Puppy poopy everywhere

[rpwolfgang]

@birdiie I always wondered if people distinguish between pee and poo for their pups. I guess I’m not the only one! Congrats on 6 weeks of zero accidents!! That’s awesome . I can’t even remember when the last accident was.. she does have excitement sprinkles here and there when friends come over but we minimize it by taking her out to potty before anyone stops by.

 

[sbguitargirl]

@ignatiusdidache My dog is now 3yo, I also took her home when she was 9 weeks.

For the first 2-3 weeks I took her out to my back garden every 2 hours and that included through the night. Midnight-2am-4am-6. After 3 weeks I stretched it to 3 hours meaning I got up once in the middle of the night (midnight-3-6am). Then I set up a camera in front of her crate to monitor if she was asleep or if she was up, if she was still asleep I would snooze the alarm

I would say to give it a try again with the crate, it pays off… it would be much easier to travel with your pup, when staying in hotel rooms etc.

 

[matthew181216]

@ignatiusdidache Our Bostie baby is now 6mo and we got him when he was 8wks like you (Congrats btw!!). Unfortunately in our area there's a large risk of parvo+ so we made the call not to walk him outside of our yard with our other dog until he was fully vaccinated. What's been successful for us has been investing in washable pee pads. The first two months we had them all over the house but concentrating on areas where he spent lots of time or showed interest. We'd praise him for using them and express disappointment when he pottied off pad. About 3 months in (when regular walks with his big sis were integrated) we reduced the pee pads to the few we noticed he preferred. Now the only remaining pads are in the bathrooms. He's a big "you pee, I pee" friend so I don't exactly know how to make the full transition to outside potty only. BUT it's miracle for Saturday sleep ins because when he's gotta go, he goes into the bathroom and does his business on the pad and then comes back to snuggle

We do have him sleep with us but did crate train him right from the start. We crate our older dog when we leave because of her anxiety but eventually we'd love to train him to chill in the house without crating. Anyhow we put his puppy crate actually on the bed between us for the first month to help him get comfortable with the idea and the space in a place where he could see and smell us. He's just graduated to his big boy crate and it took us about a week to acclimate him with it (metal noise scary - puppy crate had cloth sides). But he's doing great with it and sometimes I find him just chilling in there. Best of luck finding your new normal with your little guy!!

 

[drwatson]

@ignatiusdidache Regarding your puppy's bladder, at his age, that is still too far apart:

Puppy Bladder Chart

Instead of closing the crate door, can you put a pen around it for him to stay in? there's some other great advice here

 

[ignatiusdidache]

@drwatson This site is very useful, thank you so much!

 

[lisalamberth]

@ignatiusdidache Crate training was very helpful in potty training so here's my best crate training tips as someone with a dog who now loves his crate at night:

SNUGGLE PUPPY TOY. This is a stuffed dog toy with a heart beat simulator and heating pad that makes your pup feel like they're still sleeping with their siblings. It really helped reduce my pups anxiety, and is still his favorite toy today.

To get him to sleep in the crate, I would sit on the floor with him outside the crate until he fell asleep with me. Then I'd shift him into his crate and he generally would wake up a little bit before drifting off, and I'd sit outside where he could see me until he was out.

When he woke up, I would take him outside and then repeat the sleeping process. If he had just gone and I knew he didn't need to go outside, I'd just start slowly comforting him. I'd talk to him from my bed, and then if he stil cried, I'd sit next to the crate with the door shut and talk to him or put my hand next to the door so he could feel/smell me. If that didn't work, I'd open the door and let him fall asleep in my lap again.

I never let him cry it out, but I did try to soothe him without immediately letting him out so it didn't reinforce the idea that he could cry and be done with the crate. I also used treats to coax him in and hid them in there throughout the day to reinforce the idea that the crate was good.

I also had a play pen around the crate with puppy pads on the floor so he could nap in there without being crated when he was having a rough crate day. That helped him get used to sleeping alone during the day. The trick for my pup was that he wanted to have the space to stretch out. After a week, I took out the crate divider and that was the key, he started sleeping through the night in his crate. He never went potty in there but I was lucky that he had excellent overnight bladder control young (not so much during the day of course).

I also kept a fan on in the background every time he was asleep in my room because the white noise helped him fall and stay asleep. I hope your little guy adjusts soon!!

 

[kaydrelia]

@ignatiusdidache Feed him in his crate, put toys in it, and reward him each time he goes in. Make it a happy place.

My younger corgi had trouble adjustingto the crate when we brought her home at 9 weeks. I slept on the floor next to it for a week and eventually she stopped fussing. Now she lays in there on her own, 9 years later.

We kept her in her crate except for play, food, and potty time until she was a bit older. As a puppy, we went out every hour (I was a student at the time) and heavily rewarded her good potty behavior. It takes time but then one day it clicks.

 

[blover]

@ignatiusdidache Our puppy Merlin hated his crate. I mean, he hated it. Cried and cried anytime we put him in.

We have two dogs, so we put their crates side by side and covered them with a blanket on 3 sides and a second blanket for the front.

Our other dog would get anxious, but not the way Merlin did.

We fed them every single meal in their crates with the door open months. High value treat immediately after closing the door at night.

But what I think really helped the most was the "daddy pillow." So, we would cover the front of the crates too once they went to bed for the night and sit outside the crate for about 10 minutes, speaking softly to him. We also had a fan on nearby for white noise. Then we took a shirt that my husband (his most favorite person in the whole wide world) wore one day and put it over a pillow - as though it was a pillowcase. Once the front was covered, we would lean the daddy pillow against the front of his crate. That way, he could smell and feel "daddy" there. It wasn't long before we could put the pillow in front and just walk away without sitting there, and I don't think he could tell we weren't still there.

That really was what did it for him. Now, every night, he runs to his crate and, by far, prefers it to our bed. We have had to lure him out to come cuddle for a few minutes some nights before bedtime because he loves it so much.

Now, each night, we tell them to go to bed and they go straight into their crates, get a dental chew and get covered with the blanket for the night.

Best decision ever - you will not regret it if you stick with it, but it will take time and consistency!

Best of luck!

 

[mlm]

@ignatiusdidache My rottie puppy went absolutely beserk in the crate when we first got her but she is now just over 3 months old and LOVES sleeping in her crate! Trust me just stick with it it’s worth it knowing they have a safe place to go to when you can’t keep an eye on them!

 

[panda1990]

@ignatiusdidache Give the crate another go and try taking him toilet more. Every time he eats, drinks water, plays, trains, before sleeping and after sleeping. Take him toilet on lead to roughly the same area to help him easily build the habit of going outside. Don't spend more than a couple minutes outside during toilet time. If he doesn't go, put him in his crate for a minute or 5 and try again

 

[panda1990]

Also when you're out there on lead stand still. Walk your puppy to where they already usually go and just stand there. They will get bored and go toilet

 

[rohith]

@ignatiusdidache You need to stay outside until he poops and pees and he likely needs to go out every hour till he is little older. Secondly when you put him in his crate put a sheet over it he may cry at first but then will pass out. The crate should be his safe place.

 

[danielgithahu]

@rohith I wondered this too. The freaking out might be more about the separation. Have you tried a covered crate OP? Given him a few minutes to settle?

 

[ignatiusdidache]

@danielgithahu His crate is covered by a blanket on 3 sides but he can still see out the front, but he can see me in front of him since the crate faces the couch in the living room. Do u think I should move it? I set a timer for 15 min and just bear the screaming, but I do wanna emphasize that it’s a lot louder than when he’s just whining/crying so ig I just want confirmation that it’s normal lol. He also jumps up in the crate and scratches at the blanket, and then gnaws on the crate door

At that point after the 15 I get fed up and move,, and open the door as soon as there’s a quiet window

 

[danielgithahu]

@ignatiusdidache I’m not an expert. But my guess is that being able to see you makes a huge difference in how hard it is to settle. Puppies are FOMO machines in my experience. Worth at least an experiment to try covering it all the way, at least? Also try to get him to go in of his own accord with a nice treat instead of forcing him. My dog is ultra food motivated so that was easy. Now at 6 months he basically never minds going in the crate and sometimes goes in/stays in on his own.

 

[balabob]

@ignatiusdidache A puppy that age... I gave my GSD Samantha an extra 20 minutes after she went poop outside incase there was any more in there. At that age they cant really control their bowels. Just give them some extra time after they go and they will usually evacuate the rest. Never trust a puppy is fully done lol

 

[balabob]

Also, forgot to add this. For the crate... Make sure to cover it with a sheet or blanket, etc. It will help them be less stimulated and will calm down quicker.

 

[spartan86]

@ignatiusdidache Put him in a box next to your bed, that worked with our puppy. And most of the time they don't want to take a poop when they can't lay down without laying in it

 

[recuerdo]

@ignatiusdidache If you can't get him to adjust to the crate, I have my 9 week old sleeping in her Sherpa carrier bag on my bed next to me and its working well for us.

 

[danielpower]

@ignatiusdidache I currently have an 11 week old Boston and previously had another Boston. They’re such people dogs that being in the crate can be hard for them but possible. My two biggest tips: exercise mentally and physically as extensively as possible before even attempting to crate. My guy has to show signs of fatigue for this to work.

Second, routine is essential!!! Bathroom break before and immediately upon waking up whether that is in the crate or elsewhere

What’s your pups name?

Edit to add: I also work from home