Hi all.. I just joined recently and now I'm here seeking the help I want/need.. the dreaded potty training among other things.
A little background:
We have 2 yorkiepoo (yorkshire terrier/poodle) puppies just hitting 4 mths. old. We've had the boys (the runt and the baby of the same litter) for about 6 weeks and they are not fully trained but getting better as I've not really expected them to be perfect within the first few weeks we've had them. We were originally getting 1 but the runt weasled his way in and tada .. here he is. Love them both to death.. no going back now.
Ok so on to my situation.... any assistance/suggestions are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. Please be forewarned, that this may get quite lengthy.
1) I have a puppy pad..which both use to do their business. However, Connor (the baby) will pee on the pad but not pooh. Pooh, he reserves for under the table. Fergus (the runt) will pooh on the pad but not pee. Pee, he reserves for the hardwood floor and occasionally the area rug. He will stop wherever he is and just pee.
I'm just wondering if there is any way to get both of them to use the pad for both jobs? They were semi paper trained when we got them. Now I take them out every morning before work, for 20-30 mins and they do their business outside. Also, in the early evening for roughly 90 mins sometimes more and lately late evening for about 20-30 mins. However, they don't always go outside on their evening walks, which is the ultimate goal. My teens will take them out during the day if they are home.
I personally am not a fan of the pads, especially in the scenario where the owner eventually wants their puppy/dog to learn to go outside for the bathroom. The reason is that this can cause a lot of confusion, teaching your dogs to pee/poo inside and then attempting to teach them outside.
The reason your one puppy is using the area rug is because he's learned that he pee's on certain round or square objects inside the house. Puppies don't discriminate from a pad, newspaper, or rug. I highly reccomend losing the pads if you're determined to house-train outside.
Just continue to monitor both of them, putting them outside whenever they wake up, after they eat, and after they play. Consistancy and patience are the key here. (And if you haven't already, make sure that you clean your area rug extremley well...if you can get a new one all together, I'd suggest that.)
2) Both boys love to jump and are very excitable when they see other dogs or people (adults and children). They tug on the lease hopping on their hind legs trying to get over to the new face and they basically feed off each other and bark excitedly. I've told my fiancé and teens to ignore them and walk away when they jump up on them but this is still taking quite some time. When I'm with them outside (I'm the one walking them on most occasions) I shorten their lease and tell them to sit and stay. It works for a few seconds and then Fergus will jump up and get Connor riled up, and vice versa, to start jumping and barking again.
Does anyone have any other suggestions in addition to what I'm doing already to help stop the jumping and excessive barking with excitement?
Start walking them individually. This might not be convienent, but is there any way to have another family member take them in the other direction while you take the second puppy? This also helps teach them not to become too dependent on one another, and at first you may see a lot of hesistation to split them up. It will be key to rehabilitating and addressing any bad behavior - it will be a much harder task for you to attempt on your own with both at the same time.
As for the jumping up, this is a bad habit that a lot of small breed dogs aquire because most owners bend down to say hello. It teaches the dog to meet them half-way, and most jumping isn't detered at first because they are so small.
Shortening the leash can also cause unintended leash frustration - they will associate the tension on the leash to something about to happen, which most likely won't help your situation. Putting them in a sit/stay is good, in theory, but certainly won't work with the two puppies together, especially while they are learning.
You want to redirect their focus back on you, so changing the pace often works. It will be important for your puppies to learn how to properly say hello, which starts first with your family. If all the members are on board with the new training regime, it will work. If not, it simply won't.
When greeting the puppies, never say hello to them or give them attention if they are barking or jumping up. Avoid eye contact until they are quiet and 'calm'. At this time, you and your family can go to them and give them attention.
3) The boys are not crated at night, which is something I thought about doing and wanted to do (having read quite a bit before getting the pups) but my fiancé is dead set against it. Fergus, we've learned is a garbage picker and loves pull the bin down dragging out everything he could possibly get at and trekking it all over the house. We've also noticed that Connor won't start anything, but joins in once Fergus gets the mess started.
Any suggestions on keeping them out of the trashcan and behaved at night?
Crate training. May I ask why is your fiance' against it? It's not only your safest option, your dogs will learn to love the crate. It will be a safe area for them, one that they love, and your future dog-groomers or vets won't have issues with them if they're used to being crated.
4) Young Fergus has recently learned to lift his leg to pee and mark his territory. Although quite funny/cute to see two lil pups lifting their leg and toppling over a bit, it's now something else to think about since Connor has started marking today. We're a bit worried they will start spraying in the house and we have to wait till November before they can get neutered.
Also, Fergus is an exited pee-er. When he gets your attention, he gets very excited and tinkles as he jumps around. However, this he doesn't do outside, only inside with us.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
Fergus is peeing out of submission. He's showing you and your family that he knows he's not top-dog. To start, when you do give him attention, avoid eye contact with touch and don't talk. See if that helps, and go from there.
You shouldn't neccessarily have a problem with marking, but this is always a chance. Don't fret about it, but do make sure you neuter your pups. It will help reduce their instinct to mark in the home.
5) Connor, my lil baby loves to hump the dogs at the park. It doesn't matter if the dogs are male, female, big or small. He'll even hump his brother, Fergus. I was thoroughly embarrassed when I first witnessed this but was told by another dog owner that it's a sign of dominance. My granddaughter will be crawling soon and I don't want Connor trying to hump her. Although he hasn't tried to hump our legs etc., it's still a concern.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
It can be dominance, sometimes from stress. In your case, from what you've told us about your dogs - I'm thinking Connor is the more dominant dog, so yes - I'd gamble that it's just dominance. Generally dogs will figure it out for themselves at the dog park, don't be embarrassed. It happens a LOT. As for humping people, don't worry until it happens. If he does try to hump your granddaughter, your family may need to change the way they're handling Connor, but until it happens, try not to worry too much. I have a 15 month old daughter that grew up around our 10 month old labradoodle - a very dominant female - and we never had any problems.
I think that covers it for now... my memory fails me at this late hour.
I look forward to hearing/reading your comments/suggestions etc etc. I've been reading some of the other threads and I'm very thankful I found this forum.
Many thanks in advance.