Article from Sharda on Potty Training a Puppy

[Sarah]

There have been a lot of people who have asked about Potty Training. I realize that Sharda sends these articles out to everyone who has signed up for them, however, there are probably some members who have not and could really use this information... Sarah



From the Desk of Sharda Baker

Good day and welcome everyone!

This is Sharda with another potty train newsletter.

Let’s get to know them more by seeing their appearance

Here we go!

POTTY TRAINING FOR A NEW PUPPY

Bringing a new puppy home from the kennel for the first time is a wonderful experience.

A puppy starts learning about you and what you want on your very first contact, and it is important to start out on the right foot when it comes to potty training puppies.

Allowing bad habits to begin will only result in more challenges to training the puppy, as he or she will have to both unlearn bad habits and re-learn desired behaviors.


By starting with potty training right from the start, the puppy is better able to understand what you want, and will establish your relationship with the puppy as the leader.



WHEN TO START

Puppies will usually be removed from their mother's care and given to new owners when they are between six to eight weeks of age. Puppies, even this young and small, can begin to be potty trained from the moment that they arrive at your house.

Puppies at the age of less than ten weeks usually will need to either urinate or defecate every two to three hours. By taking your puppy outside prior to these time limits, the puppy will learn to relieve him or herself outside, and will also become comfortable with the feel of the lawn or concrete under their feet when they are relieving themselves.

This is big component of potty training a puppy, as they will begin to associate the feel of the ground surface outside with going to the bathroom, and the surface of the floor inside as playing and resting - but more importantly not toileting.

If you are able to prevent the puppy from having accidents in the house, he or she will not develop the habit, and will be much easier to potty train than a puppy that is allowed to soil in the house initially and then potty trained later.


It is important to remember that puppies, like babies, have very small bladders and stomachs and have poor muscle control.

They cannot be expected to walk far or delay having to go, so proper house preparation is important.

I hope that you learned a lot from today's potty train newsletter

All the best and take care

Warmly,

[jude09]

Thanks for this Sarah!

[Pam 19]

I brought Teppi home not long ago. She's about 10 weeks old now. I have been trying to paper (pads) train her because she hasn't had all her shots yet & it is too cold to try to take her out if I was going to. A lot of the time she will go to the pad to urinate but still has accidents of course. The problem is that she WILL NOT have a bowel movement on the pads. She always goes somewhere else & not the same place. If I see her acting like she needs to go I pick her up & take her to the pads but she won't stay, she runs off in a different direction. Right after that she starts circleing again & I trry again & she still won't go on the pads. So after about 3 times I just stop & she finds a place to go. I don want to keep trying & cause to end up not going & get constipated & can't go. A groomer told me not to exress anal glands unless absolutely necessary & she said she couldn't even feel Teppi's. What to do?

[Sarah]

Regarding Teppi not having a bowel movement, I would place her in a place where you want her to go, and block her off from going anywhere in the house. If you give up on her while she is learning this, it will take a very long time for her to get potty trained. You can also train her to go in a cat box, or use wee pads. She may not like the feel of the paper, the wee pads are a little thicker. Be more determined than she is, and even though she is small and cute, she needs to know what the boundaries and limitations are, otherwise she will a tornado in your house instead of a cute little girl.

Regarding expressing the anal glands. I wouldn't worry about it. There are many dogs who live very happily and they don't have their glands expressed and they don't have a smell. If she should start dragging her little bum across the floor and it's not worms, this will be the time that I would begin to question expressing the anal glands.

[mia]

Hi Pam and Teppi,

Your little Teppi is still so much a baby like my little Heidi is, As Sarah said, I would not worry about the anal glands, I have 3 tiny Chihuahua's and 2 tiny Yorkies and have never had to do that.

Now getting to the pad training, my whole house is white carpet and I found EZ-WHELP online and ordered some washable pads. They come in a lot of sizes. I also went to Petco (online actually) and got some wire pens to place on the pads. I have the 4x4x4 pen size and they are movable, you can fold them down to make smaller, down to the size of a pee pad. That is what I put it to at night so if we get up in the night I put them on and they will go on the pad and be done, no dilly dally and we go back to bed. These pens also work so you can take your little ones out in the summer, they hook together. We have Hawks and Eagles in the area so I need to keep them safe and be with them every minute.

Don't get frustrated, puppies are just like a human child and can test your patience.

Good luck,

Mia

[Lee at Delayre]

Doing anal glands at her age could cause serious problems and it has nothing to do with the paper training . Just keep taking her to the paper . I don't like piddle pads. If the puppy tears it up an injests the plastic that can be harmful . You need to put her either in a small puppy proof area like the service porch or bath room (shower stals with a door are great ) and paper at first the whole area . When you find out which section she like to go in then begin removing the other papers . Watch her and praise her when she goes . If she mssses the paper do not scold her she wll not connect the the fact that she missed the paper she may think she should nt use the paper . You can use plastc carpet runners under the paper to keep the floor from beng staiined. You can also get a puppy playpen for her .

[Pam 19]

Thanks for all the wonderfull advice. The idea of blocking off an area for her to go sounds great. Thanks for the advice about the shower stalls but we don't have one. Right now I'm having to stay at my Mom's house . She's very picky. I don't think she wants me to put her in her bathtub. lol It's a great idea though. I want to also thank you all for the advice you gave me when I asked about her chewing & biting. I haven't found any rawhide strips yet Sarah, but I'm still looking. & Mia I haven't seen any of the chews you mentioned. I have tried trading out with her & giving her some of her favorite toys or chews. THat lasts for a few short minutes & then she's back to biting & chewing. I new from the beginning that she was teething, but she was EATING ME ALIVE!!! lol Today when she started her feeding frenzie I ws like "Oh no, not again." When she wouldn't go for anything I tried to get her to stop & she got to trying to eat my toes I picked up a piece of the newspaper, rolled it up, went toward her just kind of shaking it to make noise, told her no & she stopped. She tried about 2 more times to get to my toes. I did the newspaper thing & now it seems like maybe I've found the answer. I haven't touched her with it but she doesn't know what it is & the little bit of sound it makes makes her backup & stop what she's doing. It may be a little old fahsioned, but IT WORKS. So there's a little advice for all you with biting & chewing puppies/dogs. Try the paper. lol Thanks everbody. Teppi says Hi!