Does anybody discipline their puppy.....
 

If so,what exactly do you do? My little one is doing extremely well with her potty training but somedays it seems like it goes out the window. She sometimes gets either to the left or right of the pad but not directly on. That doesn't bother me cause she's in the vicinity of where she's suppose to be. She did however pee behind my bed this morning after I tried to get her to go on the pad and she pooped in a totally odd spot today. Is it that sometimes they just have to go and can't make it to the pad or am I doing something wrong? I understand she's a puppy and am hoping this gets better the older she gets. Like i said,she doesnt have a bunch of accidents,it happens every now and then. If I do need to punish her for going somewhere she shouldn't what would you guys suggest? Thanks in advance for the input.

If I catch Billi in the act, I say NO! really loud, "bad potty!!" and then put her in the bathroom alone for a few minutes. I used to put her in her pen, but she likes it in there and hate to use her "bedroom" as punishment anyway. I don't see the point in rubbing her nose in anything, or flicking her nose- the time's I've seen people try to do that to her, I flipped my lid!

It sounds like you're being patient with you're little girl and she is trying to please you. If you catch her about to potty in the wrong spot, say bad potty and move to the right spot. It takes a ton of repetition for these little ones, but once they get it, they got it!

I should add that if it's after the fact, you gotta just let it go. Give your little one lots of potty breaks, but if you miss one and you find she pottied in the wrong place, it's moot to punish her after the fact. Puppies have no idea that they're in trouble for pooping somewhere after they've gone potty, idc what some say lol

For potty training, I strongly advocate positive reinforcement. If you catch her going somewhere she isn't supposed to go, say, "Uh uh uh" or "uh oh" and take her to the pad. Use keywords like "potty here." She won't have to go right away, but it reinforces the idea.

For puppies or any dog in training, limit freedom to a smallish area, an xpen or small room, especially when you can't supervise closely. This keeps the pad within easy reach and diminishes temptation to go somewhere else.

Praise when she gets it right. Get really excited like she just performed the best trick in the world, and then give her a little treat.

Be sure to clean the accidents sites thoroughly with an enzyme cleaner to eliminate the scent that might tempt her to return.

My Zoey is totally house trained (except for the dining room and living room which I keep gated off) so we don't have that problem. But my Maltese likes to eat my sheets so when I need to scold him I lower my voice and say "BAD". He slinks away very ashamed of himself leaving another piece of my sheet missing.

I don't punish, I will correct if caught in act, tell him ahh-ahh, then pick him up but in proper place then praise. They are babies and make mistakes would you punish your toddler if they accident while potty training.

YEA !, I had a little difficulty with that word..."Punish" ! :eek:

I DON'T punish, though I may "scold". I hope the OP knows the difference :thumbup:

Thanks you for the positive comments. For those that may be skeptical about my question,I wasn't planning on beating my puppy. I was just asking for some extra help with the situation. I do scold her if its in the wrong spot and I praise her when she gets it right. I always give her a treat when she potty's on her pad. Like I said before, she rarely does this and I guess I was wondering if I wasn't doing something I should or if its just that she couldn't make it to her pad. I fully understand that she's a baby and if she were a toddler I wouldn't punish her. This is all new to me and I was trying to get info to help make it easier on her and I both. Thanks again everyone!!

Glad we're clear on that... words can be easily misinterpreted on a forum! I can't 'punish' mine, they are clueless! I focus strongly on rewarding the correct behaviors... they aim to please and understand a treat. Two of mine were from the shelter and had abuse issues, so when I say 'Come here.... I'm going to beat your butt!' They come running over to me and I pat their butts, then it becomes a petting/lick fest! My goal here was to desensitize them from rough treatment, and it's working.

Whenever Sapphire made a mis-pee, I would say 'Oh Sapphire' and she would look up at me (mid stream) with the cutest head tilt and a look on her face as if to say, 'Oh Mommie, you want me? Okay Mommie, I'm coming, just as soon as I get done peeing...' so ,no, scolding, punishment, whatever went right out the window! BTW, now she is very good using the pad, and she is a poop-walker and has learned to get it all on the pad.... another whole issue in itself!

In short... reward the good, ignore the bad.... :D

I didn't think you meant physical punishment. However, as I wrote earlier, potty training is an area that I strongly believe positive reinforcement methods work best -- especially for Yorkies and small dogs who are more challenging to train. I wouldn't scold. I would give a correction that doesn't resemble scolding. An "uh oh" or "uh uh uh" for instance.

Scolding a pup for potty issues can end up being confusing and cause a pup to want to hide and go in the wrong place. Or it can become a game.

I would tell Callie no when she went in the wrong spot (I would not rub her nose it it, or yell it at her, or hit her). Also move her poo to the spot where you want her to go I have heard this helps a lot.

I did over the top praise when she pottied on her pad. Not just little clap, but all out dancing, singing, the works. Each time she pottied she'd freeze and wait for me to clap once, then start singing the potty song I made up just for her. She'd fly over full speed and start dancing too...and of course, get her treat. It was like her birthday each time. So, going potty was the highlight of her life because each potty on her pad meant 'party time'.

If she made a mistake, I'd very calmly say, 'Oh my, that's not the potty pad' and gently place her on her pad. She never got in 'trouble' for pottying. I fussed, using a mean voice, at a dog I had years ago for pottying in the wrong place and it only made her think pottying was bad and she found places to hide when she went potty.:( It took forever to get her potty trained. Our babies really want to please us and once they figure out what makes us happy they'll do that every time.

:thumbup::thumbup:

We go bananas here too when the boys potty on the pad. It is a fun sport for them and Teddy has developed a dance and run routine to go with it. Sometimes I worry that we have fostered a bit of an obsession, but as long as they go on the pad, I am happy. :D When my brothers visited, they joined the fun and acted as a cheering section.

Speaking of disciplining a pup....

I watched an old movie the other night, Love in the Afternoon, with Audrey Hepburn. There was a yorkie in it, and three times when the yorkie barked, the woman playing the yorkie owner, hit the dog!!! I was so shocked!!!

Personally, I just use positive reinforcement for behavior I want (praising, petting, treats), and a firm verbal "NO!" for behavior I don't want.

:eek: I am a big Audrey Hepburn fan, but I haven't seen that movie in years. I must have blocked out those scenes in my memory.

Thank you all for your input. :):) I have one other question though. I am using the disposable potty pads but was thinking about getting the reusable ones since we are doing the indoor training mostly. Do you guys have a preference or will I confuse her if I change on her now? I had to use a different brand a while back and it was not pretty. She did not take to the different brand at all.

When I first bought washable pads, I just put one on the floor where her potty place is, and then put the disposables on top of it, so she got used to it being there. After a few days I took the disposable away, and left the washable by itself. The first time she went to pee on it, she looked up at me...as if to say, is this ok??? I told her good girl as she was peeing & gave her a treat when she was done.

Thanks so much!! I found some on amazon that have gotten some really good reviews. I think I'm gonna go for it and give them a shot. I've not had to worry about her ripping up the disposable ones yet but I'm afraid it could happen at any time. Those aren't the best for my hardwood floors either. From what I read the washable ones are much much better and seem to absorb better. Thanks for the advice about trying both and switching them about till she gets use to them. I don't wanna confuse her and cause a setback.

A YT member makes beautiful washable pads that are very popular: Washable and reusable dog and puppy pee pads, belly bands, and diapers by T. Bumpkins & Co.

I wish I could block them out! It was such a tiny yorkie too!

During the first scene I was just purely shocked. The second time, I saw it coming & watched closely to see if she just pretended to hit it or really hit it...and she really hit it...and a couple of swats each time! Knowing that Audrey was a yorkie owner herself, I'm surprised she allowed such behavior in a movie she was in.

That was my thought too, surprised Audrey would allow it considering she not only had a Yorkie, but she loved animals in general.

I agree the praise has to be really enthusiastic. But beware, once I was really really surprised and I shouted out in happiness and I scared the sh*t out of Uni. :rolleyes: Oops.

I have to say that I do punish. When they do something I don't want, I talk to them in a very stern voice. If it's pee or ransacked trash I take them to the spot and point to it. They know. As soon as I bring them there, it's all ears down and tail between the legs. I make them sit near the mess and I give a two finger tap on the rear flank (not a spank at all) and say a "bad boy" or "bad girl". Then I take them to where they are supposed to be and change my tone to very cheerful and happy, and their tails automatically go from tucked to wagging and then that is it. But if they do it again, I do the same thing again. That's what has worked for me. But it has not worked with every dog I've fostered so you just have to see what works for you dog.

I'd say don't change up your method for a good few weeks or so; until you are sure it doesn't work for your dog, don't change your method. You'll just confuse the dog.

Sometimes I put Uni in a time out. She's the only dog I've taken care of that does a very good stay. So if she gets in trouble she gets put in time out for five mins and she can't leave until I give her the ok. I think that is a punishment, but I don't think that word is so bad. Discipline and punishment is not abuse.

Your puppy is still really young. It's great that she is dong as well as she is. I would say that it is possible that she is getting too far away from her potty at times. They really don't have the ability to hold it that long at her age. Really they only develop the ability to hold back their urine at about 16 weeks of age so your girl is doing really well.

I never disciplined Gracie about potty mistakes. I only rewarded her when she got it right. If she seemed to go off training once in a while I would start giving her treats every time she got it right until she was back to being pretty steady about it again. Then just praise.

For now you might want to keep her as close to the potty as possible. Gracie has always slept with me at night so I kept a potty pad in my bedroom for a while. When she was old enough not to need it anymore I gradually moved it out to where her regular pad is was and then eliminated it.

Thanks for the encouragement. I currently keep pee pads in my living room,den and her bedroom. Maybe that's some of what's wrong. I let her roam into too many rooms. If I keep her contained to one room (like my living room) and then just her bedroom for when we are gone and at bedtime that might make a difference too. At least till she's older.

Yeah, too much room to roam too soon can get confusing for them. Maybe if you gate off some rooms for her until she gets a little older she will do better.