Puppy Training....

[Moxie007]

Hi all.. I just joined recently and now I'm here seeking the help I want/need.. the dreaded potty training among other things.

A little background:
We have 2 yorkiepoo (yorkshire terrier/poodle) puppies just hitting 4 mths. old. We've had the boys (the runt and the baby of the same litter) for about 6 weeks and they are not fully trained but getting better as I've not really expected them to be perfect within the first few weeks we've had them. We were originally getting 1 but the runt weasled his way in and tada .. here he is. Love them both to death.. no going back now.

Ok so on to my situation.... any assistance/suggestions are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. Please be forewarned, that this may get quite lengthy.

1) I have a puppy pad..which both use to do their business. However, Connor (the baby) will pee on the pad but not pooh. Pooh, he reserves for under the table. Fergus (the runt) will pooh on the pad but not pee. Pee, he reserves for the hardwood floor and occasionally the area rug. He will stop wherever he is and just pee.

I'm just wondering if there is any way to get both of them to use the pad for both jobs? They were semi paper trained when we got them. Now I take them out every morning before work, for 20-30 mins and they do their business outside. Also, in the early evening for roughly 90 mins sometimes more and lately late evening for about 20-30 mins. However, they don't always go outside on their evening walks, which is the ultimate goal. My teens will take them out during the day if they are home.

2) Both boys love to jump and are very excitable when they see other dogs or people (adults and children). They tug on the lease hopping on their hind legs trying to get over to the new face and they basically feed off each other and bark excitedly. I've told my fiancé and teens to ignore them and walk away when they jump up on them but this is still taking quite some time. When I'm with them outside (I'm the one walking them on most occasions) I shorten their lease and tell them to sit and stay. It works for a few seconds and then Fergus will jump up and get Connor riled up, and vice versa, to start jumping and barking again.

Does anyone have any other suggestions in addition to what I'm doing already to help stop the jumping and excessive barking with excitement?

3) The boys are not crated at night, which is something I thought about doing and wanted to do (having read quite a bit before getting the pups) but my fiancé is dead set against it. Fergus, we've learned is a garbage picker and loves pull the bin down dragging out everything he could possibly get at and trekking it all over the house. We've also noticed that Connor won't start anything, but joins in once Fergus gets the mess started.

Any suggestions on keeping them out of the trashcan and behaved at night?

4) Young Fergus has recently learned to lift his leg to pee and mark his territory. Although quite funny/cute to see two lil pups lifting their leg and toppling over a bit, it's now something else to think about since Connor has started marking today. We're a bit worried they will start spraying in the house and we have to wait till November before they can get neutered.

Also, Fergus is an exited pee-er. When he gets your attention, he gets very excited and tinkles as he jumps around. However, this he doesn't do outside, only inside with us.

Any thoughts/suggestions?


5) Connor, my lil baby loves to hump the dogs at the park. It doesn't matter if the dogs are male, female, big or small. He'll even hump his brother, Fergus. I was thoroughly embarrassed when I first witnessed this but was told by another dog owner that it's a sign of dominance. My granddaughter will be crawling soon and I don't want Connor trying to hump her. Although he hasn't tried to hump our legs etc., it's still a concern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I think that covers it for now... my memory fails me at this late hour.
I look forward to hearing/reading your comments/suggestions etc etc. I've been reading some of the other threads and I'm very thankful I found this forum.

Many thanks in advance.

[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by Moxie007

Hi all.. I just joined recently and now I'm here seeking the help I want/need.. the dreaded potty training among other things.

A little background:
We have 2 yorkiepoo (yorkshire terrier/poodle) puppies just hitting 4 mths. old. We've had the boys (the runt and the baby of the same litter) for about 6 weeks and they are not fully trained but getting better as I've not really expected them to be perfect within the first few weeks we've had them. We were originally getting 1 but the runt weasled his way in and tada .. here he is. Love them both to death.. no going back now.

Ok so on to my situation.... any assistance/suggestions are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. Please be forewarned, that this may get quite lengthy.

1) I have a puppy pad..which both use to do their business. However, Connor (the baby) will pee on the pad but not pooh. Pooh, he reserves for under the table. Fergus (the runt) will pooh on the pad but not pee. Pee, he reserves for the hardwood floor and occasionally the area rug. He will stop wherever he is and just pee.

I'm just wondering if there is any way to get both of them to use the pad for both jobs? They were semi paper trained when we got them. Now I take them out every morning before work, for 20-30 mins and they do their business outside. Also, in the early evening for roughly 90 mins sometimes more and lately late evening for about 20-30 mins. However, they don't always go outside on their evening walks, which is the ultimate goal. My teens will take them out during the day if they are home.

I personally am not a fan of the pads, especially in the scenario where the owner eventually wants their puppy/dog to learn to go outside for the bathroom. The reason is that this can cause a lot of confusion, teaching your dogs to pee/poo inside and then attempting to teach them outside.
The reason your one puppy is using the area rug is because he's learned that he pee's on certain round or square objects inside the house. Puppies don't discriminate from a pad, newspaper, or rug. I highly reccomend losing the pads if you're determined to house-train outside.

Just continue to monitor both of them, putting them outside whenever they wake up, after they eat, and after they play. Consistancy and patience are the key here. (And if you haven't already, make sure that you clean your area rug extremley well...if you can get a new one all together, I'd suggest that.)

2) Both boys love to jump and are very excitable when they see other dogs or people (adults and children). They tug on the lease hopping on their hind legs trying to get over to the new face and they basically feed off each other and bark excitedly. I've told my fiancé and teens to ignore them and walk away when they jump up on them but this is still taking quite some time. When I'm with them outside (I'm the one walking them on most occasions) I shorten their lease and tell them to sit and stay. It works for a few seconds and then Fergus will jump up and get Connor riled up, and vice versa, to start jumping and barking again.

Does anyone have any other suggestions in addition to what I'm doing already to help stop the jumping and excessive barking with excitement?

Start walking them individually. This might not be convienent, but is there any way to have another family member take them in the other direction while you take the second puppy? This also helps teach them not to become too dependent on one another, and at first you may see a lot of hesistation to split them up. It will be key to rehabilitating and addressing any bad behavior - it will be a much harder task for you to attempt on your own with both at the same time.
As for the jumping up, this is a bad habit that a lot of small breed dogs aquire because most owners bend down to say hello. It teaches the dog to meet them half-way, and most jumping isn't detered at first because they are so small.
Shortening the leash can also cause unintended leash frustration - they will associate the tension on the leash to something about to happen, which most likely won't help your situation. Putting them in a sit/stay is good, in theory, but certainly won't work with the two puppies together, especially while they are learning.
You want to redirect their focus back on you, so changing the pace often works. It will be important for your puppies to learn how to properly say hello, which starts first with your family. If all the members are on board with the new training regime, it will work. If not, it simply won't.
When greeting the puppies, never say hello to them or give them attention if they are barking or jumping up. Avoid eye contact until they are quiet and 'calm'. At this time, you and your family can go to them and give them attention.

3) The boys are not crated at night, which is something I thought about doing and wanted to do (having read quite a bit before getting the pups) but my fiancé is dead set against it. Fergus, we've learned is a garbage picker and loves pull the bin down dragging out everything he could possibly get at and trekking it all over the house. We've also noticed that Connor won't start anything, but joins in once Fergus gets the mess started.

Any suggestions on keeping them out of the trashcan and behaved at night?

Crate training. May I ask why is your fiance' against it? It's not only your safest option, your dogs will learn to love the crate. It will be a safe area for them, one that they love, and your future dog-groomers or vets won't have issues with them if they're used to being crated.

4) Young Fergus has recently learned to lift his leg to pee and mark his territory. Although quite funny/cute to see two lil pups lifting their leg and toppling over a bit, it's now something else to think about since Connor has started marking today. We're a bit worried they will start spraying in the house and we have to wait till November before they can get neutered.

Also, Fergus is an exited pee-er. When he gets your attention, he gets very excited and tinkles as he jumps around. However, this he doesn't do outside, only inside with us.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Fergus is peeing out of submission. He's showing you and your family that he knows he's not top-dog. To start, when you do give him attention, avoid eye contact with touch and don't talk. See if that helps, and go from there.

You shouldn't neccessarily have a problem with marking, but this is always a chance. Don't fret about it, but do make sure you neuter your pups. It will help reduce their instinct to mark in the home.

5) Connor, my lil baby loves to hump the dogs at the park. It doesn't matter if the dogs are male, female, big or small. He'll even hump his brother, Fergus. I was thoroughly embarrassed when I first witnessed this but was told by another dog owner that it's a sign of dominance. My granddaughter will be crawling soon and I don't want Connor trying to hump her. Although he hasn't tried to hump our legs etc., it's still a concern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

It can be dominance, sometimes from stress. In your case, from what you've told us about your dogs - I'm thinking Connor is the more dominant dog, so yes - I'd gamble that it's just dominance. Generally dogs will figure it out for themselves at the dog park, don't be embarrassed. It happens a LOT. As for humping people, don't worry until it happens. If he does try to hump your granddaughter, your family may need to change the way they're handling Connor, but until it happens, try not to worry too much. I have a 15 month old daughter that grew up around our 10 month old labradoodle - a very dominant female - and we never had any problems.

I think that covers it for now... my memory fails me at this late hour.
I look forward to hearing/reading your comments/suggestions etc etc. I've been reading some of the other threads and I'm very thankful I found this forum.

Many thanks in advance.

Keep us posted on their progress, and we love pictures!

[Moxie007]

Thanks a bunch Bailey. I will try your suggestions. As for my fiance, he's Irish and said he doesn't believe in couping them up but letting them run free. However, I think he forgets that they are in a small house not on a large farm where he grew up I will have to try harder convincing him. Other dog owners I've spoken to also indicated that crating is the way to go and the dogs are actually better behaved for it.

Many thanks again.

[Bailey_]

Your welcome Moxie. Definitely pursue the crate training. I understand where your fiance is coming from, but you're right - your dogs will be better off.

Our dogs love their crates, and it actually is a source of comfort whenever we are away and my inlaws watch them. We also don't close the kennel door for our puppy anymore because she's so good about staying in it at night - she simply has no desire to leave it. At bedtime, we just say 'Kennel Up' and they both go running excitedly and get in their kennels on their own.

[Marcha]

Coming from a country where crating is very uncommon, I can sympathise with your partner's thoughts. I do hope that he, just like I did, comes to experience the space and freedom that is created BECAUSE of crating.

Has your partner been at home for days on end, following the pup to mop up or prevent elimination in the house? If not, maybe you need to go visit a friend out of town for two days, so that your fiance can experience first hand the 'freedom' he has while giving the pup the freedom he thinks it needs?

[Marcha]

Oh - and our pup loves her crate. She was desperately relieved when we took the crate with us when we went camping. We took the crate out as a 'last measure' after she'd been restless, barking at everything that was new to her, refused to eat or nap for hours. When she saw her crate, we barely had time to put her mat in it - she would have just jumped in without a mat, only to be in her crate. As soon as she was in it, she had a looong nap, then came out, ate, eliminated and went straight back in and slept through the night. Our pup also tells us in the evening when she's ready for 'bed' ... she'll gently mouth the cushion on which I'm sitting, which means 'let me get to my crate', and she happily goes in and goes to sleep.

[Moxie007]

Marcha thanks for your input as well. Greatly appreciated.

As for pictures, I created a profile album and have their 2 cutest pics in there. Have to take some more shots and upload them. Love my boys, as I never had any sons and these two are now it. hehe.

[Moxie007]

Originally Posted by Bailey_

Keep us posted on their progress, and we love pictures!

I just have to say thank you for your comments and suggestions once again and provide an update to you all.

CRATING:
Well ... the boys have settled down a lot since we started crating them. YAY!!! When I brought it up to the finace again, he was reluctant because he thought they would be crated indefinitely. Once I explained it again, then he was a bit more agreeable and now even he sees the difference in the boys. They did whine for the first two nights but know the routine now and Connor goes into his crate at night by himself, Fergus still needs to be put in. (Mr. Stubborn).

WALKING:
Unfortunately we haven't been able to take them for walks separately. I've not been well the last few weeks and my partner and the kids have been doing their part to help but the current situation doesn't allow for us to take them out separately. However, they have calmed down a great deal and are not the extremely jumpy excited puppies they once were when they see people and other dogs. Plus they are getting older. (Almost 5 mths old - new pics will be posted tomorrow once I get them brushed out and looking all pretty again.. hehe).


FERGUS - the excited pee-er:
Well.. now this is our lil trouble maker. Fergus is the more excited pup of the two and most mischievous. He loves garbage and loves to dig, rip and shred. Since we've implemented some of your suggestions, Fergus has now resorted to lifting his leg and peeing on either Connor or the edge of the sofa and he even lifted his leg and peed on a friend of the family. The girls were very embarrassed and scolded him, letting him know that was not acceptable. Another incident Fergus "had" was that he walked into my room while I was sitting on at my computer with Connor laying at my feet (his new favourite thing to do no matter where I am) and stood there staring at me then peed and ran out of the room. Fergus does listen, but he is still trying every which way he can to be the boss as I suppose he knows he isn't. He doesn't do the excited tinkle as often as he used to, but now he has resorted to leaving big puddles on the floor.

CONNOR - Mr. Humpalot:

Well Connor boy, doesn't hump any other dog now other than Fergus and it's not very often. He will let Fergus know that he is boss and they do play fight quite a bit. What he's resorted to doing now is going into Fergus' crate and laying down. It's kinda funny, because he is so much bigger than Fergus and looks way to small for Fergus' crate which is smaller than his. They both go into each other's crates, but when it's bedtime Connor goes into his own.

I know they have both progressed from where they were. Now it's just to get Fergus to stop the "spiteful" peeing (so it seems to us). Love the boys to death and can't wait till they see their first snowfall. The leaves are already falling and they are having a ball playing in the small bundles. LOL.

Will keep you all posted and look out for pics of them tomorrow.

[Moxie007]

Here they are finally, updated pics of the boys...they will be 5 months old on the 16th. Not much of a change really, except in size....

Although, lately I have noticed some silvery/grey on Connor's front legs and the hair just above his nose has turned a reddish colour. Sadly, it doesn't show too well in the pics, but I also keep forgetting to take my camera outside with us so all our pics are of them indoors. Gosh they are so dog gone cute.

Connor is the all black one and Fergus (our lil old man) has the white eyebrows, moustache and socks.

[BenMax]

Oh my GOSH - they are adorable!