[jlm]

So, we've had this puppy for a week and I'm sliding into serious annoyance. She's about fourteen weeks old and I'm not leaving her unsupervised at all. Someone is with her at all times or she's in the crate (crate-training is going very well. She doesn't seem to mind being in there at all.) But we're having a lot of accidents. In fact, we're pretty much exclusively having accidents during the day. I take her out every hour to ninety minutes, but even standing out there for ten to fifteen solid minutes, she does not pee or poop until she gets back into the house. I'm spending half my day standing like a stooge in the front yard. (We've had two successful 'walks' on the leash, but otherwise, she just stands there or sits or sometimes lays down. She has no inclination to come when called or really to trot around on her own volition.)

Puppy pads mean nothing to her. I get no warning of the pee, anyway, so if I stop her mid-stream to put her on the pad, she just stops altogether.

Any suggestions?

[Yogi]

Some times many forget that like a 14 week old child, potty training is a problem but with patience it can be accomplished.
The pup needs something to do outside that stimulates a willingness to become active. Just taking it outside and putting it down triggers nothing. Find something to amuse the pup, a toy ball. Something that makes it want to run a play. Once a pups metabolism kicks into gear it will need to go and from that point on, it will become easier as the pup associates going with being outside.

[jlm]

Lol! Nope. No amount of patience will potty-train a fourteen week old child.

We've taken balls out to throw but she's mostly very disinterested. She likes laying down. My seven year old said, "She sure has lazy puppy syndrome." Lol!

[cigwyllt]

Take a deeeeeeep breath, close your eyes and smile. Better? No? Sorry! But you are not alone. You have a puppy and you are suffering from puppy blues. First of all - you would be amazed at the number of people who struggle when a new pup joins the household. For some people it is the tedium/hard work of toilet training that they find so stressful, for others it is the overwhelming responsibility but really it is very, very common.

One thing that may sound impossible but is really important - don't let her know you are frustrated by the peeing accidents. If she gets the impression that you are not happy with her for peeing she may well try to pee where and when you can't see her - and if she hasn't learned to go outside she will go anywhere where she can hide in the house. Not a pleasant prospect - you'll know what it is and who done it but trying to locate it can be a real problem.

So turn into Pollyanna and keep smiling!

Fourteen weeks really is not that old for a pup - 12 weeks is the earliest a pup will be able to be housetrained (take no notice when people say that their dog is trained at 8 weeks - it just means they are quick to read the dog's body language). If this is your first dog you may be missing signals that show she wants to go but don't worry - she is still well within normal.

When you take her outside make life as boring as possible - don't talk to her, don't make eye contact - just ignore her. I wouldn't stay out so long - I would come back in and maybe if you are using the crate for house training, pup her back in there for half an hour then take her outside again.

This isn't something I have tried but a friend of mine swears by it - she was struggling to get her Jack Russell house trained and someone suggested that she should fasten a lead around her waist and keep the dog with her that way. It helped her to bond with the dog and also as the dog didn't want to pee or poo so close to her she was more willing to go when they went outside. I don't know if that is something you might want to try?

[jlm]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

When you take her outside make life as boring as possible - don't talk to her, don't make eye contact - just ignore her. I wouldn't stay out so long - I would come back in and maybe if you are using the crate for house training, pup her back in there for half an hour then take her outside again.

I've read up on crate training and it's going well, except I guess I'm confused over how often I should put her in there. She mostly follows me around in the house and the peeing thing seems to happen if I'm foolish enough to even turn my back on her. I'm frankly sick of a constant eyeball full of puppy. Lol! I've tried to stay really neutral about the accidents. For one thing, it's always after the fact so if I seem at all upset, I doubt she knows what for.

Puppy blues for sure. Thank you for your response. It's difficult not to feel that I have made a huge mistake. We though about it for more than a year and I researched and read up and it felt like such a good time for our family to do it. I thought I'd done all I was supposed to avoid regret (I read up on that, too.) Yet, hear I sit wishing that it I could tell my two-Sundays-ago self not to have a peek at dogs for adoption.

[angiesample]

i would try monitoring ur puppys eating and drinking habits. I figured out pretty early on when i was housetraining my puppy that she needs to poo 15 min after eating and about 20min after drinking. I ALWAYS had to walk my dog to get her to go to the bathroom. I took her to the same place and said "its potty time" now shes 1 year old and she goes potty when i say "its potty time" its so handy!

Good luck and remember ur puppy is still young try ur best to be patient.

[cigwyllt]

I don't know if others would agree with me but it seems that it is the people like you who have put so much thought into it all, who have done the research and really care about their dogs who are hit harder by puppy blues!

I have never done the proper crate training thing - I chose to go down the watch like a hawk and run outside route rather than closing my pup into the cage but I think you have to be really hard (harder on you than on the pup!) and leave her in the cage and only play or let her loose for an hour or so after she has pee'd or poo'd. I read about the method and saw it wasn't for me but have another search online and try following the guidelines to the letter.

[jlm]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

I don't know if others would agree with me but it seems that it is the people like you who have put so much thought into it all, who have done the research and really care about their dogs who are hit harder by puppy blues!

Ha! Doesn't that suck? I really do feel just awful today. And then so terribly guilty because I feel this way. I'm fundamentally not an animal person, but I thought maybe that was changing because of my curiosity and what-ifs and knowing how much the kids would enjoy a dog. I've also really admired my good friend's dog over the past couple of years.

But admiring someone else's dog and getting over my squick-factor of watching her eat dried earthworms off the sidewalk and lick her butt and etc, etc... well, those are two different things. This is so unlike me to piss myself off like this. I thought I was ready. She's very cute and really very good for a puppy. I know this. And still I feel nothing.

I kind of hate myself today. But thank you all for listening.

[Lunareclipse]

I can understand how you feel. I was ready to strangle Buster quite a few times during the first year of his life.

[Sidney]

I have a ten month old puppy and don't worry, I think we all have those thoughts. I think I'm got to wait it out. She's still young, you didn't learn how to not wet the bed in a day. It takes time =]

[poppy]

[
you could try and put some soiled paper out side so he can smell his scent outside and let him out about 15-30 minute after his food dont let him think you are whatching then if any thing happens reward staight away.good luck QUOTE=jlm;91125]So, we've had this puppy for a week and I'm sliding into serious annoyance. She's about fourteen weeks old and I'm not leaving her unsupervised at all. Someone is with her at all times or she's in the crate (crate-training is going very well. She doesn't seem to mind being in there at all.) But we're having a lot of accidents. In fact, we're pretty much exclusively having accidents during the day. I take her out every hour to ninety minutes, but even standing out there for ten to fifteen solid minutes, she does not pee or poop until she gets back into the house. I'm spending half my day standing like a stooge in the front yard. (We've had two successful 'walks' on the leash, but otherwise, she just stands there or sits or sometimes lays down. She has no inclination to come when called or really to trot around on her own volition.)

Puppy pads mean nothing to her. I get no warning of the pee, anyway, so if I stop her mid-stream to put her on the pad, she just stops altogether.

Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

[PersistantPuppy]

Hi, I am just a newbie puppy owner too, and interested to hear other views while I am still in the "Honeymoon" stage, lol

I have read/heard that if you play with your puppy while outside, this can stimulate her to "go pee", as can walking her round in a circle (imitates the circling action before squatting) Now I haven't tried these yet, as we are only on day 2 of ownership, but its also good to maybe play with your puppy after she goes to pee, because she may be holding it in, due to it signalling the end of fun if she pees then she goes inside straight away.