This post is about socialization and pee training concerns. In this post i describe my house layout, our routine, our setbacks and my concerns. Looking for advice from experienced dog owners as i have raised 3 dogs before this puppy, and they are all perfect. Getting nervous about this one because it's not like the others.
Wondering what changes i need to make for him as he develops into new stages. He's crate trained and loves his crate. We work from home so our routine is:
7:30a/8a: wake up go outside for first pee.
8:30/9: breakfast.
Sometimes a potty break is needed before lunch.
12p: lunch.
Anytime between 1:30-3: potty.
4-5: Dinner.
5:30-6:30: gets a puppy teething chew, potty.
From this point on there are various potty breaks and no matter what time we go to bed we make sure to wake him up and take him to pee.
We have some quirks in our living situation that are puzzling me with raising him. My house is a 3 story split level. Bedrooms on top, kitchen in the middle, den on the bottom. To go outside, we have to go up or down stairs depending on where we are, go to the back door onto the deck on the kitchen level then down another full flight of stairs to the yard. I have always raised my dogs in a one story house and it feels like that is making a difference. We also have 3 adult dogs, 2 large seniors and one senior chihuahua. He's too rambunctious with all of them, especially chi could get hurt, the larger ones enjoy him and play with him but we have to moderate their play because he can be too intense. We have been following Dr. Sophia Lins guidance and keeping him on leash in the house for the most part, and outside for potty breaks for the most part despite having a fenced yard. He does get off leash play but he's not great with recall and he's easily distracted by the neighbor dog so it's limited.
He is not great with holding his bladder with all those stairs, so we often have to carry him. He's getting big. Can't do this forever. And I'm concerned he's getting coddled by being carried outside. But the alternative is a pee trail in my house. Sometimes he pees on the deck. Also he is incredibly distracted by the other dogs, which can make getting to the door even worse if we don't carry him. so he's not learning to follow us when off leash.
He has a crate upstairs in our room on the third floor that is smaller and that he will eventually grow out of and that's where he sleeps at night with us.
Downstairs on bottom most floor he has a larger crate and a puppy pen. He goes in the larger crate during the day. He is fed 3 meals a day in the puppy pen. He gets to eat his puppy chews in the puppy pen.
He needs to pee CONSTANTLY. He never has accidents in his smaller crate, but does occasionally in the larger crate which doesn't seem too out of the norm, they say dogs will do that, it's just that none of mine ever have in the past. He has access to water all day long but not during the 8 hours of sleep bc there isn't room in that crate. He has problems with peeing in his playpen. We will take him outside and he will have a huge pee and then he will come inside and pee again in his playpen within 5-10 minutes.
Last night i took him out for a pee. Ten min later he peed in his playpen. Put him outside, changed the pads, put him back in. About ten minutes later he started act anxious so i took him outside and he peed. Brought him back inside and about 15 min later he peed in his play pen again.
When i google 4 month old puppies they say they're supposed to be potty trained. My friend who has his litter mate is not having this issue but they live in a one story house, and when her puppy needs to go out he goes to the back door. If she doesnt shove him out, he will pee at the door which sounds like my dog. But my dog is not getting the opportunity to go to the back door or signal he needs to go out because we are crate training and because of my home layout.
I know that we are supposed to limit puppies freedoms and keep their world small, but I'm worried he's not getting enough socialization to my house. It's hard enough to let him play in his playpen without having to clean up ten gallons of pee.
When and how do we start expanding their world? How do i get him to stop peeing in my house? I've never had this issue with puppies before all my dogs were potty trained so fast and easy. On top of that I'm worried he's not getting enough socialization in general. At Christmas i got Covid, then ten days later my partner got it from me, and we were sick and had to isolate for over two weeks. THEN we got an insane amount of snow for our area and got trapped in our homes, and then we got an ice storm and are still trapped. So it's been basically a month where we had intended to be doing walks and socialization and training opportunities and we haven't been able to.
After raising 3 perfect dogs I'm starting to get worried I'm failing this one. What i want is a physically and psychologically balanced adult dog. Does anyone have any advice?
Wondering what changes i need to make for him as he develops into new stages. He's crate trained and loves his crate. We work from home so our routine is:
7:30a/8a: wake up go outside for first pee.
8:30/9: breakfast.
Sometimes a potty break is needed before lunch.
12p: lunch.
Anytime between 1:30-3: potty.
4-5: Dinner.
5:30-6:30: gets a puppy teething chew, potty.
From this point on there are various potty breaks and no matter what time we go to bed we make sure to wake him up and take him to pee.
We have some quirks in our living situation that are puzzling me with raising him. My house is a 3 story split level. Bedrooms on top, kitchen in the middle, den on the bottom. To go outside, we have to go up or down stairs depending on where we are, go to the back door onto the deck on the kitchen level then down another full flight of stairs to the yard. I have always raised my dogs in a one story house and it feels like that is making a difference. We also have 3 adult dogs, 2 large seniors and one senior chihuahua. He's too rambunctious with all of them, especially chi could get hurt, the larger ones enjoy him and play with him but we have to moderate their play because he can be too intense. We have been following Dr. Sophia Lins guidance and keeping him on leash in the house for the most part, and outside for potty breaks for the most part despite having a fenced yard. He does get off leash play but he's not great with recall and he's easily distracted by the neighbor dog so it's limited.
He is not great with holding his bladder with all those stairs, so we often have to carry him. He's getting big. Can't do this forever. And I'm concerned he's getting coddled by being carried outside. But the alternative is a pee trail in my house. Sometimes he pees on the deck. Also he is incredibly distracted by the other dogs, which can make getting to the door even worse if we don't carry him. so he's not learning to follow us when off leash.
He has a crate upstairs in our room on the third floor that is smaller and that he will eventually grow out of and that's where he sleeps at night with us.
Downstairs on bottom most floor he has a larger crate and a puppy pen. He goes in the larger crate during the day. He is fed 3 meals a day in the puppy pen. He gets to eat his puppy chews in the puppy pen.
He needs to pee CONSTANTLY. He never has accidents in his smaller crate, but does occasionally in the larger crate which doesn't seem too out of the norm, they say dogs will do that, it's just that none of mine ever have in the past. He has access to water all day long but not during the 8 hours of sleep bc there isn't room in that crate. He has problems with peeing in his playpen. We will take him outside and he will have a huge pee and then he will come inside and pee again in his playpen within 5-10 minutes.
Last night i took him out for a pee. Ten min later he peed in his playpen. Put him outside, changed the pads, put him back in. About ten minutes later he started act anxious so i took him outside and he peed. Brought him back inside and about 15 min later he peed in his play pen again.
When i google 4 month old puppies they say they're supposed to be potty trained. My friend who has his litter mate is not having this issue but they live in a one story house, and when her puppy needs to go out he goes to the back door. If she doesnt shove him out, he will pee at the door which sounds like my dog. But my dog is not getting the opportunity to go to the back door or signal he needs to go out because we are crate training and because of my home layout.
I know that we are supposed to limit puppies freedoms and keep their world small, but I'm worried he's not getting enough socialization to my house. It's hard enough to let him play in his playpen without having to clean up ten gallons of pee.
When and how do we start expanding their world? How do i get him to stop peeing in my house? I've never had this issue with puppies before all my dogs were potty trained so fast and easy. On top of that I'm worried he's not getting enough socialization in general. At Christmas i got Covid, then ten days later my partner got it from me, and we were sick and had to isolate for over two weeks. THEN we got an insane amount of snow for our area and got trapped in our homes, and then we got an ice storm and are still trapped. So it's been basically a month where we had intended to be doing walks and socialization and training opportunities and we haven't been able to.
After raising 3 perfect dogs I'm starting to get worried I'm failing this one. What i want is a physically and psychologically balanced adult dog. Does anyone have any advice?