Ellie will be 8 weeks tomorrow and today is the 2nd week that she's been part of our family. She's doing great in some aspects but not so much in others. One thing she seems to do great with is recall. I think she already knows her name. I call her and she comes. She doesn't always come but a good majority of the time, she comes. I've been rewarding her with small treats when I call her and she comes when we are in our yard outside. Today, she left the room we were in, I called her name and she came running. Very pleased with that. Will continue this training as she is getting the hang of it. House training is going ok. We take her out after every nap and every meal and any other indication that she wants to go out. Today she did a new thing which she did the first day she was with us but then stopped, was she went to the door when she had to go. Took her out and she went! We've started taking kibble with us and rewarding her when she goes outside because after the first day she seemed to get confused and started going in the house... on the wee wee pads, off the pads, etc. It's still hit or miss with the pads. She sometimes goes on them and sometimes she doesn't. Last time I had a puppy, I kept her in the kitchen and let her into other parts of the house as she mastered the wee wee pads. My house isn't set up like that this time. It is an open floorplan so I can't section off any part with a gate. It has been a challenge. I've placed pads in spots that she's gone before and I no longer allow her to see me clean up her mess as I sometimes thinks she goes off the pad on purpose. Is this possible at such a young age? I just don't feel successful at much. Crate training, I don't think, is going well. I read that feeding her in her crate is a good idea because it would make the crate a happy place. So, I did that. I also would periodically put her in her crate for minutes at a time with door open. She never cried. She even would go in there on her own. She can hold it for a long time as she slept in my lap for 5 hours one night. That was like day 4 or 5 with us. So, the next night, she fell asleep with me and I moved her to her crate. She was fine. She settled in and was fast asleep. I got up 3 hours later to check on her and she was still asleep in her crate. Yay! Then a couple of hours later, my husband got up and let her out and she did her business outside! yes, success. Then when he fed her, he happened to feel the blanket inside was wet. So, that is when going in her crate became a habit. So, I thought maybe it was too long in between even though I know she can go a long time. I started getting up every 2 hours and letting her out. I'd take her out. She'd refuse to go or she'd go and then still go in her crate when I put her back in there. I don't know how to break her of this. And.. another crate training behavior thing I read was about "time out." Ellie gets very rough and growly and well, "mean." I don't know how to calm this behavior so I read about "time out" and how all play stops. This worked for the last pup I had (but I had the kitchen to put her in). So, I read that you can use the crate for this.. remove all the bedding, put them in for a few minutes, walk away. Only for a few minutes, then take them out. So, we started doing that. I think she gets a little upset at this and she leaves a droplet of pee in there. That's not what I'm talking about though. I understand that kind of pee. She's in trouble so she's upset and she pees a bit. Today, it was 30 minutes before feeding time and she stood in the kitchen where we prepare her food. My daughter asked if it was time and I explained that it was a little too early that I can't feed her at that time every day so we need to wait 30 minutes. My daughter left the kitchen and went to sit down in the living room. Ellie left the kitchen too. Went to her crate and looked right at me while she peed on all bedding in there. Less than 30 minutes before she peed outside. I think that was deliberate. I just remove the bedding, wash it and put it back in there. I do have alternate bedding (for now it's just a fleece blanket and a sheet) so I swap it out while I wash it. So.. in summary... how do I get her not to bite and chew on my hands/arms/feet/legs all the time when she plays? Is timeout not a good idea? I do the time out when she gets overly out of hand and refuses to stop after many no's and diversions to chewing toys. How do I get her to stop using her crate as a wee wee pad? We have a huge bean bag chair that my daughters lounge around on. Ellie loves it and apparently has come to think it is hers. My daughter went to sit with her on it and she growled and went to bite her. In the crate she went with no bedding.. with a firm "no" and no play time. After a few minutes, we let her out. Now we no longer allow her on the bean bag chair. I take her off whenever she goes on it.... and soon after, she'll go and pee on the floor. Seriously. She does that. She also stopped going in the crate on her own. She'll take a nap anywhere but won't go in there on her own anymore, but we put her in there and close the gate. She's fine. She doesn't cry. She just settles in and goes to sleep. So, I don't know what to do to get her to stop going in her crate. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Lisa
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Okay, there's a lot here and I'm sure other members of the forum will be along shortly with more advice. I'm still a novice lab owner/trainer, so I'll just offer some advice on what I feel certain of and others can help you with the rest! First of all… you say she is 8 weeks today and you got her 2 weeks ago? So you would have gotten her at 6 weeks old. You can't change this now, but you should know that puppies who are taken from their siblings and mother early tend to have more problems with biting and bite inhibition than those that stay the other 2 weeks and get more "feedback" and learning from the mom and other pups as to how hard they can bite and it be okay. You can definitely still work on the biting and she can be fine - just know this might be an area you really have to focus on while training. I'd recommend reading Ian Dunbar's free books (you can get them as PDFs) - before you bring the puppy home and after. He talks about bite inhibition (teaching the puppy to bite soft, and then not to bite at all) and house training in a lot of detail so that might be helpful for you. The other thing I want to say is that she is not peeing "in defiance" of you or doing it "on purpose". Puppies that little often don't know when they need to go. They also enjoy peeing on fabric, so if the rest of your floors are wood and she has fabric in her crate, that might be a reason why she likes to go pee in her crate. But really, it may SEEM like she is just peeing to spite you, but I promise you, she is not thinking that way. An eight week old puppy is just thinking "lalala i like life, mmm chew chew chew, oh I'm peeing, okay moving on" - it's very much a growth thing and bladder control thing. Think of babies. Babies might pee/poo in their diapers at really inopportune times, but you wouldn't get mad at a 6 month old for pooping right after you changed them… well you might be frustrated but you certainly wouldn't think they were doing it ON PURPOSE. It's the same with a puppy. You may need to take her out every 15-30 minutes at first while she's awake, unfortunately. You said she peed 30 minutes after she had just been out - well, my pup at 8 weeks did need to go out *that* frequently. It gets much better but the first few weeks are VERY tiring. In regards to using the time out, well, I use a time out with my pup but it's very structured and we don't' use the crate. If you're thinking she's overtired or due for a nap, I would just put her gently in the crate with something tasty to eat (check out the thread on stuffed Kongs) and let her have some quiet time. That wouldn't be a "time out" in my opinion, just putting her down for a nap type thing. It's also ok to separate yourself from her if you are frustrated if she is in a puppy safe space (playpen, crate, etc). Other people will be along to give you great advice so I'll leave that there. ALSO - welcome to the forum from me and my black lab girl Maisie! If you can figure out the photo function you should post a picture of your little darling!
Re: Lots of training questions -- long I posted Ellie's picture in my Introduction post. I also explained why I got her at 6 weeks. Her mom was a rescue and the pups were all thriving so the weaning of the pups began at 4 weeks. I can't remember exactly but my daughter says that the mama had heartworm or some other condition that was a reason for weaning and allowing us to take the pups so young. I read all about the bite inhibition and I think that is exactly what's going on. I'm trying to teach her and sometimes she's great and other times not so much. I am trying to remind myself that she's just 8 weeks and have patience but it's a real challenge. The house training is especially frustrating. I know she's a pup. I know she has accidents. It just doesn't seem like accidents. I know. Patience. I'm trying to tell myself that but it sure doesn't seem that way. She doesn't need to go every 15 minutes. I know there are excitement pees that happen and that's ok. There are nervous pees and that's ok too. Well, I mean, it's all ok... it's just trying to figure out her timing. I'm hopeful that things will get better now that she knows us a little better and we know her a little better. She can not go at night for up to 5 hours. During the day might be more challenging since she has more in her as far as food and water so we do get her out often. The rain is a real issue as she doesn't want to go out in it. We'll make her go out anyway and she'll just look at us and stand at the door. Too funny! lol I know this will come in time as she gets older. She'll learn to just get out there, go and come back. Thanks for your reply. I will check out the Ian Dunbar free books. I know this is what's happening. I've read a little on it but I haven't learned anything that's been helping though I will say that she's gotten a little better just not consistently yet. I guess patience is the key to it all.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Hello! An 8 week old puppy does nothing deliberately in order to annoy you - even and adult does doesn't do that. Dogs don't think like that, they just don't. And your pup is just a baby, just like a human baby isn't capable of doing anything deliberately to annoy you, neither is a baby dog. So no, the weeing in the crate etc. is not deliberate. As above, yes, you got a puppy at six weeks old (which I know you can't change now) but that does mean the puppy has missed a fair bit of necessary interaction with its mother and siblings. This means you should be extra careful about allow bite inhibition to develop. You can read about this here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/teaching-bite-inhibition-to-your-labrador-puppy/ It sounds like you are getting a bit muddled with the toilet training. First, why are you using puppy pads? The encourage a puppy to toilet inside - this is just confusing, toilet inside? Or toilet outside? And a puppy cannot hold wee when it is awake like it can when its asleep. It's perfectly normal for a sleeping puppy to go a while without waking to pee but a puppy that's awake to practically need to wee constantly (it seems). At 8 weeks I took my pup out every 20 to 30 minutes when he was awake, he needed to go that often. Ellie isn't mean. She is just exploring the world through her mouth (and see above on bite inhibition) and left her mum before she learned a bit more. But all pups bite, and sometimes bite hard. These articles might help: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-when-your-labrador-puppy-bites/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-puppy-biting/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/help-my-labrador-puppy-is-aggressive/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-an-overexcited-labrador-puppy/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-when-biting-gets-out-of-hand/ Time out is a punishment for a puppy. How punishing a dog finds it depends on the dog. I would say that a puppy who is weeing when put in time out finds it very punishing. I'd leave this technique until she is a bit older and able to cope. It's also not a good idea to use the puppy's crate as a punishment area - this isn't going to make her feel good about her crate, or not weeing in it. Maybe you are scaring her when you remove her from the bean bag and she is weeing in fear? Or, maybe it's a coincidence. But your puppy is not capable of weeing to "get her own back on you" - she is a baby and not capable of reasoning out a way to get revenge (no dog does that, in fact, even as adults).
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Firstly welcome from me and Meg who is just one. You have a super young pup there and I would not expect anything really at the moment whilst she adapts to her new life. Everything you describe it normal for a young pup and it will be a long time before you make great headway. So you both have a long way to go, but will get there. Maisiesmomma gives some great advice and others to will add no doubt. I am not going to answer each point but suggest you get some bedtime reading. Pippa's Puppy Handbook and Total recall will cover all of these issues sensibly and so much more. Also I would encourage you to read all the old threads. You will learn so much and realise everyone else has had the same issues and your pup is totally normal. Enjoy her and share some photos? We all love puppy pics. Kind Regards, Emma. oops sorry didn't see the other posts before me !
Re: Lots of training questions -- long I have already read all of those article.s. ;D We are doing exactly what it says about teaching bite inhibition. Play a bit with biting but then when she gets too rough, we stop play. I think she actually did a little better with that today. And if she continues to bite too hard after being told, that is when we take everything out of her crate and "punish" her... but only for a few minutes because I know she won't remember why she's in there if it's for too long. Tonight we talked about this and my husband seems to think she's made some progress. I think maybe I'm just feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. It is me who gets up in the middle of the night every night to take her out so I haven't had good sleep in 2 weeks. I feel good knowing that it's all normal and I shouldn't expect her to be housetrained in a couple of weeks though I have read that's all it should take. Then, a friend who has many dogs and always does, said it takes 6 months to be completely trained. So.. lots of conflicting info out there. Thanks to all for your advice. I'm reading Ian Dunbar now. I'll post some more pics. Lisa
Re: Lots of training questions -- long [quote author=NewLabOwner link=topic=10297.msg151373#msg151373 date=1427071116] And if she continues to bite too hard after being told, that is when we take everything out of her crate and "punish" her... [/quote] Which article says this? I don't see anywhere in the articles that there is a reference to taking anything out of her crate. There is a reference to calming an over excited puppy by putting her in her crate - is that the one you mean? This is not in reference to normal puppy biting, or a regular thing. It's about when a puppy is completely over excited, and there is certainly no reference to a "stern no" as you describe in your previous posts. Or perhaps you mean something I've missed?
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Welcome to you Lisa. Both of mine were pretty much house trained by 12 weeks old. But we still had the occasional accident until 16 weeks. I didn't trust either of them on carpet 'till they were 5 months old. You have a very normal, very young, puppy. Give her time, enjoy her, don't try to rush things.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long You're getting a lot of really good advice here but I just wanted to add my experience, for what it's worth. Please, please, please make sure you work really hard on good socialisation with other dogs with your pup when she's old enough, in fact the sooner you can start the better. The reason I say this is that I too had my puppy given to me at a little over six weeks old. This was due to the breeder lying to us and telling us she was older than she was - we were told she was just under eight weeks when we would collect her. We know have a lot of problems with other dogs which I am convinced are all linked to Penny being taken away from her mother too early. Between the age of six and eight weeks the pups should be learning valuable socialisation skills from their litter mates and mother. Penny missed out on all of this and is now clueless about what to do with other dogs. During this time they also learn bite inhibition and we had terrible problems with her mouthing and biting us. At eight or nine weeks old your pup can visit any of your friends or family who have dogs as long as they are up to date with all vaccinations, and friendly and gentle with little pups too of course. She can play indoors or in a secure garden/yard area that only those dogs go to. Then once she is old enough and has finished her vaccinations you can take her to puppy classes and out for walks to meet other dogs.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Hello from Molly (18 months) and me. Ellie is very young. She has no control over her bladder or her bowels. There is no point in punishing her for what she cannot control. And it will be some weeks yet before she can control them. I am with Julie on the training pads. Using them in the house gives them permission to wee inside, and then you have to train them not to. Twice as much work! Taking them outside every 30 minutes is a bind, but it is the way to help them to learn where you want them to go. Make sure you praise her when she does, you will soon recognise 'the squat and squirt'. I would give her a command while she did it (in my case 'be clean' and reward her after. When her little systems are mature enough she will have the control to do what you want, but until then you have to do her thinking for her. Make sure you clean up any accidents with a proper enzyme cleaner specially made for the job, like Simple Solution. Ordinary cleaners don't work, no matter how fastidious you are, they leave behind a tiny smell (which you cannot detect) which says to the dog "This is the place to pee" and they do. The biting is another thing. It took me completely by surprise. Nothing I did stopped her. My hands were a network of scabs and recently bites. She was learning Bite Inhibition. And it was another of those Maturity things. I cannot tell you how great it was when it stopped at about 18 weeks. Today I would trust her mouth anywhere. You have a few weeks of hard work ahead of you, but it is so worth it.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long If I can chime in quickly... Monty is now 14 weeks. My Lord I wished I had visited this site earlier. Since he is a Spaniel, we knew what we were letting ourselves in to. We were prepared. Or so we thought. No matter how much you read, we still TOTALLY underestimated it! I wish wish wish I'd known about this forum beforehand for reassurance. We struggled through with cuts, bruises, tears, lack of sleep and everything that first week. It was hardcore! But honestly, all that hard work really pays off and he is quickly becoming a lot more sensible (relatively speaking!) Stick with it and everything everyone above has said is spot on. You'll look back at these days and laugh!
Re: Lots of training questions -- long I think the first weeks with your new puppy are rather like bringing a young baby into the house but with time, patience and love your puppy will gradually mature sometimes without you even really noticing. As others have said I would get rid lf the wee wee pads; I've never really understood their purpose and its just a learned response which your puppy will have to unlearn and start using just the outside space available. Also try to introduce your puppy to some older dogs asap as they learn so much from these encounters. An older dog will tolerate the puppy's play but will put him/her in their place if they start getting too rough more effectively than we can and they also learn doggy body language. Try and follow the brilliant advice given here and you will see improvement but i will take time as your puppy is so young.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long [quote author=JulieT link=topic=10297.msg151374#msg151374 date=1427072112] [quote author=NewLabOwner link=topic=10297.msg151373#msg151373 date=1427071116] And if she continues to bite too hard after being told, that is when we take everything out of her crate and "punish" her... [/quote] Which article says this? I don't see anywhere in the articles that there is a reference to taking anything out of her crate. There is a reference to calming an over excited puppy by putting her in her crate - is that the one you mean? This is not in reference to normal puppy biting, or a regular thing. It's about when a puppy is completely over excited, and there is certainly no reference to a "stern no" as you describe in your previous posts. Or perhaps you mean something I've missed? [/quote] I have read so much in the last couple of weeks that I cannot tell you exactly where I read this. Yes, I'm talking about being overexcited. Basically, it's a "time out" not necessarily a punishment. Punish is not the correct word to use. It's a time out. Quick removal of the situation. She bites me too hard and I give a stern "no" a few times and when she continues to bite increasingly harder, I give her a timeout. If she continues to bite me but is more gentle, I don't do the time out. I also NEVER time out for going wee wee in the house. Though I'm frustrated and as I explained earlier, it certainly SEEMS like she's doing it on purpose, deep down I know she doesn't. I think I just needed that reassurance. Lisa
Re: Lots of training questions -- long I should just add, that The Happy Puppy Handbook is my absolute bible. If you've not got it, order it now!
Re: Lots of training questions -- long When Juno was in the biting phase I used go squeal if she applied too much pressure, just as her litter mates would, and if she did not stop I would squeal much louder and if she did not stop I would then move away from her and not interact for a few minutes then offer a different toy to play with. I did not allow her to apply much pressure so yelped quite quickly and she quickly learnt what was and was not acceptable. It proved quite useful when she was teething and her gums at the back were hurting as she would use my fingers to apply pressure where it was hurting but without hurting me. Weeing in the house is best ignored and just cleared up but I always took Juno straight into the garden in the nope she would wee again. If not I would take her out again after 30 mins and continue until she did wee and was praise. I also took her out after every play time or sleep time and a couple of times during the night when she was little. It is very hard and very tiring but it does get better in a very short period of time. I second Jaymz on the Happy Puppy Handbook, and get your family to read it as well as it helps to establish continuity in what you do. I read it twice before collecting Juno and made my husband read it and have referred to it at different times
Re: Lots of training questions -- long [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10297.msg151411#msg151411 date=1427111942] I think the first weeks with your new puppy are rather like bringing a young baby into the house but with time, patience and love your puppy will gradually mature sometimes without you even really noticing. As others have said I would get rid lf the wee wee pads; I've never really understood their purpose and its just a learned response which your puppy will have to unlearn and start using just the outside space available. Also try to introduce your puppy to some older dogs asap as they learn so much from these encounters. An older dog will tolerate the puppy's play but will put him/her in their place if they start getting too rough more effectively than we can and they also learn doggy body language. Try and follow the brilliant advice given here and you will see improvement but i will take time as your puppy is so young. [/quote] Initially, I didn't lay wee wee pads down and the first day, she went outside the entire time. The next day, she went in the house and wouldn't go out. It's been a back and forth thing. She goes outside, I pick up the pads, then she goes in the house. Right now, she seems to understand that going on the pads AND going outside is correct. At least, while in the house, and especially the last couple of days while it's been raining, she doesn't want to go out so she goes to the pads, which is far better than going on the floor. So, I kind of defaulted back to the pads because she was going all over the house.. different spot all the time. With the wee wee pads, she at least goes in the same spot on the pads. At your suggestion, I'll work on that this week. I'll pick up all the pads and get her to go out more often. Of course, it's still raining today so I don't know how well that's going to work, but I can at least start. As for other dog socialization, I do plan on doing that. She's only had one round of vaccinations. The foster mom said she got the distemper round but her paper work says dhpp. I didn't think the dhpp was given until 10 weeks so I'm a little confused. I'll just bring the paperwork with me to the vet when I go. My understanding is that she's due for her next round in 2-4 weeks. I do have a friend who is a vet so I could maybe do some dog socialization with her and also another friend who has already mentioned getting together in the summer after her shots for doggie play time. I'll talk to her about possibly getting together before that. Thanks for the suggestions and reassurance that I have a normal pup. I'll post some more pics soon. Where should I post them? In this thread or is there another place? Lisa
Re: Lots of training questions -- long [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10297.msg151415#msg151415 date=1427112907] get your family to read it as well as it helps to establish continuity in what you do. I read it twice before collecting Juno and made my husband read it and have referred to it at different times[/quote] Ditto. We bought two copies and both read it multiple times. My copy is completely dog eared and I've highlighted key sections so I can quickly refer to them in times of desperation (and from the dog-eared-ness of the book, there have been many!)
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Just looked up and DHPP is distemper, hepatitis, parvo and parainfluenza, so you're OK on the socialisation side as long as the older dog has up to date vaccination. The second vaccination is usually 3 weeks after the first but as Ellie is so young I would check with your vet as the first jab isn't usually to around 8 or 9 weeks of age. I would encourage Ellie out even if it's raining as you don't want her to be fussy about the weather when she goes out. Juno isn't at all bothered about the weather, she seems to prefer going out for a wee when it's pouring with rain with a gale blowing but I guess that's the fun of having a labrador Please post more pics soon, either on this thread or just the Labrador chat although I'm not an expert on where to post. Just remember when you're finding it hard some days are better than the others and it's all worth it when your pup comes to you to play or for a fuss and they look at you with those soft Labrador eyes - oh and of course there's always lots of help and support here on the forum
Re: Lots of training questions -- long Hello! You've had some excellent advice here. I would add my voice to those encouraging you to get a copy of the Happy Puppy Handbook. I read it both before and since getting my puppies and it was an invaluable resource. It opened my eyes and mind to the prospect of training my puppy using only positive methods, and that's something that I still aspire to do (I'm not always completely successful, but am trying my hardest). Toilet training is hard work and often very frustrating, so I feel your pain - and exacerbated by sleepless nights, it can all seem just too much! As Jaymz said, even if you think you're completely prepared, NOTHING can truly prepare you for the upheaval of having a Labrador puppy in your life. Try two I know there's so much information out there, and so much of it conflicting. I'm pretty sure I read the whole of the internet before bringing the mischief home. It is truly overwhelming. I was given a good bit of advice a while back, which was try to ensure you're only following the advice of positive methods trainers. If an article mentions dominance or any type of aversive (punishment), then walk away from it. Especially at this age, your puppy is learning so much. You want her to learn that you're a safe and fun person to be around. By saying you're taking the blankets out of the crate, that makes it sound like a punishment; it's not simply putting in there because she's over-tired and needs to snooze, because otherwise those blankets would stay in there so she's comfortable. Similarly, using a stern tone of voice should not be necessary at all and may scare her if she thinks you're threatening (after all, a stern tone is used to say you mean business). When she bites too hard, you can try to yelp, as mentioned, but don't do it loudly enough to scare her. I started this with Willow, but very soon found that the most effective thing was simply to remove my attention. Completely. Not even making eye contact. So, when we were doing that kind of playing, I would crouch down rather than sitting, so that immediately she got too hard, I could stand up within a second, cross my arms and look away. I would then re-initiate play as soon as she was calm, usually within a couple of seconds. Rinse and repeat. I found, using this method, that "time-outs" were only necessary when she was over-tired and playing the fool. On these occasions, I'd pop her in her crate with a cheery "time for a snooze!" or similar, and let her settle down. Invariably, she'd fall asleep within a couple of minutes. Ellie is still only tiny, and I think we often expect far too much too soon. She has no way of understanding that she shouldn't go to the toilet in the house until she's been trained to - and this may take a long time, far longer than you think. Some dogs are far quicker at learning this than others, for no apparent reason. Of my two, Willow took a lot more learning and had far more accidents than her brother, Shadow, who picked it up almost immediately. I should state that we got Shadow several weeks after Willow, but he hadn't been house trained as he lived in a (very nice, spacious) outbuilding at nighttimes and a big outdoor puppy pen during the day. So you would assume he'd have been more difficult to house train, but no. How big is Ellie's crate? It should only be big enough that she can just stretch out in it, no bigger. Puppies instinctively want to keep their dens clean, so will try their hardest not to go in them. If the crate is too big, she won't associate it as a cosy den, so is more likely to toilet in it. And once they start toileting in their crate, it can be hard to stop them. If you don't already, get an enzymatic cleaner, such as Simple Solution, and use it to thoroughly clean anywhere inside that she goes to the toilet. The smell of wee is enough for a dog to think it's OK to go to the toilet in that place, and can even encourage it. Regular floor cleaners often have ingredients in them that mimic this smell, so you're more likely to have "accidents" indoors. Of course, dogs' noses are so much more sensitive than ours that even if you think you've got rid of every trace, they can still smell a tiny little bit. Simple Solution smells quite nice, too. Sorry, this has turned into War and Peace! I'm sure you want to do the absolute best for little Ellie and everything can get very overwhelming, especially at this stage when you're not getting much sleep. Good luck and I hope you start seeing improvements soon.
Re: Lots of training questions -- long [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10297.msg151427#msg151427 date=1427116775] Just looked up and DHPP is distemper, hepatitis, parvo and parainfluenza, so you're OK on the socialisation side as long as the older dog has up to date vaccination. The second vaccination is usually 3 weeks after the first but as Ellie is so young I would check with your vet as the first jab isn't usually to around 8 or 9 weeks of age. I would encourage Ellie out even if it's raining as you don't want her to be fussy about the weather when she goes out. Juno isn't at all bothered about the weather, she seems to prefer going out for a wee when it's pouring with rain with a gale blowing but I guess that's the fun of having a labrador Please post more pics soon, either on this thread or just the Labrador chat although I'm not an expert on where to post. Just remember when you're finding it hard some days are better than the others and it's all worth it when your pup comes to you to play or for a fuss and they look at you with those soft Labrador eyes - oh and of course there's always lots of help and support here on the forum [/quote] Maisie doesn't much like peeing outside in the rain either. What helps with her is that I put peeing on a cue - "do your business" for us, but lots of people use different things. There's advice elsewhere in the forum on how to do it (and I honestly don't remember how I did it - I just kept saying it, and as it was bad weather, she just went because she wanted to go inside, and eventually learned what it meant). Something that helped with our potty training (besides age and time) was giving an EXTRA SPECIAL treat outside, that they never get. Our trainer said it was like you had 2 bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs, why would you go to use the upstairs bathroom if you're already in the downstairs one? The downstairs one is obviously your house/inside! The reason why you would go upstairs is if you knew every time you used it, you got $100. So you need to give a $100 treat like cheese or hot dog or something tasty and stinky (sardine?) to cement - ooooh going outside is SO much better! That might help with the weather, too, by giving her a motivator.
