 House training Gracie
We are working on house training Gracie, our new Yorkie puppy. The breeder suggested trying one of the 48" round playpens made from canvas with an enclosed bottom that is NOT velcroed to the sides, solid if possible, or zipped to the bottom of the sides maybe, but not velcroed, because puppies soon learn to get under the velcro area and escape. It is good to have a mesh zipped on top for later when they are bigger. (Some sources: Amazon and Ebay) We keep one playpen in the den and another in the bedroom where we sleep.
The bottom is covered with wee wee pads and she has water and plenty of toys.
She had frequently been snuggling up next to my neck, but kept squirming to get closer to the glass door where she kept looking outside. It was pretty obvious she wanted to go outside, so I opened the door and out she went running straight to the yard to pee... This behavior was really surprising but has been consistent and we are hoping that this means she will respond well to house training. She goes out right after eating and frequently-probably every 2 hours or so-during the day. If I put her down next to the door, she looks for a way to get around it. She loves to run and play.
The inside area available to her will be expanded when I feel she can be trusted not to go in the house.
We were worried about house breaking before we got her after reading of much frustration from other new owners. I don't know exactly what to attribute this unusual form of behavior to. The breeder (Kathy Grice) has a pretty unique setup, the puppies are socialized early on and are kept half on puppy pads and half on wee wee pads. They are allowed out of the caging several times during the day and wee wee pads are located strategically around her floors, which by the way are immaculate, along with the rest of her house and kennel.
I thought we might try putting her in a small baby pool with some sod squares to get her used to the idea of using grass, but we have not tried this yet. She prefers to go in the dirt area of the yard.
The other thing I had considered was putting shredded (no ink) newsprint in her playpen. She loved that, but it was a huge mess after being dragged through her water, and you could hardly see the dog because she loved to burrow in it.
One thing I am now concerned about has to do with some of the warnings on hawks and owls. Although we live in a suburb of Dallas, there are owls and hawks in the area. She loves to run in the yard and will actually run and play to avoid going back into the house.... Taking her outside at bedtime is a little scary for me...
Having fun!
Cathie |