Puppy housebreaking ...help me? - Paw Talk

candyraver · #1 01-13-2007, 03:38 AM

No I don't have a puppy.

I'm puppy sitting though.
It's my little cousins who are staying with me till the 26th (they are also my neighbours,the eldest & my aunt are in the city,he needed minor surgery).
& The puppy is very well behaved& WiLL use the bathroom no problem outside,but still in the house!
It's been a few years since I had a pup.I always preferred older dogs.
She's also starting to scratch/ chew at walls.My dog Reo did that ONCE.& That was because he missed me,I was late coming home& my parents were watching him& he refused to go upstairs with them so came back down in my apartment :S

So...main question: how do I stop this otherwise well behaved pup from scratching/ chewing walls & going bathroom indoors?

Mel · #2 01-13-2007, 08:41 AM

One word - CRATE! Its a lifesaver.

Angelnstuff · #3 01-13-2007, 02:15 PM

i agree, crate training would be best, anytime you can not give your full attention, put him in his crate, he shouldnt potty in there (unless hes left for unreasonable amounts of time) and he cant get into any trouble or learn any bad behaviors

candyraver · #4 01-13-2007, 04:44 PM

She hates crate's though.& She'll whine& I'll feel cruel >_<

Angelnstuff · #5 01-13-2007, 06:00 PM

Does she have a kong? or some other special treat you can give her while shes in there?

candyraver · #6 01-13-2007, 06:23 PM

Nope,but I can pick one up for her on Tuesday

CoCo Chanel · #7 01-13-2007, 06:39 PM

CoCo is now 4 months old and is doing awesome at being potty trained....

I agree...CRATE! Or...If I'm going to be gone for longer amount of time, I put her in my bathroom (which is pretty big, and the toilet is in a totally seperate room from the main bathroom so it's more sanitary for her.) since it's one of the few places in my house with tiles. I put her food and her bed and her crate in there too... So she's pretty good at associating with not going where she eats/sleeps/etc.

Also, if I catch her in the act. then I clap my hand real loud to kinda scare her and stop her, take her right outside, and tell her to finish her business and praise her like crazy!

candyraver · #8 01-13-2007, 06:45 PM

Thank you for the advice guys,I guess I'm really going to have to try the crate

CoCo Chanel · #9 01-13-2007, 06:48 PM

dont worry about the crying and whining.... actually it's expected.... lol

coco will still whine and cry and act up if she can hear us...but if we're really quiet and she thinks we left already..she will usually just settle down and go to sleep.

good luck~

by the way... what kind a puppy is it?!

candyraver · #10 01-13-2007, 06:58 PM

Oh the puppy is a mixed bred of...no one knows what

Small dog though.
I don't like the whining though,makes me feel awful,but also can't have the doggy doing what it wants around the house & chewing/scratching up walls :S

Vanilla_Rat · #11 01-13-2007, 07:43 PM

As everyone else said...CRATE! I swear by crate training.Every foster dog I had has been crate trained.The same goes for all of the dogs at the office/kennel.

It is not cruel.After awhile,most dogs see the crate as a safe place and will often go in themselves.As long as you do not use the crate as a form of punishment.

However you can expect some whining,barking and scratching at the crate door for the first little while.However ANY response you give the puppy in the crate,whether negative or positive will just keep the puppy's behaviour up,because he see's that he gets some attention when he whines and barks.

Mel · #12 01-14-2007, 12:14 AM

Stella cried and fussed at the beginning. I bought a puppy pillow with beads in it - you put it in the microwave, and its like a litter mate to snuggle with. Helped a lot. Otherwise, ignore it. The puppy will get used to it.

Let her potty. Then put her in the crate. She can stay in for one + # of months old hours. If she piddles, don't fuss at her, just clean it out and try again. If she's good, feed her treats while in the crate, talk nicely to her, make her feel like the crate is a good place.

candyraver · #13 01-14-2007, 01:29 AM

Thanks everyone for the advice

I'm definately going to try crate training.How long do it "normally" take for a pup to be completely house broken?

mulder · #14 01-14-2007, 01:46 AM

the tiem it takes for them to develop the muscles that let them "hold it in. plus the time it takes them to get used to having those muscles. our pup got her pooper figured out quickly, the peeing took a month or so

**Sasami** · #15 01-14-2007, 01:53 AM

GRR. I keep typing a reply and it keeps giving me a freaking error.

This is my last try, lol.

I totally agree with crate training

. Don't give up, either. Sophie took a month to calm down but then she was fine. The other dogs were easy...Rocky loves his crate!

I don't feel there is a "normal" amount of time it takes to housetrain a puppy. Rocky took two years...I'm not kidding. Yet Sophie learned within months.