Hi! New member with a new pup! We are a large family with 4 kids and recently added a 10 week old yorki/poodle mix, Charlie, to our home. (Apparently, we thrive on chaos!) I should also note that I am a stay at home mom and we homeschool our kids, so we're always home with our pup. We brought him home on the 3rd, so as of this posting, it's only been a week.
Before bringing our pup home, we had decided to liter box train him, using washable pee pads in a puppy liter box. We had done a lot of research and decided to keep Charlie in an exercise pen with his food and water, bed, potty box, and toys. We started out with the pen in a 6 panel hexagon shape, in the middle of our living room. Charlie's temperament in the pen was quite good - he was happy and playful, never whined or barked, and loved when one of us would go into the pen to play with him. (The rule was that until he was fully potty trained using his potty box, he wouldn't get to wander the house.) He was even sleeping quietly through the night, thanks in major part to our 10 year old, who has been sleeping next to the pen since his first night home. (I'm sure this will bite us back later when he's not able to sleep alone.)
However, potty training wasn't going well. While he was pooping in the box (and eating it - a whole other issue), he was peeing all over the dang pen. I took to the internet and read that if we're trying to liter box train using a pen, we should have in a small configuration, with almost no floor space visible, so that the pup doesn't have as many choices on where to do his business. I also read that we should put the box near where it will be kept long term, so as to ease confusion and regression when he is fully potty trained. So I made the pen smaller, a 4 sided square, and put it in the corner of the living room. Once we put his box, bed, and bowls in, there truly was very little floor room. And sure enough, more times than not, he will poop and pee in the box! Success right? Not so much.
Now our sweet pup has taken to whining and barking incessantly unless someone is right next to the pen to calm him to sleep. I never knew such a loud sound could come from such a small dog! He seems miserable and sad in there and I'm not sure how to handle it. We're currently ignoring it at all costs, and rewarding him with a treat and some petting when he quiets down. It's too soon to tell if the ignoring is helping.
I'm certain that I didn't give the larger pen a solid try (it's had only been 4 or 5 days when I moved it) but now I'm not sure if we should stick to the small pen for the sake of potty training or go back to the messes in the larger pen with room to play?
If we keep the smaller pen, should Charlie be given the opportunity to roam the house once he's gone potty? (It would be just the living room and the kitchen for now.) We're currently letting him wander and come outside with us, but then he has accidents on the floor in the living room, presumably since he's no longer near the potty box. I'm sure he wants to be with us and definitely needs the opportunity to play and expend energy, I'm just not sure how to go about it.
If we move back to the larger pen where he has more room to run and tumble and play, how can I help him use the potty box? Loose potty pads or newspaper aren't an option, because he just wants to chew and toss them around. Anything loose is up for attack right now. (Currently his washable potty pad is underneath a gridded tray in his potty box.) Also, does anyone have experience with this type of potty training? Can we move the potty box once he's learned to use it in the exercise pen?
Any insight would be much appreciated! Before this, we had only rescued senior dogs but after loosing them, my husband and I thought it might be too hard on the kids (and on me) so we opted for a puppy. But puppies are new territory for us! And so much more work than babies!
Thank you!
Before bringing our pup home, we had decided to liter box train him, using washable pee pads in a puppy liter box. We had done a lot of research and decided to keep Charlie in an exercise pen with his food and water, bed, potty box, and toys. We started out with the pen in a 6 panel hexagon shape, in the middle of our living room. Charlie's temperament in the pen was quite good - he was happy and playful, never whined or barked, and loved when one of us would go into the pen to play with him. (The rule was that until he was fully potty trained using his potty box, he wouldn't get to wander the house.) He was even sleeping quietly through the night, thanks in major part to our 10 year old, who has been sleeping next to the pen since his first night home. (I'm sure this will bite us back later when he's not able to sleep alone.)
However, potty training wasn't going well. While he was pooping in the box (and eating it - a whole other issue), he was peeing all over the dang pen. I took to the internet and read that if we're trying to liter box train using a pen, we should have in a small configuration, with almost no floor space visible, so that the pup doesn't have as many choices on where to do his business. I also read that we should put the box near where it will be kept long term, so as to ease confusion and regression when he is fully potty trained. So I made the pen smaller, a 4 sided square, and put it in the corner of the living room. Once we put his box, bed, and bowls in, there truly was very little floor room. And sure enough, more times than not, he will poop and pee in the box! Success right? Not so much.
Now our sweet pup has taken to whining and barking incessantly unless someone is right next to the pen to calm him to sleep. I never knew such a loud sound could come from such a small dog! He seems miserable and sad in there and I'm not sure how to handle it. We're currently ignoring it at all costs, and rewarding him with a treat and some petting when he quiets down. It's too soon to tell if the ignoring is helping.
I'm certain that I didn't give the larger pen a solid try (it's had only been 4 or 5 days when I moved it) but now I'm not sure if we should stick to the small pen for the sake of potty training or go back to the messes in the larger pen with room to play?
If we keep the smaller pen, should Charlie be given the opportunity to roam the house once he's gone potty? (It would be just the living room and the kitchen for now.) We're currently letting him wander and come outside with us, but then he has accidents on the floor in the living room, presumably since he's no longer near the potty box. I'm sure he wants to be with us and definitely needs the opportunity to play and expend energy, I'm just not sure how to go about it.
If we move back to the larger pen where he has more room to run and tumble and play, how can I help him use the potty box? Loose potty pads or newspaper aren't an option, because he just wants to chew and toss them around. Anything loose is up for attack right now. (Currently his washable potty pad is underneath a gridded tray in his potty box.) Also, does anyone have experience with this type of potty training? Can we move the potty box once he's learned to use it in the exercise pen?
Any insight would be much appreciated! Before this, we had only rescued senior dogs but after loosing them, my husband and I thought it might be too hard on the kids (and on me) so we opted for a puppy. But puppies are new territory for us! And so much more work than babies!
Thank you!