Lots of questions from a new puppy owner (Bit long)

[TobyPez]

So Toby is 3 months (just passed this point). We got him about a week prior to that.. and he's been with us for about 2 weeks.

I search all day for tips and so forth and have been following them but have been having some issues on a few things and would love some input. The community and tips here are invaluable - So thanks in advance for any help.

Toby has been doing good and rarely does he #2 in the house anymore.. He seems to know that doing that in the house isn't good. I think he has only done it once in the past week which was a far cry better then his first few nights where he pooped all over.

The issue is his peeing. I take him out about every 2 hours.. after he eats.. right when he wakes up or is taken out of the crate. But he still manages to pee all over. I've had a bell up for about 2 weeks and take him over to it and say "Go outside" "Go Potty" and then take his paw and make him paw at it and praise him after physically making him do that. He still though pee's all over and gives ZERO sign of peeing. He doesn't even sniff around. He just walks and then stops and pees. I follow him around everywhere.. I don't let him leave my sight and I stop him mid stream all the time but when I take him outside he never finishes. I've had numerous 30 min episodes outside where he never finishes. Any tips?

I also am running into an issue on when we are outside (We live on the 3rd floor of an apartment). He is distracted by anything. A blowing leaf goes by and he stops and watches it until its in Mexico it seems. I've taken him to corners where there is no wind but he just sits down and does nothing because its not his normal spot which is by a parking lot with lots of distractions. Any tips on this? :P

And lastly.. Toby can go up stairs pretty well now.. but going down he has no freaking clue how too. I've used treats and lots of praise and have actually put him in between the stairs but he turns around and goes right back up. I have to admit our stairs are a bit scary as they are those cement stairs that have openings where your feet can get stuck in and then its nothing below.. So I'm not sure if that is bugging him. He seems like he isnt grasping going downstairs.. Any help on what else I could do?

I'm sure I have more questions that I've searched for but it hasn't grasped my mind yet. He's getting some shots this weekend (like 5 of them.. I'm already feeling guilty he has to get so many).. He is enrolling in some puppy daycare at PetSmart since me and my roommate work all day and I don't want him to learn that peeing/pooping in the crate is right or to suffer in it and/or to do it in the kitchen if I keep him penned up.

Thanks for all the help again!!!


-Adam/Toby

 

[JokersSoul]

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Boxers are intelligent, but I have found that they are easily distracted and extremely stubborn when it comes to some learning items.

You have definitely come to the right place for advice. I am new here too and I am finding all kinds of tips and tricks!

 

[RunningOra]

Ok, this a little long - sorry in advance!

About the peeing...you say you're catching him "mid stream", but are you also telling him off when you catch him? I make a very firm "Ah-uh" sound for Sasha (which is a noise I only use if she's doing something really naughty), AS she is peeing, and then order her straight outside. When she does pee outside I always say "toilet time" when she is peeing, and congratulate her. You said you say "Go potty" when you ring the bell to go out - do you say "go potty" when Toby is actually GOING potty (in the right place?) If not, maybe he hasn't connected what he's meant to do outside...and is getting confused. Also with the distractions, if you can teach him "go potty" (or your equivilant of "toilet time" that I use with Sasha) it's very handy because if they get distracted while outside, you can eventually use it as a command. But this only will work after you've spent some time saying it while they're going, so they connect the two.

The getting distracted...I think that's how they are when they're that age. Sasha used to do the same thing with leaves...she's grown out of it a bit now. If you can train Toby to go to the toilet on command though, it's a great way to remind them of what they're meant to be doing. You haven't had him long...it will take time but you'll get there

Going downstairs - Sasha didn't learn to go downstairs until maybe 4.5 months old. They totally frightened her...I personally carried her downstairs until she naturally started doing it herself...it's all part of their development. I would let this happen naturally and not try to force it, if you can.

 

[thebyrnes]

Agree with others

You might want to try wee pads since you're on the third floor and it's tough to make a quick getaway outside once you've caught 'em mid-stream. At least this way you can move quickly over to the pad. If you do try them, I suggest getting the brand name ones that advertise that they are scented. Although, I will admit that we had no luck with ours at all, but I also think we were a bit lucky with our house breaking and she would go almost as soon as we went outside.

As for the stairs, we are on a 2nd floor and I had to carry her down for quite a while. I have also found that coaxing them down with treats is less successful than manually "helping" them down (slowly!) and then rewarding with a treat at the bottom. I have definitely placed her front paws down one step a few times during the training process to help her get acclimated to the feel. Don't get too anxious about the learning curve, they get there.

 

[BoomerBuck]

manually helped puppy down stairs

My boyfriend and I have a three-level townhouse with two flights of stairs. Our 10-week old pup learned to go up the stairs very quickly and we coached him down the steps by helping him with 2 or 3 steps at a time and used treats and lots of praise. We simply placed his front paws on the first step and he pulled (very slowly) his back paws down to the step. Each time he did this, we broke off a small piece of a treat to reward him. He learned in 3 days and now has to be told to slow down sometimes. I would guess that your pup may be afraid of the open space of the stairs. Is there somewhere you can take the puppy with carpeted stairs? Good Luck!

 

[TobyPez]

Thanks guys.. I went on a 48 hour streak without any accidents for Toby. He broke that tonight. It was about the 2 hour mark since he last went out and we had company over and he decided to just go right in front of us.. He gave no sign he wanted to go either.. He still hasn't grasped that yet - yet I ring the bell with his paw each time I go out :P

I hope he gets the hang of it soon or the idea at least.

What was odd is that I took him out maybe 30 mins after that accident and he pee'd some more then 30 mins later he pee'd again inside. I heard it and did kind of a sucking in noise and he heard it from afar and knew he did something wrong and quickly stopped and ran back toward me. I picked him up and took him outside and he didnt finish again :X Must have done everything inside...

Either way.. I think he is starting to get the idea since he knew he did something wrong the second I made a sound and he ran right back to me with ears down and crouching down

 

[sunnybear]

Just read your thread and all the answers and just wanted to say I am thankful we weren't the only crazy ones to get a puppy living on a 3rd floor apartment! Haha...luckily though the stairs to ours are carpeted and all enclosed.

How is Tobey doing with the bell? I am interested in teaching Bruno this...what age should you start it?

Bruno doesn't get his shots until the 24th right after he turns 9 weeks so we are a bit wary to bring him out much yet too....we are using wee pads for now.

 

[TobyPez]

Well Toby has been on the bell for 2 weeks and he still has no idea it exists.. He gives 0 warning when he wants to go out..

Just 5 mins ago he was playing with his toy and then 10 secs later he pooped... 10 mins before that he went outside to potty and pee'd but refused to poop and ran back inside.

He did the whole ears down thing again because he knew pooping inside wasn't right. I just wish he would give me some sort of clue.

 

[apollosdad]

sounds like you are expecting way too much from your dog all at once.

i suggest you get him to understand the concept of relieving themselves outside first, before you even think about expecting him to ring a bell to notify you that he has to go.

and from your prior post, i think that he is giving warning signs, but perhaps you are just not catching them. in your prior post you mention that you had company over and then he urinated in front of all you. is it possible that you might have been distracted with your company in order to not be able to see his warning signs?

once you get him to understand that relieving himself is only to be done outside, and this will take more than a few weeks for him to firmly grasp then you can begin to incorporate a bell for him to notify you that he wants to go out. but be careful, ringing a bell doesn't always mean he wants to go outside to relieve himself. sometimes it just means he wants to be outside and play.

hope that helps.

keep us posted on their progress.

 

[TobyPez]

Yea I am expecting this to go fast but I know it shouldn't. Shame on me. Though I'd wait a thousand years and still love my Tobes

He has improved drastically over the past few days. He has gone on numerous day stretches without going inside. He even stayed in his crate all day while I was at work and held it in. I keep a webcam affixed to him at home so when I'm at work I can see how he is doing. (This was the first time he held it in when I was at work)

I was actually watching him nonstop at the night we had company over.. and was watching him as he just walked with his head up and just laid it out. Didn't even sniff! :P

He is doing much better though and earlier today he rang the bell and was excited to go out. He didn't do it afterwards though but I may have forced him out myself before he really really had to go.

He also decided this morning to try the stairs.. I didn't even force him or teach him. He just walked out of the apartment.. went to the stairs and started walking down..

It was like someone took a "Go down the Stairs" arrow and shot him with it.. Now he goes down without hesitation!