Day 1: Not So Easy

[Amelia & Ruby]

Hey Doodlers,

I need some advice or at least some reassurance.

We brought Ruby, our 9 week old Aussiedoodle, home last night and things are pretty tough so far.

We got her from a farm far outside of the city, and the first and most obvious hard thing is that she's really unaccustomed to city noises and people and goings on in general, which has lead to or exacerbated our potty training attempts. We found a few ok pee spots outside our condo (we live on the fourth floor), but she gets easily distracted and scared when we're out there. Because of this, or maybe for other reasons, she's already had several small pee accidents in the house--two in her crate (one big one this morning, and one smaller one while I was trying to get her out), one on a big dog bed, and one coming out of her crate on the way to go downstairs. She gives me little yipping warnings, but only as she's about to go or while its happening. She slept through the first night and barely made any noise at all, but now she's whining in her crate and I'm not sure whether that means she has to go potty or if she's already developing some crate anxiety. I'm afraid to take her out when she cries and I'm afraid to NOT take her out when she cries. 

On top of this, I was really committed to having a great crate / potty schedule and following Ian Dunbar and Sophia Yin's philosophies with "learn to earn" etc., but today all of that has been almost laughable. She's not all that into food right now, so using kibble as treats is not happening, not to mention she can't stay focused on me for very long anyway. And feeding her from the kong isn't happening cause she just doesn't care. Also I don't really want to limit her water intake because it's pretty hot here in Toronto right now, but is she going to have to pee 15 minutes after she drinks every time? When exactly does that fit into the crate schedule?! AHHH 

I know it's the first day, but they BOTH say things along the lines of "if you're not training them to do the right thing you're training them to do the wrong thing." 

Sorry for the puppy novel / drama, but HALP! Or at least tell me you've been here before and there's a way out. Or just to be patient. 

I've attached some pics from when she was 7 weeks so you can see why I haven't strangled her or myself yet.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Well Ruby is adorable. She is only 9 weeks old, taken from her mama and siblings into a whole new environment and being taught new things. Sleeping all night the first night, is a lot more than most of us get. Just keep at it and it will get better. She will get more comfortable with her new family. Give her lots of praise when she does something good like pee outside in her spot. Our doggies want to please us. I think it is pretty normal for a puppy not to be all that hungry the first couple of days. I know my Annabelle wasn't interested in her food at first. One thing that does help is to sit with them while they eat so they are not alone. Maybe if you have a balcony, you could put a little potty place out there for her. Like some fake grass or a small square of sod. Then she will just have her own germs to deal with until she gets all of her shots, plus it will be closer for her. Of course if you get the real stuff you would have to put it in some plastic container or the neighbors below you may not be too happy when you water it.

[Amelia & Ruby]

Thanks for the reassurance. Unfortunately we don't have a balcony so we're just going to have to do it the hard way. The times I've caught her in the act of peeing I've moved her over to a pee pad, but she doesn't seem to really understand what it is, and I'm not that enthusiastic about teaching her she can go inside anyway. Hopefully it will get easier and I won't feel like all the books I read are straight up lying about what they can get dogs to do in the first few days home. Ha!

[Lisette Palmer]

Poor little baby; she is probably scared.

[Amelia & Ruby]

I'm SURE she's scared, poor girl. She did get a lot more animated over the course of the day though, even outside and in the hallways. Hopefully it gets better quickly, for both of our sake.

[Lisette Palmer]

   My puppy came for a day visit the week before I brought him home to stay, he came from a city home, and played outside alot.  I just feel so fortunate.  My Charley has been really quite easy to train.  Hang in there.

[Judith and Addie]

You said something that caught  my attention and I wanted to comment on it. You said that she gets distracted and scared when you take her outside. I would be cautious that she doesn't become fearful of outside, and you may want to consider counter-conditioning her to the outside environment. Don't work on the potty training outside but work on getting her comfortable being outside. Take her out when it is relatively quite and just give her treats, treats, treats just for being outside, maybe something like small pieces of chicken.

It has been a while since I read Ian Dunbar, but I believe that he recommends setting up an area (like an ex-pen) around the crate that has a section for potty that is similar to the type of area you want her to use outside. For example, if grass, use something similar to grass in a tray; if concrete, use something similar to concrete in a tray. Then praise, praise, praise anytime she uses the proper area (and give her something really yummy). Again, this is from memory not referring  to the Dunbar book text, but I believe the crate schedule was to put your puppy in the crate (with limited space) for an hour and then take out to potty. If she doesn't potty after 5 minutes, return to crate for 15 minutes. Take out to potty. Repeat  the 15 minute part as necessary.

And yes, all this will pass. Patients is not my strong suit but I make it through and so will you

[Amelia & Ruby]

Thanks, Judith! Your recollection of Ian Dunbar is pretty much perfect. I had considered the ex-pen for a long time before deciding to try and start with outside only for fear of the transition. That being said, if in the next few days it seems like that will help, I will go out and grab one, and also make her a little astroturf pee area.

I really like what you said about counter-conditioning her to outside. She's getting much more adventurous both at home and outside in the last 24 hours or so, and I started taking her out to just hang out outside also. Today she went into the local coffee shop for a minute, and then watched the cars and bikes and people and street cars go by from the comfort of my lap. Lots of treats and lots of praise and she seemed very calm and almost a little happy to be out there. Progress!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

OMD, she is the cutest puppy ever!  I am sure that her accidents are puppy/learning to be house broken related.  She will become accustomed to the noises over time, but it will take a while.  We have a new rescue who is 3 years old.  Right now we are having to have potty breaks on a leash because we are traveling.  He is having the same issues - too distracted by people, dogs,  traffic etc to do his business in a timely fashion, and he IS potty broken, so I feel your pain. He also is not food oriented so we can't bribe him.  When Ned was a puppy we took him out about every 30 minutes and tried to stay out until he peed, however if it didn't happen, we came back in and went out 15 minutes later.  We also took him out when he first woke up from a nap or sleep, about 30 minutes after eating, and immediately after a play session.  We carried him out to prevent peeing on the way. 

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

I agree with everyone here. You can easily use the grass patch (doggy lawn) inside. I had it on the carpet, it comes on cardboard, and didn't go through to the carpet. You can buy it on amazon.
To get puppy used to noises, carry her around everywhere in a bag. They even make ones specifically for puppies with a little carabiner to attach the collar.

[Amelia & Ruby]

Love it! I'm going to take a little walk to a Michael's nearby today, and I think we'll give that a try. Hopefully she'll be too interested in the outside world to worry to much about being in a bag. haha

[Dee & Chappie]

Hello Amelia,  I am not an expert, but have had dogs all my life and now the owner of  miniALD, who is 8 months old tomorrow.   Chappie came to us from AZ, we live in FL.   We are retired, so have lots of time to spend with him, and in the early weeks, I am sure I took him out every 20 or 30 minutes to potty.   Lots of accidents (pee only), but finally he is housebroken.   We live in a house, so much easier than a condo, we had lived in a condo before with a large lab, and that was easy because he was already trained when we moved to the condo.   As far as the noise and training goes, I think I would pick up and carry Ruby outside for potty, praise her like crazy when she goes, and bring her right back inside, no play, just potty.  Just keep reassuring her regarding the noise telling her it is ok, stroking her, and maybe that will calm her and give her some sefl confidence.   Chappie was a real baby at 8 weeks, and he just needed lots of gentle love and attention.   Now he is just wonderful temperment wise.

As to the food issue, he was not a foodie and I have bought and returned more dry and canned food than I care to count.   Fortunatley all the large pet stores and holistic ones will take back anything even after opening.   The only thing Chappie could eat without getting loose stools is canned "Wild Callings", for all ages, and now I am supplementing with Merricks small dog kibble, the beef flavored.   I tried Orijen, Fromms, etc., etc.  

Ruby is a doll baby, and I am sure in a few weeks you will see a big improvement.

Good luck,  Dee  PS:  make sure the crate is small, just enough room for her to stand and turn around.  

I book that I have always used is by The Monks of New Skete, go on Amazon and check it out.  

[Amelia & Ruby]

Thanks, Dee! Really good advice. I think her crate is a little big at the moment, so I'm going to use some wire to make a little partition (ours didn't come with one). I'm sure the patience will pay off--she's already doing better than yesterday. Just have to keep close track of her schedule, as she seems to not really mind peeing in the crate if she has to.