# Potty Training HELP!!!!



## PrattFamily (May 10, 2004)

Hello. as some of you know I am a new, proud owner of Tinkerbell my chi baby.
Well we are not crate training her, and she sleeps in our bed. 
We have a litter box that we put puppy pads in, and that is where she is supposed to go. Well, she rarly goes there, she prefers to poop and pee everywhere else, including our bed.  
If I put her down or try to put her in the crate she crys all night long. I just can't do that. 
She knows where she is supposed to go, I have caught her peeing and pooping and told her a firm no! and then put her in her potty pad to finish and she goes and i reward her for it with a "good girl" and a treat. ??
Our Eskie was crate trained (sorta) and he is now potty trained at 4 months old, but he didn't cry when we put him in his "room" as long as he could see us and stuff, and at night he was fine . . . although he did escape out almost everynight. lol. 
If anyone has any advice please help me.


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## KB (Apr 13, 2004)

Sorry I totally support crate training and do not endorse sleeping in the bed for lots of reasons. The crate is going to help her learn to "hold it'. Kemo is in our room w/us crated, he has to see me or else he would whine too, besides I like my buddy with me. 
catching her in the act is the way to go.....and chi's tend not to train all that quickly. So extra patience and preserverance is the way to go. Make sure you remove the smell with something like Natures Miracle so she does not go in the "old spots" again. I over take Kemo out too, nothing wrong with being too careful. If he drinks alot then I know to really stay on top of him. he goes out every 2-3 hours but he can hold it for as long as 8-9 hours...Good luck.


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## NoahFL (May 14, 2004)

Everyone has their own methods, but for us, crate training Zeus for the first 6 months worked great. Sure, he cried for awhile, but he soon realized that his crate was his little nest. We kept his crate next to our bed so I could keep my fingers in his crate when he was crying. Crate training helps bladder control since pups won't urinate where they sleep in confined areas. After about 6 months when he had bladder control, we let him sleep with us.. with rules. During the night, he is NOT allowed off the bed (he's not 100% housetrained). If he has to go, he'll wake us up. We have a high bed also, so he could hurt himself. Now, at 9 months, if we go someplace, he stays in the kitchen. His crate door is open and he prefers to sleep in it, but is able to go in and out. 

Good luck.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

you really need to get her out of bed for a start how does she get down in the night if she needs potty ? I would suggest leaving her in a downstairs room with food, water , basket ,toys and pads if yopu dont want to crate her I woulkd then shut the door and go to bed as neither of you could be getting much sleep  she will cry for the first 2 nights but she will soon get used to it.

witrh the pads I wouldnt put them in a litter tray I would put one by the exit you want her to use when she is house trained an another in a inconspicuous corner as chis tend not to like to poo and pee on the same pad eventually you will be able to get the one from the corner up as it is easier for her to poo outside when shes older as they usually go 1 or 2 times a day usually on walks.

She needs to go potty every 1 and a half t0 2 hours and after eating, sleeping and playing.

hope this helps :lol: 

kemmos mama I totally agree with the bed thing, I would be so scared of squashing the poor babies


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## CuddleMeChi (Apr 29, 2004)

Ithink crate training is a definately necessary. I slept on th esofa next to the crate at first and then after a few days they managed fine by themselves. Ok I'm going to sound like a bd mommy but during the night when I was on the sofa if they whined I'd toss a slipper or somethingat the crate so it would make a bang and say QUIET. as I pointed at the dog. After a couple nights all I had to do was point and they stopped whining. After a couple more days they were fine on their own at night. Once I left the romm I always kept the crate covered . This gives them a sense of safety and also you can sneek out and they can't tell...... LOL

Oh and about housebreaking... I have found bells on th dorr the best method I have ever tried. You hang a big heavy set of bells off the door knob to the ground level. each time go in and out the same dooor and MAKE SURE ro ing the bells with their paw. pretty soon they learn to go rng the bell themselves to go outside. LOL Of course at first they will ring the bell 50 times a day just to see you jump up and let them out so they can go play :lol:


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## Kirk (Jun 15, 2004)

I had some trouble making her poop and pee on the pad at first but now she is 80% potty trained. Also be patient! It took me 3 weeks to bring her to this stage and still she needs work.

Here are some tips:

1.Always wash the spot on the floor with something strong. Don't just use water and soap, that will not remove the smell. You can use one of those specialised products, or you can use vinegar or chlorine. I used chlorine because the smell is too strong and upleasant for dogs. But be carefull cause inhaling high doses can be harmfull for yout dog. Let it dry out a bit and then allow your dog to go over that area again. 

2. Don't change the pad too often even if it smells or looks bad. I usually remove it only after there is not enough clean space for the dog to stand and make his job. The strong smell will help him find the pad easier.

3. Get one of those special scented oils and spray the pad with it. It's supposed to help her find the pad easier.

I always let the dog sleep with me (yeah i know, bad habit :lol: ) and i caught her peeing twice in my bed. Immediately, i picked her up while she was peeing and placed her on the pad. Then i didn't allow her on the bed. Sure, she cried alot but she also got the idea.


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## PrattFamily (May 10, 2004)

Hello thank you for all your tips and advice. . .

We live in an apartment, so I have to train her to go in a litter pan/potty pad. I put the potty pad in the litter box, just in case it leaks through the pad (which it has done).

I have not been able to find a crate small enough for her. I tried to put her in a play pen with her bed and her potty . . . but she crys and crys and crys.
so i give in, i know i am not supposed to. 

I am always in half a sleep at night so i don't squish her, and I can feel her get up, because she is usually sleeping in my arms or pillow by my head. I like her sleeping with me, and whenever she wakes up I put her in her litter pan and tell her to "go pee".

so i guess i need to get that crate and have her on her own.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

it doesnt matter the size you get as you can always section it off until she is bigger as this is what they reccomend you do anyway as you dont want her to have enough room to sleep and go potty up another corner


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## NoahFL (May 14, 2004)

As far as crates go, just to give you an idea, Zeus has this one (maroon, small)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...tid=547&R=653&N=2001+113496+113564&in_merch=1

He's had this one since he was 9 weeks old and it was small enough that he didn't have accidents in it and today at 9 months, he can still comfortably lay in it. I like this one because the latch is much less likely to damage over time.


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## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

Sandy sleeps in bed with me. I have a queen size bed and at the bottom of the side I don't sleep on I have a puppy pad. If she needs to go in the middle of the night she goes on the pad.
Try putting just the pads around the house where Tinkerbell likes to go potty and praise her for going on the pads. You know like "Good girl go potty on the paper" or something like that so she will get the idea she is suppose to go on the paper. After she gets good at going on the paper you can eliminate them 1 at a time over a period of time. Eventually you will have just the 1 in the litter pan.
It sounds to me like she doesn't know she is suppose to go on the paper yet. 
You just got her last week or the week before didn't you? She is still pretty young.


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## KB (Apr 13, 2004)

Kemo's crate is a carrier.....I just got one a tad bigger so he has more comfort although they say not to give them too much space or they will pee in one end....this way I saved $$ by getting a carrier and "crate" all in one. Another awesome advantage of having a little dog.


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## CuddleMeChi (Apr 29, 2004)

K- mart has the tiny travel crates for approx. $14.99 Actually this week they are having a 10% off sale on all dog travel crates so ths gets you a bit more off. If your closest K mart is out of them go to the next closest as they all carry them.

The ones K-mart has, have a little food dish, and 2 different compartments to store a bit of food or a leash. Check for th xsmall size if that's what you want. It's pretty small and most mistake the small for the xsmall but they do carry an xtra small in alot of K marts.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

oh mrs p how do you sleep with a piddle pad in your bed :? I dont think I could and wont that just encourage her to piddle on your bed :?:


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## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

It doesn't bother me, it's on the oppisite side of the bed down at the foot area.
It is only there until she can make it through the nite without having to potty.
Most nites she only pees on it anyway. And a few times she hasn't gone on it at all.
I take her out side when she gets up in the morning first thing. It's usually between 5 and 5:30 AM and she poos and pees outside. The last time I take her out at nite is a little before 8PM so it's a long time for her to try and hold it at 4 1/2 months old.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

is it not possible to take her out after 8 pm, do you not think it will encourage her to think its ok to pee on your bed :?:


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## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

I don't think it will encourage her to pee on the bed. Like I said a few times she didn't go on it at all.
Our routine is at 8:00 all the fur babys get a treat. The two boy cats get theirs and go to bed in my house mates bedroom where they stay for the nite. The girl cats are allowed to run the house at nite, the boys still don't like 1 of the girls and will attack her on sight. That's why the boys go in the house mates bedroom for the nite. It gives the poor girl time to roam the rest of the house. Most of the day she stays in the kitchen that I have blocked off with netting so she has space safe from the boys.
After Sandy has her treat sometimes she plays with the girl cats for a little while (usually no more than 1/2 hour) and then goes in her little bed in the living room. When she does that it means she is ready to go nite nite and I take her in my room and she gets a cookie (puppy milk bone) and goes to sleep. I watch TV for about an hour then go to sleep. 
I think when she gets a little older she will be able to hold it all nite. This routine works for us and I would rather have her in bed with me than running the house all nite where she could get steped on hurt some other way.
My house mate works the evening shift and I have a son still living here that stays out late sometimes.


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## crzzy4chis (Jun 26, 2004)

Hey I also think crate training works best, they tend to want to hold it because it's their own personal space for sleeping and so they don't want to dirty it. Also if you watch when she goes you can pretty much estimate when she's going to need to go again so you could try taking her outside when you know it's getting close. For example, my puppy Jewels can hold it for about 3 hrs. after she goes. So I have her on a schedule to wake up at 7am and she goes then, then again at 10am and so on throughout the day. She holds it all night unless I'm late getting her out at 7am because it's a long time to hold it, but I don't feed her late at night so that helps, I try to let her have to go one more time after eating her last time of the day at 7pm. It seems to be making quick progress. Update us on how it's going and good luck!


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## PrattFamily (May 10, 2004)

thank you all for your advice and tips, they are all very helpful. 
I am slowly adjusting her to her crate. I think a big problem right now with her is seperation anxiety, she crys when I am out of her sight or she is unable to be close to me when she wants to for more then 10 seconds. 
I did a "test" and left for awhile with her andrew loose. . . and she tore up her potty pad in a million peices. 
she is still sleeping with us, until I can get a divider for the crate we have, she goes potty quite often, like 4 times in the middle of the night and poop and pee when she wakes up. and then here and there when she is around the house, she is doing better on her potty pads, i found out that she perfers the potty pads the breeder used rather then my cheapo ones, lol. and she has been going pee on her own in those. 
I get up in the middle of the night often, I am a light sleeper most of the time, so when I feel her move, I put her in her potty pad (on the ground by the bed) and she goes. 
She hasn't had any accidents on the bed in the past week, so thats good. and she dosen't like to poop in her potty pad, so sometimes she will go on Andrews potty pad, or she sneak a poop in the house somewhere when she is playing. 
We are going to a trip to San Deigo in a couple of weeks any potty advice for the trip?


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