Working with a puppy

[pumpkins mom]

Hello everyone, I'm hoping someone will be able to help me with a little dilemma we have. We have a four month old Pomeranian pup who we've had for a little over a month. She's everything a puppy should be - hyper, nosy, etc.

I'm just having some potty issues with her. I've read all the threads on housetraining but our situation is a bit different. First, we both work all day long and too far away to come home and let her out...so she stays in our kitchen and uses puppy pads to go potty (which she is nearly 99% on accuracy) I take her out when I come home and she'll go potty sometimes...am I confusing her? The problem is at this age it seems she pees nearly every hour..that's a lot! As these small dogs get older...do they pee less?

Is it even possible to train her to use the pads when I'm not home and then go outside when I am home? It also seems that whenever a.) I let her out of the kitchen or b.) new people come over...she pees...is this just a puppy thing? She's a precious dog, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing with her. Thanks!

 

[showpug]

Congrats on the new puppy!

First of all, she will urinate less as she matures, but sometimes it can take a while in toy breeds. My toys don't "hold it" well until 2 years, but the every hour scenario should start to go away soon.

Having her go on puppy pads and outside is confusing. With the pads, she is learning that she can go in the house and that it is ok. Unless you can find someone to help out in that department, you don't have a lot of options. I would recommend you continue to have her go outside as well though because it may work out later when she is mature.

The peeing when new people come over is likely excitement urination. Does this take place when she's getting high pitched attention from the visitors? The best way to correct it is to have your guests ignore her when they first come in and after a while if they want to meet her tell them to stay calm and not make a big deal out of it. A lot of dogs will outgrow excitement urination. It's also important that you are not scolding her for these accidents as it will only make the situation worse.

The key to housetraining a puppy is prevention NOT correction IMO. Watch her like a hawk at all times when she is loose. Is she sniffing, circling or acting like she's finding a place to go? Puppies give us signs and enough time to get them outside before the accident occurs. We have to pay enough attention to catch the signs. If we can't, the pup must be in a crate or where it is appropriate for her to eliminate.

Toy breeds can take a while. They aren't dumb and they will get it, but the key is diligence and repetition.

 

[pumpkins mom]

Thank you! I'll try what you suggested when we have visitors over and hopefully it will help. Of course keeping people away from a cuddly Pomeranian is like telling someone not to eat chocolate! They're too sweet.

I've tried to point out the "signs" she gives when she needs to go...but she is very, very quick about it..if she's out playing in the main room and the fancy strikes she may just pee right there! It's rare but it does happen...I guess that could be b/c she was so excited from playing she forgot the proper etiquette for potty time?

Anyway, thanks again for the help!

 

[lizzybeth727]

I guess that could be b/c she was so excited from playing she forgot the proper etiquette for potty time?

Absolutely, toddlers do the same thing.

I would suggest, though, that if your dog has to use the potty pad while you're gone, you should teach her to potty there while you're home, too. That way you can reward her pottying on the pads, and you'll have less chance of an accident while you're gone. Also, when you are home, she'll still have to figure out that when she has to go potty, she should stop what she's doing and go to a different area to potty. When she's older and you don't have to use the pads anymore, then only reward her for going outside and remove the option of pottying on the pads. You'll have to do a little re-training, but that's one of the joys of owning a puppy!