(OT) Puppy question

[Toledo Bill]

Also, the one other thing I'd add. Is puppies grow up so quick. Enjoy the time you have to spend with your puppy. When she's 10 years old and been a great companion you'll think back to these years with great memories of when she was a little puppy. Post some pics if you got some!

209024[/snapback]

 

Thanks for all of the great input today. I truly appreciate every comment. The puppy is a Labradoodle, which is an interesting mix between a standard poodle and a lab. Should be an interesting dog. I'll try to post a picture when my wife (the computer programmer) gets home. Thanks again.

[stevestojan]

I was against crate training when I got my dog... so i only did it for a couple weeks, after that point, i knew she could "hold it" all day, so i let her out...

 

So, I let her have the run of my new apt...

 

When I got home from work, there was pee and poop ALL over. and she tore a cushion in my couch.

 

Back in the crate every day after that...

 

now, I'll be sitting here, and half the time she hops on teh couch, the other half she goes and lays in her crate with the door open.

 

Oh, and she has NEVER gone in her crate. EVER. But, if i leave her out in the apt for 4 hours, she will crap like 6 times... since I'm moving back to NY, and will have more space for her outside, etc, crating shouldnt have to take place all the time, but for now it works, she doesn't mind it, and my house doesn't stink like dog poop.

[mcjeff215]

I was against crate training when I got my dog...  so i only did it for a couple weeks, after that point, i knew she could "hold it" all day, so i let her out...

 

So, I let her have the run of my new apt...

 

When I got home from work, there was pee and poop ALL over.  and she tore a cushion in my couch.

 

Back in the crate every day after that...

 

now, I'll be sitting here, and half the time she hops on teh couch, the other half she goes and lays in her crate with the door open.

 

Oh, and she has NEVER gone in her crate. EVER. But, if i leave her out in the apt for 4 hours, she will crap like 6 times...  since I'm moving back to NY, and will have more space for her outside, etc, crating shouldnt have to take place all the time, but for now it works, she doesn't mind it, and my house doesn't stink like dog poop.

209097[/snapback]

 

Right, I remember that now. You asked for advice here and a bunch of us replied with, "buy a crate." You didn't take that too kindly, if I remember right. =)

 

As long as it's the dog's "happy place", it's a good thing. I keep the dogs in 'em when we're out, when we're asleep, few other occasions. Most of the time that's where they'll be sleeping anyways.

 

"Go home, guys!"

 

...and they all run into their crates. Kind of a funny sight.

 

Best advice I can give is to pick up a book on it. I'm sure the lot of us could ramble off junk for the next two hours. If they DO go in their crate, you've bought one that's too large.

 

-Jeff

[Moose]

My last two dogs have been Chows, a very easy breed to housebreak... but there are some common things to keep in mind:

 

1) As some here have said, a puppy has little bladder/bowel control until they near 4 to 6 months old. This means that you have to take your little puppy outside OFTEN! At 8 weeks old, they need to go out every two hours, even through the night. Trust me, this is the most difficult time to have a puppy, especially when it's the dead of winter when they happen to be this age. Even if you have a fenced-in yard, invisible fence or other tie-out option, you really should go outside WITH your puppy to make sure that she "goes" and to offer profuse praise (a nice, high happy voice saying "Gooood!") when it happens. This is very, very, very important! Shirk your responsibility at this formative age, and you may have a dog who has accidents for years to come. As your puppy get older, she will need to go out less and less frequently. (I wanted to have a party when my dog, Koko, first made it through the night without having to go out.)

 

2) Whenever you dog "goes" in the house, offer a firm and stern "NO!!!" and quickly take the dog outside. Do NOT strike or punish the dog in any other way! Make sure to clean the accident area promptly and thoroughly to prevent it from becoming a habitual problem spot.

 

3) Try to monitor your dog's needs and get a sense of how often and when she needs to go out. Typically, a puppy will have to go after sleeping and after lots of activity.

 

4) Be patient, be kind, and be consistent. It takes time and effort to train a dog to live in a house with us, something that does not come naturally to them. Know that it is all well worth the effort, though!

 

Good luck and enjoy your new friend for life!

[PromoTheRobot]

Praise and reward, like a Milk Bone, when they do their business outside. A tap on the nose (tap hard enoug to gettheir attention, but not a smack) or butt WHEN YOU CATCH THEM IN THE ACT. Maybe a minute after if the pee or poop is still warm. It's no use after 5 minutes because they forgot what they did. Don't rub their noses, but place their nose near enough to smell it, then take them outside. Reward them if they tinkle outside.

 

Rinse...lather...repeat...always repeat.

 

PTR

[CajunBillsBacker]

Crate training is definitely the best if you have patience. I however didn't have patience to house train my lab.

I discovered a technique that works. Tie a bell to the doorknob that you will most frequently take the dog outside in. Everytime you go out that door, ring that bell for a couple seconds until you have the dogs attention before going outside. If you are consistant, the dog will eventually pick this up and will ring the bell everytime he or she wants to go outside. Dogs don't speak english, so this gives them a language they can speak that you'd actually understand what they want.

[KnightRider]

Also, the one other thing I'd add. Is puppies grow up so quick. Enjoy the time you have to spend with your puppy. When she's 10 years old and been a great companion you'll think back to these years with great memories of when she was a little puppy. Post some pics if you got some!

209024[/snapback]

 

 

Amen. Dogs should have people sized lifespans....

 

BTW, there is some great advice in this thread!

[renfruzetz]

"An ounce of prevention" applies here. You can save yourself alot of trouble later on by doing the work now.

 

Use a crate.

 

Praise over punishment.

 

Use hand signals in conjunction with verbal commands. Also a cool party trick.

 

Put a small bell on the door at her height during housebreaking. Soon enough, she will nudge it with her nose to let you know it's time.

[sweet baboo]

how about a 2 and a half year old beagle that is potty trained but still has occasional poop accidents in the house? i swear this dog poops everytime he goes out...he just needs to have an empty colon...and when he poops outside, he feels the need to do it in 4 different spots to make my life harder

my other dog is perfectly normal...saves it up and makes one huge pile once or twice a day

[cåblelady]

how about a 2 and a half year old beagle that is potty trained but still has occasional poop accidents in the house? i swear this dog poops everytime he goes out...he just needs to have an empty colon...and when he poops outside, he feels the need to do it in 4 different spots to make my life harder

my other dog is perfectly normal...saves it up and makes one huge pile once or twice a day

209395[/snapback]

 

Cool. Another poop thread.

[sweet baboo]

and my house doesn't stink like dog poop.

209097[/snapback]

 

how's that scent work with the ladies?

 

"ugh! it smells like bigfoot's dick!"

[Alaska Darin]

how about a 2 and a half year old beagle that is potty trained but still has occasional poop accidents in the house? i swear this dog poops everytime he goes out...he just needs to have an empty colon...and when he poops outside, he feels the need to do it in 4 different spots to make my life harder

my other dog is perfectly normal...saves it up and makes one huge pile once or twice a day

209395[/snapback]

Change his food. Something he's eating doesn't agree with his digestive system. No animal should have that many movements in a day. What are you feeding?

[sweet baboo]

wegmans premium

but he's always been like this (we got him when he was 2 months old)...doesn't matter what food he eats (and he's had them all...iams, purina, eukanuba)

it's all normal poop too...not diarhea or anything wet...he just lets it go whenever he's out...

[Alaska Darin]

wegmans premium

but he's always been like this (we got him when he was 2 months old)...doesn't matter what food he eats (and he's had them all...iams, purina, eukanuba)

it's all normal poop too...not diarhea or anything wet...he just lets it go whenever he's out...

209418[/snapback]

There isn't one there that wouldn't possibly be a cause of the problem (possible exception is Eukanuba). Each is a mass produced sub-premium food that has alot of fillers, any of which could be causing your problem. I'd try something like Innova Dry (switching gradually over a month to 45 day time frame). Talk to your vet about how to narrow down what the cause might be.

 

Innova Ingredients:

Turkey

Chicken

Chicken Meal

Ground Barley

Ground Brown Rice

Potatoes

Natural Flavors

Ground White Rice

Chicken Fat

Herring

Apples

Carrots

Cottage Cheese

Sunflower Oil

Alfalfa Sprouts

Egg

Garlic

Taurine

Vitamins/Minerals

Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms

 

One of ours was allergic to CHICKEN. She now gets Nature's Recipe Allergy, which is made from venison. Her coat is like mink, it's amazing.

[DC Tom]

There isn't one there that wouldn't possibly be a cause of the problem (possible exception is Eukanuba).  Each is a mass produced sub-premium food that has alot of fillers, any of which could be causing your problem.  I'd try something like Innova Dry (switching gradually over a month to 45 day time frame).  Talk to your vet about how to narrow down what the cause might be. 

 

Innova Ingredients:

Turkey

Chicken

Chicken Meal

Ground Barley

Ground Brown Rice

Potatoes

Natural Flavors

Ground White Rice

Chicken Fat

Herring

Apples

Carrots

Cottage Cheese

Sunflower Oil

Alfalfa Sprouts

Egg

Garlic

Taurine

Vitamins/Minerals

Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms

 

One of ours was allergic to CHICKEN.  She now gets Nature's Recipe Allergy, which is made from venison.  Her coat is like mink, it's amazing.

209428[/snapback]

 

Just wanted to add that, if the Innova doesn't work out, the vet might be able to give you some prescription dog food. Hill's Science Diet is very bland and mild on the digestive tract...I know they make it for cats, and I'm sure they make it for dogs as well.

[sweet baboo]

One of ours was allergic to CHICKEN.  She now gets Nature's Recipe Allergy, which is made from venison.  Her coat is like mink, it's amazing.

209428[/snapback]

 

I guess I'll ask my vet about it...she's never said anything bad about the stool samples we give her so...dunno

both of my beagles have the softest and shiniest coats...it's amazing

i think on the akc website, it says that's a "problem" with deficient beagles and they should have coarser hair...my boys also have completely white tails which is a negative instead of the "brush" type tail...

[Alaska Darin]

Just wanted to add that, if the Innova doesn't work out, the vet might be able to give you some prescription dog food.  Hill's Science Diet is very bland and mild on the digestive tract...I know they make it for cats, and I'm sure they make it for dogs as well.

209436[/snapback]

I'm hesitant to ask vets what food because they are out to make money off Science Diet (which is NOWHERE near as good as it used to be). There are alot of super premium foods out there that make easy digested foods that are superior to Science Diet. Still, SD is far better than Iams (bought out by Proctor & Gamble).

 

My vet always comments on how good my dog's coats are and their overall health. He'd never even heard of the food we were feeding (recently changed).

[Alaska Darin]

I guess I'll ask my vet about it...she's never said anything bad about the stool samples we give her so...dunno

both of my beagles have the softest and shiniest coats...it's amazing

i think on the akc website, it says that's a "problem" with deficient beagles and they should have coarser hair...my boys also have completely white tails which is a negative instead of the "brush" type tail...

209442[/snapback]

It's probably worth checking into. Maybe there's nothing to be concerned about. One thing I know for certain, feeding Super Premium food has been cheaper AND required less yard maintenance. WAY less poop.

[stevestojan]

little flax seed oil helps the coat too, if that's what your looking for...

[sweet baboo]

I'm hesitant to ask vets what food because they are out to make money off Science Diet (which is NOWHERE near as good as it used to be).  There are alot of super premium foods out there that make easy digested foods that are superior to Science Diet.  Still, SD is far better than Iams (bought out by Proctor & Gamble).

 

My vet always comments on how good my dog's coats are and their overall health.  He'd never even heard of the food we were feeding (recently changed).

209445[/snapback]

 

that's funny...i didn't know that...they kept pushing science diet onto us, but one of my dogs seemed to have the runs nonstop while the other dog was fine

we've been on wegman's super premium for almost a year now and neither dog has had any problems (except stewie poops like a machine)...we always get comments on how healthy and fit our beagles are (i give them alot of exercise since i don't want fat pooches)