First Night Home

[Michelle Rodriguez]

So our first night home went pretty well I guess. The good thing was that she didn't cry the whole night so we were all able to get some rest, the BAD thing was that since she didn't cry at all she ended up peeing in her crate throughout the night :( She flew to us from across the country so when we picked her up from the airport her create was filled with poop and pee, I'm guessing now she probably thinks its ok to use her create as a potty?? Her breeder had her used to going on pee pads and news papers instead of outdoors so this morning after her morning meal I took her out (in the pouring rain) and I stayed with her for almost 45 mins trying to get her to go but had no luck :( Any advice on how I can get her going outside and NOT in her create or in the house?

[Missy]

Oh dear! It seems rough right now!!

What worked for us was to take the treats with us outside, and when he pee or poo, there was lots of jumping and praising and treats given immediately.  I had read somewhere that by waiting to give treats once back inside, they might confuse coming indoors as the response for the treat.

We kept track on paper the schedules-keeping every day the same timing. We went out after crate time, nap time, playtime, after eating, (which initially was ever 2-3 hours).  I wrote down what happened at each event, and soon learned our pup potty routine.  He NEVER poos after 20 min of eating-like the books say.  It takes him several hours to poo. And I learned he liked to take 2 poos every morning.  So, the paper made it easier to take a look at a week's worth of potty schedule and kinda learn our puppy.

As he pee or poo, we used our words "potty" to reinforce action with word and treats! 

Yes, I looked like crazy person out in the yard celebrating pee and poos, but these pups catch on real quick.  I would say if you are consistant, you will have her flipped to pottying outside within a week!

We also use potty bells.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

We did this, too! It worked well for us. I'm still in habit of praising outside potties at one year, lol! :-)

[Christy&Riley]

Cindy - Riley just turned 2 and I'm still doing it as well! :-)  However, my reason is not to avoid "going" in the house. It is because she will take FOREVER sniffing around outside to find a spot to go. If we go outside and she goes right away, that is cause for a celebration in my book! Particularly in the below zero winters here. We did treat for awhile but that was a slippery slope. Now we let her dance around and play with the leash as a reward. Probably not a good behavior to reinforce but to her it's a great reward, it gives her some exercise and she is fairly good about stopping when I tell her. Can't help but laugh when she runs around the driveway with the leash handle in her mouth. Looks like she is walking herself... LOL  She is also so perceptive that I swear she has sensed our irritation on how long it is taking and has pretended to go at times. :-)

[Dexter Doodle]

Dex flew to us too and there was pee in the crate. The first night he pooped in the crate. The second night I set my alarm for 2 or 3 am and brought him out to potty in the middle of the night. I continued that slowly increasing the time and he didn't have an accident in the crate after the first night. I would say he was making it through the night by 11 weeks. I think cutting off water 3 hours before bed helps a lot. He was completely potty trained at 12 weeks even though it took me a long time to believe it!


So I don't feel the accidents while traveling or last night are a big deal. I am sure it was a stressful time her. During the day we went out probably every 45 minutes or so. After every nap, eating, playing...so it was constant! The month of hard work was worth it though. As for not going in the pouring rain, I clearly remember Dex being the same way at first. Just try again in a little bit. She will get it!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Sorry to hear that but overall sounds good and you'll be able to turn it around - just thoroughly clean her crate (is it right size for her?) from scent with natures miracle. Then put her stinky pee pad items outside near where you want her to go. She won't pee directly on same spot again, but will go nearby. And leave any poo there, too. She will get the idea eventually. Watch like a hawk, lol! Good luck!!

[Paige and Leo]

Leo is almost 1 now but was 8 weeks old when he came home. We got up in the middle of the night with him for the first few nights/weeks.  Gradually that stopped and he did not need a break in the middle of the night.  I also took up water several hrs before bedtime.  During day I wrote everything down, when he went and kept a schedule.  It was about every hr then 2-3 hrs.  It was a big deal when he went outside lots of praise and I did do treats for outside.  He uses a bell now to tell me if he needs to go.  It is a process but it does get better.  Have fun with your knew little pup! 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

You've gotten great advice. The only thing that I was going to add is what Cindy touched on- the size of the crate. Puppies don't generally like to pee and poop where they sleep. So, unless you have a really small crate, you may need to partition off the crate so that she only has access to a small portion of it. What we did when we were crate training Winnie was wrap a box in plastic (for easy cleaning) and put that in the back of her crate.

Good luck! The first couple of weeks (and months!) are challenging, but it will get better with consistency!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

This is a baby...it 's not that she thinks it is ok...she just doesn't know any better.
First..pick up water after 7pm. You may have to set your alarm to go out on the middle of the night to get her out. Maybe once somewhere in the middle of the night? We were lucky, as Enzo never did get up to go out in those wee hrs.
Make sure you are cleaning out the crate with a good enzyme cleaner.
She should be taken out every 30- 45 minutes, after she wakes up and after she has finished eating.
Potty bells are a great way to teach her to let you know when she needs out. Hang the set of bells on the door you use to take her out. Each and every time you go out, have her hit the bells with her nose or paw.
When you do take her out, let her go...you may want to use a command, like " name: go"! Going on command comes in
handy!( like when it's pouring rain). Treating after she goes, and lots of praise after she goes is a must. She needs to learn going outside is a GOOD THING.
Patience and consistency is key. This isn't something that happens over night. You will begin to learn her signs of needing out and the times between going out will get longer. If you do catch her going in the house a firm NO and get her out. Never rub her nose in it, never smack her. Not too worry...she will get this!

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Thanks so much for all the great advice ladies!! I let her play with a kids for a bit and then I took her back out a little over an hour later and she peed AND pooped outside!! :) I made a HUGE deal out of it and made sure she understand she did a VERY good job and then I gave her a few treats which she LOVED :) So far she hasn't had any more accidents inside but of course its still pretty early in the day so that can change by tonight lol

Her create isn't overly big. When she lays in for her naps she almost fills it in completely. But it IS big enough for her to walk around just a bit. I attached a photo to give you ladies a better idea, could the size be an issue?

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I think she and the crate are PERFECT! :)

[Missy]

I think she fits fine in there!!  depending on the size of pup you got...upgrading crate will soon be on your list!!

she is a doll!!

side note: if you find she is tearing up her bedding...we realized Teddy got hot on those polyester pads and he was just trying to get it moved to the side so he could lay on the plastic bottom.   

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Great catch! Enzo was the same way. She hated me warm and would shove the crate pad to the side. We eventually just took it out and she was much happier. Every pup is different tho...LOL...time will tell! ;)