I redid these postings so I can keep track of each step that you are doing. Try to use this one with follow ups. It looks like this morning went almost pretty good. After the nap, not so good. He knew why he was put on the pad. When you put him on the pad use a signal word, like pad time, potty, or go, whatever you want. As you put him on the pad say, ''Potty, good boy". If he doesn't go within 15 minutes, walk him on the leash and back in the crate. Wait another 5-15 minutes and walk him again to the pad. If he doesn't go, then walk him back to the crate again. Don't say anything to him each time you walk him back to the crate. Even if you have to do that 5 times, in a row, he will eventually go when YOU want him to. If you should catch him again when he makes a mistake, yell out ''NO!'' and then show him the pad for a minute or two and then walk him back to the crate. Try not to be to verbal, just use the command words, and don't use his name to scold him. You only want to use his name when it is for a good thing, that way any dog will always come to you when you call him and not associate his name as a bad thing. The only time you praise him, is after he has done his business on the pad. The only time you let him free is after he has done his business on the pad. The first couple of days are the hardest, but believe me he understands what you want and is just being stubborn and you have to be more stubborn then he is, to win. You may want to loop the leash around your waist for the first couple of days, so that it is always handy, when he is free.
So - after his nap we put on our leash and went to the potty pad where we stayed and stayed and stayed...we did nothing so we walked around trying to figure out how we could ditch mom and this neck thing and do what we wanted. where we wanted. Hmmmmph! We went back to the pad and stayed and stayed...it was clear that he really needed to go..but he held it and held it. Finally, took the leash off to let him walk for a minute (before trying again) which he did..and peed on the family room rug. a few minutes later I saw him about to poop next to that spot on the rug (which I had immediately drenched with Nature's M.)I scooped him up - took him to the pad where he finished his business and then tried to eat the little bit he'd done there...he wasn't worried about the big one on the rug. As soon as he was on the pad I was praising him up and down so I was surprised that he was trying to clean up the stuff on the pad. I'm not discouraged but he sure is a stubborn little booger.Anything I'm missing here? Do we need chi therapy? What do you all think? _____________________________________________________________________________ ________________________ OK - so last night, in preparation for our big new morning schedule, I removed the pad from Valken's xpen and mushed the pen around so it was just big enough for his bed. Before we went to bed I tried to get him to pee..but he didn't do anything. Put him to bed hoping for the best.. This morning, he was waiting patiently and calmly in his bed. I took him to the pad (which is moved to the kitchen).I didn't leash him (will do it next time). He peed on the pad & got a good boy. I kept him there for a little bit & he seemed done. A couple of minutes later I saw him preparing to poop on the rug a few feet away. I almost got him in time..it didn't hit the rub but dropped to the floor on the way to the pad (they are really fast!). Then I fed him breakfast. He ate and is napping next to me on the couch. So - he's not needing to poop right after eating this morning but maybe that will start as we get going on our schedule. For now I'm planning on putting him in his pen/crate for awhile and walking him to the pad when I get him back out. I really consider this morning a great start for us. He was alot calmer in the small space and if I'd had him on the leash and had him stay on the pad for a couple of minutes longer, he would have pooped there as well... I did buy a crate last night. I'm gonna swap it out for the pen today since he did so well last night. I like the idea of being able to take his crate to other rooms so if I have to do work in the office etc. it'll make it easier to have him up there with me. Thanks so much for all the info and tips!!
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