# Help: 8-week old Cocker Spaniel and mystery dog mixed pup needs to be housebroken



## fonseca (Jul 24, 2011)

Hi,

I'm Tanya and I live in Mumbai, India. I recently adopted a healthy 8-week old Cocker Spaniel and mystery dog mixed pup (the mother passed away). 15 pups needed to find homes and soon. Since acquiring him was not a planned event, I havent had too much time to read up and have been doing my best by reading up online about all the stuff that would help bring him up in the most loving way I can. He really is adorable.

I love dogs, but have never had one, let alone a pup. I really could use all the help could get. Experienced dog owners, I relie on your kindness and generosity to share your expertise. 

PS: He's called Toto, which I believe means little one.


I've had Toto since 22-07-2011, 3 days. I bought him a wire crate (3ft-width x 4ft height x 6ft length) and have partitioned it to have enough space for him to sleep and turn around in. I can't really afford a small one and then change over, hence the larger option.

He seems healthy and is up for his first vet visit tomorrow. I live in an apartment and work from home. I have laid out puppy pads in the toilet and manage (almost every time) to move him to the area every time he wants to pee. He now knows "go pee" and knows that he has to pee on the pads. I praise him generously, never spank him if he makes a mistake and I'm doing my damnedest to be patient. 

He spent the 1st night whimpering and crying, but that seemed only natural to me. After a day of play and "go pee" he spent a rather uneventful night sleeping soundly in the crate - door open. The toilet is about 2 feet away. I left the door open and the light on. His crate is away from the light. No peeing in the crate all night. I would like to think he went to the pads in the loo.

First thing in the morning (@6.30 am), we wake up and he pees on his pad, Drinks some water and plays around the room for a bit. He even pooed on the pad with some encouragement.

He is on a food schedule, where I feed him 10 gms of Royal Canine puppy food thrice a day at 7.30/2.30/4.30. He has water throughout the day and his water bowl gets put away for the night by 7pm. 

What is disturbing me greatly is that all through today he has been peeing inside his crate. He is playing with me in the room. When I see him sniffing I take him to the loo, but he doesn't go. Just sits and looks at me with doleful eyes. A few min after he is out he bounds into the crate and pees there. I have had to change the lining at least 5 times today. 

In fact he has even been peeing around the room, with no warning. I stop him mid-stream and take him to the loo. I don't chastise him... I clean it up and spray the area with an enzymatic odor repellant. The ones available here are v expensive. Any suggestions on a cheaper easily available alternative? Someone suggested white vinegar - any good? I ignore him a little at best. I take every opportunity to praise him when he does 'go' on the pad.

I bought him a little shoulder harness and am going to try the tethering tomorrow. But, he's so tiny, I feel terrible doing it.


How long do you think it will take to train him? What can I do to make it it easier? Am I doing something I shouldn't? Also, all the reading I've done suggests that puppies as a rule don't pee where they sleep? So why does he do it. He isn't confined to the crate at all. He has spurts of playfulness and sleeps long hours during the day. In fact he is sleeping now, allowing me a few precious moments to type this. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten any of my work done. I know this needs time, but I could use all your advice on Crate training. It isn't common where I live, but if it helps me function, I think its my best bet.


I will spend some time reading the posts in "First Time Dog Owner and Basic Questions".

Wish me luck and do post a comment, if you think it would help.

Thanks.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Puppies that young will need to pee every couple of hours. They need to go after eating, after playing, when excited, after waking up. The key is supervision. When he wakes up put him where you want him to go (close the crate door), and give him a verbal cue like "go potty". If he goes give him a treat, and praise him. If he doesn't after 5 min, then take him out of there, and keep him with you, and try again in 5-10 min.
Are you able to take him outside to potty? Sometimes it's easier to housebreak them outside, so they learn that outside is ok. But don't take him where other dogs potty, since he isn't fully vaccinated. Puppies normally get 3 sets of vaccinations starting around 6-7 weeks, then every 2-3 weeks, and finally get their Rabies vaccination.
White vinegar can be used to clean accidents.


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## fonseca (Jul 24, 2011)

Thanks for the reply... I've been vigilant all day and have tried what you recommended. He hasn't peed in his crate once. 

There have been some 'accidents' outside the loo though. I would say 70% of the time he goes by himself and pees on the pads... The other times he just goes. 

I live on the first floor of an apartment building and his little bladder wont hold for so long. Plus its raining now, so I think he's too tiny to brave the elements. He potties on the bathroom floor during the night, but not on the pads.

I'm not quite sure how to stop him mid-pee/poo without scaring him. Any ideas?

Also he sleeps a fair bit... Is that normal?






spotted nikes said:


> Puppies that young will need to pee every couple of hours. They need to go after eating, after playing, when excited, after waking up. The key is supervision. When he wakes up put him where you want him to go (close the crate door), and give him a verbal cue like "go potty". If he goes give him a treat, and praise him. If he doesn't after 5 min, then take him out of there, and keep him with you, and try again in 5-10 min.
> Are you able to take him outside to potty? Sometimes it's easier to housebreak them outside, so they learn that outside is ok. But don't take him where other dogs potty, since he isn't fully vaccinated. Puppies normally get 3 sets of vaccinations starting around 6-7 weeks, then every 2-3 weeks, and finally get their Rabies vaccination.
> White vinegar can be used to clean accidents.


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

Puppies that young are very much babies and they sleep most of the time - more than 20 hours a day. 

Just scoop him up if he starts to pee or poop and take him to his spot. That shouldn't scare him if you are quiet and gentle about it. It can be very hard to catch a little puppy before he finishes. My puppy would just stop walking or running and start to pee and before I realized he was peeing it was too late, but he still got housetrained. You'll mostly need patience because it will be several months before you can be sure he's housetrained. 

You seem to be doing things correctly, but even so, it takes time. When he gets very energetic and playful and running around, he may need to pee every 15-20 minutes. As he matures, he will settle down to maybe 3 or 4 potty breaks a day.


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## Tesselara (Jul 25, 2011)

*My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and pee.*

Word. I'm having the same problem. I have Ian Dunbar's book on puppy training, and his insistence on "error-free" housebreaking makes me break my heart whenever Willow has an accident. She's 9 weeks old, and we JUST got her two days ago. She gets brought outside every fifteen minutes to a half hour, and we try to wait until she actually does something (we go nuts and treat her a million times, and then we go and play outside for a while after she goes, so she feels really rewarded) before we bring her back inside. Thing is, sometimes she just doesn't go, and the REALLY frustrating thing is that she will hop right in her crate and pee. I'm guessing that she was kept in a pen for most of her life (she's a shelter puppy). Will this wear off? What else should I do?

Sometimes, she'll pee again five minutes after being brought inside (after about 10 minutes of playing after going where she is supposed to). Seriously. Help!


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

Rather than putting her in the crate when you come in from an unsuccessful trip outside, try keeping her with you (sit on the floor, and have her almost in your lap), and pat her for a few minutes (rubbing their belly can stimulate them to pee), then take back out.


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

It takes a superhuman effort for your puppy to never have an accident. Some people can do it, but I never could. My dogs have always gotten housebroken anyway. One thing you need to remember is that any playing will cause your puppy to need to pee again. While your puppy is running around and playing he will need to pee every 15-20 minutes so if you are playing with him for 10 minutes after he pees- he will have to pee again in 5-10 minutes. The first few months of housebreaking can be exhausting. My schedule was outside every 20 minutes while puppy was awake. This usually means at least 3-4 or more trips outside in a couple of hours. Then puppy might sleep for 4 hours, then 3-4 more trips outside, etc.


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## Tesselara (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

Thank you both!! It's actually like she's holding it when she is outside. She will wait 30-45 minutes outside, and then pee right away, in fact, running to her crate to do it. I will definitely try the holding her in my lap and rubbing her belly and then bringing her back outside again idea. And thank you for the solidarity about the accidents. It is superhuman to have her be error-free. I also think Dr. Dunbar also expects one to purchase a puppy from a breeder who starts the house training as soon as possible. He has a whole chapter on it. Still... Definitely trying the "psych! You thought you were going to your crate, but in fact are going back outside for some fun and hopefully peeing" idea. I will definitely make sure she tries again after we've played, too. Good point about puppy bladders.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

You can also put some of their poop, or smear their pee in a spot where you want them to go. The scent will attract them back to the area and make them want to go there again.


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## Tesselara (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

I have just the thing! Thanks!


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## fonseca (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*



My pup faces the same hurdles. I take him to the loo and wait around hoping he will go pee on the pad. Here's the problem.

1. He doesn't go (especially if I have stopped him mid way when outside) and then goes right away when he is inside the crate. 

2. We took him to the vet for his 1st visit. It was a couple of hours before we got home and he didn't want to pee EVEN ONCE. We got home and I thought he would be bursting but he didnt go.. 

3. He is now at the phase where he is tearing paper and tries to chew up his puppy pads. Is there anyway I can discourage this. I found something called "Whiz dog", but I cant afford it. I'm building one of my own though with a large plastic tray and a plastic grate over it. Will keep updating the post with results. For now, any ideas to stop the paper chewing. His crate is lined with paper as it is one of the wire ones.









My pup







faces the same hurdles. I take him to the loo and wait around hoping he will go pee on the pad. 

Here's the problem.

1. He doesn't go (especially if I have stopped him mid way when outside) and then goes right away when he is inside the crate. 

2. We took him to the vet for his 1st visit. It was a couple of hours before we got home and he didn't want to pee EVEN ONCE. We got home and I thought he would be bursting but he didnt go.. 

3. He is now at the phase where he is tearing paper and tries to chew up his puppy pads. Is there anyway I can discourage this. I found something called "Whiz dog", but I cant afford it. I'm building one of my own though with a large plastic tray and a plastic grate over it. Will keep updating the post with results. For now, any ideas to stop the paper chewing. His crate is lined with paper as it is one of the wire ones.


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## Tesselara (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

Thanks, everyone, for helping! Taking her back inside, holding her in my lap and petting her belly has worked, and so has the new information about pee and poo timing when puppies are playing. We've had about a 75% decrease in accidents in just one day! Thank you all SO much!


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

*Re: My 9 week old puppy, after a VERY long walk outside, will hop into her crate and*

I see a lot of these threads and a lot of them could receive the same answer. Puppies are puppies and to them the world is their potty. There's no magical solution to make your 8 or 9 week old puppy become potty trained. You just have to be consistent in your training and continue to reinforce using the outside as their potty. It will become easier once the puppy can hold it longer. You will likely continue to have accidents for many weeks to come even after the puppy is properly house broken.


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