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Old January 2nd, 2009, 08:50 PM
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Smiley14 Smiley14 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelrunpack View Post
Don't give in. Grace was like that, too. She was 2 years old when she came, and had been kept in the garage. I think she used to pee and poop in there, too. So we had to convince her that outside was the place to be. She came in late summer and her first winter was a struggle. She, too, would run back up to the door if it were raining or too cold and beg to be let in.

How did we fix it? First, we dressed warm. As long as you and she are both dressed warmly, try to convince her to come out into the yard and wait her out. If you have a spot shoveled for the dogs to go in, it'll make it easier. Try to get her to chase you, to get into a zoomie mood, to get silly with you. Once you get her away from the house, keep giving her the command to do her business until she goes. Using a leash will help, too, since you can guide her to "the spot". Once she goes, follow up with praises...and run like crazy for the house. She'll finally associate "going in" with "going potty"!

We started from scratch with Grace, too. It was easier for us than it probably will be for you, because Grace at least a few months' experience before the bad weather set in. But treating Jelly like a wee little pup and going from there is the way to go.

Grace finally got the message, and she's just abut 100% now.

Good luck, and we're praying for warmer weather for you and Jelly!

Thanks Hazel! I guess my main question is how much do I push to keep her out there vs when does it get too dangerous for a Boston? They have only a single coat and it's very thin. They cannot handle extreme temps. Jelly's belly is completely bare. Belle LOVES the snow and cold, but on some days, even she can only handle a few minutes of it. Many times, she comes in holding up a back leg with a paw so cold she can't even set it down. I worry about frost bite and nerve damage in this temperature while I'm doing the battle of the wills/overcoming fear. It does sound like they get over the fear thing eventually, so I'll have to keep on fighting the fight I guess and just keep out stints outside short because of the extreme cold. Ugh, I HATE potty training!!!! LOL! Belle ALWAYS goes out with her and she sees P&B both going to the bathroom out there. But so far, she is not following their lead in this area like she has with everything else. I do bundle her up, but there is still some parts exposed to the elements and it doesn't seem to make a difference to her.
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