Potty Issues

[denise rumbaugh]

Hi All,

I'm hoping for some insight. We purchased our first Aussiedoodle 3 weeks ago and he is 11 weeks old. I love this little guy to death but I am having the most difficult time potty training him.  I had 2 dogs prior to him and I don't think they were this hard to train. I asked the former owner how she trained him and she indicated pad training which I do not like, I prefer the crate method and have had wonderful results with that.

So I purchased pads anyway in order to get him moved over slowly and he doesn't even use the pads instead he uses my carpet or kitchen floor. In fact he just doesn't care where he goes. He does go outside and I take him out first thing in the morning, 20-30 minutes after he eats and after he plays hard. It seems to be the worst when he plays hard or gets really excited. the 3rd week of having him he is catching on when I say, Let's go potty" he actually comes to the door.  Otherwise, he won't even indicate that he has to go nor does he give any of the usual signs of "sniffing" around to even let you know he has to go.  I praise him and give him treats after he goes outside and he realizes that he gets a treat when he comes in.  I thought maybe a bladder infection but he doesn't pee his bed all night (7-8 hrs) so I know he can hold it. I have resorted to taking up his food and water and giving it to him in the morning, lunch and dinner and I give him water after a walk, playtime or a treat.  I had to do this because he was peeing everywhere and I have a little more control over it.   I know he is still a baby but I am going crazy with this, I never put my Spot Bot away because I am constantly cleaning up. The previous owner says she never had this issue but I can't believe that.  He is well adjusted, playful, happy and eager to please. In three weeks he knows how to sit, lay, high five, shake and crawl but the little snot won't let me know he has to go potty. lol  I know they say it can take up to 12-13 wks for them to get control of their bladders...can anyone give me some advice outside of what I am doing? 

Also, he is always biting at or pinching my 6 yr old son.  Anytime my son plays or goes near him he goes crazy. I am not sure if he sees my son as a playmate since he is little but he has bitten him in the heels to the point he has drawn blood and he is always jumping on him or nipping him. Any advice on that would be welcomed.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have a question. You say that you purchased your puppy 3 weeks ago when he would have been 8 weeks old. But you refer to a "former owner" and "previous owner". How could he have had another owner prior to your purchasing him at 8 weeks of age? Are you referring to his breeder as the 'former owner"? 

[Adina P]

I would reduce his house freedom by a lot.  Keep him tethered to you as much as possible so he can't get away and run around and pee in the house.  Then take him out for potty every 15-20 minutes when he is out of the crate...as often as necessary to reduce the peeing in the house.  Then when he goes a week with NO accidents, increase the time to 30 minutes and so on.  But don't let him have any freedom in the house for a bit longer because he is obviously not ready for it (for whatever reason).  Then take him out and praise him big time and give treats for going potty outside.  If he is tethered to you or even to a piece of immovable furniture (with you close by and supervising) he is unlikely to potty in a space he is stuck in.  Give him lots of play time with you and the kids outside for 'freedom' while he learns where his clean home is.

[denise rumbaugh]

 I have to correct the time we have had him, we have had him 2 weeks this sunday.  The story I got from the breeder was he was sold to a friend of hers and she was unable to keep him because he barked alot and her landlord received complaints from other tenants so she had to give him back.  I got him at 10 weeks, he was born on April 17th.  I have to wonder why he was "really" given back and what may have happened to him.  He seems well adjusted and happy...I am just having issues having him let me know. I understand accidents happen, I get that he is still a baby. But to pick up on other areas of training so quickly only to have a hard time with potty training.  I am also struggling with what to do with his nipping and biting at my 6 yr old. I tell him NO, but he has a hard time with that too. He doesn't do that to me, my husband or 3 older boys 16, 22 and 27.  I can't have him nipping little ones, it's bad with my son. Oy, I love this dog, and I am hoping he outgrows this.

[F, Calla & Luca]

He will outgrow it. I found when Luca was a puppy that time outs, in his crate, or leased with a metal leash to a doorknob usually resulted in a nap, and then he was much less likely to be nippy for a while.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree with what Adina has said about reducing his space.  We have a 16 week old puppy right now and while she is doing very good with potty training I have to watch very closely for her signals that she needs to go out.  Anytime there is play happening with our other doodle I always know I need to stop it and take her out as she won't stop playing to go potty. 

As for the other issue with the nipping, pinching, all doodle puppies do a certain amount of this.  I referred to AnnaBelle as a land shark for several weeks.  She is a whole lot better now, but I was very consistent with her in that this was totally unacceptable from the beginning.  The problem you have as I see it is that you refer to your puppy as an Aussiedoodle which I am going to assume is an Australian Shephard and poodle mix.  If that is the case, I would think you need to get a trainer involved sooner rather than later because an AS is a herding dog and the nipping at the heels is how they herd!  This is an instinct in them.  They are going to herd something and your 6 y/o seems to be the best target.  I personally don't know how to tell you to fix it, but I think getting a professional trainer now to help you learn how everyone can live together peacefully is your best option.  As for the jumping, we have jumping issues with one of our other doodles, so with AnnaBelle jumping has been a no no from day one.  Every person who comes in contact with her is told that she is not allowed to jump and they are not to let her do it.  When she tries I just use my hand on her to push her off and a firm No. 

[Sally S Miles]

What you have is a normal puppy, granted you may have one that has already been shifted a bit much - however what you describe is normal.   This takes time and energy.  True housebreaking takes longer than a few trips out the door, until your dog is solidly able to hold it and tell you when it's time to go outside, training and a watchful eye are in order.  True

potty training' takes weeks - months,  so get a plan and stick to it.  Put the pup on a clock and stick to it, he will figure out that in order to play or eat, potty is needed.  It's your job to teach appropriate behavior.

Reduce the amount of space your pup has and stick to the crate training.  Shepherd's do herd, that's exactly what they do and even if there were no Shepherd - all dogs play and your pup is trying to instigate play with your child.  This is where puppy training comes into play, you have to teach the dog not to do that.  Otherwise somebody will get hurt. 

 

Please find a good trainer and take a deep breath - your child, yourself, and the dog deserve compassionate training.  At ten weeks of age your pup is now prime for learning, inspite of rough start, he's a fresh slate.   It's also important for your child and family to learn what sets off the dog, what relates to him, and how to get through to him.   Each animal has it's own lingo, internal language and it does often take a bit to figure out.  Puppies have priorities - food, fun, and lovin - so attach a few solid cues to each of these and watch him learn.

 

Did your breeder give you any clue as to his personality traits? Other than he barks a lot? 

[Adrienne]

In addition to what others have said, regarding the potty training, you may want to try the Poochie Potty Bells that you hang on the door.  Dougie, 11 wks tomorrow, would often go to the door and scratch it so I purchased the bells to save my door from being shredded :).  He now has the hang of it and the bells are audible throughout the house--he loves to shake them real hard.  

Dougie also likes to nip but we know that this is normal and is a work in progress.  He is much better but will still resort to nipping if he is excited.  We typically give a firm "No Bite" and stop playing with him altogether, sometimes standing and turning our backs to him.  He quickly senses that something is wrong and stops nipping.  We are also teaching him "kisses" to replace the nipping.  When he kisses or nuzzles the skin, he gets lots of praise.

Be patient and keep working at it, it will get better.

[Thuy & Hops]

Like Adrienne, I also used bells to potty train my aussiedoodle. It took about 2 weeks of ringing the bells every time I took him outside for him to go up and ring the bells himself. He started ringing the bells to go out for playtime too, so it took another week or so to teach him that the bells were only for going outside to potty. I took the bells away when he turned 5 months.

[Al Carmona]

My dog "Chip" took couple months to  catch on. I would see any peeing as normal in the first 3-4 months.

i had a secret word for going out to pee, sometimes saying it,(by accident).Then finding a puddle of pee on the floor.

my Fault...

He never pooped inside. seems bladders take longer to train.Have patients. Just keep letting him out and before you know it, he will be telling you when he needs to go...

[denise rumbaugh]

I wanted to update on Jace.  I took him back to the vet because something just didn't seem right.  We were taking him out literally ever hour and he would potty.  I have had dogs in the past and this just didn't seem right.  After explaining to the vet what we were dealing with they did an examine for a UTI.  Sure enough he had a severe UTI...I felt so bad for putting him in timeout all of those times knowing now that he couldn't help it. After 2 days on a 7 day antibiotic treatment we have almost zero accidents.  

On that note, I take him out frequently but he still doesn't indicate that he has to go out. He just turned 4 months on 8/17 and I realize he is young but when will this start? I have his potty bells and to be honest he acts like he is afraid of them.  I go to the door jingle them with his paw and tell him, "go potty" or "potty outside"  he leans up against the wall with his ears back...is this normal considering his age?  He isn't afraid of loud noises so I'm not sure why he acts afraid. If anyone has any advice on how to get him to "let us know" when he has to go out I would appreciate it!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We have little AnnaBelle who is just over 5 months.  She has just in the last week or so started "woofing" at the door when she wants to go out.  One day this week she even came and "woofed" at the Den door when I apparently didn't know she was at the back door.  I'm not sure if this is an age thing or if she has started doing it because she hears Lucy bark at the door when she wants out.  We have made sure to make a really big deal out of the few times that she has woofed so she gets the idea.  I think when she was so little we were taking her out so frequently that she didn't really need a way to let us know she wanted out.  Now she knows that potty is outside, we have a better feel and don't take her so frequently so she had to let us know she wanted out.    In the beginning Lucy wasn't even having to bark at the door because she would just go out when we took AnnaBelle if she needed to go out.  Now that AnnaBelle doesn't go so frequently, Lucy has to once again bark to go.  With our first two they just sort of developed this on their own.  Little Sophie from the very first night she was home would whine this little whine when she had to potty.  And then Lucy started to bark.  Just one bark.  If you didn't come quick enough it gets louder.  So, hopefully your Jace will come up with his own way of letting you know.

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

I have a 16 week old ALD and she doesn't tell us either. I am thinking of having her do a sit pretty or another "trick" to tell us. She doesn't use the bells even though my eleven month does. I actually got my house training books out this morning. :).