# Houston, we have a problem



## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

It has been raining for almost 21 days straight here in Maine. The ground is so wet and damp that mold and mushrooms are the only thing growing. I actually saw a Moose the other day in a farmer's field (where all the crops are drowning in water) and the new reported that we must be careful because wildlife are leaving the safety of the woods because their food sources are too wet and rotting. Why am I telling you this?

HUNTER IS REFUSING TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. 

So far we have been able to get him to poo once a day and pee at least 3 times but we have talked to the vet and this is not good for Hunter because of his natural issues with bowel movements. He is also worried that Hunter will get a UTI from holding his urine.

So, we have to go today to get indoor supplies. I do not want to buy in mass quanitity because we have been thinking about artificial grass and have been researching products but we need something we can use tonight and until we make a decision. I have read all the posts relating to potty training and different types of pads but I think we have it down.

Our plan is to put a few in the basement and then bring him down when he needs to go (on a leash) and make him go on the pads and once he does give him verbal praise and an immediate treat. Here is my question. I have a wal-mart, target, and petsmart near me. Which place is likely to have training pads and if all 3 then which has the best for its value. I will be going out to do this later this afternoon once I get my work done.

Thanks in advance - please please pray for the rain to stop.

Erin


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Erin, the pet store will surely have the pads, but Walmart should too and would possibly be cheaper. Just a thought....have you considered maybe a couple of cuts of sod grass that you could lay on a plastic garbage bag (or something to protect your floors) while it is so nasty outside? I know they make potty systems like that but you need something quick and don't have time to order. I hope you get it figured out for Hunter's sake. You could even put the sod on your deck. I don't know how difficult it will be to get an outside trained fluff to go inside on a pad. I know Sassy refuses to potty outside because she is pad/box trained for inside. I wish you luck. :grouphug:


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

You can always put sod in a washing machine tray...cheap and quick.


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

alright, sod is not going to work for us, at least not today. The sod farm is hours away, our three local gardening places have returned their sod to the farms because of the rain we are getting, and the sod farms store their sod outside (duh) so it's soaking wet and they said they do not recommend bringing it inside as it will likely have some slugs and stuff in it because of the rain (which you need in your natural lawn). So, I am back to piddle pads or whatever they are called.

Hubby is going to come home in a few hours and we will all go out together to pick up some things for Hunter and stop by the vets office just to have Hunter checked out to make sure there are not any problems already occuring!


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## Dixie's Mama (Mar 19, 2008)

I don't know what to tell you Erin but I feel your pain. Dixie pooped in the house this AM. At least she is going & not holding it like Hunter. She isn't peeing in the AM when she goes out after all night. One day it was 3 PM the previous day when she had last peed. 7 AM she didn't pee. That's a long time for a little bladder. She finally did a very long pee about 12 noon. I think she doesn't want to squat. She is concentrating on finding critters and not doing her business. She came to us pee pad trained and I sure wish we'd left her that way.
The sod sounds like a good idea to me. :Good luck: Poor Hunter. Let us know what works. I may use it myself.
Elaine

Edit: I saw your last post after I posted this. Guess the sod is out. Good luck.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Darn! I was going to recommend getting sod...lol!

Walmart, Target, & Petsmart will all carry the disposable pads. They will all probably be pretty similar in price, it just depends on what brand/quantity you want, if that even matters. Petsmart carries the washable PoochPads but they are very expensive. If you need a pad holder, I would say Petsmart would be the best place for that.

Actually, I would suggest going to Petsmart...where you KNOW they have everything you'll need. You might pay a couple dollars more on pads than Walmart, but it's sort of an emergency. lol I would recommend buying a bottle of the scent attractant to spray on the pad to entice Hunter to use it. He will probably be very hesitant to go indoors at first since he is outdoor trained -- just give him lots of praise and treats! The one day I did pad training w/ London she was reluctant to use the pad because she knew potty was for outside but with praise and the command "Go potty", she went. 

I'm so sorry it's been raining for 3 weeks there! Send that rain my way, it's in the 90's here!

Best of luck to you Erin!! Do you plan on indoor-training him from here on out, or is this just a temporary/bad weather thing?


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

Well you can send the rain down here. It's been so long since it's rained here I'm starting to forget what rain looks like. I get all of Bella's pads at Walmart. The other places are pricier around here. I get 34 pads for $7 I think. A package usually lasts about a month for her.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I buy a box of 120 for $25 at Sam's


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

Thank you guys so much! Hubby is going to be home in just two hours and then we will be on our way to get the supplies. I talked to my vet and he said a lot of people have been calling with similar issues.

Lisa - I think we are going to try to keep this system in place for emergencies and incliment weather - I prefer him to go outside. It's less expensive and there is a greater ease for travel and staying with family which we do a lot since we live a few hours from my family.


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

Poor Hunter. I hope it stops raining so much, soon. We also had way to much rain this yr,it rained almost everyday & flooded til my yard was a soggy mess.It was wet,we couldn't even mow the grass regularly. That's probably why Boo started using Hannahs pads,he'd always been perfectly outdoor trained until this yr. of rain.The rain finally ended here to a normal pattern. Hope you have good luck retraining little Hunter to the pads.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

We are in the same, miserable boat here w/ the rain in MA....

Good luck with the indoor training...Ollie has always held his pee for HOURS and has never had UTI probs, etc. He goes from around 7pm to 7am each night w/ out peeing (even if I take him out multiple tries to go) and he can go for a good part of all day if it's raining out he won't go out. Again, we've never had a single problem.

Ollie used to be both pad trained and outdoor trained, but the more he went outside, pads became history. He won't go on an indoor pad for ANYTHING now. So good luck with that!!

What are Hunter's poo issues?

Anyway, best of luck. We have had our pool open since memorial day weekend and have not been able to go in it at ALL. The few somewhat sunny days we've had the water temp is only in the low 60's and there's no way you can enjoy that. This weather SUCKS!!!!!!!


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 2 2009, 02:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800007


> We are in the same, miserable boat here w/ the rain in MA....
> 
> Good luck with the indoor training...Ollie has always held his pee for HOURS and has never had UTI probs, etc. He goes from around 7pm to 7am each night w/ out peeing (even if I take him out multiple tries to go) and he can go for a good part of all day if it's raining out he won't go out. Again, we've never had a single problem.
> 
> ...


Hunter has a bad habit of actually holding in his poo and while he will go one or two times a day he will not let it all out. We have now had 2 xrays where there was poo almost in his stomach (which is highly toxic). So, he is on laxaire and we also make certain to give veggies and fruits to help him need to go. The vet thinks it might have stemmed from him being in a cage at some point where there wasn't enough room for him to go on one side and live in the other or he lived with a family that made him hurry up outside. While either of these could be true I hate to think of it so I just pretend that he's too much of a busy bee to take his time and let it all out - he's always ready for the next adventure.


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## mpappie (Jun 28, 2005)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 2 2009, 02:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800007


> We are in the same, miserable boat here w/ the rain in MA....
> 
> Good luck with the indoor training...Ollie has always held his pee for HOURS and has never had UTI probs, etc. He goes from around 7pm to 7am each night w/ out peeing (even if I take him out multiple tries to go) and he can go for a good part of all day if it's raining out he won't go out. Again, we've never had a single problem.
> 
> ...


We also live in MA and it has rained something like 25 days out of the 30 days in June. Pup and Ollie refuse to even go out on the deck!!!!! :shocked: 
We are on vacation for the next two weeks, we hope the weather takes a turn.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

QUOTE (mpappie @ Jul 2 2009, 02:26 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800010


> QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 2 2009, 02:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800007





> We are in the same, miserable boat here w/ the rain in MA....
> 
> Good luck with the indoor training...Ollie has always held his pee for HOURS and has never had UTI probs, etc. He goes from around 7pm to 7am each night w/ out peeing (even if I take him out multiple tries to go) and he can go for a good part of all day if it's raining out he won't go out. Again, we've never had a single problem.
> 
> ...


We also live in MA and it has rained something like 25 days out of the 30 days in June. Pup and Ollie refuse to even go out on the deck!!!!! :shocked: 
We are on vacation for the next two weeks, we hope the weather takes a turn.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Isn't it awful?? I can't take much more. I've resorted to even walking the dogs in the rain (I walk them daily but never used to in the rain). As long as it's not monsooning or lightening I've been taking them. YUCK!! I hope your vacay will turn out ok! Things are supposed to improve this weekend...I have a 4-day weekend coming up and hope to enjoy it!!


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

QUOTE (Hunter's Mom @ Jul 2 2009, 02:24 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800009


> QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 2 2009, 02:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=800007





> We are in the same, miserable boat here w/ the rain in MA....
> 
> Good luck with the indoor training...Ollie has always held his pee for HOURS and has never had UTI probs, etc. He goes from around 7pm to 7am each night w/ out peeing (even if I take him out multiple tries to go) and he can go for a good part of all day if it's raining out he won't go out. Again, we've never had a single problem.
> 
> ...


Hunter has a bad habit of actually holding in his poo and while he will go one or two times a day he will not let it all out. We have now had 2 xrays where there was poo almost in his stomach (which is highly toxic). So, he is on laxaire and we also make certain to give veggies and fruits to help him need to go. The vet thinks it might have stemmed from him being in a cage at some point where there wasn't enough room for him to go on one side and live in the other or he lived with a family that made him hurry up outside. While either of these could be true I hate to think of it so I just pretend that he's too much of a busy bee to take his time and let it all out - he's always ready for the next adventure.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Poor bub. Is he a rescue??

Our rescue YoYo...he pees/poohs in the house a few times per week...he also does odd things like he lays down when he drinks his water. We attribute this to the fact that he was in a crate 24/7 and was even fed/watered in the crate--he probably had to eat/drink laying down or crouched down. He probably attributes anything outside of a crate "not his den" so it's ok to pee/poop. It's not because he can't hold it, because we know he can. Also probably has lingering anxiety. Anyway, those things ARE hard to think about!!

Hope we are all dry soon. I can't take much more of this...


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## HaleysMom (Jun 4, 2009)

I really like the Arm & Hammer pee pads from Target. To me they are more absorbent with odor, wetness and tear resistant. 
We have the opposite problem.....we have not had a good rain in weeks.
I hope your weather gets better for Hunter and have a great Holiday weekend


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

he is a rescue, we got him from our local animal shelter so we don't really know anything about his first 5 years of life (it's thought that he is about 6.5 now). 

Maybe we can all do a 'non-rain' dance to make this weather stop. We were supposed to do a lot of yard stuff this june and finish our deck but it is going to take ages for the wood to dry out enough to sand and stain. Hunter won't go on the deck either - we have started walking him in the drizzle but it's more dragging him so we stopped. Now we try to play inside multiple times a day and let him chase us in the basement. We went to my mom's last weekend were it didn't rain so we walked him 3 times.


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## Maglily (Feb 3, 2009)

I've bought them at Wal-mart. Hartz brand, package of 32 pads. They were not expensive , between $10-20, sorry I can't remember how much. Can $ that is.
When it is raining (not too hard) and I'm desperate for Jodi to go, I put a pad out on the deck. He zooms in on it, it usually works.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

QUOTE (JMM @ Jul 2 2009, 10:07 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=799956


> I buy a box of 120 for $25 at Sam's[/B]


what size ?


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Am I glad Alex is trained to go inside. I never have to care about when he needs to go. One requirement when we bought our new house here in Arizona was that it had a nice big laundry room to put in Alex's toilet. I buy the people pads because they are cheaper. My last order was 400 pads 30x30 for 89.99$


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## theboyz (Jan 10, 2007)

Erin, our boyz will not use a pee pad!!!
If it rains, boy do they hate to have their feet wet and then hate to have their hair wet.... I pick them up and carry them under a big maple tree in our back yard and say "do your stuff" as loud as I can. Works every time!!! It is a race to the back door where Bob has a towel waiting.

Good luck.


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