you are reinforcing that behavior. If you want him to stop, ignore the whimpering and keep walking. He will probably cry, bark, and throw a fit if he doesn't get his own way. That's fine, get the bathroom business out of the way and then he can say hi to everyone.

 

[Doberluv]

He's an infant! You wouldn't expect a human infant to be using a toilet until he is about 2 yrs. old. Your puppy is barely developed enough to even feel it coming with much advance notice, much less know where he's suppose to go. This is a process of maturing and training. It can take an average of 6 months, some much less, some longer.

Please see the sticky threads on puppies and in the training forum. There's one on potty training "without being mean" which has some good tips. Pay special attention to Mordy's method.

 

[Doberluv]

I was typing my response when you were doing yours Herschel. Good points!

 

[Taylor&Me]

I use the divider to keep the crate small, but I think it's a little wider than it needs to be. What can I use/do to fix this?

I do keep a log, but his bowel/bladder movement has been all over. Not very consistent even though we feed him around the same time everyday.

Taylor likes to go to people, but people also come to touch him, like everyone. Is it rude to tell them not to pet?

 

[Doberluv]

It's good for your puppy to be patted by people as long as they don't frighten him by rushing up and groping. I always ask people to stay where they are and let my dog approach them if he wants to. But I always smiled and encouraged people to pat my pup. You can hand people a treat and ask them to feed your pup. It's all good socialization to get your puppy use to lots of different people (sizes, shapes, colors, different clothes as well as other dogs) Just make sure the experiences are pleasant and associated with treats, happy talk...all good stuff. It's absolutely vital to get your pup lots of socializing...if you don't do anything else ever, do that every day.

As far as the potty training, you may have to take him out more often than you could dream is possible and just watch him like a hawk inside...maybe keep him off the carpeted areas, if possible for a while. They fewer times that you forget to watch him where he goes inside, the quicker he'll learn. Be sure and praise and treat him with something extra yummy every time he goes outside, immediately upon finishing. And add a cue word ("go potty." Or whatever) while he is going. Keep your voice low key while he's going so he doesn't stop in mid stream.

Good luck.

 

[Cheza]

If he doesn't signal you that he needs to go out (which he may not for a few more weeks) you can try hanging a set of bells on the doorknob and hitting them with your hand every time you take him out. Most dogs usually pick up on that fairly quickly.

As for eating everything, begin teaching him "leave it" as soon as you think he's focused enough. Til then, it's ok to gently pull him away and distract his attention to something else (preferably you )
Good luck!

 

[Spirit2010]

Yes, everyone that has posted has given you great advice! He's still young though!! Don't expect too much out of him. It will all get better. And let him be a puppy when he sniffs! Everyone has pretty much covered it! Anymore questions just post! Good luck!! (I know I am not very helpful, but I had to wish you good luck)

 

[squirtsmom]

He is just a baby. He will do better as he gets older. Be gentle with him, and he will get along just fine.