Oh my GOD, we are having a horrible week. She has totally regressed in the potty training. She peed and pooped on the floor yesterday. Peed on the floor in FRONT of the pen this a.m. I am really struggling with this stupid exercise pen. The problem is that this is supposed to be her "home", like a crate, just a little bigger. BUT, it really isn't a happy place for her because that is where she is put when she pees and poops on the floor. Her pee pads are in there. Also, that is where she goes when I leave for work. So, she does NOT associate this pen with a happy place. Plus she constantly jumps up on it to the point that I am afraid she is going to break her hind legs. SO, I have to squirt her with a water bottle to stop her. Another not happy thing. BUT, I am training her to sit on her bed which she is doing really well. SO, she gets a treat. But the bed is IN the pen. So she is now totally confused because she gets squirted when she jumps on the pen, but then lays on the bed like she is supposed to. I can't punish her by squirting her in the pen and also give her a treat immediately after. She doesn't know what the eff is going on. She is totally confused because the pen is used for her punishment as well as supposed to be her "happy" place.
She also constantly whines and cries and barks when she is in the pen and I am home. When I leave, she goes nuts. She is MUCH better when she is running around the kitchen when I am home, but then she pees on the floor. But I swear, she is not going into the pen where the pee pads are because she KNOWS that the door gets closed.
I really don't know what to do. I am thinking that I will get another large gate, gate of the other part of the kitchen, put her crate, bed, toys and water and a ton of pee pads and see how she does. I feel like I would rather work on getting her to go on the pee pads where she is supposed to go and just eliminate the pen.
I have been trying to get her to go outside, but she just won't. She will hold everything until we get in the house and THEN go. She was doing perfect for almost 3 weeks going right into the pen on the pee pads, and now she is right back to where she was, pooping and peeing on the floor outside of the pen if I don't basically block her from leaving it.
I am SO confused and she is confused and I feel really bad again like I SUC!K at this being a dog mother. I just love her so much, but I am getting discouraged for the MILLIONTH TIME.
I have only had her for a little over a month and I know all this takes time, but I can't just keep her locked up in this stupid pen all day when I am not home and then even when I AM home. I don't have a lot of time with her anyway. But, I have to train her to be a well behaved dog. And I read everything and it all seems just totally different every time I read something new.
Anyway, thanks all for reading this missive. |