Not on the bed!

I've been trying to find time to finish off a longish post- the theme of which is, er, how I seem to be too busy to figure out the plan of action vis a vis IVF. Unsurprisingly, it is not ready yet.

Meanwhile, the Little Guy continues to delight and occasionally exasperate. The housebreaking thing?  Not going so well. Pardon me for going on at length about it, but I've become slightly obsessed with the topic.

Little Guy is a clever boy, and I've taught him to ring a bell by the door when he wants to go outside for a poo. Good, huh?  But let's not get carried away with the congratulatory pats on the back. The bad news is that the learning has not quite sunk in when it comes to peeing side of potty training, which continues to be an ongoing daily battle with far too many carpet casualties for my liking.

I'm doing all the right things- taking him out every hour, crating him when I can't keep an eye on him, cleaning up the accident black spots with special pet odour remover. And yet, he continues to foil me with stealth pees . This afternoon, I turned my back for about five seconds and he jumped up on the bed, then piddled all over the duvet cover. 

I know, I know, it's completely my own fault for not watching him.  Vigilance is key, yadda yadda. I guess the trouble is that I am often left looking after him for hours on end, on my own, and I simply cannot give him my absolute undivided attention every second. And somehow sticking him back in the crate right after I get home to let him out seems on the harsh side. I figured because he had performed on cue half an hour earlier, the coast was clear to have a quick dash to the loo to attend to my own personal bathroom needs and then brush my teeth for a minute. Um. Evidently not.

I can sort of understand the temptation to pee on the bed (and please note how I daringly tempt the Google search weirdos with that sentence.) But rather more worrying is his willingness to wander into his little crate and let loose. We were using a larger crate initially, one we had inherited from E.'s parents. When LG started heading there for his bathroom breaks, I put it down to the fact that it was too big for him- big enough so he could pee at one end and sleep at the other- a major no-no in received housebreaking wisdom. So I got him a crate more appropriate to his size.  He seems to like it just dandy. He's fine in there for a couple hours during the day.

But then what did he do tonight, right in front of me?  While I was watching him? Walked straight in and away he went. Argggg. Here I had been secretly exulting that I had taught him to be so fond of his little den that he was happy to go in of his own accord and hang out in there, and meanwhile he's plotting potty naughtiness. Double argg.

Yes, yes, I know, he's only four months old, it will take more time. And the bell thing- yay! And also the cuteness- oh yes!  We will perservere.

 

Comments

[Sandy]

ack...on the bed! We are getting a new 'pup' (another newfoundland dawg - they hardly qualify as pups) next week and I am so not looking forward to this part of the trip! But the puppy breath is worth it. Hope that overpowers the pee on duvet smell! And the bell thing? Entirely too cute!

[Lisa]

I had awful troubles when I had two kittens who would get poo all over their feet and legs and tracked "poopie paws" all over the house. But they grew out of it in a matter of months. I bet the "Dog Whisperer" might have some good potty-training advice? You guys probably don't get that show over there, but he's this guy who's an expert at training dogs: http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/. He seems like he's got an answer for everything!

[DebbieS]

I think the pee-ing on the duvet cover needs to be filed under the "you're lucky you're so cute" category! My corgi used to do that too...look me STRAIGHT in the eye and pee all over the floor. For some reason male dogs are said to be harder to housetrain. No comment ;) I hate to use awful terminology on someone who has experienced fertility problems, but have you tried "umbilical training"? You leash them to your belt loop and walk around like that all day so they're forced to lead you lead them around all you like.

I should clarify that I'm talking about the dog, not E.

[Boulder]

Can I do a "mommy drive-by?"

I'm wondering if you are leaving a bowl of water down for him to have access to at his will? If you are I'd think about restricting his intake to certain times of the day when you can ensure that he'll be able to get a walk, or be let out. Once he's mastered the peeing outside, then you can reintroduce the "buffet of water."

Also, he's a boy, and he's more than likely, in my opinion (so take it with a grain of salt) marking the house as "his." He needs to know it isn't his, it is your home, and you & E are "top dogs." The bed peeing is particularly located in the marking column, I believe, and he's going around, saying "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

Do things with him that set boundaries with him now because it will only get worse if you don't. The dogs really love to know their place in the order of things.

(I'm a HUGE dog lover, btw, so know I'm saying this with all the love of a person who doesn't mind having her face licked by her dogs.)

[thalia]

Well I'm totally out of doggy wisdom, but continue to marvel at his cuteness. Although I can imagine that the peeing isn't adding to his general air of adorability.

But a bell? Wow, you are quite the doggy mama.

[Ellen K.]

Sadie rings a bell also to go outside. Right now I'm dog-sitting a friend's puppy for the week (and am exhausted by the antics of two hound mixes) and am trying to train her to ring the bell.

I agree with Boulder's ideas. I've tried Debbie's umbilical training, and I think it's a good way to establish a bit of hierarchy, which can make the dog feel more secure.

Damn, your dog is cute...

[Schnozz]

That dog is so ridiculously cute. It kills me. I bet even his poop is cute. OK, maybe not.

[Jill]

Puppies are so hard to train, and it seems like the little ones are puppies longer than those that grow into big dogs. I am curious about the poo outside but pee inside. I thought it was usually the opposite. If it goes on much longer, perhaps a trip to the vet to rule out a bladder infection is in order?

[Kim]

This was how Danny my cute peeing puppy was-I finally took some dog training book's advice and restrained him to just 1 room in the house using baby gates, and it was easier to catch him sniffing around, he had less chances to hide his messes, etc. When I had to be in the other part of the house, I put him in a playpen I had got at a garage sale. Praised him a lot when he did it outside, also waited with him, we didn't go inside, until he did one or both numbers. It took about 3 months for him to totally get trained, but he won't ever go in the house now.
Good luck! and I enjoy reading your blog, I have been trying for a year, going the IUI/AI route since I am single. But my 4 little canine children have helped with the waiting.
Kimm

[SouthernComfortable]

The dog is insanely cute. It's a good thing, because the peeing in the bed incident would have been tragic for a less adorable creature, methinks.

[chupaflor]

Doggie dramas! Gotta love it. I have four dogs, and two cats. Totally nuts. And they've each been a handfull in their own way, except for my girl-dog, who, once she reached her adulthood, became mostly perfect. My dog whisperer (amazing woman!)says this: "When training your dog, pick up a newspaper, roll it up, take two steps towards your dog, and hit yourself smartly on the head!" The moral is that everything your dog does which you dont like is a behaviour YOU have reinforced! Dogs just want to please you. You are their only source of food, and love,so they want to please you at all costs, believe me. What it sounds like to me is your lovely puppy thinks you WANT him to pee in his crate. I suggest you get some doggy diaper mats and put them in FRONT of the crate, encouraging him to pee on that, and when he does, treat him with something really good like cheese, and a brief play time. Then move the mat closer to the door every day so he gets the message. It will take time. Trust me when I say this, sometimes dogs take forever to potty train. It also can be a form of 'acting out'. A dog will know that to pee on his Alpha's bed is a big insult (a wolf cub would never do this) and is a dominance game. Punishment wont (and NEVER will ) work. Removing your attention is what works. When he pees on the bed do not react, thereby removing your attention. Just try out the diaper mat thing. I wish you much luck! He'll get it in time! Happy tickling! :)