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unpositive puppy training - driving me crazy

laughinggirl09's picture
Posted October 29th, 2007 by laughinggirl09
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I got Murphy a x Jack Russell /Shitzu when he was 6 weeks old. He is now 24 weeks old. I do work all day - leave at 8.30am, & return about 6pm. He's a great little guy, apart from the fact that he keeps pooping on my carpets!! He does all his pee on the paper I have down, but all his poo on my carpet. He doesn't do it when I'm home, just when I'm at work - hence every night I come home to poop on the carpet. He has a mate here - my cat ( adult desexed Tom ), who took to Murphy straight away, so no problem there. ANYBODY - help, as this pooping on the carpet is driving me crazy. Thanks in advance.

Comments

Hi! I hope this is helpful.

tianna's picture
On October 30th, 2007 tianna says:

Hi! I hope this is helpful. puppies have very small bladders, especially small breeds like yours. in most cases, they have to go out at least every 3 hours. 9 and a half hours is a long day for a pup to be expected to hold it. heres a few suggestions:

1.get a crate. it is very nice because dogs in nature will always have dens, which is how a crate works. it serves as a safe comfortable place for your dog. it is not normal for the dog to be separated from the pack, so sometimes if a dog is stressed and left alone in a house, he/she will do things they dont normally do when the owner is home. most dogs will not go to the bathroom where they sleep, but if he does, at least youl know its not happening on your carpets.

2. put pee pads in the crate for him to go on if he just cant keep it in, and give him treats when he is in the crate to make it positive for him.

3. also put him in the crate while you are home sometimes, and maybe even feed him in there so he doesnt associate the crate with you leaving.

4. feed him only after you come home, so you know he wont have to poop during the day.

5. hire a dog walker, or see if a neighbor who's home a lot might be able to check on him, or even spend time with him while you are gone at work all day. this will not only help with the bathroom issues, but he will be even more well rounded if he gets to spend time with other people, he will be a well socialized dog as he grows up.

being a puppy mom is a full time job!its like being a human mom really, only this is a whole different species so it requires even more patience and understanding! you cant really leave a human baby home alone for long periods, and puppies are not really away from mom much either, but when they are, she leaves them in the den while she is out finding food, so think of it that way, and his reward when you get home will be food. good luck!

Puppy Pooing

laughinggirl09's picture
On October 30th, 2007 laughinggirl09 says:

Hi,
Thank you for your feedback which I have taken on board. Still don't understand though why he does all his pee on the paper, & poos' on the carpet??

Dogwalker/sitter/neighbour/friend

Aidan's picture
On October 30th, 2007 Aidan says:

Hi, you need someone to help. A pup of this age, almost totally un-housetrained won't be able to hold on all day. I suggest you hire a dogwalker, neighbour or unemployed friend to come over around lunch time and take pup out for a toilet break.

If you have to use paper or pee pad training, confine him to a small area, the same place each day, preferably with a hard floor and a bed up off the ground.

The yahoo doghousebreaking group is a good place to go for help, plus you get sent instructions for housetraining when you join: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/doghousebreaking/

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Puppy Pooing

laughinggirl09's picture
On October 30th, 2007 laughinggirl09 says:

Thanks for your input Aidan, but my problem still is that he does all his pee on the paper - but all his poo on my carpet. I have tried putting a bit of his poo on the paper - hasn't helped a bit.

management

Aidan's picture
On October 31st, 2007 Aidan says:

Yes, you need to restrict his movement during the day if you can't get a helper. I would confine him to bathroom, laundry or kitchen - a room without carpet if possible. Use the same place every single day.

All your actual "toilet training" will happen when you're home to supervise. When you're not there to supervise for long periods you're just in maintenance mode - limit the amount of accidents to a specific place that is easy to clean.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

crate him while you are gone

tianna's picture
On October 31st, 2007 tianna says:

the best thing you can do is either crate him while you are gone, hire a dog walker, or find a friend who is willing to watch him while you are at work, or if the place you work at is laid back, ask if you can bring him. its like having a baby, puppies really need around the clock care and supervision. its actually dangerous to the puppy for him to be left alone in a house where he can get into things and possibly, choke, or get electricuted, or eat something poisionous. it is safer for him, and easier on your carpets if you just crate him while you are gone, or have him with you or a friend. when you are home, and you see he is about to poop, put him on the pad every time to get the idea across. most likely he is peeing on your carpet too, but it just soaks in before it is noticed. puppies require LOTS of patience, tolerance, understanding, and leadership without frustration or anger. good luck with your baby!

Thanks Tianna, Murphy will

laughinggirl09's picture
On November 1st, 2007 laughinggirl09 says:

Thanks Tianna,
Murphy will now be enclosed in a kitchen/laundry area. He can't get to electrical cords' as I have them all blocked off, & the only thing hazardous to his health would be my cat Gizmo : - )). They get on really well though - in fact when I raised my voice at Murphy for doing a 'bad poo', he hid behind Gizmo - and did Gizmo give me the 'evil eye'!! I left them alone - I'm not brave enough to take on a protective cat !!

thats good news....

tianna's picture
On November 1st, 2007 tianna says:

thats funny that he hides behind the cat when theres trouble!

enclosing him in the kitchen is a good idea! hes just a baby, but with time and patience, he should get the idea that hes supposed to potty on the pee pad or outside. give it time and you will know when he is fully housebroken, which i honestly should not say that because dogs are always learning. my dog, being a fully trained, housebroken, 3yr old dog still has accidents on occasion, but 99.9% of the time he will hold it for up to 10 hrs if he had to. good luck with your baby!

Thanks Aidan, Murphy is in

laughinggirl09's picture
On November 1st, 2007 laughinggirl09 says:

Thanks Aidan,

Murphy is in for a big shock - confined now to kitchen/laundry area instead of 'run of house'. Thank you. Lorna

Training puppies is

On July 24th, 2010 miley says:

Training puppies is definitely not an easy task. When I see my neighbors with their dogs which are so well trained it seem easy but doing it yourself... nope =) Still, training is one of the most important things you need to provide for your pet. The other being pet insurance since it keeps them safe and healthy.

puppies need patince

On April 20th, 2011 inchirieri says:

I only trained one puppy, my dog he is now over 10 and he would never pee or pooh inside the house - it did take some time but worked out in the end, I am sure it will with your doggy too. When he was small I had to work during the day and of course the puppy won't hold it, so I would hire a caretaker, they come with a car for him and take him to the center at inchirieri auto Baneasa right in the center of Bucharest.

Re: Murphy's carpet pooping

On July 24th, 2010 mamatag says:

Now that he's restricted to one area, a good trick is to "paper" the floor with pee pads, so he can't miss. Every day, remove just one pad, and if that bare floor is clean when you get home, remove another one the next day. This way you set him up for success - he has no choice about where to poop, and he'll develop the habit of only pooping there. :)

Clickers and Potty training

On July 27th, 2010 K9sbehave says:

Hi laughinggirl09,
Just a note about helping your pup/dog learn Where to go. If you've read the potty training posts you may have heard all about the pads. Crates, which by the way, should not be used for the dog to actually potty in, especially if you feed him in there, than you can get problem behavior that many see in pet shop puppies. An area like a room, as suggested or and Ex-Pen is very helpful for longer term.

Use a Clicker and Treats when you take your dog "Where" you actually want him to go outside, and use it to mark then treat, his going there, can help greatly in your training him. Never yell or scare him if he makes mistakes, that can lead to him hiding from you when he does have to go. My Bizzy potties on Cue, "Go Potty" and he will run and lift a leg where I point. It's a great behavior to have if you like to take your dog with you to inside places. Just wait till he is going, or just before, say 'Potty!'or whatever you call it, then when he does the deed, CLICK & TREAT, try to say the word just once clearly instead of saying it over and over again as this does not get the point across, which is to name the behavior your are trying to cue in the future.

As he gets better at holding his bladder and bowels you can give him more space, but keep a place for him to relieve himself during the day that is safe and always in the same place to make it easy for him. Little dogs have little bladders and Shih Tzu dogs are notorious for having house soiling issues, I believe they just weren't trained properly in the beginning and need to empty more often!
Good luck and Congrats on your little cutie!
K9sbehave

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