Jun 04 2009
Oops! The Madness that is an Un-Housetrained Pup.
When we moved into our new home a few months ago, we also brought along a brand new puppy, a Japanese Chin. We named her Zoey. She’s very cute and very quiet, which is something I immediately found endearing about her. She was three months old at the time and only 4 lbs.
Now, let’s fast forward to today, June 3, 2009.
Zoey and I now have what I call a “love-hate” relationship. She’s only slowing learning how important it is to potty outside. This is, of course, the hardest part of owning a new puppy. I understand that. However, she’s not making it easy for me. Because Zoey’s personality is that of a Japanese Chin (quiet, reserved, and very cat-like), she always fails to let me know when she needs to go outside. I could be looking right at her and without one noise or whimper to tell me what she needs to do, she’ll squat in the hallway. Or, I’ll bring her in from outside, and she’ll decide that 10 minutes after stepping on the carpet, she wants to pop a squat. Didn’t you just go outside, you silly fool? Of course, you’d think that because she’s cat-like, that means she’d be very clean. No. In fact, Zoey doesn’t seem to care when she poops or pees in her crate. She will do so, and then step all over it, sit in it, and act like nothing is wrong. She has had so many shampoo baths that I’m surprised her hair isn’t falling out.
But, she is a sweet puppy, and so we’re still working with her. We are now two months into the process. I’m not sure how long it’s supposed to take with puppies because I usually adopt older dogs. In fact, this is my first puppy in years.
When I purchased her, I also purchased a crate to use inside and a pen to use outside. I could not let her roam free in our yard. Although we have a privacy fence around the front and side of our yard, and a metal fence along the back, there are certain spots near the driveway where the panels do not touch the ground. She snuck out one time when we were in the front yard talking to neighbors, and we didn’t notice until about 15 minutes later. Our home is on a busy street. This is no place for a puppy to be running free. Needless to say, the pen is to keep her contained (and safe) when she’s outside.
Zoey is very good about going potty in her pen outside. And, when she goes potty in the proper area, she is rewarded with a puppy biscuit. Unfortunately, Zoey is also very good about going potty in her crate. Every night, in fact. She is not rewarded for this.
I have read all the puppy training websites out there, and all of them say the same thing: reward and praise your puppy for going potty outside. I have tried that, but it doesn’t seem to be working with Zoey. I am hoping that with age, she’ll gain wisdom. That she’ll finally realize how gross it actually is to sleep on a soiled and smelly puppy bed, to have her hair matted to her butt with poo, or to smell otherwise foul. If not, Zoey and I are destined to keep traveling down this road of frustration together.
In the meantime, I have cut off her food and water in the early evening and her last trip outside to go potty is around 10:00 p.m. I am not going to accept failure…or, I’m going to trade in her cute, yet smelly and poo-matted behind, for an older housetrained dog.
