Really? I mean, really?

[tomatosandwich]

Okay, I know some of you are going to say he's just a baby still, but really, I am fuming right now!

I just took him outside 10 minutes ago. He peed. He pooped. I praised. We played. He came in the house and was with me confined in one room. He POOPED THAT FAST! One minute he was chewing his rope watching me fold clothes. The next minute he was pooping on a pair of jeans that dropped out of the laundry basket!

I just don't get it. We have been doing beautifully. No accidents for several days. A couple of days ago, he went and sat by the backdoor and looked at me. I let him out and he did his business. I was so pleased and excited. Today, ugh. I thought it was okay to keep him loose by me for 15-20 minutes after he does his business outside. Why does this happen?

He had a bad day all around. He peed in his crate after just 20 minutes of being in there. I took him outside, he peed, and I had to put him in his crate to run my kids to their art class. 10 minutes there and back. As I was walking in the door, he looked at me (whining) and peed in his crate. I know he can last longer than that; knock on wood, he sleeps 6 hours at night with no accidents.

I just need to vent. I'm not convinced he'll ever get it. I read stories on here of 2 year old dogs still having accidents, and I wonder how I got myself into this. I'm not convinced he'll ever be really a member of the house that we can trust not to mess in the house.

How can he be so smart and yet so clueless? I'm really feeling worn from a month of strict in crate, outside, play, in crate, repeat. Really. I just want to be able to enjoy him for 15 minutes without him pooping on the clean jeans!

[Idaho Cairns]

Really! Typical puppy shenanigans. Like on your jeans, this too shall pass.

[tomatosandwich]

Will it really pass, Idaho? It's so hard to have faith that it will right now.

[pkcrossley]

remember there are two sides to it. one is the mental side, understanding the theory of house-training. that is difficult enough for a puppy. but apart from that is learning the muscle control to keep it all inside till he is outside. with the best will, a puppy can still makes mistakes (and not just puppies, adult dogs too). the need came over him and he did what he thought he had to do. lucky for us people we can just head to the bathroom, even if we were just in there ten minutes ago. for a puppy waiting for the next stop, it might seem necessary to improvise. he'll get it, it is just a really complicated thing.

[Idaho Cairns]

I think we have all been there with puppies. Of course it will pass--eventually they will come to prefer the outside because it will hold all the smells familiar with the dog voiding itself. Just clean up the inside mistakes really well, leave no odors. Try to catch the pup in the act and voice your displeasure so the dog knows it isn't supposed to do THAT THERE! Keep praising it for doing the right thing in the right place.

This is about the time when a new owner has gotten over the "Gee Whiz" of acquiring a new puppy and wants to get back to a normal life that has been put off for the first couple of weeks and, all of a sudden, the puppy reinserts itself back to center stage with these antics. Just remember that they are trying desperately to stay at center stage, it is all about them--kids that never grow up but they do want to please and want to avoid criticism so they will bend to your wants and wishes.

Relapses are common in puppies--sometime they get confused about the praise for doing it outside and think you are praising the act and not the act and location so they figure going is the key. Who knows? I do know that we all have been frustrated with puppies who seemingly forget everything they have learned at times. He'll get it before you run out of paper towels and deodorizer--if not your patience.

Our last puppy, even under the guidance of an older dog who was teacher her the ropes, was still making these "out of the blue" mistakes for a couple of months. Carpets clean, jeans wash, and the joy of owning a Cairn goes on for years. Stretch your tolerance out just a bit--he is still a baby trying to figure it all out.

[cairnsby3]

It gets better and when they totally get it, it gets great!

[cairnfan]

This is a very smart breed. Once they get it, they get it! If it makes you feel any better my first dog would poop in his crate and by the time we got home he would be covered in it, wimpering and shaking in the corner. I can't even remember how many times we had to hose out the crate. It was not fun! After about 2 months it clicked. I thought he would never figure it out but he did. Never thought about it again. He would scratch at the back door to let us know he had to go. It will happen. Hang in there! BTW, I just started housebreaking with my new puppy (currently 13 weeks). Sounds like little Divot is way ahead of my Bear.

[Tami]

Oh yes, we definitely had days like this with Fearghus. I have to say that at a little more than 11 months old he's not having any accidents in the house. Plus his bathroom habits are now much more routine. He's pretty subtle with his signal to go outside. He just sits and looks at us. If it's an emergency then he'll also whine. At that point we'll either quickly put his leash on to go to the backyard or get his harness on for a walk around the block or park. There are still occasional nights where he wakes up and needs to go outside for a potty break at 3am. Thank goodness that's not that often and is probably most likely because he was woken up by a noise. Hang in there ... it'll get better before you know it.

[Hawkeye]

I found the cairns take a little longer on housetraining but they do get it. One of the other problems I found is that when they go outside to do their business, they get distracted very easily. We have to remind them why they are out there and to finish the job. Tomorrow is another day and probably will be a good day! Don't give up..we all have a bad day!

[tomatosandwich]

Thanks for the encouragement and for letting me vent. I guess I just don't get why some breeds are harder to housetrain than others.

I know he's young. I know he's smart enough to get it eventually. Today was just really deflating.

Thanks for listening and understanding.

[KShep]

I'm going through it too. I feel like I MUST be doing something wrong. I keep having to remind myself that she's not doing it to make me mad. We are putting up a new fence soon. So....the fear of her sneaking into the neighbors yard and getting into the street won't be an issue. She can go out as much as she wants.

It's not just the accidents though. It's the nipping, the fight during bath time, the eating of her own poo , the barking for attention, but most of all....the feeling that I'm not doing this right and that I am raising a holy terror!

I just want her to be a good little dog, but I'm afraid I am somehow ruining her! I don't want to be one of those people with spoiled, anti-social dogs! It would be nice to have a win, wouldn't it? Just a little reassurance that you are doing something right?

I UNDERSTAND!

[BetsyNoodle]

Here. Let me help you feel better. The only puppy I raised was my Miniature Pinscher, Ralph ~ aka The Mighty Terror ~ aka Houdini.

As an 18 week old puppy he "mowed" a strip of my brand new carpet with his TEETH.

Then, he chewed/destroyed one of my brand new Italian loafers.

As I held the torn/tattered/tiny teeth-marked shoe in my hand, and stared down into his jet-black demon-puppy eyes, I thought, "WTH, it's just a really, freakin' expensive shoe that I saved for months to buy." But, how does one wear one Italian loafer to work? So, I let the little X#@!#&! (sweetheart) teethe on the other one. Really.

Oh, the mistakes we make as young 'moms'.

From that point on, he targeted every shoe in the house. I learned to shut the closet doors.

Then, one night, I dropped a lightbulb and he ate some of the shattered pieces like he was chomping potato chips. He lived, but I developed ulcers.

Then, he learned to climb (all 8 lbs. of him) up and over his four foot doggie gate.

Then, after that first successful scaling of the gate, he chewed the end off one of my kitchen cabinets while I was at work.

The whole time he was doing all of the above, he was surreptitiously peeing on the corner of my new sofa. Oy.

But, we both survived, and he lived for seventeen years. Then, my little boy, Ralphie aka Rudy Valentino, was gone.

Even with the hell we went through in his puppy years, I would go through it all again in a heartbeat if it meant I could hold him again.

Moral of the story: It's ALL worth it.

Divot is very young now so you must be patient, but he WILL eventually be housetrained and out of that puppy stage...and one day...you will find yourself longing for, well, those sweet days of his puppyhood. Really.

[Rileymom27]

I have to agree with BetsyNoodle - - - I had owned several golden retrievers and labs before I got Riley. They were totally housetrained by 4 months of age. It took me almost a year to train Riley and then he had several issues and many, many accidents. I later discovered that his accidents were due to health concerns with both his liver and his kidneys. He tried so hard to please me - - - he would do a little dance - - around and around -- to signal that he needed to go outside. It was so unique and - most definitely - comical. Most times he made it outside but there were days when he just couldn't - - and I would come home to a little dog hanging his head in shame. Riley died two months ago at the tender age of 7 years . . . .I would give anything to see that little dance - - or even clean up a "mistake" -- one more time. He had special needs and at times it was hard to care for him but I wouldn't trade any of it. If you don't have them to cry over - - you don't have them to laugh over. I - - too - - would love to hold him just one more time - - or receive just one of the many "kisses" he would give me. He was such a special and loving little guy - - enjoy your new little one - - the love of a Cairn is amazingly life changing - - - I know my life will never be the same without Riley in it. God Bless!

[jo_]

KShep & Tomatosandwich...hang in there. We went through the exact same things with Jagger. I felt like we must be doing something wrong and that we were failing her. An at home visit with a wonderful trainer, puppy school and most of all patience have done the trick. At 8 1/2 months old Jagger is doing so well. I'd say the house training kicked in at about 4-ish months. All of the sudden she just seemed to get it. Even after she started sitting at the door to tell us she needed to go out we escorted her....she does get easily distracted by the squirrels and doesn't always finish her business. Even now, in the evenings I'll take her out a couple of times to try to prevent any middle of the night outings.

I had tears of frustration at times over the house training, the nipping, etc. But they'd quickly turn into a smile as soon as Jagger would look at me with those big brown eyes! Trust me, it does get easier. Jagger still has her moments - we have to keep an eye on her (couple of weeks ago she chewed our living room table), we sometimes struggle on our walks, she has no sense of recall, etc - but there's been so much progress in the last few months. Every day I fall more in love with her. In fact life is becoming so much easier that I'm been thinking how great it might be to have a second.

KShep - have you tried an indoor leash? Giving the leash a quick, firm pop or tug and a strong "No" let Jagger know we were in control. We found it worked wonders. When Jagger is in one of her crazy moods - at least once a day she tries to wrestle with our feet and attack our pant legs - just putting the indoor leash on calms her down. I'm happy to share some methods we learned from the trainer, or his name and links to his books that can be purchased and downloaded from his website. Let me know if you're interested.

To both of you, all I can say is based on my experience with Jagger, and what I've learned from this forum, it's all normal. The people here have been so supportive - helped me get through some very trying moments! The best advice anyone can give is to be patient, be firm and be consistent. It will all pay off! As BetsyNoodle says...it's all worth it.

Good luck.

[Tracy A.]

Seriously, it will get better.... but he is just a baby.

My suggestion, paper towls by the case, enzyme cleaner by the gallon... and cocktails for you!

Your puppy does not have control yet, it will take time and you cannot expect the puppy to have control

Think of it this way... would you expect a 9 month old baby to be out of diapers?

[Dempsy's Mom]

Demps has his routine and it works pretty good, but once in a while he doesn't get his job finished and he remembers that once he is inside the house. But his poos are so easy to clean up. When he first came to us I found that he was successful in training ME to watch out for MY stuff. If I left him in the entry - put anything that I didn't want messed with up or in the closet. I am constantly outguessing him. Yes, they are an inconveniece sometimes, but it's worth it. Try not to get upset with the puppies - they feel your tension - they just want to please but don't quite know how yet. I would miss my little pain in the rear if I didn't have him.

PS: See his little horns in the avatar picture.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Dempsy's Mom

[wallEsmama]

Ahhhhh the training days. WallE was also extremely frustrating. He ruined EVERY rug he came into contact with. Its like he signified rugs, and towels with going pee. Ive thrown out so many, Its not even funny. It took me till he was about 1.5 that I tried to introduce a new rug and told him firmly "NO PEE" We are moving out of this house, where the majority of his training took place, so I'm hoping I can have area rugs again in the new house!!

Another thing that he does, which completely intrigues me, he HATES soft terry cloth. Im talking about that soft soft material that most animals love? He will dig away at it to get rid of it and pee on it. His first bed was that and he peed all over it and dug away at it and I didnt know what it was till I got him those soft blankets from the dollar store (wanted ones that I could throw away if necessary and not feel the loss) and it turns out its those blankets that he LOVED to pee on!

[TazTalk]

Ditto - to all comments above. I remember feeling the exact same way ... and truly, you just have to say this is the puppy stage and I will get through it! The biting and chewing for us was worse than the potty training – they are all a little different.

At 4-5 months things really start to click and continue to progressively improve.

Again, just be patient ... these little guys develop into the most awesome personalities.

[Lynn in TN]

What makes it so frustrating with puppies they can't tell us what happened like our human children can. It could be anything from being scared to just not feeling good, getting excited seeing those jeans dangling might have excited your pup.( REMIND ME OF THIS WHEN IT'S ME VENTING PLEASE! I'LL NEED IT!) I like it when people vent it's good for all of us. It helps the venter relieve stress and it helps the rest of us fell like we are not alone.

[tomatosandwich]

Thanks again, everyone. I just needed to vent yesterday. I bet it's true that the excitement of getting to be in the room with me and all that warm, fresh laundry was just too much for a puppy to resist. We seem to be back on track today, so it's easy to feel hopeful again. I really do love the little bugger.

[Lynn in TN]

We know you lve him we do too! So cute.

[finncaraid]

Have to chime in here to say "I feel your pain". Although potty-training was something we had zero-problems with, it was the only rewarding experience we had in the early days. The things Finn did as a baby (he's now 8 1/2 mos.) were mind numbing for me. I seriously considered renaming him Leave It at one point. Not only did he do outrageous things, he picked up/swallowed every thing he laid eyes on. Between being totally frustrated with his behavior and totally stressed about what the stuff he ingested might do to him, I wasn't sure either of us would survive. But I kept patiently working with him at home, taking him to training classes, & asking the universe for the strength to get through another day without going stark raving mad. Just about the time that I decided it was hopeless & I had no idea what I was doing & never would, Finn woke up one morning a completely changed boy. It wasn't gradual, it just suddenly happened. He was 5 months old almost to the day when this miracle occurred. Things have steadily improved since then & now there's only a 2 hour window every evening where he turns into a demon. While this may be a daily challenge, it's a whole lot better than what went before. And while I loved him from the minute I set eyes on him, I now feel I'd be lost without him. Even though the "worst-puppy-ever-born" is a recent memory, I'd do it again in a heartbeat because Finn is absolutely worth it. The puppy antics/trials are short lived but the personality, love & adorability factor lasts a long time. And every time you feel you're going over the edge with His Cutie Pie, visit the forum- you'll realize you aren't alone in the universe.

[pindrop]

As you all know Layla is just over six months and we too were pulling out our hair. Hubby is home all day with her and at first, it didn't matter what we did or how often we took her out. She would get distracted with rolling in the snow, chasing leaves across the snow, picking up rocks - everything but doing what she was out there to do. Then one day around four months, I guess it just clicked. However, she was spayed two weeks ago and suddenly started to pee in the house again. So it was back to basics - out every hour and a half all day and evening - same thing next day and thank goodness we were back to normal. The only good thing is she rarely wakes in the night to go out. I take her out last thing at night around 9:00 p.m. or so and that's it. Mind you she can wake as early as 5:00 a.m. but that might be because Oldfox is an early riser and his movements might wake her. Please, be patient - it will work - some pups just need a little more time than others.

[Idaho Cairns]

"Mind you she can wake as early as 5:00 a.m. but that might be because Oldfox is an early riser and his movements might wake her."

This eventually changes as well. Our girls work on the "last up" schedule so the first one out of bed in the morning usually has a free run of the house and the person who gets up last has the Cairns. Sammi and Bonnie are snooze hounds--especially during this long winter--once they hunker down against their human heat generators, they don't get up until the last of the heat sources goes away--all accompanied by elaborate stretching and yawning exercises!

Yep, we know well how sharp little Cairn paws can be when one's butt is used as a push point.

[KShep]

Jodene- I would love that link if you don't mind. Send me a message! Thanks. I am willing to try the indoor leash thing as well. I'm thinking of getting The buddy system