3 puppy issues--need advice--SO frustrated!

I'm hoping these issues are because Cori is a puppy and will grow out of them, but I just needed to ask you all about them. (FYI--she turned 5 mos. old a couple days ago.)

1. She eats EVERYTHING when we are in the yard/on a walk. I take her in the yard on her leash to go potty--no way could I let her just go out in the yard on her own. Her nose is always to the ground, sniffing, and then she'll sometimes put something in her mouth. Every few seconds, I'm having to pull her away from something she's putting in her mouth (she's on a harness). She tries to eat twigs, bark, leaves, bugs, rocks, and rabbit poop and she's picked up a button and a bottle cap on a walk. She's vomiting in the house at least 3 times a week due to something she's eaten. I feel bad pulling her away every time she's got her face to the ground, sniffing. With her ears, I can't tell if she's just sniffing or eating, so I'm pulling her away. We aren't doing much walking on our walks. We walk a few feet and she stops to sniff/eat. I have to keep stopping to see what she's got. In the yard, she mostly wants to fool around looking for stuff to eat, instead of pottying. For the yard, if she doesn't go right when I take her out, I bring her back in the house and try again in 10 min. She can go quite awhile between pees now, so I think she's scratching the door to go out just so can eat stuff in the yard. Needless to say, this is taking a huge amount of time. Do they outgrow this eating everything outside? We tore out many plants that are toxic to dogs in our yard, so most of what's left out there is harmless (except rocks!!), but she is getting sick several times a week--that's even with me constantly pulling her away from things! I need some advice! (BTW--I think the rabbit poop makes her sick for sure and my husband has added chicken wire to our existing fence which has a small holes to begin with but not small enough we guess. He's also set traps. Somehow, the rabbits are STILL getting in b/c she finds fresh poop every day. It only takes one second for her to get some in her mouth. Do I not let her ever sniff the ground??!! Will she grow out of this or will I always have to take her out to potty on her leash? I'm afraid she'll really injure herself if she ever has free reign of the yard.

2. Our other issue is she doesn't like going to the bathroom on the wet morning grass. We need to walk down a flight of stairs to the backyard and in the morning she sits at the top of the stairs and won't budge. I eventually coax her down the stairs. Then she doesn't want to come off the sidewalk. I finally get her off the sidewalk and she just stands in the grass and will not budge. This morning, I took her back in after waiting awhile outside and she peed on the mat in front of the kitchen sink. She's never peed (or pooped) in the house! I should have put her in the crate until I could try again, but she can go so long between pees, that I thought she would be fine for a few minutes. (It was 13 hours yesterday morning!! I kept taking her out and she didn't go until 11 am from 10 pm the night before. It seems like she can be so stubborn!) She's been scratching the back door when she needs to go out since the third day we had her and has never had an accident. Do I just need to put her in the crate if she won't go in the morning and keep taking her in and out until she goes? I have 2 kids to get ready for school, plus getting myself ready in the morning, too. All the running in and out waiting for her to go is so frustrating and will make the morning so hectic! I need her to go, though, because 3 days a week, I go to the gym after I drop my youngest off at school at 9am and I'm gone 2 hours total.

3. This is related, but I'll mention it separately... Cori scratches the door to go out, but many times, she doesn't potty when I take her out. She just does her sniffing/eating thing or goes to the gate and jumps up on it asking to go out for a walk. I only want her scratching the door when she has to potty, otherwise I'm going outside every 15 minutes b/c she loves it out there! Right now, I'm taking her out every time she scratches the door, but if she doesn't potty, she comes back in to the crate. She's spending a lot of time in the crate this week because of this. Do I just stick with this until she understands that scratching the door is just for going to the bathroom? I do reward her with a walk when she does go to the bathroom, by the way.

I would really like some advice or reassurance on these issues! I'm feeling trapped and frustrated. I know puppies are a HUGE time commitment and I'm willing to put it in (thank goodness I don't work or have much of a life!). I just need to know if I'm doing the right things or if there are other things I should be doing.

Thanks for all your help! This forum is a godsend!

Amy

Hi Amy -

Have you started puppy/obedience school with Cori? That will be a big help with all your questions.

Bosco is also a vaccuum and will eat everything and anything during a walk. You can teach the "leave it" or "Drop it" command. This basic command is taught during obedience school and it helpful. Bosco is drawn to mulch, any type of nut that falls from the tree, and any type of paper he can pick up. I actually plan our walks to avoid the mulch and nut routes! Both can make a dog very sick.

He is also not a fan of wet grass but will do his business on the concrete sidewalk when rainy. This applies to drizzle only, and not pouring rain (when he pulls home). I think Cori will outgrow this stage.

Sounds to me like you are approaching the scratching door thing correctly. She is still a pup, and you have to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she scratches, let her out and praise successful behavior.

Keep it up. The whole puppy stage is WORK. Lots of fun involved too, but its not easy. Time spent now, being consistent and patient, will pay off for years to come. Just take one day at a time. Sounds like you are doing great!

Joan

These are all pretty normal behaviours and also can mostly be resolved in a good basic obedience class with a rewards -- methods trainer (check the CPDT or APDT website for someone near you). She's the right age for a class if you haven't done one -- and a trainer can give advice and support for each scenario.

Puppies put things in their mouths just like toddlers BUT if you have an excessively curious dog that is vomiting up items, you actually have a potentially dangerous, costly and even fatal (!!) habit -- she'd be at risk of an intestinal blockage or eating something poisonous, as you no doubt are worried about. But if she is walked on a modest-length lead on her harness, you should be able to manage this until she hopefully grows out of it (if she doesn't, you are likely going to need to train her in a positive way to use a Baskerville muzzle for safe walks. Learning leave it and drop it are really essential.

On the peeing on wet grass -- welcome to the club!! I've adults like this -- very very common. Try taking her for a short walk to toilet or train to a particular location.

I'd really recommend joining (free) www.dogstardaily.com and downloading the free After You Get Your Puppy, which has lots of useful management and training info for just things like this (eg getting your dog to toilet as soon as you go out the door, and to go on command).

Sounds like a good approach on the scratching, though that said, many dogs go through an initial period of asking to go out just to go out, then soon 'get it'. Remember going out may be as much a reward as going potty. I'd either just ignore it and see if she gets more focused, or leave her a short while back to the crate (no scolding etc) but not leave her there.

You might try checking out the recommend links for training sites pinned at the top of the training section -- all are very good on all things puppy!

These are all pretty normal behaviours and also can mostly be resolved in a good basic obedience class with a rewards -- methods trainer (check the CPDT or APDT website for someone near you).

Puppies put things in their mouths just like toddlers BUT if you have an excessively curious dog that is vomiting up items, you actually have a potential fatal habit -- she's really be at risk of an intestinal blockage or eating something poisonous, as you no doubt are worried about. But if she is walked on a modest-length lead on her harness, you should be able to manage this until she hopefully grows out of it (if she doesn't, you are likely going to need to train her in a positive way to use a Baskerville muzzle for safe walks.

On the peeing on wet grass -- welcome to the club!! I've adults like this -- very very common. Try taking her for a short walk to toilet or train to a particular location.

I'd really recommend joining (free) www.dogstardaily.com and downloading the free After You Get Your Puppy, which has lots of useful management and training info for just things like this (eg getting your dog to toilet as soon as you go out the door, and to go on command).

Sounds like a good approach on the scratching, though that said, many dogs go through an initial period of asking to go out just to go out, then soon 'get it'. Remember going out may be as much a reward as going potty.

You might try checking out the recommend links for training sites pinned at the top of the training section -- all are very good on all things puppy!

Thanks, Joan. We just started with puppy school last night. I'm not feeling too good about this class, though. The trainer said this is only her 2nd class teaching and it showed. Also, there are 3 other dogs in the class and they were all pretty rambunctious and the trainer spent most of her time with them. We learned 'sit' and 'watch' which I already taught Cori. It's only 6 weeks. I may try another place after we finish this one. I started teaching her "leave it" today after watching Victoria Stillwell's video on it. It went really well. She is a quick learner. That gives me hope. LOL

Thanks also for your encouraging words. When are they considered to be out of the puppy stage? One year? 18 months?

Amy

Thanks for your reply, Karlin. Yes, my concern is that she eat something harmful or fatal. We lost our first Cavalier to an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting when he was almost 2 yrs. old, so I'm probably more paranoid about something like that happening than the average person. As I mentioned to Joan, we are training now (although I might need a different class--I'm at least training at home, too). I started working on "leave it" today and it went well, I think. I have her on a 5ft. lead on a harness and I'll just be careful when we're outside.

I downloaded After You Get Your Puppy, but I haven't read it in a few weeks. I'll go back to it. I think I read all the recommended links, too, but it would be good to revisit now that I have some particular issues in mind.

Thanks again!
Amy

amyd said:

When are they considered to be out of the puppy stage? One year? 18 months?

Amy

Click to expand...

Never! LOL!! I went through 3 training classes with Bosco, before I called it quits! By 18 months, he was fully potty trained, and knew all the basic commands quite well. I continually work on re-call (and will always reward) with all my dogs (I have 3), and with Bosco, the "drop it" and "leave it" commands get sporadic treats. He keeps me on my toes when walking him, as he will still look for something to pick up and eat.

He's 3 years old now and a very good boy. Very sweet and still a bit mischeivous, but he now has full access to the first floor when I am out of the house, and I fully trust him. I don't know why it took 18 months to get to that stage, but I will take the blame for not being as consistent as I could have been. My Japanese Chin were fully trained by 6 months - such easy dogs, but they do not curl up on my lap at night, nor do they follow me or look at me like I'm the most wonderful person in the world! Bosco had that trick mastered on Day 1!

Keep up the good work -- Cori will probably take top honors in her Basic Obedience class!

Joan

Perfect timing, trainer Victoria Stilwell posted this today! Take it and drop it.

https://positively.com/dog-behavior/basic-cues/take-it-drop-it/

Joan--Don't say never! LOL I will definitely be working on drop it and leave it and continually work on recall. Thanks for sharing your story about your pups! Japanese Chin are so cute, too!

Karlin--Thanks for sharing the Victoria Stillwell video. I will check it out! I was using her video for leave it yesterday and those sessions went very well. I had Cori leaving a treat I had in my open palm. I was waiting 8 seconds before telling her to take it. I think that was pretty good for just 2 training sessions!

Thanks again!
Amy