...and a little eep eep comes from the crate. Ignore it and it gets louder which means gotta get up as Tikva wants a poo and she will not poo in her crate. Grab a torch from under the pillow, fall out of bed, let her out and follow her into the salon where she will, usually, just poo on one pad and then shoot back to bed. And then an hour or so later eep for a pee. Not this morning though - first nearly flooded one pee pad and then poo'd on the other one. No problem - the pee'd one can wait and I can pick up the poo from the other one and chuck it down the loo. Small dog, raw fed, small firm poos. And then back to bed for both of us. She has been out most of the morning on Pereg's tether, which although heavy she seems to prefer to the lightweight one I got for her, but still refuses to "go" outside, coming in to do her whatevers, even though I put a slightly soiled puppy pad outside. She was most interested in it but then shot in do pee on a pad indoors. Do you think she will ever learn?
I am wondering if she feels safer on the heavy lead, as she can feel it unlike the lighter lead. Perhaps Tikva will always use the puppy pads & not go out side
Oh she will now happily go outside without me being with her. She just will not "go" outside, if you know what I mean.
@Malka What is the surface of your yard like? I ask because there are very few dogs that refuse to go on the sawdust exercise rings at indoor Championship shows. It may not be very practical to try sawdust, but a little sandpit might be worth trying.
@CaroleC - there is a wide concrete path that I had built across the front of the bungalow so I could get my big scooter in and out of The Shack [a corrugated mini garage that Nir built for me, which is the far side of the bungalow], then a short but very steep stone and dirty earth and sand slope up to the pavement as this little place is set very low down from the road. Pereg used to use a corner as her loo - the furthest corner she could get to - so I just had to sweep poos into the useless side yard. If this works you should see what I mean. And if you think that is bad, the path has been swept countless times since then and more and more stuff just comes down. Very soon I reckon the [new] pavement will end up coming down as well. It is actually worse now as when "they" rebuilt the pavement they dumped a load of really dirty stuff down, most of which slid down during the next time it rained, taking what had been reasonable earth down with it. There is no place for either a sawdust or sandpit - and in any case when it rains - and it is currently bucketing down - everything just gets washed down and the concrete path gets covered with dirty sand and muck and I have to try to find someone to clean it up. Easier said than done. Tikva can get to where Pereg's loo was but of course there is no odour there now. She can also climb up although like Pereg, can not get near the pavement. She just does not want to pee or poo outside, but it has only been a couple of days since she would go out by herself. The concrete "patio" outside my front door [that photograph is round the corner from my door] is very small and no way would I put a sawdust or sandpit on it because it would be used by all the feral cats. Thanks but no thanks. Or she will learn to pee and poo outside, or she will not, but I am sure she will when she is ready. In the meantime I do not mind her using the puppy pee pads. It is like some children - some are out of diapers early, some take maybe three years. I did not want her outside until she had had all her puppy shots and rabies shot as even if her dam had had hers, Tikki was not with her long enough to get immunity from her. I could cheerfully kachoong that Russian, demanding that the puppies go as she wanted her Doxie back when they were were so young.
Umm - it was not 5 o'clock in the morning today as while I was waiting for de mini monster to wake up from the couch and do her last pee before putting her to bed, she decided to get up and poo instead - then went back on the couch for another zonk. As I wanted to clear up her toys and replace the the blanket throw on the couch before I could go to bed, I woke her and told her to make pee pee. Which she did. Front paws on a puppy pee pad and pee on the carpet. Oh well, at least she tried and I have some excellent anti-stain anti-pong stuff so there is no point in fretting. At least she did pee to order. So - she went to bed, I cleared up her toys etc, replaced the couch throw and went to bed. And she slept until 8am! What is the betting that she will have me up at 3am tonight?
It is exasperating. Merry has been here 6 months, and is now 99% clean in the house - the 1% was really my fault as we had been shopping, and I was trying on clothes - but we still have the in-car widdles if she is not let out at least once an hour. Fortunately, when given the opportunity, she will do both on command wherever she is, - a relic of her show days I imagine. Chas has now dropped half of the back seat to take her crate without having to cramp Eddie's style, and he sits next to her if Eddie and myself are working. If the dogs are being left in the car alone, she now has to put up with newspaper under her crate bedding, instead of a mattress. Pee pads are no use as they would encourage the wees, and though I do use Vetbed, it is almost as bad, as moisture passes through it, and the dog stays dry. I'm still optimistic that it is stress related, and she will eventually learn to relax in the car.
I think that with Tikva she was just too young and had no-one to teach her. She was in a cardboard box with her oversize Doxie mother and seven other siblings when I first saw her on the Tuesday, in a very small room, and was still in the box when I was told to go and fetch her on the Friday. So what did she know? Just that I would give her a puppy supplement bottle every few hours and then wean her. I do not know if I can get Vetbed but puppy pee pads are cheap enough. In any case she likes shredding them in her crate! Maybe I should try newspaper as I can get loads of it from the macolet.
She's used to the puppy pads it seems. At least she is very good about letting you know she has to go out.
I’m not a believer in using ‘newspaper or ‘puppy pads', where is the logic in teaching them that its ok to mess indoors, then few weeks later expect them to go outside, talk about confusing them. Daytime they were taken out after feed/sleep and periodically in-between, For the first few weeks I always had mine in big cardboard box beside my bed at night, I used to get up every few hours to take them out, well worth the effort as they were clean in a few weeks.
Vee - she was three weeks old when I got her and was bottle fed every few hours day and night until I weaned her. There was absolutely no way I could keep taking her out, not even during the day let alone at night. Apart from anything else, and I mean my physical condition, the only place she could go out is in the un-fenced front yard and no way would I take her out before she had had all her puppy shots and rabies shot. There are far too many un-vaccinated stray dogs around to risk it. I had already lost Pereg on 1 April and Baby Ziva on 1 May - there was no way I could bear to lose another puppy just a couple of weeks later. So let her use puppy pads for the moment. She is very small and does not make a mess. It does not bother me and at least she knows where to go. Hopefully now that she will wander around outside on a tether by herself, she will learn that outside is where to go.
Just gone 11.15pm and Tikki woke up from the couch, went and pee'd on a puppy pad and then asked to go to bed in her crate in my bedroom. How can I ask any more of her? She would not have gone out in any case as it is bucketing down [winter has arrived] and half the front yard is now resting against my front bungalow wall. Better she knows what puppy pads are for than end up belly drenched in mud with me trying to teach her to "go" outside. I do not have a bath to wash her in if she is covered with mud and small as she is there is no way I can now lift her into the sink to wash her. In any case there is no way I can go out to the front as I would be almost ankle deep in liquid yucky mud, which would be extremely dangerous. I really do not need any more falls, so let Tikki use a puppy pee pad.
Hey had a idea have you thought about having a litter tray filled with sand or with puppy pad in, I tried it once with cat litter but the monster munch scattered the cat litter all over kitchen floor, so I put sand in & the monster munch would use the tray all the time {monster munch was a Pomeranian & was small enough to use a cat litter tray}
I do not have the floor space Tina - I need all the little floor space that I have to move around on either my chair or my crutches. And Tikva is small but too big for a litter tray I still have LLK's rather large litter tray but it is too small for Tikki who likes to turn in circles on a puppy pad before doing whatever she wants. I actually use LLK's bleached litter tray [both base and top] in one of the top cupboards of my wardrobe for my various snoods and head coverings, as they are lightweight and can be easily slid out. I do have a large baby bath [dumped by someone once to where I could bath her in the ensuite] but it is in The Shack which is impossible to get to at the moment. So rather leave her nowhere to pee and poo, puppy pee pads are all I can use, and if she is happy using them then why not? Oh, and she slept until gone 7am before the eeps started. She had not even peed in her crate - shot out, peed on one pad, poo'd on the other [easily picked up and went back to bed. How can I be cross with her if she wants to use puppy pads? It is not as if they cost a fortune, is it? Oh, and she slept until gone 7am with no pee in her crate.
You have your limitations Malka, and if pee pads suit you both then so be it. Now Tikki is getting more used to going out on her line, I'm sure the penny will drop soon. (Bad pun!). Dachs do have a reputation for being reluctant to go outdoors in the rain, and pee pads have to be easier for you to deal with than soiled carpets.
@CaroleC - I had not knowledge of Dachs, even if half of one, so had not idea what to expect. And she was far too young and far too small and it was far too hot for her to be out. I think I had had better look for a rain jacket for her now! I am not used to a skinny short-coated puppy.
