puppy training

Nice to see you Christina!

I've trained several puppies now, but mine have all been indoor dogs trained to go outside....I've never been a fan of the puppy pads. One nice thing about outdoor training is there's an obvious 'pay-off' for any dog: they get to go outside! They see that as one of the 'perks' of relieving themselves outside. I think it's pretty easy to train outdoors, as long as you're very consistent. One good tip is to hang a bell on the end of a rope at the door where they're supposed to go outside. But it's as lot more work for the owner, as you have to take them out on a leash in the beginning (even if you're fenced in). If you want to try this, take him out to one spot in the yard (where you want his designated area to be) and walk him around that area and firmly say "Go potty" over and over. It'll take him awhile to figure out what the heck you want him to do, LOL, but he'll get it.

If you want to keep trying with the pads, have you tried 'catching' Pepper in the act, when he does go on the pad? I would keep close tabs on him and have a treat ready immediately as soon as he's finished.

My #1 question is: Is Pepper crate trained? Crate trained dogs are the easiest to train.


I finally found the best cleaner for dog pee....it's called "Woolite pet cleaner" (spray) and it has special enzymes in it that actually work. I use that, along with our steam cleaner, and voila! You can use it on furniture too. I know, it's not fun Christina, but with time Pepper will get the hang of going more often where he's supposed to. Be prepared though....tiny breeds are known to have accidents on occasion in the house, since their bladders are so small. Also, they tend to be little weanies about going outside in the cold! My Beagle still has accidents (she's 5) on occasion, and they always happen in the dead of winter. Good luck!

Thanks Amy, nice to see you too!

Mike wants to try taking Pepper outside, so I think that might be a project we'll be starting on soon. I'd prefer to stay with the pads, just because I thought when we first got Pepper, he was so tiny I didn't want him to go out in the cold weather LOL but if it is easier for him (and us!) for him to go outside, then it might be better. We try to watch him and move him if we catch him pottying in the wrong place, as well as giving treats whenever he does go on the puppy pad. And, he's crate trained to a small extent - Mike & I are usually both gone during the day so we only put him in the create maybe twice a week, for about 2 hours at a time. His inconsistency is a little frustrating, especially because a friend of ours got a puppy around the same time as we got Pepper and that dog is pretty much trained.

Thanks for the advice - we appreciate it!

No problem Christina. Is Pepper roaming the house throughout the day then, on the days he's not crated during work? Honestly, you'd be doing him (and yourselves) a favor if you crated him all day throughout your work day. It seems cruel, I know, but he will feel more secure, since dogs consider crates like their 'home'....it can be a positive thing. And dogs won't mess in their own 'space', as long as the crate isn't too big, where they can separate 'pee area from sleep area'. He's probably peeing in the house due to boredom and anxiety....the consistency of the crate each day will be a comfort to him. My daycare families crate their dogs, and my sister crated her dogs throughout her work week, and she was a director for the humane socitey....the humane society does advocate this. She came home to happy, well adjusted dogs at the end of the work day. I think you'll be a lot happier once you incorporate this, and Pepper will be too! Of course, ideally it would be nice if you or Mike could come home on your lunch break to let him out, at least during puppyhood, but dogs really do have better bladder control than you think. It's all about training the bladder to wait. A good idea would be to leave a radio on during the day too, for company.

On the days Pepper isn't crated, he is confined to the kitchen (his puppy pad is there along with his crate where his bed is, so he can go into the crate on his own, as he often does). I think we might try incorporating crating more into his daily schedule - Mike's teaching right now, so he's rarely gone for 8 full hours, and I'm close enough to home that I could come home on my lunch break. I was always worried to crate him for too long in case he had to go potty LOL, but maybe if it's only for about 4 - 6 hours he would be okay? I didn't really think of this til you said it, but the crating could probably give him more of a daily routine too, for when we're not home. We do leave the radio on for him, we've been doing that since he was a baby because we thought it'd make him feel less lonely.

I definitely think 4-6 hours is doable Christina....puppies/dogs are like babies/children---they thrive on schedules and routines. Even though the crate is left open to him, he may not 'think' to leave it to go potty on the pad. He could just see it as 'easier' to leave it and pee wherever in that room, not necessarily on the pad. I just think this puts a lot more of the control in your hands, rather than with him. He has a 'choice' to pee in the house right now, and if you're there at all times that he's not in the crate, you can catch him in the act and quickly say, "outside!" and bring him right out. This will let him know that he's not going to get away with it. If he doesn't use the pad while you're not there, then there's no one to see him do it and that's where bad habits are formed. Don't feel guilty about the crate thing----you are starting him young and he will actually have less anxiety by being in it than being out of it while you're gone. Good luck Christina---keep me posted on Pepper's progress!

ChristinaAL wrote:

I tell Pepper all the time that he's lucky he's cute - he makes it impossible to stay mad at him...despite his pottying issues LOL.

LOL! Yep, they're worth all the work in the long run!