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Tired and losing it. crazy

3459 Views 33 Replies 21 Participants Last post by  Sasha2008
Its our second week with Bogart, gf took the first week off and this week i took it off. I drive my gf to work and put Bogart in his crate with Kong/ pb. I came home one hour later, quietly walked in the house and layed down on the couch. i havent had much sleep the past couple weeks. The whole time i was trying to sleep, Bogart was whining and howling, he would stop for a bit then start again. I finally went and got him when he wasnt whining. I figure we will be at work for 4 hours at a time so he should get use to being alone one hour at a time for now.

This is where i am kinda loosing it ( not angry just frustrated)
When i got him out of his crate i brought him out to potty ( he peed).
20 mins later i caught him peeing on the floor, i was able to get him half in the act and brought him outside ( he peed again), this is what is frustrating... not 10 mins later i caught him in the act of peeing again, but this time on the mat in the kitchen. I caught him half way and brought him out again ( he peed).

I just need support right now.. i am tired and little bit cranky.
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
Bogarts Dad
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This is what puppies do. When puppy is out of crate you need to watch him every second. He will pee after drinking, eating, playing, breathing, etc. Basically after everything. He will get used to the crate, and then your job will be easier. Hang in there.
John's right. Bogart must be supervised by you every single SECOND he is out of the crate. (this is why we say puppies are such hard work) If he ever pees in the house-- it is because you were not supervising him. He will need to potty every 2 hours, but also he will need to potty: after every time he chews anything such as a toy or table leg (this stimulates need to potty), after he drinks water, after he eats anything, after playing (play causes urge to potty), after waking from a nap... ad at least once, maybe twice, during the night. Can't figure how to keep pup supervised? That's okay, try a draglead or teachinglead-- a 6 ft leash connected to puppy's collar. It must be super-lightweight with a TINY clip.

When you take Bogart out to potty, immediately become boring. Stand in only ONE spot. Don't move around at all. In a few moments, Bogart will exhaust all the fascinating smells in that area of the lawn, and just get down to pottying. Now you can talk .. and move.. and PRAISE him.
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For the whining in the crate...
Try turing on a radio or leaving the TV on with the sound low. Some background noise and hearing voices is soothing to most puppies. Remember that he has recently gone through the most traumatic experience of his life, being removed from his dam and siblings. And he's not used to being alone.

Try keeping the crate close to you so he has company. Try moving the crate far away from you so he can't see/hear you while at the same time not being able to be with you. Some pups do better with the crate being nearby, others do better being off by themselves. Experiment with both to see if either helps him.


On the potty thing...
Puppies pee a LOT. It is also perfectly normal for them to pee several times in a short while. When taking him outside, don't let him pee once than bring him in. Stay out for several minutes, and he will probably pee multiple times before his bladder is empty.

Dogs are very scent oriented when it comes to peeing and pooping. If they smell a spot that they have peed/pooped before, it triggers them to go again in that same spot. So it is vitally important that when he does have an accident indoors, you remove all smell. Regular household cleaners and carpet cleaners will remove the stain, and remove enough smell that people won't notice, but dogs probably will. You need to use an enzymatic cleaner made especially for pet accidents (Simple Solution, Nature's Miracle) to clean the spots. Those will remove any residual odor that might trigger the pup to potty again.
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When I took my puppies out to go potty, one pee was not enough, they get distracted and don't finish peeing, so I found that if I stayed outside with them a bit longer they would pee again.

Puppies need to either be crated or under direct supervision at this age.

Patients and being consistent are the biggest keys to getting that pup house trained.
Hi Bogart's Dad,
Just wanted to say I understand how frustrating it can be having a new puppy...I've got three grown dogs but with each one I had always 'forgot' how hard it is to housebreak them....I had forgot about the long nights and standing outside at all hours of the night in my nightgown with a flashlight saying 'tinkle, tinkle, little star....' oh yes, it is sooooo easy to forget these times.....As hard as it is now it will be over before you know it and one day you will barely be able to remember all the time it took to housebreak the little guy. I try not to stress the 'mistakes' much....in the scheme of life they are such small incidents-he will learn to go outside, but just as important-his little bladder will develop in such a way that he will be able to hold it and go outside-it just takes time. Hug him lots and embrace all the wonders of puppyhood-they too, will go by way too fast.
Rosa
well said Rosa! Sometimes you just have to step back and take a deep breath, realize your doing everything right for him, and he just needs a little longer to grasp the concept.
2
Thank you all for your kind words of wisdome. I needed that.


I realise that he is just a puppy, we do give him lots of LOVE here. Wow it is hard work, I have a 15 year old daughter and it didn't seem to be this hard. hahahaha!

Your are all a great support group. I'm sure you will see many posts from me in the future.


Bogarts Dad
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I know this won't likely go over well here but so far I've heard nobody say anything about relating to the pup that peeing on the floor is undesirable to you.
People talk a lot about what a dog actually is learning from what we think we are teaching them. Without a strong, NO! when he is caught peeing and removal to the desired area, I would suggest that he thinks, "Hmmm, I pee a little and get picked up and taken outside. No harm, no foul."

I've read somewhere that a puppy's internals are basically unobstructed, so to speak. One end triggers the other. When something goes in the mouth it automatically stimulates the other end to make room for it. That's just the way a puppy is.
I agree that you have to be very vigilant with your pup. You can usually tell when they have to pee. They'll stop playing with whatever and start sniffing around and acting a little nervous they might even do when awaking from a nap. Mack was real hard to get to sometimes because he would wake up, stand up and start peeing. He can hold it through the night. I know this because he sleeps on the bed with me at the foot and he can't jump up by himself yet. So with no wet spots in the morning and he's still on the bed it appears he can.
I don't use the crate method. Mine is put outside where he has a bed on the back porch. I'm afraid I use the tough love system on the whining and howling. Close the door, turn on the fan, and let him howl. He gets over it. It only lasted a few days with mine. You definitely cannot give in to it.

Your being tired is not helping a bit for your frustration. This too will pass.
Hang in there.
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Thanks Chris08.
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Is it possible he could have a urinary tract infection? I brought a pup home at 4 months and she kept having accidents and I brought in a sample and sure enough, she had a UTI. May be worth a check.
"Hug him lots and embrace all the wonders of puppyhood-they too, will go by way too fast. "

Ain't that the truth. First to go is the sweet puppy breath, then they get too hyper to snuggle up for a nap in your lap, then they don't want to be held, then they get too big to sit in your lap or even pick up anymore. And before you know it puppyhood is gone. But then it's on to different phases, discovering they can bark for instance! "I bark, therefore I am." And challenging you to do anything about it!!! Farewell puppyhood, we barely knew you.
Well I will throw in my 2 cents as well....I used a wind up alarm clock wrapped in a towel and a set of earplugs....If there is something wrong, you will be able to tell it, I think the ticking kind of sounds like a heartbeat..not sure why it worked, it just did.
we used the ticker click method with bear too. He wasnt the best to crate when i first got him. He had been in a pen with his bros and sis's until 12 weeks so the thought of being alone and in a cage set him off! I put a few "ticker" clocks in some warm towels from the dryer, and placed them in different ends of the crate. i usually only had to do this when he was going to be in their at night, to help him settle down. The ticking is supposed to remind them of their moms or littermates heartbeats when they cuddle up and sleep with one another. It actually helped a lot!


Chris your last post was perfect! The puppy stage gets most of us frustrated at one point or another, and before we know it to enjoy it, its gone! When i first got bear he was afraid of the carpeted areas of the house and would leap into my lap if i was sitting on the carpet. Then he'd just pass out and nap. SO CUTE! ha that lasted about a week before he decided he'd rather be a "big boy" and bark at the curtains, the heater vents in the floor, my boots, and the t.v. when animal planet was on! LOL He would stand on the heater vents in the floor and just let the heat blow up at him barking at it the whole time! I sure do miss all the cute and funny things about puppies, but after remember the loss of sleep, and constant cleaning, i remember how much i love that theyre all grown up now!!
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dude..your not alone..AT ALL!! about 20 minutes ago i wanted to "kill" tyson. i took him outside and he has started digging..i hate digging!! 2 reasons: 1-tares up my yard, 2-tracks in mud in my house! now that im calmed down i can think good about him again. lol..dont worry tho, he's only 8 weeks old. and for the peeing, maybe UTI. maybe that has been brought up in previous posts (i dont always read every post) im still working on my patience and i have 0!! so i know u can do it.

puppies dont have complete control over there bladders until they are around 8 weeks old. give him a chance and he'll figure it out
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5
How can i stay upset at this face.








See the bully stick in his mouth. After i took this picture, he swallowed it. OUCH! Now we have to wait for him to poop it out.


Bogarts Dad
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no way I could be mad at that sweet face....
HE IS SO ADORABLE! lol, sorry.

anyways, i remember when we first got beamer it took about 2 1/2 weeks before she would stop whining, & we had a 6 month old daughter so omg i never slept. =( im sorry about his whining.

someone ardy said try leaving the tv on & thats what i was gonna say, we did it with beamer & it seemed to calm her a little. (we left it on animal planet)

& try taking him out every 20 minutes, & be SUPERRRR enthusiastic about it. like "YAYYYY BOGART YAYYY PEE!" gl. (but dont be scary enthusiastic about it)
I see where you are coming from!

We have had ours for just over a month and only now are we starting to sleep again, so many tired days at work.

We have never had a human child, so I have no idea how hard that has to be, probably harder for much longer.

btw, your puppy looks like ours a lot.
http://www.tetch.com/pix/washington/deceptionpass/img_9850.htm
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Originally Posted By: jinj

btw, your puppy looks like ours a lot.
http://www.tetch.com/pix/washington/deceptionpass/img_9850.htm
Wow Your pup does look like our Bogart. Very nice dog.
Last night was a better night. He went to bed at 8:30 and only got up to pee at 3:30. YAY Bogart!!!!
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