# Update on Abby



## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Well... it has been an eventful first week to say the least!

All in all, I think we are doing okay - we have learnt how to "come" and "sit" and we are working on "wait" while dinner is being put down and "okay" to go ahead and eat. I was actually amazed that she picked things up so early and so quickly! "Sit" is almost 100%, but "come" we are probably at about 60% at the moment... we'll get there! I've only just started to really enforce "wait" so success rate is pretty minimal at the moment...

But then it comes to house-breaking. WHAT A DISASTER. My poor little girl has gone backwards I think.







She started out doing really well, but then decided she would go outside - but it just isn't practical for me. I'm not home all day and she needs to be able to go potty inside. Well, I think I made her go backwards by confusing her. I let her go potty outside and told her she was a good girl (because I was so happy that she wasn't doing it on my floor) - and things started to go downhill from there on. So I think this is my fault. I feel bad, but I didn't realise I was doing the wrong thing - this is my first maltese, my first pup - so I have to learn from my mistakes - and BOY am I learning from my mistakes. 

Now we go potty where we feel like it.







I would stand with her for about 10 minutes at the potty pad after meal, and nothing... she would walk around the corner and go straight on the floor! Not even 10 seconds later!







So, I got on the net to do some research and found a good e-book on training. Now we have progressed with "NO". If I catch her pottying on the floor, or if I say "NO" once and I'm ignored, the next no is accompanied with a loud clap. It frightens her and I feel bad, but she needs to learn. I then take her to the potty pad. If she goes potty, she's praised and given a treat. If not, then we silently go to the crate for a 10 minute time-out.

If we go potty somewhere and aren't caught in the act (and not too much time has elapsed), we are silently taken to where we pottied, face down near it (not touching it or anything) and told "NO NO NO POTTY", we then go to the potty pad and told "This is where we potty" before being given a time-out.

So far, the time-out has been a hard time for me. I mean, I'm glad I'm not smacking her or hurting her - but I feel so bad doing it to her







... but again, I keep telling myself SHE HAS TO LEARN. After time-out (we've already had 3 today...







) she comes out and is all sooky and just lays down near me ro something....







Hope I don't have to keep doing this for too long... 

As for her biting feet, well it's "NO" first time, and second time "NO" is accompanied with a spray from a waterbottle. I've only had to do this about 5 times in the last 3 days - and it has worked wonders.

Grooming time is slowly getting better. We are better with the hairdryer now and yesterday she just layed down on the mat while I dried her. This morning we even managed to pull a tiny bit of hair up into a "pig-tail" top knot. She fiddled a bit at first, but seems to be tolerating it now... it does look cute.....









Please let me know if you have any other suggestions, but I think for 8 weeks old, we are doing okay....


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## dr.jaimie (Mar 23, 2004)

sounds like you are having a lot of success. potty training takes a while. they dont have bladder control yet..parker wasnt 100% with potty training til he was around 5 months. give it time, sounds like you are way ahead!


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

Wow it does sound like you are doing a great job and she is doing great!

Keep up the good work :excl: 

Judi


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Thanks for the encouragement guys, it helps!


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Okay so I'm feeling really mean over the whole "house-breaking" thing.... I'm CONSTANTLY getting up her or putting her in her crate for time-out because she goes to the toilet so darn often!!!







Is my puppy going to hate me for doing this to her??


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Trust me, you cant really "correct" or give a time out to a puppy. and after she eats, try playing with her in the kitchen playing fetch. it will "get her going"...she'll need to pee. and then you can praise a lot for going on the pad. i dont think it will confuse her for going outside and on the wee wee pad. ellie did that and shes done really well. and also, keep her learning. like for 5 minutes at a time just do sits and downs over and over again. and heels too. i've noticed that you can do a 30 minute training and thats equivalent to like over an hour of walking. even after 2 hours of walking---ellie wont be tired. <_< shes crazy though. anyway, trust me--dont punish them, my breeder told me "if sprites having accidents, its your fault"







i got mad that she told me that, but its basically true. i was able to train ellie and gruffi even faster than sprite. just be TOTALLY consistant. good luck!!!







and try not to stress over every accident.


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## mylittlebella (Aug 20, 2004)

She's not going to hate you at all. I'm the one that's always yelling at Bella, brushing her hair, giving her a bath and doing all the things that she hates and she loves me more than anyone else.

They know who really loves them and she will never hate you.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Sunshine, i just read one of your other posts. I realized that your baby is only 8 weeks old---you TOTALLY cant expect her to be housetrained. sprite wasnt completely housetrained till she was 6 months old and i got her when she was 10 weeks old. and thats RARE. i was with her 24/7 (i only had 2 classes and when i wasnt with her, my mom was with a list of instructions) and making sure she didnt have ANY accidents (she still had them though :wacko: ). we got ellie when she was 10 weeks old and she was potty trained by the time she was 5 months old...again thats RARE and i was with her 24/7(got her during winter break and she was cynthias dog, and cynthia took her to work). we got gruffi at 5 weeks, and he didnt have any accidents after he was 14 weeks old...and i got him during my summer break. 

you cant discipline and 8 week old baby. just distract and lead her to her potty area. poor lots of natures miracle in the places where she got accidents. if you're constantly yelling at your dog---she'll tune you out (ask ellie). you want to build your dogs confidence with positive reinforcement.


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## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

I don't know what you guys think of this, but this is what I did, and it helped ALOT! 

Because they're that young, you HAVE to watch them closely when they're out of their crates. What I did was when I do see them in circles or sniffing the floor, I try to get all loud and psycho and run to them and distract them from going. And pick them up ASAP and sorta put them in a confinded area. For example, I'd put a potty pad in our jacuzzi thingy in our bathroom. And, I'd put them in there until they pottied on the pad. And when they went, I praise them like crazy.

It really really worked! But the only reason why my babies are acting totally stupid about the pottying (on occasion) is that I want them to start going outside. ARRRGHHHHHHH.

I know it's hard and I know it takes alot of your time and patience, but, keep trucking. In notime,you and your baby will have it down. Hope this helps

GOOD LUCK


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by ButterCloudandNoriko_@Sep 20 2004, 10:11 AM
> *I try to get all loud and psycho and run to them and distract them from going.  <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=9594*


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thats soo funny. i tried that with sprite...she would just stare at me and pee at the same time. lol. she really liked going in the kitchen area of our office, so when i would be working, and notice that sprite wasnt sleeping, i'd run to the kitchen (she'd be peeing of course) and i'd have to hover her over the trashcan...and she'd finish. UGH!!


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Thanks for your advices guys.

I TOTALLY understand that Abby is only a baby and I don't expect her to be properly trained for MONTHS yet. Please don't think that I am expecting a miracle here. My concern was that she was more or less "refusing" to go where she was meant to ANY of the time - despite me taking her there and encouraging her she didn't want to go on the pad. I think I simply gave her too much room to start off with (the bathroom, kitchen & dining area and a bit of the hallway). Since taking her back to just the bathroom area (which is still plenty big enough for her) things are slowly improving.

When I'm not watching her, she is now back in the bathroom - and she seems to be maybe slowly starting to realise what I want (at least for the moment!)... we are at least getting CLOSER to the potty pad (now it's mostly right beside it







) with fewer accidents in the wrong places... does anyone have problems with their pup "walking around" when they poop? I know this is natural for them to do, but she seems to do it and walk right off the potty pad when she starts off on it







- doing the right thing!







What do you guys do? Would a litter box help or will she not want to go in there?

And the timeouts seem to be working really well for us. The first day we had about four or five ten minute bouts in the crate - but yesterday only one - so I don't think it's hurting her. She seems to understand - and the way I see it, is it is better to make it clear to her what is acceptable and what isn't right from the start...

After meals I have also started putting her back in the bathroom until she has pottied, then she can come out into the loungeroom with me and play. That's working well so far too







I'm feeling better today, cos yesterday I barely had to say a bad word to her. She pottied once in the wrong place - which she got timeout for. I haven't gotten up her for going potty right beside the pad, I just move her like 10cm sideways onto it and praise her a lot.


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

What worked for me better than anything, was the positive reinforcement rather than negative. Brinkley didn't much "get" the time-outs-scolding after the fact. The only time I scolded was if I caught him in the act. Then I would pick him up and carry him to the pad...he usually peed on me all the way there...and ran off once I set him down...BUT-he did get the idea.

When he DID do it on the pad...I went BESERK!!!! My kids would even look at me like... :wacko: 
I would jump up and down and clap and squeal and then get down and ruffle him up and kiss his nose and kept saying "good boy potty on the pad" over and over. He would get SO excited...his tail would wag and I swear he was smiling at me. Then we would go and get a treat...

He is 6 months and still has an occasional accident, mostly they are my fault- Usually it is because I have gotten distracted and picked up a pad, and forgot to put a new one down...or when I tried to move his pad/box to a new corner, and I did it too quickly-he peed/pood in the floor where it had been. So I moved it back and moved it a little each day. Now he gets it-and goes where he is supposed to. Everyonce in a while I will find a poo somewhere...and I'm like..."what the heck!?" But I think maybe he gets to playing chase with the cats or something and just goes where he is... :wacko: 
For the most part, I can trust him to run the house as far as potty training goes..















but, he still eats paper-and the cat food-and I cannot keep the kids' rooms puppy-proofed-so occasionally he wanders in there when they do not shut their doors and gets into mischief..









So-keep your chin up...it will come...AND she is still a t-tiny baby! I wouldn't expect much of her right now...isolation and constant watching is probably the best bet.
My trainer at petsmart told us that as new puppy owners we hate to crate them, or isolate them to the bathroom/kitchen for the whole day-that we feel cruel. And he is right...most of us do. BUT-he said, a few weeks of crating/isolation while they learn the proper habits is well worth the lifetime of having a fully potty-trained pet. He had a good point. 2-4 weeks is nothing compared to the many years ahead.


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

I got the dog litter pans to put the pads in for the same reason. IT totally helped with the walking-off-and-pooping problem!!! Everyonce in a while he still trails some...but nothing like before!
It took him a few days of transition between the pads/box...but he got it.
I highly recommend it. It is great for containment purposes when the wet on the edge of the pad too. I would much rather clean that box, than drag out my mop...or clean the carpet.

I also bought some puppy houstraining drops by FOUR PAWS at Petsmart. They are STRONG- but seemed to help some at first.


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## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

> _Originally posted by doctorcathy+Sep 20 2004, 01:08 PM-->
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thats soo funny. i tried that with sprite...she would just stare at me and pee at the same time. lol. she really liked going in the kitchen area of our office, so when i would be working, and notice that sprite wasnt sleeping, i'd run to the kitchen (she'd be peeing of course) and i'd have to hover her over the trashcan...and she'd finish. UGH!!
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Notice I say "TRY to distract them." :wacko: But, yeah, same thing happens to me. They give me that "WTH" look while I act stupid and they pee at the same time.







And they've pissed on me too. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to dive for a football or something when I see them peepee. But even right after they pee, when I confine them in the tub with a pad in it...it takes them NO TIME to pee on it again. Just keep telling them to potty! And like Tlunn says. You pretty much PRAISE THEM LIKE YOU PRAISE THE LORD!









And don't worry Sunshine. We won't judge ya! We know you're not expecting a miracle and it's frustrating. It's not like you're on the "Other" site!


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

And don't worry Sunshine. We won't judge ya! We know you're not expecting a miracle and it's frustrating. It's not like you're on the "Other" site!
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^_^ Thanks


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I am in a training class with Lexi and last week the trainer was saying that when you praising you need to praise enough to get a reaction out of the dog. If you don't get a reaction you are not praising enough.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

sorry if i sounded like i was going down on you







i dont have a lot of time to post as much as i used to....so everyone---if any of my posts sound short or rude...i TOTALLY don't mean it. 

my point was that the attention span of a puppy is sooo short <_< that they probably dont understand what a 'time out' is. i tried it with sprite sooo many times, and i thought she was understanding(cuz i would do it when she would bite me)...but it just turned out that during those few minutes, she had time to relax and she seemed like an angel...but once i would pick her up--she'd bite. i eventually jammed a toy into her mouth whenever she would try to bite. :lol: 

sunshine, your baby wants to spend a lot of time with you. after every meal it takes like 10 minutes to settle and thats usually when they need to go potty. what helps A LOT is to tie a leash to your belt loop and you can have a constant eye on her. and when she's circling or sniffing, you'll see it---and you can make her walk to the bathroom(so she learns the path to the wee wee pad). and i think she'll learn a lot faster like that because she'll be with you and you walk into every room in the house and she'll learn her way. its still a little hard because maltese look like they're sitting when they pee. lol. 

and walking around pooing--ellie still does that. she walks and pees at the same time too. i tell cynthia that ellie's probably trying to write her name. :lol:


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## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

> _Originally posted by doctorcathy_@Sep 21 2004, 08:36 AM
> *sorry if i sounded like i was going down on you
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> 
> ...


You don't have time to post?





















You have almost 800 posts under your belt!














Just teasing

Good luck Sunshine!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)




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## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

Hey sunshine! How's the training going? How's lil abby?


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Caesar trained pretty young and we found giving him a couple honey nut cheerios when he pottied on the pad. He loves them, maybe they will help u out too.


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Hey everyone!

Abby is doing really well as far as potty training. I've now got her in an area where she has her bed, water & food dishes, a small play area and the rest potty pads. This was suggested to me a few days ago and seems to be working so far. I have put some house-breaking drops to the pad so she gets used to the smell and slowly I will make the potty pad area smaller and hopefully, she'll adapt to it (using the smell too). She has been good though. After meals, she goes back in the pen to play for a few minutes by herself and to go to the potty. When she goes to the potty I jump around and act like I just won the lotto - she jumps up and down too and wags her little tail...







- and she gets to come out and play








... it must look funny to the neighbours







But it has been three days without a potty accident - so I am THRILLED







And apart from night time and after meals or when she's in the pen because I can't watch her, I have been taking her outside. She gets to go to the potty and have a bit of a run around - she just loves the outdoors!









I have tried doctorcathy's suggestion of tying her to my belt-loop - this has worked well too and no accidents - so thank you for that advice doctorcathy!







(PS - no offence taken on the posts







- I accept all advice with gratitude!) The only bad thing is that I have to remember to SLOW DOWN when I have her tied to me!







I forgot the other day and went to run to the phone - before I realised I was about to drag poor Abby across the floor!!









Oh and I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but she is now learning "down" too. And with her dinner, she has been so good. Before I put her dish down, I don't even have to tell her to "sit", she just does it!









I just love her so much







When I hold her I say "kisses for mum" and she licks my nose... aww







(probably just a reaction to being put up to my face - but cute anyway! LOL)


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Caesar's Mommie_@Sep 23 2004, 10:44 AM
> *Caesar trained pretty young and we found giving him a couple honey nut cheerios when he pottied on the pad.  He loves them, maybe they will help u out too.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=9841*


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What are honey but cheerios?? I live in Australia - don't think I've seen them before! Will have to take a look at the grocery store next time!









By the way, I think Caesar is ADORABLE


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

I'm soo glad that everything is working out great with you.







its so hard trying to talk online because its difficult to explain things, you know?

anyway, honey nut cheerios is cereal. personally, i dont like them because they dont have a lot of sugar.







plain cheerios are good too. or even corn puffs (thats in the cereal section too). 

the plan is to use these when they go potty in their designated area. and they'll be excited to get it too. but dont use them for regular training, the cheerios would be like a special treat. you know? 

here's a pic










its really big here in america. its like the best food to give to children...and adults. helps lower cholesterol and stuff.







anyway, i hope you can find it, or at least an immitation of it.


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

What are honey but cheerios?? I live in Australia - don't think I've seen them before! Will have to take a look at the grocery store next time!









By the way, I think Caesar is ADORABLE








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Awww, thank you. Cathy posted an awesome picture on the honey nut cheerios,(and all the other cheerio flavors) they are in the cereal section here. There is also a generic brand which comes in a bigger bag, thats what we go this time. We give him 2 each time he goes potty on the pad (the designated area) and that gives him some positive reinforcement, because if he doesnt go on the pad he doesnt get any cheerios. Now after he goes potty and we dont see it he will run up to us, jump and stand against our legs and just stare at us, then run over to the pad, smell where he went and then run back to us...  to let us know he needs his cheerio. Also if my husband and I are eating something he thinks he will want, he will pretend to go potty on the pad, its really funny, usually he tries hard enough he is able to pee on the pad after awhile! Hes a nut







, very very funny. I hope u can find these in a store by you or something similar because like I said Caesar really loves them.


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## saltymalty (Sep 14, 2004)

I used to give Honey Nut Cheerie-O's to my kids when they were potty training. I am definitely going to try them when our pup comes home. They certainly are a lot less expensive that the doggie reward treats. How about Kix, has anyone tried those for rewards? Kix are very low in sugar, like regular Cheerie-O's


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

I havent tried them for Caesar, but I am sure ur puppy will love them! Id definantely give them a try.


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Thanks guys! I'm going shopping on Wednesday afternoon - and I'll be looking out for the cheerios!! Oh and thank you for the pics!!! It'll make it so much easier to see them in the entire aisle of cereals!!! LOL


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i havent tried kix, but i got these corn puffs that look like them. my only problem was that they are pretty big balls and if i give a couple at a time...they choke.







so i have to cut it in half. but if kix arent chewy and soft, you dont have to worry about that.







just check the ingredients and you'll be fine. but you're right, kix has no sugar or salt---so give it to your baby!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

caesars mommy---that was such a cute story!!!! hes very smart!


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Thanks Cathy, he sure is a lil' character


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