Why can I not housebreak my puggle?

I'm not a fan of Cesar Milan - his ideas are very controversial and do not work on many dogs - can even really hurt your relationship with your dog. So be careful. Jean Donaldson's book is a great one, and one I loan out to anyone in my office who gets a new puppy.

I had this problem with my American Eskimo. Turned out that I was ending the walk as soon as she did her business, so she learned that the longer she delayed, the more she got to play - which sometimes resulted in accidents as I got impatient. I would recommend staying out with her until she goes, no matter how long, then staying out for another 5-10 minutes, so she knows that her time outdoors to explore does not end when she does her business. Once she gets that down, you can start varying the time you spend with her afterwards, including wisking her into the house immediate as you have placed to go. Sounds like she's becoming a teenager, and we all know how fun THOSE are... :p
 
So sorry to hijack this thread, but am hoping the other dog owners here can reassure me... Day #3 with Violet, and she's only pooped once and has been sleeping all day (I'm working from home this week so I can work on the training with her). She's been peeing, but in my kitchen instead of outside--and I've taken her out 3 times already, each for 30 min.

The last two times I caught her peeing, she wasn't even making an attempt to get up (she wasn't in her crate). She was just lying there and if I hadn't caught the distinctive smell and saw the pee trickling out of her, I wouldn't have known.

I called the vet 3 times and the last time we spoke, I told them that Violet hadn't gotten up when she peed the last two times, and they got worried because that, combined with her throwing up two days ago, not eating for a full day (last night was the first night she ate), and not pooping for more than 20 hours now are NOT good signs. For a 9 month old pup, she should be happy and energetic, but she's been curled into a ball pretty much all afternoon and won't come to me or let me play with her. She won't even stand up for me :(.

I'm so scared!! I'm glad the vet will be seeing her, but I'm terrified there's something really wrong with her :(.
 
Jennifer - I'm not a vet, but Jimmy had a lot of those symptoms, and he had a partial blockage (ate a rawhide that one of our neighbors gave him - won't let those in the house again!). Hopefully it's something like that. It's not comfortable (think of when you have major constipation), but it's treatable. When do you take her to the vet?
 
No advice Laura, just wanted to tell you I have a friend with a Puggle and she cannot potty train her dog either! Has tried everything.
 
Christine: I took her today and the vet said she was all clear. No blockage, no urinary tract or bladder infection, nothing. She's healthy, but unfortunately she's traumatized (she's VERY new to my home) and not treated well by her former owner :(. It's gonna take love and hard training.
 
Jennifer - I am very glad to hear she's healthy and sound. I wish you the best of luck with your puppy! It can be a tough road, but it's doable. I think you live near me - if you need the name of a good dog trainer, I know some of the best. God bless you for helping her to realize that most people are good. Poor little girl.
 
Awww that poor traumatized baby! Is she eating & drinking? Could be she's not going to the bathroom much b/c she's just dehydrated. Good luck & keep us posted!
 
Thanks, Laura! We had some good progress today with the peeing. She learned to pee in the same spot! She went there every single time she peed today, whew. Still hasn't pooped, though :(. At this point, she's an every other day pooper, and I know that's not healthy long-term, so tomorrow I'll try mixing some canned food with her dry to see if that helps.

She's not dehydrated, I don't think--I keep a bowl of water near her at all times so she has access to it all day. I went home at lunchtime to change it (she had finished maybe half of it) and she took a lick here and there. Then when she came back from the park with my parents (I had a TnT evening workout, so my parents were dog sitting for me), she apparently drank all of her water.

She's been really good in her crate (loves it, in fact) since I got her the bigger one, but tonight, after about 10 min of going in, she started whining, so I panicked, thinking she needed to poop and wanted out. Because she hadn't been whining in her crate, I figured it had to be something! I let her out and she seemed anxious to go to her potty spot, but then... nothing. She just sat there, wagging her tail. Then she laid down--clearly tired. I ignored her, but she tried to get my attention. Then after 15 min of not pooping, I sent her in her crate--hoping, hoping, hoping she just wanted my attention and didn't need to go (although if that's the case, I just played in her hands LOL. I hope she doesn't do that again). Then I figured out why she might have whined--I forgot to put my towel in front of her crate as I always do! She was probably wondering where it was and why she couldn't smell me.

LOL my doggy has a security blanket, it's so cute.

At least I hope that was the reason she whined. If her crate still smells good tomorrow and is all clean, then I'll know that was it ;).
 
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