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Originally Posted by wemple2  Shucks! Is there anyway to secure this Piddle Place so it doesn't move around and scare him? I'm trying to understand the "concept" of this, what is the advantages and disadvantages? Is it not possible to simply take him outside to potty? How does he use this to poop on? Help me to understand why this is a better alternative then him going potty outside. If there is no yard, or you live in an apartment building...maybe I could understand it. But Winston loves going outside...his yard is his Piddle Place...lol. |
Hi Kathy,
Sorry it has been so long before I got back to you, but I must have missed the email that I got another message.
So to answer your questions:
I'm not sure about securing the Piddle Place, other than trying to velcro it to the floor with double sided velcro tape, but I have a laminate floor and I wouldn't want the velcro to peel the top layer off the laminate floor if I need to take the bottom Velcro off, say if I needed to move the Piddle Place to another place in the room or another room. However, this is a moot point, as at this time he is not using the Piddle Place, I had to take it away, as he just would not go on it, he kept avoiding it.
I spoke to a trainer and she suggested I try the fabric potty pads, the washable kind. With a few suggestions from her, we were on our way, and he has now become 100% consistent on this washable potty pad in the Family Room. So when he is not in his playpen, he is in the family room which has been gated off from the rest of the house and his potty pads are in this rooms with him as well as in his playpen.
The problem now is that he has started to lay down and rest, play with his toys and even eat, on his potty pads, and it is kind of gross and i'm wondering what to do about it.
He goes to his various beds in the room (its a big room :-)) and one by one goes over to his toys and starts to collect a pile of his toys on his potty pad, and then he starts to play with them. He also sometimes finds a yorkie yummy on the floor and picks it up and brings it over to the potty pad to eat-YUK!!! So I really need help with this behavior-like, how do i get him to stop!!!
I don't want to frighten him away from using the potty pads, but I want him to use them appropriately, and I am afraid of discouraging him from using the potty pads at all, if I correct him.
This is one reason why the Piddle Place was a better alternative than the washable pads, he never did that on the Piddle Place, and I am beginning to think that I might begin introducing him to the Piddle Place again very slowly.
The Piddle Place advantage is that it is a sealed system with a drain and a spout. Puppy stands on the soft green mat and piddles or poops, the only thing you need to do is pick up the poop and flush it. The wee goes into the system and after putting a liquid neutralizer in once a month or every two weeks or so (depending upon the size of the dog, how many dogs use the piddle place and how much they urinate), and then you unlock the spigot or spout and pour out the neutralized urine in the toilet bowl, there is no odor as it has been neutralized. There is a sanitary spray for the green pads to keep them fresh and dissolve any left over urine or poop, so the pad is always fresh.
It worked great when he went on it, but then he became afraid and refused to go on it. I'm thinking of trying again.
As for your question about why they're not going potty outside. Yes, of course this is ideal, and at one time, before I became disabled and before I became aware of the birds of prey out here, I let Merlin, my first Yorkie, out several times a day, and all was right with the world. I would always go out with him, but didn't need to leash him because we have an enclosed yard. He would go out, quickly potty, and come right back in. He liked it, but not when it was brutally hot out here or when there were cold pouring torrential rains (which hasn't happened in a while). But he also had a collapsed trachea, and the brutal Southern CAL sun worked havoc on him. It was very bad for him, worse than the cold
Because of my disability now, it is difficult for me to get up in time and get the pups out in time for them to go potty without going on the floor. This is the reason I failed to potty train with Cassie and Muffin. Although we have never encountered a bird of prey trying to take one of my babies, I have heard countless stories of tiny yorkies being carried off to their deaths, here in Southern Cal. So I became terrified and refused to let them out without a leash even when I was able to go out with them, and that just takes too long, and right now, I am moving too slow. So I felt the safest thing to do is to have them potty in the house in a litter box like contraption, like for cats. And thats what Ive been shooting for, kind of. I have very severe low back pain and sciatica, which makes it difficult to sleep and walk or even get out of bed. And when I finally do get out, I tend to move verrrrry slowly for a good long while.
So this is why having them go outside is very impractical for me. But believe me, if only I could, I really would, I would so much prefer it, it is so much simpler, really. Less cleanup, less cost, less poop and pee and mess to dispose of. I was even thinking of having a doggy door put in, but then it would have to be a completely enclosed tunnel like space that nothing could get into. Some people have warned that the doggy door is a risky thing anyway because it's easier for someone to break in to your house with is installed. (Do I sound paranoid, LOL?????)
Anyway, if I had some able bodied person living in the house with me and helping out, this would not be a problem, but all I have is my almost 91 year old father with Alzeheimers, so there is no help here. So that's my story, and if, you have any suggestions either about outside potty training or more urgently, how to get Milo to stop playing, laying and relaxing and eating on his potty pads, I would be so grateful to you or anyone who could help for that matter. Hope this clears things up about why it is necessary to potty train in doors.
Much love,
Shellie
