Quote:
Originally Posted by Lovetodream88  Remember she doesn't know what the word go potty means you have to teach her like when she goes potty on the pad say good potty good potty |
That's why I had to teach Sapphire what 'Go Potty' meant first. She was clueless (at 2 years old!) I figured she was peeing on the carpet anyway, so I couldn't make the situation any worse, lol. She would 'go' occasionally on the pad, but I could never catch her 'in the act' to praise her. I've never had any luck with putting them on the pad. Once I interrupted them then that was it!
I'd see her going on the rug and say 'Sapphire! No no!'. She would look up at me, while still peeing, and give me the cutest head tilt and innocent look as if to say, 'Okay Mommie, as soon as I'm done here I'll come right over to you! What are we going to do now? Wanna play? Or you could rub my tummy! I love you!" Lol, I mean CLUELESS! And her expressions were so darling I would just end up laughing, knowing potty training just wasn't happening.
So the next time I saw her going on the rug, I said 'Go Potty', and 'Good Girl' when she finished. Just a gentle quiet 'Good Girl', nothing extravagant. Then I started to put her on the pad at the key potty times, after meals and play and naps. Finally, while on the pad and me saying 'go potty', she knew what I meant and she did go on the pad and got a Happy Dance from Mommie with a ton of 'Good Girls' and some treats. I let her know in no uncertain terms that she just made Mommie VERY Happy!
She is now 99.9% pad trained. The key is to catch them doing what you want, then reward and praise. Sometimes it may take 2-5 times of catching them, praise and reward, before they really understand, but you will see it in her eyes when she finally really understands.
I find too with puppies that a fairly strict schedule helps in beginning to know when they need to eliminate.