# housebreaking



## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

I bought my Maltese one week ago from a pet store. She was there for six months and this is making it hard to potty train her. Most people suggest crate training her and so forth, but she only wants to go potty in her crate. She will hold it has long as she possibly can until I have to put her in there. She will go in her crate and lay in it, which is a huge problem when it comes to grooming. It's also a health problem because right now she is being treated for a parasite that she caught being too close to her waste.

My boyfriend has a Papillion who is housetrained, but she doesn't seem to catch on. She'll see him go in the backyard and lay in his waste. This worries me, especially due to her current condition.

So with crate training out of the question, what other ways can I go about housebreaking her? I would like her to go outside eventually.

Thank you so much if you can help. I'm out of ideas.


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2007)

Welcome to SM









I am no expert but are you there all day to train her or not?
Are you limiting her food to certain times only?
Are you sure the parasite medication has nothing to do with it?

She has lived 6 months pooping in a cage. I would imagine that it would take alot longer than a week for her to get it. I am sure the experts here will have some ideas and I wish you good luck.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

You might want to give her a larger pen with the crate inside of it, thus giving her a place to be and a place to go potty. You could put puppy pads outside her crate. If the scent isn't strong enough on the pads to attract her try some drops you can buy at a pets store to add to the pad. It could be her olfactory is not doing it's thing since she lived in pee and poo for so long.


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

> Welcome to SM
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For the summer I will be there from about 11 in the morning until dinner around 6 or so. If not, my boyfriend will be there, and if not, his parents will be home. She is fed twice a day, but she never goes right after she eats. She'll hold it as long as she possibly can, which is usually until night time when I put her in the laundry room with the Papillion. She hasn't started taking her parasite medication yet, but I wouldn't think the parasite would have much to do with how often she relieves herself. I can ask the vet on Thursday, though. When I asked them about housebreaking, they still suggested crate training even though it's not working. 
And I realize it's only a week, I'm just not sure where to start since she has been exibiting such backwards behavior. Supposedly most dogs will do their best not to relieve themselves where they eat, but she does the opposite.



> You might want to give her a larger pen with the crate inside of it, thus giving her a place to be and a place to go potty. You could put puppy pads outside her crate. If the scent isn't strong enough on the pads to attract her try some drops you can buy at a pets store to add to the pad. It could be her olfactory is not doing it's thing since she lived in pee and poo for so long.[/B]


I actually keep her in the laundry room with my boyfriends Papillon when I am not there. It's about 3 feet by 2 feet. I tried placing down a housebreaking mat, but she relieved herself somewhere else instead of the mat. The next night we tried the Papillion tore the mats to shreds. I heard puppy mats will delay the housebreaking by giving them the signal it's alright to go in the house, though. Eek.


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## Chyna's Mommie (Feb 23, 2007)

Consistency that is the only thing that is going to work for you. You have to undo 6 months of no training and bad habits. This will not happen over night and probably not even within a few months. Its takes almost 6 months to a year to train a puppy that came from a credible breeder. So you have to understand that you have signed up to untrained a dog from its bad habits and to train him to behave the way you want him to. 

Personaly I would not crate train him at this time. He sees that as his potty. Maybe you can use a X-pen instead to contain him when you aren't able to watch him. You might also want to try to train him to the potty pads so that he has somewhere in the home to potty as well as outside. With him you don't want to leave room for failure. You want him to succeed at all cost. Also schedule his feedings so you can schedule his potty times. 


Most importantly if he makes a mistake do not scold him. Just pay better attention so that you can catch him the next time. Praise him excessively when he does well. Give him a treat only when he does good and it will dawn on him that everytime he does that particular thing he is going to get something yummy.

Patience & Consistency


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

That's a hard one, she's become so used to pottying in her crate, she will need to be untrained. I crate trained Boo without any problems & prefer that method. But in your case, I would go right to outdoor training, since that's the end result you want. You will have to be consistent, limiting her freedom indoors & taking her outside very often. At her age she should be able to hold herself overnight. Give lots of praise & treats immediately when she goes potty in the right spot, never punish for making a mistake. This may take a long time to accomplish,untraining or teaching a different potty routine can be difficult. My Hannah was pottypad trained when I got her & I've had no luck with teaching her to potty outdoors like Boo.So I've made peace with the pottypad. Good luck with your little one, please be patient with her. She's young & I believe she will eventually "get it".


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2007)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=393438
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I guess in this scenario I would feed her as early in the day as possible therefore her elimination has to be done sometime before bedtime. 11 am is kinda late in my opinion for the first meal. I would take her out every hour on the hour if water is down all day.I would also make a big deal when the other dog pottied outside as well as when she does. Example may mean nothing but praise may get attention. If the other dog potties outside I would pick it up and not give her the opportunity to sit in it. I would be teaching her the words you use for going outside all day long so she starts to pick up the words as cues. The crate may mean nothing to her at this point as its the only place she's known but your verbal cues and repetitive behaviors like staying outside with her until she goes, as long as it takes, etc will start to sink in. I thought maybe she was afraid to potty outside the crate but if she is doing it in your laundry room that is not the case.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I think it's encouraging that she will hold it for as long as she can now. That shows she has good bladder control which is a very good start.

Unfortunately, pet store puppies are notoriusly hard to housebreak even if they are sold right away. They come from puppy mills so they have spent their entire lives in cages with mothers who are not housebroken. From day one they have learned to eliminate in their cages. A puppy from a reputable breeder is usually home raised and started on pads before she goes to her new home. She has her mother as a role model and usually catches on quickly. We have many members here who report that their puppies are nearly trianed when they come home at 12 weeks.

I agree that crate training won't work with a pet store/puppy mill puppy. They have lost their natural instinct not to soil their living space. Is she treat and praise motivated? I have always had good success with keeping to a strict schedule of taking them out to potty after meals, naps, play, etc. and praising/treating immediately when they do what they are supposed to do. Dogs have about a nano second memory so you have to praise right away when they do what they are supposed to do. I was able to retrain my eleven year old Lady from outdoor to pee pads after my car accident last year using this method.

I put her pads in an X pen and would put her into the pen after meals, before bed, etc. and sit right there with her. As soon as she pottied I would tell her "good potty!" in my happiest voice, let her out, and give her a treat. It took her about two days to catch on.

You will have to be extra patient with this puppy since she is from a pet store.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

I crate trained my first malt who was bought in a petstore. And he caught on REALLY fast. I wouldn't give up on it. My suggestion--as far as the crate itself goes--make sure it's only small enough for her to turn around in. We're talking SMALL. This is temporary until she catches on. You can use the crate divider inside the crate to make it as small as that. If you don't have the divider, get a crate that has one. It's essential that she ONLY have room to turn around and that's it. Next, the bottom of the crate should have a very soft, cushy bedding in it from corner to corner. She shouldn't be standing on the crate pan or any wire grates, etc. I like the pet beds that are designed specifically to fit in the crates--they take up every inch, fit perfectly. If you do those two things first, then put her in the crate during a time when you will be home the whole time--every 10 minutes or so take her out bring her right to the place where you want her to "go" and give her the command like "potty" or whatever. If she doesn't go, right back in the crate. Being kind and loving about it, but firm. Keep repeating this every 10 minutes until she goes and then have a HUGE party for her with treats, etc. Then back in the crate, lol. You do that a few times and she'll get it. I can't imagine that she would pee/poop on a soft, cushy bed inside her crate. If she does then yes, you have a lot of work ahead of you! Anyway, Cam was trained in about a month after spending his first 3 in a cage probably 24/7. Six months is longer and your pup probably has more imbedded issues that mine did, but it's not impossible. You have only had her for 1 week. Be consistant and you'll see the results--give it time. She has never been in anyone's home before and all of this is a shock to her. She'll get there. Good luck. (sorry this is long!)


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

Thank you so much for all the responses! The support is wonderful.

I tend to get frustrated taking her outside because she will just sit by my feet until I let her back in. How long should I stay outside with her when I want her to go? Isn't it mean to put her in a crate, but let the Papillion run free? If I do place her in a crate instead of the laundry room when I'm trying to encourage her to go outside, should I put it in my sight or in the laundry room where she stays at night and eats. And it's hard to tell when she does go because of all her hair. 

Tonight I'm going to try and take away their food dishes so maybe I wont have a big mess to clean up in the morning. Her meals are usually around 7am and then again at 6pm. I put her to bed around eleven. Is this a good schedule to keep?

I thought I had this all figured out when my boyfriend purchased his papillion but I guess I was terribly mistaken!


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

> Thank you so much for all the responses! The support is wonderful.
> 
> I tend to get frustrated taking her outside because she will just sit by my feet until I let her back in. How long should I stay outside with her when I want her to go? Isn't it mean to put her in a crate, but let the Papillion run free? If I do place her in a crate instead of the laundry room when I'm trying to encourage her to go outside, should I put it in my sight or in the laundry room where she stays at night and eats. And it's hard to tell when she does go because of all her hair.
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If you want her to go outside then you keep her out there for as long as it takes for her to go--by that I don't mean 1/2 hour, I'd say maybe 10 minutes or so, etc. You're lucky you're trainig her now and not starting in December like I was (then again, I forgot to look where you are from--anyway, I trained both Cam (RIP) & Ollie in a frigid New England winter...)

Honestly, I would pick up a good book on dog potty training, particularly crate training. Or you can search the internet for info. It sounds like you could use some potty training 101 advice--and I don't say that as an insult, it would just help you more to read a good source from start to finish rather than get bits and pieces and various opinions from here. That's just MHO







good luck!!


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

I got Tilly from a Pet Store at 3 months and she was much more difficult to potty train than Lacie, who came from a reputable breeder. Lacie was almost totally pad trained when I got her, and, as I didn't want her to go outside until she was completely vaccinated as we lived in a condo then, I kept her pad trained. 

By the time I trained her to go outside, through the doggie door, it was pretty easy. I just moved her pad to where I wanted her to go and then eventually took her pad away altogether.

Tilly was much harder. I would think she'd finally gotten it and then she would regress and I would have to start her training all over again. She was finally doing very well until we left her for 10 days in March on our trip to Egypt. I came back and she had totally regressed again and I had to start her training all over -- but it did go much faster then. She was 9 1/2 months old at the time.

I found it easier to start Tilly on outdoor training as that's where the other dogs go and once she was big enough to push the doggie door by herself, it helped, but still, I had to take her out and remind her what she was there for. Praise and then treats when she went when and where I wanted her to really helped re-enforce her training.

Tilly is now a year old and, although she seldom has a mishap, I know that she is not as well trained as Lacie. Lacie would rather die than make a mistake. Luckily when we travel, Lacie seems to know that the pads are still the place to go and Tilly usually follows suit.

I agree with what everyone else has said. It won't happen overnight. It won't happen without work on your part. It won't happen by scolding her. It will take consistency, patience and a lot of work on your part.


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

Woohooo!! She pottied outside today for the first time!


***happy dance***


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I really bet she won't be too bad to train since she has such good bladder control. If she's smart, she'll figure it out!


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

> I really bet she won't be too bad to train since she has such good bladder control. If she's smart, she'll figure it out![/B]


Haha, sometimes I wonder about her intelligence. =P Then again she's a puppy and I can't ask for too much. But I'm so darn proud! Wee. xD


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2007)

> Woohooo!! She pottied outside today for the first time!
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> ***happy dance***[/B]


Oh thats wonderful news!!


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

Now she won't poo outside... =[


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

> Now she won't poo outside... =[[/B]


She will get it, it's all about consistency!!
They are so smart these little ones .. Keep at it, she will get it!
Good Luck,
ANDREA


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## louis' mom (Jul 7, 2006)

I would try walking her when you go outside if possible. Walk makes everything move and eventually I think they will go. Granted with Louis in NYC - he walked me for 1.5 hrs and he still didn't go (no grass in NYC). But eventually he did go on the cement. 

Whenever I have problems with Louis going, I just take him for a walk, by the end of the walk, we stopped about 50 times to pee and at least once to poo. 

I read you should feed, wait 10 - 15 minutes, then walk. I think the other key - is a schedule. Put her on a schedule of food and walking. Good luck. I know it can be frustrating. Hang in there.


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## ShilohsMom (Jun 25, 2007)

Progress is being made and thats great to hear







The first months with a new furbaby are alot of work and each little baby step (so to speak) is worthy of celebration. Glad to hear there are improvements. She sounds like a sweet girl.


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## ohhmyyitsLEA (Jun 19, 2007)

> I would try walking her when you go outside if possible. Walk makes everything move and eventually I think they will go. Granted with Louis in NYC - he walked me for 1.5 hrs and he still didn't go (no grass in NYC). But eventually he did go on the cement.
> 
> Whenever I have problems with Louis going, I just take him for a walk, by the end of the walk, we stopped about 50 times to pee and at least once to poo.
> 
> I read you should feed, wait 10 - 15 minutes, then walk. I think the other key - is a schedule. Put her on a schedule of food and walking. Good luck. I know it can be frustrating. Hang in there.[/B]


I have a problem with this because she only goes in our back yard. I guess she's just associated that spot with her poty. When she walks she just sniffs around. Half way through she sits down and decides she's done. It's cute, but a little aggitating. =]


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