New Puppy - Toilet Training, Please Help, I'm so tired!

[Sky57]

OK, so I brought a 14 week old Westie home on Saturday. She is beautiful and a lovely dog (suggestions on names would be very welcome). I really want to bring her up the best way possible and I really need all the help I can get because I am worried, not that anything is wrong.

At night she is in her crate. She is happy to be there and I wake up and take her outside every 3 to 4 hours.
In the morning I take her for a long walk.
During the day she is in a pet 'pen' ....its like a portable fence that provides an enclosure about 2m x 2m. She in that in the family room which has floorboards during the day. I go home from work and take her outside to go to the toilet every 4 hours during the day.
In the evening, I take her for a walk or we jumop in the car and we go to a dog park where there are heaps of dogs.
At night, I move the pen into the lounge room where I spend my time. I take her outside every 3 - 4 hours for a toilet break.
I also put her on a lead and she walks around the house with me, and I have sessions where I shut the lounge room doors and play with her.
And then the cycle repeats itself.


My goal is to have a well behaved, well adjusted, toilet trained dog. I don;t want to give her the run of the house because then she might go to the toilet in it and I may not see that, and I figure that if she never (or hardly ever) gets to have accident in the house, then she should be toilet trained sooner. Also, by not letting her have run of the house, the cats can adjust more easily. Every day they are coming closer and closer to her.

Problem: I am sooooo tired. Thats ok...I don't mind.

But can anyone tell me if I am doing anything wrong?
Can I do anything differently?
and how long do you think I will need to keep this up until she know for sure to take herself out the into the back yard (we have a pet door that would allow her in and out as she pleases). Is it going to take months?

[ginagt]

Congrats on your puppy. My advice to you would be to stop waking your puppy up to take her outside to go potty. If she is not having any accidents then there is no reason to wake her up to go potty. Waking her up to go potty in the night is actually teaching her to wake you up in the night to go potty. At 14 weeks old she can hold it through the night. My puppy was 13 weeks old when I brought her home I never had to take her out in the middle of the night. Really early (like 6am) to go potty but never in the middle of the night. Take her out right before you go to bed and as soon as she is out of her crate in the morning. Letting you both sleep through the night will help you be more rested.

I agree she should not have free run of the house. She should only be free where you can see her. They potty quick at that age. She should be giving you some sort of signal my puppy would sniff the parameter of the room, or sniff the door. I knew that meant it was time to go out. Make sure you are giving her a little time ( 30-60 seconds is fine) outside after she potty's so that she doesn't give you any false alarms just to go outside and play.

Does she know how to use the doggie door? What you could do is help her to learn that is what the door is for and in the morning, when you know she has to go potty lead her through the door and then to the grass to go potty give her a treat and lead her back into the house through the door, this will help learn what the door is for.

A great book for learing about puppies, how to train them, potty train them etc. is HOW TO RAISE A PUPPY YOU CAN LIVE WITH. You can buy it from Amazon. It tells you what they are capable of at what age, etc. I learned so much from the book it helped.

Good luck, keep us posted.
Gina

[lv4dogs]

Gina gave some great advice!

Kaige is just 14 weeks and has been able to hold it all night for a few weeks now so you shouldn't have to wake her up in the middle of the night. Just let her out RIGHT before bed (about 10 or later if you are up). Then AS SOON as you get up, I'd say about 5-6 am.

I wouldn't let her have free run until a couple/few more months. And when you start to let her have free roam, do it slowly. Start by letting her have free roam of one room, then another, eventually the whole house.

And yes look for signs. Kaige walks to the door & paces when he has to go out. You have to let him out fast cause other wise with a minute he'll just go.

The only thing that I dissagree with is teaching her the doggy door now. You probably shouldn't teach her that until she is potty trained. She may learn to use the doggy door but not to potty, she may just use it to play. Once she gets outside she may get distracted & forget to go potty, then when she returns inside she may remeber. It's too late then.
Unless you keep a VERY close eye on her & ALWAYS go outside with her when she uses the doggy door to make sure she is going potty. But even then you should keep her on a leash when potty training her that way she can't play first or anything. You have full control over her & she will not be able to do anything until after she potties.

Sounds like your on the right track for sure. You seem to be doing everything right.

One helpful hint (if you don't already do it) is to give the dog a command to potty. I use "go potty". Say this JUST as they start to go potty, then reward after they potty. This will come in very handy when you're in a hurry, bad weather, traveling or god forbid need a sample for the vet. Good luck!

[Sky57]

Thank you both for your responses. I am so tired I can hardly function! I bought a book on Dog Training and it says that puppies can not hold their pee for more than 4 - 5 hours, so you have to wake up and take them out to do it. It says that you could leave them in the laundry but thats hard for them as they miss the rest of their litter and also teaches them to potty in the house.

But...it doesn't talk about what age they refer to....maybe they are referring to 8 weeks, as opposed to 14 weeks which mine is at.

The thing is yesterday she had dinner at 5pm. She did a poo at the park 20-30 minutes later, she did another poo in the backyard at midnight when I took her out and again another poo at 4am (when I took her out the backyard again). Thats alot of poo for a 5pm feed!

Then this morning, I gave her breakfast at 8am and she has not done a poo and its 1pm when I last took her out the back. Is that normal?

Also (sorry so many questions) should she have water all the time? And how many times a day shoudl I be feeding her (I'm feeding her twice a day).

[ginagt]

The book my be referring to a younger puppy. They change and develop each week at this young age. By 14 weeks your puppy should be able to hold her bladder through the night. Try it, if she wakes you up stirring in the night then take her out. YOu and her will both get a better nights sleep. Start tonight and don't wake her up to take her out in the middle of the night. If she wakes you up then take her out. Also don't take her out of her crate if she is making any noise, you want her to know that making a fuss never lets her out.

What brand of food are you feeding her and how much? If she is pooping that much you may be feeding her too much food. A good quality food will also give you less poop, most dogs in general go twice a day. Since you just got her you have really developed a schedule for poop and potty. My puppy poops right after she eats, you will get a schedule down and it will get easier. Twice a day feeding is fine for a puppy of this age. Puppies are lot of work, but it does get easier, you are doing a great job, and ask all the questions you want, we are here to help.

I never limited water intake for my puppy she seemed to be okay with having access to it all the time. If you see your puppy what we call in our house "tanking up" right before bed time you might want to pick up the water 1/2 or so before bed time.
Good luck, hang in there. It gets better. If you have any more questions, don't hesistate to ask.
Gina

[Sky57]

Gina thanks sooooo much. Your encouragement and willingness to help is a breath of fresh air What I was doing was restricting her water in my efforts to toilet train her well. I have realsied I need to just relax a bit. She now has unlimited water. I can't believe I was so stupid.

I am using Hills Science puppy formula...biscuits. The pack says to give her 1 cup a day so I am giving half in the morning and half at night...but I have been estimated it, not measuring the amounts. So I will measure the amounts, and also I think that now she can have water as much as she needs, it might regulate her poops.

I have ordered a proper crate for her, as I was just using the cat carrier for the last few days.

She is doing really well. She is really good. She whines from time to time in her pen but only a cute little whine, but for the most part she is really happy. She never makes any noise in her crate/carrier at night....she just settles in happily.

The only thing I wonder about is this. Does it sound ok?

Up until now she has been sleeping in the cat carrier as temporary crate with no problems at all. I take her for a good walk in the morning as soon as we get up after she has breakfast. Before I go to work, I take her out to the backyard for a toilet break, and then place her in her pen with a bed, toys and newspaper (just in case). The pen is about times bigger than a crate.

After 3-4 hours, I return home, and spend 30 - 60 minutes with her out of the pen...a toilet break and then play time/training. I then put her back in the pen and go back to work for another 4 hours and come home. At night I am with her all the time for a variety of activities including a long walk, or a drive to the dog park or similar.

Would be ok to leave her in her crate for the morning, and then switch her to the pen for the afternoon? What are the pros and cons of doing this? My thinking is that it will break up her day
more. Night Crate, morning routine, Morning Crate, noon change over to pen in back room, evening pen in lounge room. Sleeping time, back in create at about 10pm or 11pm. .....But maybe its not so good for her to spend time in the crate in the morning since she has already spent all night in it.

[lv4dogs]

I don't know what type of science diet you feed (basic puppy, lamb & rice, small bites, etc..) but most have corn as their first ingredient. It's not the best food thats for sure, but it's not the worst food either. Ideally you do not want corn in it at all, especially in the first 3-5 ingredients. A lot of Science Diet diet's have it as the 1st-3rd ingredient. Corn is just a filler, it is not really good for you let alone a dog. That may be one reason why your puppy has a lot of "waste" because that food contains a lot of waste.


As far as your concern I agree with you. I don't think it wil do any harm, but if it is working out great now why change it. The less time in a crate the better. If she is having accidents in her pen & not the crate then yes I'd put her in the crate. But otherwise I'd leave it be, not because it will harm her or anything like, just she will have more room & the such. Besides she's probably already adjusted to this routine you have now.
If you plan on always crating her, even when she's older & trust worthy in the house, then yes, maybe crate her in the mornings, say every other day or so so she will adjust to changes better. But If she will eventually become a full house dog I'd let here have as much room as she can handle without having accidents.

[ginagt]

How did you go last night? Was did you both sleep through the night?

When I first got my puppy the first week or so was the worse, its an adjustment period, once you get past that time it is so much easier. My "puppy" is now a year old, and still sleeps in a crate and is crated if I am going to be gone from home. I am lucky, I get to take her to work with me. Most dogs sleep if there is nothing else going on. If someone is playing with them they are ready to play but if you were to set up a camera at your place you would find your puppy sleeping.

About the crate, dogs view their crates as their den or personal space, and so being in there is fine with them. When you get your new crate make sure it is not to big or you will end up with accidents. It should be big enough for her to stand up and turn around. I agree with Lv4dogs if it works don't change it.

About your food, like Lv4dogs a food with a lot of filler will probably produce more waste. A higher quality food will have more useable ingredients for the puppy and therefore less waste and in most cases you can feed less as well. Check the ingredients of your current food and go from there.

[Sky57]

I bought a proper crate today - Yay! I really want to make this a part of her life so that she can come to places with me and have a refuge....there are many benefits. At first I thought crating was so cruel, but I read up alot on it and I understand now why its really great.

About the food....I thought Hills was one of the top ones...they sure charge alot! Its at the vets and at the most exclusive pet stores! No use asking you for recommendations as I'm down under I guess...but I'll check around...If you know really good ones, let me know and I'll see if I can get it. I checked the amount of food by using a measuring supo...and I have definately not not been over feeding...so I think it is the corn.

Last night...well she had water all day for the first time in 4 days (bad bad me...what was I thinking - I know I know )..and so I thought she might need to adjust to more liquid and took her out after 3 hours from when I went to sleep and then after 4 hours...but tonight I'll take water away 30 mintues before bed, and see how she goes. I'll gradually make it longer and longer.

I have to tell you that this thread and your kind helpful advice has made a world of difference and I feel so much bgetter and brighter and more alive. I was getting a bit done and even thought what a mistake I made because I handle the responsibility. That was two days ago. Now I look at a thirving puppy who is really smart and learning more and more evey day. I seee my efforts paying off already and I have not even had her for a week yet.

Now I need to look into training

Oh...and she needs a name!!!!

Thanks so much

[lv4dogs]

No name yet?

Can we have a pic of her? Possible more info about her personality? We need to think of a name for the sweetie!


I don't know why but Grace comes to mind, even when I first read about her, the name Grace popped in my head. Don't get me wrong it's a great name I only found it odd because I am not too fond of very popular names. Here's a few more ideas for you.

Cara, friend in Celtic
Lavena, joy in Celtic
Chenoa, dove in Native American
Tehya, precious in Native American
Desta, joy, happiness in Ethiopia (african)

[Den Anne Pen]

The reason Vets have science diet is because they get a nice little kick back from the maker
I have my 3 on Nutro Natural Choice small bites Lamb + Rice and they all seem to do very good on it

I have a city theme in this house with my furkids as you can see so i just open up the map and read them till i get to one that i think fits them Except Phoenix i named him that because of the story behind that name in memory of Denver

I'm thinking Hampton

Good Luck

[Sky57]

Well guess what? I thought of her name! As soon as I thought of it I was glad I waited because I really like it and it suits her. I thought of it before I read your suggestions - sorry! Thanks so much for your ideas though.

Her name is Jindi.

...and here she is. You have helped so much with her first week in her new home.

[lv4dogs]

Jindi, I love it! Is there any meanin to it?

[Pawsitive Thinking]

She's a beauty!

When we first had Tobey we found puppy pads were invaluable for those "just in case" moments. He learnt to use them if we weren't around/awake to let him out. Lots of praise when he "went" in the right place which was quickly transferred into the garden

[ginagt]

She is so cute!!!! How are things going?