Exercise R Us

Question:

I am desperate.  I have a 4 month old Newfi puppy that we have now had for 7wks that I can not house break.  She can not make it through the night and will give no indication that she has to go.  I have become very well trained and have become almost house bound so that I can let her out every hour.  In the evening she is confind to a small area in which she will defecate and urinate and proceed to lay on the papers with her nose no further than an inch from her elimination.  She now has just started to eliminate on my back deck.  When I take here out she is always on a lead and I take her to the same spot in which she will proceed to walk and even sit in her own feces if I would let her.  We confined her to an even smaller space to which she could bearly move and she layed in it! Finding her covered in elimination is worse than scrubbing the floor every morning.  She has no medical problems as I have been running her to the vet hoping for an explanation no such luck.  Please, some has got to help me. We really like her but I don’t think I can stand much more of this!!!!!!

Response:

: I am desperate.  I have a 4 month old Newfi puppy that we have now had : for 7wks that I can not house break.  She can not make it through the : night and will give no indication that she has to go.  I have become  Some comments and suggestions:  4 months of age is not  an inordinately late age for a dog not to be housebroken. Be patient.  I would refrain from feeding the pup or giving her water for a few hours prior to going to bed. Your dog’s ability to get through the night without urinating will, without doubt, increase greatly as she gets older. I have a bitch who does not even go outside in the morning – she just waits until lunch time.  Are your dog’s stools loose ? If so, try feeding a high premium puppy food. If you’re already doing that- try reducing the amounts you give the pup by a *moderate* amount (the puppy needs food to grow, obviously). Dogs with loose stools defecate much more frequently on average than dogs with firm, hard stools.  This is something that many, many puppy owners deal with but overcome- don’t give up on your pup.   Good luck,   Robert

Response:

>I am desperate.  I have a 4 month old Newfi puppy that we have now had >for 7wks that I can not house break.  

Where and how did the puppy live during its first 9 weeks? >She can not make it through the >night and will give no indication that she has to go.

Sure she can.  But you’ve got to do your job, too.  Have you ever heard of using a dog CRATE to help you with housebreaking? If not, you need to get this book: The Art of Raising a Puppy, by the Monks of New Skete. You can get it at: http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ or most any good book store. > I have become >very well trained and have become almost house bound so that I can let >her out every hour.  In the evening she is confind to a small area in >which she will defecate and urinate and proceed to lay on the papers >with her nose no further than an inch from her elimination.

Why are you still using papers?????  Are you paper-training this dog or housebreaking him????? > She now has >just started to eliminate on my back deck.  When I take here out >she is always on a lead and I take her to the same spot in which she will >proceed to walk and even sit in her own feces if I would let her.  We >confined her to an even smaller space to which she could bearly move and >she layed in it!

Why did you allow her to lie in it?  She’s on a leash, eh? >Finding her covered in elimination is worse than >scrubbing the floor every morning.  She has no medical problems as I >have been running her to the vet hoping for an explanation no such >luck.  Please, some has got to help me. We really like her but I don’t >think I can stand much more of this!!!!!!

You need a dog crate, Scott.  AND the book.  The sooner the better! There’s really no reason for you to go through this.  A Newfy should be EASY to housebreak. Get the book first because it will show you how to buy the right dog crate for your puppy. Do it NOW, Scott!  You’ll be glad you did! Then come back here and tell us how it worked out, eh? Ciao! — Philo Beddoe In honor of a great man, Dogman, on retriever field trials: http://www.i1.net/~dogman/fieldtrl.htm Until you give it a shot, you don’t know Dickel: http://www.georgedickel.com

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