Potty Training A Cairn Puppy

[twowetnoses]

Hi everyone! Last week we brought home a 10 week old Cairn puppy named Ruby. She's joining our 11 year old Westie, so it's been a looong time since I had a puppy running around. I know I shouldn't expect potty training miracles overnight, but I wish I knew how to keep Ruby from peeing/pooping in her crate. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so she's almost never left crated for longer than about an hour at a time. If I'm in the room with her, she'll keep the crate clean, and she goes all night without an accident (again, in the same room with me), but if she knows I've left the house, all bets are off. Is there anything at all I can do to discourage this? She's doing well going potty outside, knows what "go potty" means, and will do just about anything for her going-potty liver treat. If it weren't for the accidents she's having in the crate, she wouldn't be having accidents in the house at all. Is this something she just needs more time to figure out? I keep seeing conflicting information online, but I know when dealing with a terrier, what's typical for most dogs doesn't necessarily apply. :-P

[Lynn in TN]

Do you leave anything on (radio,tv) something for noise? If you don't it might help.

10 weeks is really young, but it sounds like a little separation anxiety.

We really like pictures on this site, so when you get a chance post one or two or ten.

I am sure others will be able to help better than I can. I am a new Cairn Puppy person myself.

[Hawkeye]

It is early she may just need to get use to her new home, but here are a couple of things to consider. How large is the crate? It should only be large enough for the puppy lay down in. If it is too large, section it off to make it smaller. Also clean the crate really well with a neturalizing cleaner (Nature's Miracle) to remove odors.

[tomatosandwich]

Welcome! Congrats on the puppy! I can't wait to see pics!

I was going to say the same as Hawkeye: Make sure she doesn't have too much room in her crate. Use a divider just to make her crate smaller. Also, I would get rid of any soft padding or blanket on the bottom for now. When Divot was that young, he only had accidents on a soft towel in his blanket and he'd bunch it up and move it out of his way. So I'd give her non-cloth bottom and make the crate smaller.

I look forward to seeing you around on the board!

[KShep]

How big is the crate? If it's too big, she may have designated once side as "sleeping" area and one as "potty" area.

[JohnS33]

Ricky at 5 months does the same thing- holds it all night, goes out during the day, but if we leave him, he wets the crate, and it is divided into a small space. I waited outside and heard he does settle down after about 5 mins of screeching. But thats when he must be wettng it. I was wondering how Ruby has been doing?