I Can't Handle The Puppy, How Am I Going To Deal With Kids?
Lounge By KatieTaylor77 Updated 6 Jun 2007 , 10:50pm by Marksgirl
I need some serious help.
We got a bulldog puppy a few weeks back . . . she's a total joy and dream come true, but of course its been a lot of work.
#1: I am struggling to get her on a good schedule for potty training. I am home all week long so I get her on a pretty good routine while I'm around. Unfortunately, I work from 8pm to 8am Fri, Sat and Sun so weekends I am either gone or sleeping. My boyfriend tries so hard to watch her, but he's used to our 10 year old dog who can be ignored for long periods of time. I am constantly woken up now on the weekends to him being frustrated with the puppy for soiling the carpet. Ugh. We can't put a doggie door in because we live in the hills in Southern California . . . we've had 2 rattlesnakes in our backyard in the last week and I'm not about to invite any wildlife in . . . or come home to find the girls have been bitten and are in critical condition.
#2: My 10 year old dog has urinary incontinence and is on medication. For the most part she is better . . . we've accepted her issues and deal with the consequences. (She dribbles urine in her sleep if not on her medication.) Now she is urinating and defecating in our upstairs hallway . . . no warning, its not like we arent taking her outside when she wants to go.
#3: Puppy barks CONSTANTLY when we put her in the crate. I don't want to give in and let her start sleeping in our bed yet . . . I'm worried about her falling off the bed and getting seriously hurt. If I have to leave during the day she throws huge tantrums and barks until she throws up. I've tried using the squirt bottle, scolding, etc. (I won't smack my dogs though.) I know my neighbors can hear her . . . and I can't seem to make a difference!
#4: When puppy is really mad at us, she will defecate in her crate. I mean these are stinky, angry poo's and she will fling it everywhere. It doesn't matter if she just went outside and defecated, she will fling poo if she is angry. I am constanly cleaning her and the crate up . . . and now I think she is eating her feces! GROSS!!!!!!!!
I've had dogs all my life, done rescue, etc. This puppy is a gem when she is awake and has our attention . . she is loving, sweet, happy, playful, spends as much time as she can snuggling with someone in the house, both our dogs play together and are starting to sleep together on the couch during the day . . . I'm just at a loss for what to do!
My trainer is going out of town tomorrow for 9 days so I am stuck for serious help until he gets back in town.
Any suggestions would be seriously appreciated.
Don't now much about dogtraining. But I now it's never the same thing with kids. So don't worry about that. 
Being a mom is the best thing I've ever done and my most favorite job. It is easier than I expected (that's the truth) and so far my daughter has never eaten her poo. 
I'm alone with 3 kids. That is still a h... of lot easier then the great dane dog I had when I lived with my ex.
The only thing that makes a dog more managable than a kid is being able to put the dog in a cage. 
I might get in trouble if I tried that with the kids.
If you want I'll send you mine to pratice with, they've been going nuts all day because it's rainy and cold out.
On a more serious note you go home with a baby that slowly learns to get around and into things so you have time to adjust.
i've never had a dog, but i can tell you kids are easier than you'd think. i am a sahm of 21 month old twin boys and they are the most wonderful kids in the world! i enjoy every minute of it!!
maybe i should hold my tongue until we get through potty training, though?? 
I'm so sorry, but the title of your post cracked me up My DS can be very exasperating, and I don't know how many times I have said to DH "maybe we should have stuck with dogs." LOL!
Seriously though, it sounds like your boyfriend is the one who needs the training. I know you know that a puppy of this age can't control their bodily functions for very long - when they gotta go, they gotta go NOW. He needs to pay more attention.
I never had a dog hate their crate until last year. We adopted an Akita mix from a shelter, and he had been there for several months in a small crate in the back (he was part of a court case and "unadoptable"). He is a fantastic dog, but completely flips out in his crate. He totally panics. We started medicating him when he started hurting himself, and finally stopped crating him altogether. But he's older and trustworthy in the house. Your baby isn't. I don't know what else to tell you about the crate except try throwing a soda can filled with pennies at or near it when she's yelling. Our guys don't seem to care about the squirt bottle either, but maybe that will get her attention. Try giving her a rice stuffed & frozen marrow bone or other special treat that she only gets when she's crated. Are you able to gate her in a safe room (like a kitchen) while you're gone instead of crating her? That may be a better option and still ensure that she's contained and safe when alone.
It sounds like your older dog is maybe jealous? Either that or senility is kicking in. When our oldest hit 14, he stopped caring if he went outside to potty, when he had to go, he just went. It wasn't incontinence, he just got up, peed on the chair, and went back to bed 
Make sure you greet your older dog first, give her/him treats first, etc. Maybe an extra walk for just the two of you.
I think there's something you can put in dog food that's supposed to stop them from eating their poop. Bleck. Thankfully that's one thing I haven't had to deal with (yet anyway).
Good luck!
-Lisa
Lisa: Thanks for the reminder . . . I just realized I have a box of "Forbid" to put in her food. This poo eating is grossing me out the most.
I can't put her in the kitchen or bathroom only because she is a chewer if she isn't supervised. I have baby gates that I use during the day to keep her from rolling down the stairs and getting into the kitchen cupboards. I tried the other day to put both girls in the bathroom together and the poor 10 year old got so fed up she bailed out ASAP. That just made the puppy even more angry. Who knew she would be this assertive? 
I really thought we were both on the same page when it comes to training and puppy raising . . . but now I'm finding he zero patience for her and just gives up dealing with the issues. Needless to say that makes it worse. I'm starting to worry now that we will go through something similar -- I have heard so much about men who aren't interested in their children until they get to be 2 or 3 and even then only when they are easy to handle. If we can't get on the ball with the puppy what kind of parents are we going to be?
On the plus side, I just put her in the crate and puppy is quiet. This is the first time I have crated her during the day that there wasn't an instant protest. Cross your fingers for me!
Is your crate too big? It should only be big enough for the puppy to stand up in. If it is too big get a partition to put in until she grows into her crate. Also make sure she has toys to keep her occupied while she is in the crate.
Smack the boyfriend in the back of the head, take away the remote, and set a timer for him to take the puppy out. Also have the kids help. Tell them that if they want the puppy they have to take him outside and help clean up after him. There should be no reason for the puppy to be in a crate if you are home during the week and everybody else is home on the weekends.
Make sure the older dogs gets attention first. Set an appointment for the vet to make sure there is no additional problems with the older dog and that her medication is still working for her.
You also need to make sure the puppy knows that you are the boss. Find a website on dog training and you should be able to find the information you need.
The most important thing is that you need to make sure you have the help of the family, though.
check this website out:
www.cesarmillaninc.com
I've read his book and used his methods with amazing results.
I'm not ashamed to admit, I don't believe in the "Dog Whisperer" methods . . . don't kill me for it!
Things are slowly getting better, except for the barking in her kennel during the day. The last two nights she at least settled down and went to sleep when we put her in there at 11.
My trainer sent us a long email of tips, schedule, etc that we are supposed to work on until he gets home. Keep your fingers crossed for us! I don't want Trudie to turn out to be an obnoxious bulldog that no one likes because she barks all day.
Pretty much the same . . . only now she has an upset tummy! I just got back from taking her in to work and all we can figure is she has a ton of yeast in her stool. I think the new food we put her on isnt worth the arm and leg that it cost me . . . so back to the old stuff.
As for training, I'm super frustrated. She means well, but she just doesn't get it. My friend is a professional dog handler and he wants to start working with her for the show ring, so we are hoping that will help give her more focus. I start group classes in two weeks for the socialization, and then home training when my friend gets home from vacation. Something better click with this dog soon . . . my boyfriend has zero tolerance right now. 
When we first got our puppy it was my first house dog. We crated him at night in the other room. He'd bark and cry until I got so tired of it, I'd put him in our room. If I put the crate next to the bed I could stick my fingers in and he'd lick them. When I got ready to go to bed I'd put my tshirt I wore that day in his crate. It helped him smell that I was close. But he wasnt going in his crate either. Usually if a dog is "going" in the crate the crate is too big. Its rare for a dog to go where he sleeps so if he's got enough room to move around too much, he'll do it. He should just be able to turn around. This isnt a crate to play in now. Once we got our puppy past a certain point with the potty training we just started closing our bedroom door and let him roam at night. I lost a bluetooth earpiece this way, so you might wait to make really sure everything is out of his reach.
You definately have to watch her like a hawk if she's not in her crate though. BF needs to be reminded but I'm sure he's trying. If you dont catch her in the act and correct her it does no good.
I have one of those "Life Stages" crates . . . I have the divider in and its definitely small enough. She just poops and dances in it . . . alhtough this is the second dry night in a row so maybe we are making progress.
Oh my..I couldn't help but to laugh. I can just see Trudie dancing up a storm We have a 5 month old black lab, we got her when she was 2 months old. You know just when you think they get the whole pottie training thing. They all of a sudden they leave you a little present.
But 2 dry nights in a row, that is pretty good.
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