Monday, October 22, 2007

No more puppies

One of the things we were looking forward to about getting a new apartment is starting over with clean carpets. Last night was our first night staying here with Zoey.

Around 5:15 she woke up crying. I took her outside. A dog barked, and she ran inside in terror. She refused to go.

She cried when I put her back in her cage, and then was quiet. Then she started fussing again. Paul got up and took her out. He said that her cage was completely soaked in pee and consequently so was she. He opened the door of her cage, and she made a beeline down the hall to our bedroom. Paul tackled her at the door, and took her outside where she went both ways. Then he put her in the kitchen while he cleaned out her cage in the shower. Then he had to take a shower himself and change into clean clothes. He also tried to wipe up some of the spots in the carpet, but he said we needed to give Zoey a bath today. Sigh. Less than 24 hours, and our dog has already had accidents on the carpet. The frustrating thing is once they've gone somewhere once then they are likely to return to that spot.

Paul told me he is never getting a puppy again.

So, any advice for puppy training? Should I try to bribe her? Steak? A new chew toy? A model rocket?

6 comments:

Amy said...

First use Simple Solution to clean up "the mess". I blogged about why here http://amysfrontdoor.blogspot.com/2007/08/works-for-me-wednesday-pet-odors.html

Asher was about 1 year old when I got him and he was terrible about going inside the house even when I had just walked him outside. The best thing I can suggest is be consistent - I took him out every morning as soon as I woke up, at noon, after work and before bed. I also took small treats with me so that when he "went" I would say "go potty" - "good boy" and promptly hand him a treat. This worked for me but it still took time and patience. Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

We had one puppy, then we declared the same thing Paul said "no more puppies!!"
We only used a crate while we were gone, at night she slept in our bed. SIGH.
We had her trained to ring a bell that hung from the doorknob if she had to go out. It's really easy to get them trained that way.
She didn't pee on the carpet, but when she was mad at us, she'd pee on our bed! That's way worse!
We tried to keep her in a crate but she'd cry the WHOLE time she was in there. Yah.. puppies are a pain! They're so cute though.

ashley said...

Amy: That's what I use too! Except we probably need the big gallon jug of that stuff. ;-) Part of the problem is that we're not very good about avoiding the spot before it's dry, so we make it worse by tracking dust over it.

Paul thinks we need to go back to using treats. We stopped for a while because we didn't necessarily think it was healthy to be giving our dog treats ALL the time. But perhaps we quit too soon.

Cherish the Home said...

How old is Zoey?

Are you feeding and giving her water on a schedule?

Are you taking the water away at least 3-4 hours before bedtime?

Is your crate too large? It should only be large enough for her to lay down, stand up and turn around.

Do you have a way for her to be let out during the day while you're at work?

A puppy can only 'hold it' for 1 hour for every month old they are, plus 1. For instance a 4 month old puppy can only 'hold it' for 5 hours at the very most.

It's frustrating but with consistency it will get better. (o:

ashley said...

Zoey will be 5 months old next week. She's always been able to sleep through the night before. I think we're not taking her out late enough - the past few nights we've walked her right before bed, and she's been sleeping through the night.

Yes, all my animals are on a regular feeding and watering schedule. Her crate is just the right size. Actually, if she grows much more (which her vet says she will), then we'll probably have to get a bigger crate. We've never had problems with her going in her crate before, so she must have really needed to go.

I'm actually working from home now, so I'm walking her throughout the day. We've never left her alone for more than 4 or 5 hours, and even that is a rare occasion.

Sometimes puppies can be so frustrating!!!

Cherish the Home said...

It sounds like you're doing it right! Sometimes dogs go through this 'I forgot everything I know stage.' And like you said, she just must have been scared.

Hang in there....it'll get better! (o:

Blessings,
~Mrs.B