parousia15
New member
UPDATED 6/14/11: Help! Problems house breaking Cavalier Pup
UPDATE: 6/14/2011
For the last three days this is what I have been trying to do.
I take him out first thing in the morning, usually between 7-8am
Then I feed him and then take him out 30 minutes to one hour later
From that point on, I take him out approximately ever 2 hours (it has ranged from 90minutes to 3 hours)
I make sure to take him out before he eats dinner, and then I take him out 30 minutes to an hour after dinner.
For the first day of sticking to this, I took him out a total 7 times, and he used the pee pad once, late in the evening.
Yesterday, I took him out a total of 5 times (I took him to puppy classes and a walk through central park, so he was outside for a long time). He did not use the pads at all that day.
Then today, I took him out in the morning and after breakfast. Then he used the pads twice, about 50 minutes apart each. I'm trying to ween him off the pads, but he is one of those "no sign" peers and him walking to the pad is the sign that he has to go I get. But with his frequency today, I just can't take him out every 50 minutes. I live in an apartment and the elevator does not work and I have to carry him down, otherwise he will pee in the hall way. Then later today I walked him to petsmart to pickup supplies and took a cab back, as soon as he go to my door, he peed on the neighbors doormat. Then 30 minutes later inside, he peed on the pad again.
HE JUST KEEPS PEEING TODAY! I hope what I'm doing will teach him to pee outside only, but I seriously don't know what else I can do. If he doesn't have an accident inside the house, it's in the hallway or the elevator. It's to the point that I have carry him out of the building to let him go. I feel that I am just reinforcing his behavior. I'll continue to keep you all posted.
See below for the original post.
This is Draper,
Adorable, isn't he? Well he's working my last nerve!
Tomorrow, June 12th, he turns 6 months old. We got him when he was 4 months old. A little background, as it may be relevant. We rescued him, but he is probably(?) a puppy mill reject. That is, someone bought him from a pet store (where he was primarily kept in a cage daily), turns out he had pneumonia, store's vet recommended putting him down or exchanging him (like a pair shoes), owner put him into a shelter so he could be cared for. We adopted him, and treated him, he got all better after a couple weeks. He has a clean bill of health, we're going to get him neutered in a couple weeks.
For the life of me, I cannot get him completely house broken. Perhaps, what I am expecting is off since he is my first puppy. Since he was sick, we trained him to go on pads (we live in an apartment in NY). He is also crate trained. Once he was cleared to go outside, we started leash training and having him go pee and poo outside. However, we still keep wee-wee pads inside, which he uses 2-4 times a day to pee (he only poos outside). Approximately 90% of the time when he does go inside the apartment it's on a pad, but the other 10% it's not where he is supposed to go.
I know I am supposed to watch for signs that he has to go, but he will do it out of know where, no sniffing, no squatting, no nothing. Sometimes he goes on the floor, yesterday he went in my bed, a week ago he went on the couch, and today, he went in his own bed, which he has never done before!
FIRST, let it be known, I do not yell at him, hit him, or punish him in anyway. I use positive training all the way. He's been quick to learn basics like sit, lie down, rollover, go to bed, go to home (ie crate) etc.
When he does have an accident, I remove him from his den area so he cannot see me clean up after him (I use nature's miracle to get rid of the scent). But he still has these accidents (usually once daily or ever other day). On the floor I don't mind so much, but when it's on furniture or where we sleep, then that a trip to the laundromat.
I don't know what to do at this point. Is this normal? Will it go away? We take him outside to go 3-4 times a day. Even with that he uses the pads 2-4 times a day as well. Do I need to take him outside more? Should we crate him more? It's basically to the point that I cannot trust him at all. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!
This is a picture of the area where he spends most of his time. You can see the pad and water in the upper right hand corner. He sleeps in his crate at night (which is in our room).
Is this too much room for him? (Click to enlarge)
UPDATE: 6/14/2011
For the last three days this is what I have been trying to do.
I take him out first thing in the morning, usually between 7-8am
Then I feed him and then take him out 30 minutes to one hour later
From that point on, I take him out approximately ever 2 hours (it has ranged from 90minutes to 3 hours)
I make sure to take him out before he eats dinner, and then I take him out 30 minutes to an hour after dinner.
For the first day of sticking to this, I took him out a total 7 times, and he used the pee pad once, late in the evening.
Yesterday, I took him out a total of 5 times (I took him to puppy classes and a walk through central park, so he was outside for a long time). He did not use the pads at all that day.
Then today, I took him out in the morning and after breakfast. Then he used the pads twice, about 50 minutes apart each. I'm trying to ween him off the pads, but he is one of those "no sign" peers and him walking to the pad is the sign that he has to go I get. But with his frequency today, I just can't take him out every 50 minutes. I live in an apartment and the elevator does not work and I have to carry him down, otherwise he will pee in the hall way. Then later today I walked him to petsmart to pickup supplies and took a cab back, as soon as he go to my door, he peed on the neighbors doormat. Then 30 minutes later inside, he peed on the pad again.
HE JUST KEEPS PEEING TODAY! I hope what I'm doing will teach him to pee outside only, but I seriously don't know what else I can do. If he doesn't have an accident inside the house, it's in the hallway or the elevator. It's to the point that I have carry him out of the building to let him go. I feel that I am just reinforcing his behavior. I'll continue to keep you all posted.
See below for the original post.
This is Draper,
Adorable, isn't he? Well he's working my last nerve!
Tomorrow, June 12th, he turns 6 months old. We got him when he was 4 months old. A little background, as it may be relevant. We rescued him, but he is probably(?) a puppy mill reject. That is, someone bought him from a pet store (where he was primarily kept in a cage daily), turns out he had pneumonia, store's vet recommended putting him down or exchanging him (like a pair shoes), owner put him into a shelter so he could be cared for. We adopted him, and treated him, he got all better after a couple weeks. He has a clean bill of health, we're going to get him neutered in a couple weeks.
For the life of me, I cannot get him completely house broken. Perhaps, what I am expecting is off since he is my first puppy. Since he was sick, we trained him to go on pads (we live in an apartment in NY). He is also crate trained. Once he was cleared to go outside, we started leash training and having him go pee and poo outside. However, we still keep wee-wee pads inside, which he uses 2-4 times a day to pee (he only poos outside). Approximately 90% of the time when he does go inside the apartment it's on a pad, but the other 10% it's not where he is supposed to go.
I know I am supposed to watch for signs that he has to go, but he will do it out of know where, no sniffing, no squatting, no nothing. Sometimes he goes on the floor, yesterday he went in my bed, a week ago he went on the couch, and today, he went in his own bed, which he has never done before!
FIRST, let it be known, I do not yell at him, hit him, or punish him in anyway. I use positive training all the way. He's been quick to learn basics like sit, lie down, rollover, go to bed, go to home (ie crate) etc.
When he does have an accident, I remove him from his den area so he cannot see me clean up after him (I use nature's miracle to get rid of the scent). But he still has these accidents (usually once daily or ever other day). On the floor I don't mind so much, but when it's on furniture or where we sleep, then that a trip to the laundromat.
I don't know what to do at this point. Is this normal? Will it go away? We take him outside to go 3-4 times a day. Even with that he uses the pads 2-4 times a day as well. Do I need to take him outside more? Should we crate him more? It's basically to the point that I cannot trust him at all. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!
This is a picture of the area where he spends most of his time. You can see the pad and water in the upper right hand corner. He sleeps in his crate at night (which is in our room).
Is this too much room for him? (Click to enlarge)
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