Hi, I've recently adopted an adorable chocolate lab puppy four days ago. I'm currently working on both outdoor potty training for days and house training on wee wee pad for when she has to pee during the nights, when I can't accompany her for potty. The problem is, when she goes out for potty, she tends to eat EVERYTHING off the ground, particularly small rocks and fallen leaves/flowers. I'm not really worried about leaves or flowers, but what worries me is the rocks that she seems so interested in. She will chew it so hard and try to swallow it, rather than dropping it again. I have to force her to open her mouth and take the rocks out, but I don't want to continue doing this. I'm worried if she will swallow rocks without having me noticed, and get sick. Also, when I put her in a small rectangular cage that I made beside my bed, she won't stop whining all night, and her stools become watery due to stress. I heard that it's best to ignore the whining, and eventually it will go away, but having her whining for four nights are throwing some doubts.. I want to do what's best for her and to raise her as healthy as she can be! Please help me out!
Hi, We also had our puppy by our bed when we got him at 8 weeks. It took him a few days to stop whining, then a few more to stop panting and breathing fast. Just ignore it if you know she doesn't need to go out to the toilet. Don't say anything or make eye contact. Maybe some soft toys in with her if she doesn't chew them to bits? Our puppy still chews rocks/stones, I usually just try and distract him with something else then get rid of the stone he was chewing.
Thank you for the advise! I have a question: if I want to train her both outdoor potty and indoor potty for nights, do I have to leave her whining (if she wants to go to the toilet) in her cage with pee pads beside her? I try to praise her when she pees on the pad after she was whining in her cage. Will this confuse her?
I just ignore Betsy picking up stones - she does it so much, I'd drive myself round the bend if I worried about it. By not making a fuss, she just drops them of her own accord. If you are forcing your puppy's mouth open to get his treasure (yep, he thinks the stones are very valuable since you want them so much) he is much more likely to swallow them - that way, you can't get them off him. You can try swapping the stones for treats - unless your puppy heads towards you with the stone (my puppy does because this is what I've encouraged) in which case the treat just magically appearing and you swiping the rock away when the puppy goes for the treat is a good technique. The best thing, if you are minded to train it, is a 'give' cue. I've been working on a hand delivery with my puppy since she was tiny, and she very quickly would hold things in her mouth while I put my fingers on them and then she would release on 'what 'ave you got in your mouf, Bets?' (that was always going to be a temporary cue ). But that's a bit of a faff to train if you are not into that kind of thing.
Thank you Julie! I will certainly learn how to teach her that "give"cue.. How are your thoughts on teaching my lab both indoor and outdoor potty? Will this confuse her?
I was afraid if me taking her outside for potty during the nights when she whines will make her to learn to whine for attention. Also if I am not present to take her outside for potty, doesn't she have to have a designated area inside to release it? My other dog, 4yr old french mastiff will scratch door to go potty outside if we are there to open it, and will pee on pad if we are not there. I was thinking to teach this to my lab too.
There is a difference between a puppy crying because it is distressed - e.g. needs to move away from its bed to wee or poo - and a puppy learning that whining gets it attention. Although you are right that it is best to ignore all whining, and if your puppy is in a confined space overnight, then it is difficult to know whether your puppy is distressed or whining because it would quite like some attention. If you are confining a puppy overnight in a small crate etc. then you really need to get up and take the puppy out before it whines. I see from your original post that your puppy isn't settling overnight, and is whining all night. This might be because she isn't used to being in a crate (you need to crate train her) or is simply scared at her change in circumstances, being removed from her mother and littermates. Personally, if I had a puppy this distressed, I'd try sleeping on the floor with her in a pen and leaving her alone very gradually until she seemed more settled. And crate train very gradually. In terms of training a dog to toilet inside, this just isn't something I'd ever do. I just do not leave my adult dogs longer than they can comfortably go without going to the toilet, and they go to the toilet outside, and that's that. Here are a couple of articles that might help: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-a-crying-labrador-puppy/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/crate-training-your-labrador-puppy/
What size crate are you using? At 8 weeks our puppy used to go out about 1/2am. We would set the alarm and take him out a few hours after his last trip, rather than wait for him to whine as he needs to go. Now he is 13 weeks he goes 10:30-5:30 but even this is quite good. Definitely take outside. If the crate is the right size she shouldn't want to pee in it as they don't like going in their own 'den'
Thank you for the details. I think I will have to start over with crate and potty training from the beginning as per your instruction!
I ordered the crate a few days before she came to us, but it didn't arrive yet. So I'm using a portion of my bedroom as her den and also as potty area by using fence. I left some space between her bed(den) and pads and trying not to leave her alone to make her confortable. But now that everyone's opinion on this is not positive, I am going to stop this and start the outdoor potty training Thank you all
