Desperate For Advice

[Sharon]

I really need help. I have never had this kind of problem with potty training a puppy before. She is a little over 3 months and started to do pretty well at first hitting the papers off and on and going outside when taken out, however all progress has stopped in the last two weeks. She will be out side for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours and is let in and she goes pee then is scolded shown the papers put back out side then let back in a bit later then she poops. I go through all the motions. I have tried spanking,(just a pop on the butt)and not spanking. Useing a paper towel wetting it with the urine and taking it out side or takeing the poop outside to show her where it goes. I have tried sprays on the pee pads. Firm GO POTTIES to papers and out side. I just am at my wits end. I am afraid I will break this dogs spirit, but what about my house? My kids think she special needs (the phrase we use for retarded) It's like she can't wait till she comes in to do her bizness. Please help! I spent good money on her, but most importantly I think she's so cute and fun and I love her and I want her to be part of our family not in the backyard all the time. And Yes, this is my first Cairn.

Thank

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! I am also a first - time Cairn owner - - Riley is now 10 months old - - and had never experienced such difficulty in potty training a dog. His housebreaking was interrupted by three hospital stays where he was allowed to go where he wanted to. Needless to say - - I too was at my wit's end!!!!

It seemed to take forever but he is now pretty much trained - - once in a great while he will have an accident but he knows he needs to eliminate outside. I found that these dogs are very smart and very defiant - - consistency is the key. Luckily I am a homemaker and could take this dog outside every half hour and really work with him. The reward method seemed to make the most sense - - if he did what he was supposed to outside - - I would give him a special treat immediately after and then take him inside the house. Also limiting his space when he was alone was a big plus. He didn't want to soil the area he slept or played in. I never spanked him but I did make a big deal out of it when he did the right thing.

Try not to get discouraged - - 3 months is really young - - I believe these little dogs take a bit longer to train.

[Posey]

The puppy is not confused we are. Either teach them to go inside or outside. The Cairn is older now and she thinks that she is suppose to go on the papers. Not outside. Pick up the papers and just take her outside to go. Then she will not be thinking papers are the place inside. We have a pen outside for Nicky to relieve himself. But a Cairn wants to do it "right". And he will only do number 2 in the pen. On vacation last year he would not do it for two-three days because he thought the pen was only where he was suppose to go. Still does.

[janko77]

When we were potty training our Cairn, Dudley, he also gave us some of the same problems. He had a few accidents around the house up until 6-7 months, and by that time, he knew that that type of behavior was wrong, and his actions (slinking away) usually gave away his mistake. As of today, we haven't had an accident since around Halloween.

We were lucky to have gotten him just when summer was starting, so either my wife or I could go out with him consistently for many months to make sure he would go potty. We always made a point to make sure it was fun to go outside, not a punishment. And, it's hard to do, but being outside with him when he was a pup to reward and praise after the deed is done definitely works. At 11 months, Dudley still gets excited when he comes in from outside and has gone, because he knows we probably will reward him. Punishment only happened when the mistake had just occurred, and that was only verbal.

They are stubborn sometimes, but the consistent positive reinforcement and attentiveness will usually do the trick. Good luck!

[hallswel]

With Rebel we used a treat. We would take him outside and when he did his business he was praised and given a treat then we let him stay outside just a few minutes so that he would not associate that just as soon as I finish I get taken back in..... He learned very fast and had only a very few accidents.

Now he goes to the back door and scratches to go outside. When he is at work with me the only time he will bark is when he needs to go outside. He knows we don't bark in the house unless it is something really important.

I really like using a crate. Now we leave the door open to the crate and when he will go curl up in it. I realize it is a safe place for him his place. I was afraid that he wouldn't like the crate but now I see it really is a good tool to use in training a puppy.

Good luck with Dudley

[Toto times 2]

Your puppy will do fine with the potty training. 3 months is very young to expect consistency. When I got my first boy he thought it was improper to go outside because he had been paper trained and it was kind of difficult because we lived in a high rise. Once he caught on that outside was okay, he never looked back. (okay, maybe once or twice) Good luck, I'm sure things will work out for you.

[gd4]

I totally understand how you feel. Trinity is 6 mo. old and is still hit or miss. In the house, she is not that bad. When we put her in the crate, all hell breaks loose, poops even after an hour. We walk her before and she plays with twigs, goofs off and comes inside to poop!

Any new suggestions would be helpful!

Gina

[bubba]

Up till a few months ago, Cooper-who just turned ten months, would save his to poop under the dining room table every night. We could watch him and watch him and watch him, and still he managed to sneak under there. Once I hung the bells on the back door, he thought this was great fun, and has never done that again! Has been almost three months and not one accident in the house except for one night last week when I was not around and my husband, who was watching TV which causes him to become deaf to anything else, did not hear the bells ringing.

A funny side note....we were in the midst of fixing the fence so the escape artist would be foiled this past weekend. I had a baby gate set up on the porch so he couldn't get into the yard. He would go out there and see a squirrel in the yard, run in the house, go behind the door, ring the bells, run back out, bark! Run back in, ring the bells, run back out, bark! After he did this five or six times, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!

pat.

[Melanie]

Hang in there and remember 3 months is still such a baby. I didn't find Max until he was 4 months old. It took me until he was about 8 until I could trust him without always jumping at the look of a squat. He even peed on our bed 2 times....but then again that was our fault for "putting the cart before the horse". They really want to please but it takes patience and consistancy in the training to teach them what they need to know. There is much controversy about using the wee wee pads or paper because they say you are giving the animal the knowledge that it is ok to go to the bathroom inside the four walls of the house. I trained Maxwell during the winter season in North Dakota. I would stand outside with him at all hours of the night in subzero temperatures just to make sure he got the picture. They are smart dogs....and they just need time to develop mentally and physically to do the potty thing correctly.

Melanie