[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< My guess is that you started when the puppies were too old.
I cover the bottom of a 3' x 3' puppy pen with 7 squares of dri-deck tile
and cover the other 2 square feet (farthest away from food and bed) with
newspaper. At 3-4 weeks, the pups will go to that corner and use the
newspaper. >>
I agree that they were probably too old, but I use neither litter or
newspaper. As soon as my puppies start to walk... and I mean take their
first steps, I put a plastic tray (like from McDonalds) in the whelping box
and I have wrapped it with a wee-wee pad. Those pads are specially treated
to attract dogs. Even 3 week old puppies will make their way directly to the
pad and use it. Certainly, there are times they have their front feet on the
tray and are going on the vet bed under it. But they learn very quickly. It
is neat and clean and sooooo easy. If you start that early, they will not
shred the paper in the pad. If you wait til they are 4 or 5 weeks old they
will certainly shred it to bits. I have been using this method for 2 or 3
years and the only time I have a problem is when I get lazy and let the
mother continue to keep the whelping box (which becomes their "playpen")
clean for me. I still find she is cleaning the pad and I only have to change
it once a day.
When the puppies are 5 weeks old they start to go outside several times a day
and easily adjust to the grass. At 4 weeks old I have put a very small
crate inside the box with the door off and they love to go inside and curl
up. They start to get the idea that the crate is their home and they keep it
clean and walk over to the pad. At 6 or 7 weeks old I replace it with a
slightly larger crate and put a door on and close the crate (with all the
pups together inside) for 5 hours at night. After a few days they are
sleeping through the night for 7 hours and keeping the crate clean. I open
the door in the morning and pick the pups up and carry them right outside.
They very easily can go all night with no accidents. That does not mean they
go for that long a time during the day. They still need the tray with the
pad in the corner of the "playpen" when running around and always have to go
after waking up from a short nap.
I have tried several ways of training and find this works the best for me.
Phyllis Lasser
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