I think winnie is UNtrainable

[hunniebunnie]

first off, you've only had Winnie for a good 5 weeks or so. That's not a lot of time. she's not untrainable, she just need some time and consistency to learn. sometimes it only takes a few weeks, sometimes it takes a month. you just need to be patient and keep consistent with both her and Harry. i couldn't trust my puppy to pee in the right spot consistently until i've had him and trained him for 2 months. i've ONLY JUST started to trust him with more space in the past couple weeks and I've had my puppy since Nov 18.

i live in a highrise condo with no patio or balcony for my unit. sometimes it takes me a good 5-10 minutes of waiting for an elevator to go downstairs, so potty train outside isn't an option for me either. so i potty pad trained my puppy.

at first he wouldn't go on the pad. i have him confined in the kitchen area and he would go in one particular corner, opposite where i put the potty pad. so i started to put a potty pad in his favorite corner. i also got the simple solution potty training spray and give each potty pad a couple spritz to help him identify the correct spot for potty. everytime he potties in the right spot, he gets lots of praises and treats. after 3 weeks of having the potty pad only in his favorite corner, i started moving the pad around his confined area and he'd go where the potty pad was. he used to miss the potty pad by a little too, but now he'd only miss if the potty pad was too full for him to plant all four paws on the pad without him having to stand in a stain. (he doesn't like standing in stains and will lift a paw a little to avoid it on the pad sometimes). but i always have the potty pad on tiles. he'll still miss sometimes if the potty pad is on carpet.

i think having him confined to a smaller area definitely aided in his potty pad training. it was easier for him to identify the correct area to potty in a smaller space than if i allowed him the run of the house. so if Harry is perfect on the potty pad and Winnie is still working on it, then maybe it's best to keep her confined until she's potty trained enough for more space.

i also wonder if Harry is neutered. 'cause dogs usual mark in areas where they smell other dogs scents. so it'll make sense for Harry to pee and mark where he smells Winnie if he's not neutered. And to that effect, if you're not suppose to have dogs in your home to start, I truly hope you have or are having at least one of your dogs fixed so that you don't have any unwanted accidents and end up with more puppies you're not suppose to have.

So if Harry is neutered and he needs some re-training, it may be good to have both Winnie and Harry confined to a smaller area or crated until they are potty trained. it might be better for Winnie if Harry is in the confined space with her. and to make the both of them more comfortable and less whiney in their confined space, try staying with them and playing with them in the confined area as much as possible.

My Bunjee also screams bloody murder when he's confined or is crated in the kitchen area, especially when I'm away. I just either ignored it, or told him to be quiet followed by a spritz of water, or i'd stay with him in the confined area whenever i can, especially to monitor his potties. after he's better about pottying on the pad, i increased his space and moved the babygate. although he's still "confined" i guess he doesn't feel confined because i'm usually on the same side of the gate as he is. nowadays i can leave the condo and he'd just go back to bed then get up again to greet me at the door when he hears the door knob jingle.

Bunjee also hates to go outside. Although I'm trying to get him to understand it's okay to go outside. but usually he'll only do it if he can't hold it anymore. or if i put a paper towel or a potty pad under him to potty in a nice quiet stop outside.

I do train Bunjee not to bark. or rather, to stop barking on command. lucky for me, he's not a big barker to start. the majority of his barking, yapping, whining and crying is due to being confined and away from me. so when he stopped crying after i gave him more space, that basically eliminated 90% of his barking. but now he's starting to be startled by noises in the hallway outside our front door and will bark when he hears something. i give him a firm "Bunjee, no bark!" and he'll turn, look at me, then revert to a low volumed "woof". he sometimes barks when he gets excited from us playing. so when he does, i say "no bark!" and quite playing with him. he'll stop, calm down a little and wait for me to start playing again. He's also starting to bark at stranger dogs now, usually other breeds, and cats. his barking would scare the other dog or cat and defeat the purpose of socializing with them. i haven't figure out how to stop him from doing that other than to pick him up and tell him no bark. that's still a work in progress.

good luck to you!