training new puppy...need advice!

[tigerlilly]

I bought a chichuahua/dachusund mix. She is 6 weeks old and were paper training her. I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has paper trained a small breed of puppy before. She is very sweet and has a good nature to her. She seems to pee on the paper when she gets up fairly easy but were having problems getting her to go poo on the paper...she always wants to go later on the carpet. We have only had her a few days now and she seems to get the hang of things fairly quickly so if anyone has any ideas that would help...please reply...also if anyone has any advice on what age to start training her on simple comands and any advice on how to do that with a small breed would help. Just simple things like sit, stay, i.e....ect....any advice on small breed of puppies would be appreciated!

[Chrisanne]

First of all, congrats on your new puppy.

I would not recommend paper training at all. If you choose to train in this fashion I would try the puppy pads instead of newspaper. The puppy pads have a sent that is supposed to draw them to it.

My training method of choice is to crate train. It really helps build their self confidence as well as housebreak them. Keep in mind in most cases small breeds take longer to train.

As for such things as sit and stay. Pick one that's most important to you and work on that first. Don't try to teach several at once, that will avoid confusion. Make it a game, and fun.

If you choose sit first (most common) then simply while playing with him/her gently push the pups backside down while telling him/her to sit. Once in the sitting position tell him/her "good boy sit" several times. Keep your tone light and happy. Always follow a "followed" command with lots of praise both verbally and physically. Tell him/her what a good baby they are and love them and pet them.

[Spiritus]

Six weeks is very young for such a small breed. What kind of set-up do you have for her while training?

The easiest way to house train a puppy, whether to go outdoors or on paper/puppy pads, is to know when a puppy needs to go potty. Generally then need to go when they wake up, after they eat, after they drink, after they play, before they sleep, etc. Often times a puppy will play-play-play, then once things calm down, they will have a bowel movement.

When I train puppies, not only do I use crate training, I gate the puppy in the kitchen UNLESS he can be ON LEASH with me on the carpet. So, unless I can pay 100% undivided attention to the puppy, the puppy is not on my carpet - period.

Puppies can't control their bladders/bowels until 12 to 24 weeks of age. No two puppies are alike. In my last litter, I had one family swear their puppy was house trained by 10 weeks of age, and they were devastated when at 4 months he had an accident in the livingroom . I had more knowledgeable puppy people know that accidents can happen anytime. Even adult dogs will have rare accidents in the case of illness, etc.

As for other obedience commands, your puppy is only six weeks old. That is very, very young. Spend a lot of time playing with her, "yelping" if she nips too hard, making sure she gets to her paper when play stops, etc. Find a good trainer and get her ready to start classes at about the 10 week stage. Have people come over to meet her. Start her socialization now.

Good luck!