# Spaying and potty-training... help!



## ilovemydogs (Jun 18, 2009)

Hello, all! My hubby and I just adopted a puppy today, and she keeps peeing! She's only pooped one time in the house, but she has peed probably about 6 times in three hours or so. I know she is really excited, and I gave her a lot of water when she first came home because she was very hot. However, she is only 4 and a half months old, and she was just spayed at the shelter yesterday. Do you think the accidents are because she is excited and not yet housebroken, or do you think they are a consequence of the spaying? Either way, what can I do? I want to crate train her right off the bat since we just got her, but if this is a spaying problem, I don't know what to do or if I even can do anything.

Also, besides keeping her from scratching and not letting her stiches get wet for 12-14 days, is there anything else I need to do to help her recovery? Thanks!


Ashley


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## SandyPuppy (Aug 8, 2009)

She is in a new home and under stress, plus she is pretty young still. You need to take her outside EVERY half hour. After a few days you can cut it back to every hour. After another week you can _maybe_ cut it back to every two hours. Stay with at *least* every two hours for several months. 

Plus you need to pay *very* close attention to her at all times so you can catch her if she potties.


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## Mara1983 (May 18, 2009)

We just had our puppy spayed too, 10 days ago. We had an e-collar on her to prevent her from licking the incision. You have to keep her calm for at least a week. I know its hard to keep a puppy calm, but you should not encourage her to run around or jump. Our puppy was good after a week, the incision looks really good and we decided to get rid of the e-collar yesterday. She doesnt even seem to be interested in it anymore. 

As far as the potty training goes, you need to be very patient and take the puppy out every two hours or so. Make sure to praise and give treats when she pees outside. She will start to think that peeing outside is better because she gets rewarded. It takes time, but she will get there! 

Good luck with your puppy


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## ilovemydogs (Jun 18, 2009)

Thanks, everyone! I really think the extra peeing was just a result of her coming to a new home and having too many extra fluids from the IV during surgery. Today she's only had one accident all day, and she might have just not made it to the door in time. I think her previous owner housebroke her, because she seems to know the drill. I've been giving her more and more freedom and it seems to be working well. Thanks for the advice! 

On another related note, any suggestions about how I can keep her from scratching her stitches? She has been doing really well, but occasionally I'll catch her licking or scratching her stitches. I keep going "ah ah!" and distracting her, which works fairly well, but are there any other tactics besides this and the cone?

Ashley


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