Dear Sheila, I would try putting her in a very small crate when I was not with her. Or when you can't be totally attentive to her. I would go back to going outside and eliminate the weewee pads. Then follow through with the usual, praise when she performs outside and ignoring her when she makes a mistake out of your sight, scolding when she is caught in the act. The key might be that she needs a very small area (like a kitty crate), until she "gets it". For the moment I would ignore the eating behavior and work on housebreaking first.
Let us know how it is going. Sincerely, Darlene Petralia, Gray Stone Cavaliers Ballston Lake, NY ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sheila Boneham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 4:56 PM Subject: [CKCS-L] The housetraining problem > OK, I'm out of the closet. I'm the one with the puppy having housebreaking > problems, and rather than have Sandra run interference....here's the > situation.... > > First, I'm not a dog idiot. I breed Aussies, and have owned lots of puppies > and dogs of several breeds as well as fostered MANY rescued Aussies, Labs, > and a few others. I have had small dogs before, but this is my first > Cavalier. I have NEVER had this much trouble with potty training. > > My expectations: I do not expect a 14 week old puppy to be trained, to hold > it for long, etc. However, every approach to training I have read (and trust > me, I've read a bunch in the past couple of weeks!) operates on the > assumption that the puppy wants to be clean. This puppy doesn't seem to care. > I know she was in clean surroundings before she came here, and she has every > opportunity to be clean now. So I don't get it. > > I work at home, and the x-pen is right next to me in my office. Usually I'm > here. The pup is out for play time and attention at least 10 minutes of every > hour, and often lies on my lap while I'm working. If she's too lively for > that, during work time she's in the x-pen, which is set up with her litter > box at one end, and her bedding at the other. Litter box has a weewee pad. I > replace the pad EVERY TIME it's used -- usually within minutes, otherwise as > soon as I get home, and I'm never gone more than a couple hours. When she > goes outside the litter box (which she does at least half the time, whether > or not the pad is clean -- i.e. I've come home after being gone a short time, > and found a clean pad and p&p all over the floor of the x-pen), I clean and > deodorize the whole area as soon as I know. When she goes on the floor, I > clean and deodorize it. When she goes on her bedding, I remove and replace > it, and launder it. If she's gotten herself dirty, I give her a bath. (we're > talking 5-6 times a day) It's been suggested that she eats poop because she > has access to it for too long a time. Nope, wrong, I've seen her pick one up > as I'm moving FAST toward the pen, going AACCKKK and clapping my hands. She > does not spend time in a dirty pen, other than as I said, if I have to be > gone for a little while. Sometimes that's an hour or two, sometimes it's 20 > minutes while I take the big dogs for a run or clean up their yard. Sometimes > when I get back her pen is a serious filthy mess because she sometimes tramps > through the pee (and sometimes poop) and smears it all over. I don't leave > her crated because she will go in the crate, even if there only a short time, > and I don't want her lying in it! > > She's neither overfed nor underfed. I did change her food, but not > immediately when she arrived here, and I made the change slowly. Her stools > are firm. I feed on a strict schedule, allow her 15 minutes to eat, then > remove any leftover food. She's not getting treats because I'm trying to keep > things as rigid as possible in terms of intake. I don't scold her for > mistakes, and if I see her go in the litter box I praise her, cuddle her, and > bring her out for play time. > > She sleeps in her crate beside my bed. When she asks out, I'm up and out to > the litter box with her in a flash, but often she goes in the crate BEFORE > she asks out. I'm a very light sleeper, so I'm sure she's not asking out > first. > > I've had two fecals done to be sure she doesn't have any funny fauna or flora > in her system, and she seems to be perfectly normal. I'm feeding her Innova, > which is free of all the common allergens (which isn't to say she couldn't > have a problem with something in there but it doesn't seem likely). > > I'd prefer to train her to go out, but it's very cold here now (18 F at the > moment, windchill -6), especially at night, and even with her oh-so-stylish > polar fleece jacket, she'd freeze her fanny outside. > > So, I think I've covered all the issues that were raised. I'm still stumped. > Every time I think she's improving, she surprises me with a major setback. I > have to tell you, as a breeder, rescuer, obedience instructor, and writer, > this experience is making me adjust my attitude about people who have > housebreaking problems! The conventional wisdom doesn't always apply and > doesn't always work. So, any more ideas? > > Sheila Boneham > Perennial Australian Shepherds & One Cavalier! > Bloomington, Indiana > www.perennialaussies.com > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author. > ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
