Potty training

[Whybu1]

We are about at wit's end with Crycket. She is 5 1/2 months old and still does not get the potty training. She will just stop and pee whenever she needs to no matter how many times we have stopped her and taken her outside. We tried keeping her in her kennel when not actively watched but she simply poops/pees in her kennel and walks all over it. We are now trying a very small for her (she can stand, turn and laydown but not much else) kennel but I am expecting just a bigger mess to clean up. It is not a lack of chances to go as this morning I took her out for 10 minutes, then put her back in to go and shave and came back to a poopy kennel. My wife took her out again about an hour later and then was at class for 2 hours and came home to a mess again. None of our other dogs have taken more than a week to potty train. Any suggestions?

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Kinda sounds like back to basics, every two hours out. When you take her out is it right after feeding? Do you leash her? Do you speak anything?

 

[Whybu1]

We do take her out right after feedings, last night we did that right after and then hourly for 4 hours and never pooped then did in her kennel right after brought her in. We always tell he "go potty" and she will pee on command about 80% of the time. We had not been leashing her for potty but that is a good idea.

Thanks

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

I don't have much time to respond but, when she does go potty outside, make a BIG DEAL out of it. Jump up and down, clap, squeal like a schoolgirl and cry "GOOD GIRL CRYCKET! WELL DONE! GOOD POTTY!". Basically, praise her like a lunatic.

 

[Whybu1]

Oh she gets lots of lunatic people praise for potty. Maybe we just have a stubborn one. LOL Going back to square one again I guess.

 

[charlieinnj]

You may want to have the Vet check her for a UTI. That can make them pee a lot, frequently. With regard to the pooping, what is her feeding schedule and how much does she get fed at each meal?

 

[Whybu1]

She eats twice a day, almost 4 cups each time. She always gets a potty chance before and after eating. You thinking maybe less quantity, more feedings per day still?

Just to be clear the peeing in her kennel is rare; she usually pees outside.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Did you just switch to twice a day or you've always had that schedule?

 

[Whybu1]

She has been twice a day since she was 3 months old.

 

[cmorgan.1505]

Have you taught her how to tell you she needs to go out? The bells worked GREAT for Thor, but we did have to take them down around 8 months old because he would ring them to go out and play, but he will still go to the door and nose the handle if he needs to go out. Also, we use to always give Thor a treat when he was potty training and went outside. I mean like a treat for pee and a treat for poop.

 

[victoria1140]

we have puppy pads down for Max and he is 6 months old, if he can go outside he will go to lots of praise but he wont go to the toilet when leashed .
we just keep working with him and we know he will get it eventually

 

[wrknnwf]

Do put her on a leash. And no playing until after she has done her job. This is business (pun intended). If she is consistently pooping right after you bring her in and crate her, then she is probably goofing off outside. Make sure you aren't rushed when you take her out. Don't take her out if you have to leave in 10 minutes. Give her plenty of time.

Some things that might help are: extending the time you're outside; keeping her moving instead of smelling the roses (movement helps stimulate a movement - again, pun intended); or bringing her in and crating her (keep an eye on her, don't run off to shave) and then taking her right out again in a couple of minutes. I think she will start to get the message if you can prevent her soiling her crate. And of course the praise!

Don't forget her little system is still immature and she may not recognize that she has to poop until it's too late. If she's peeing outside regularly, it shouldn't take long to get this across, but as always, it's up to you to be vigilant and help her make the right choices.

 

[CMDRTED]

I think Jane said it all. Good Luck. The no goofin is very important.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Jane's got this! My two were different. Zeke always needed some movement, so we played a little to work it out, while Myra is a no-nonsense kinda girl. What I will say is with Zeke I used to walk up & down the fence perimeter and he still only goes there to this day, Myra she will go anywhere, so I always have to be mindful of the landmines she leaves. Until I could trust them they were leashed (My yard is not completely enclosed)

 

[wrknnwf]

You might also change her feeding times, if she is not pooping until you're gone. Or break her meals into smaller, more frequent ones so she's not so "overburdened" all at one time. Sometimes you just have to experiment until you find the right combination.

 

[Shivas_Mama]

I feel your pain. Shiva pooped in her crate daily for at least six months. Our problem was related to seperation anxiety. Once we were able to work through that she has been a nearly perfect companion but that first few months were brutal

 

[chumleysma]

My pup ALWAYS had to pee after a nap. Don't forget to catch this opportunity.

 

[ajcooksey]

O goodness no advice here but maybe we were lucky good luck I hope working on her schedule will help.

 

[lacey9875]

What everyone said-especially the leash!! I found myself one morning ( 2am ) on the end of a leash with a puppy enthusiastically leaping at moths. So pay attention to what's going on out there. And up your "Happy Potty Dance Celebration."

Maggie took a bit to catch on with potty training. I thought I was a potty training master, my lab was trained in a week and only ever had one accident during. Turns out it was more her than me.

 

[charlieinnj]

She eats twice a day, almost 4 cups each time. She always gets a potty chance before and after eating. You thinking maybe less quantity, more feedings per day still?

Just to be clear the peeing in her kennel is rare; she usually pees outside.

I'm assuming you're feeding her kibble? Also assuming she's at a good weight, with feeding her 8 cups of food a day, that's a LOT of food to digest. And keep in mind, it takes about 12 hours for kibble to digest. I can't help but think that that has a bit to do with her pooping more frequently.