Puppy Training-Need To Vent

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
So, I was booted from a FB group yesterday for being sensible, instead of feeding into someone's "poor me" post. This woman had posted a few weeks ago that she had just adopted a GR, and had a crate on end with the pup standing up with her head out the door. Someone asked about it and she said, it was just one of those cute things that happened and she took a pic. Got it. Been there, done that. No harm, no foul.

Yesterday she posts about how frustrated she is with potty training. People start asking questions to try and figure out how they can help. In the end, what we learn is that the puppy isn't actually being potty trained. There is no one in the house between first thing in the morning and some time in the afternoon, when her daughter gets home from school. She says she works 3 jobs, and has 3 children. I've looked at her FB page, and I don't think any of her children are old enough to be home unsupervised. In addition, she has pics of her girls at different events, being involved in sports and other activities. These are all good things, but I digress. So her complaint is that the puppy is crapping everywhere. On her carpet, on her hard wood floors, in her crate. She has 2 small dogs that she has trained to do their business on piddle pads while everyone is away all day. Puppy doesn't get it, but obviously thinks it's okay to poop in the house, since the other dogs do. She's saying that she thinks she's going to have to make her GR an outdoor dog, since it's not catching on. She's basically expecting this puppy to potty train itself.

In my Auntie Biatche fashion, I tell her that she needs to return the puppy to the breeder, so someone who has time for the puppy can adopt it, since she plainly does not have time.

People, if you want a pet, you have to be responsible for it. You can't leave an 8 week old puppy alone for 8+ hours a day. Who the hell is feeding the puppy? No one. No one is feeding it, walking it, supervising it, loving it, or training it. The thought of the things this puppy could get into and choke to death, hang itself, or God knows what has been foremost on my mind. This woman is somewhere out there in the cyberspace world, and there is not a damn thing I can do about what happens to the puppy. I tossed and turned last night, wondering if she had thrown this little puppy outside, all alone, in the dark, to be an "outside" dog. I'm not "one of those" animal people, but damn. I will drop what I'm doing to make sure my puppy is in the house before dark. Gilly took one week to potty train. Boomer has taken almost 2 months. No two dogs are alike. They will all learn at a different pace, just like children do.

So, if you're thinking about adopting a pet, and you work a full time job, or more, and you have numerous children in school, and there is no one home all day, and you don't plan to have someone come in and help, then do the puppies a favor. Don't adopt.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I'm not sure why people get pets they don't have time for. Especially puppies - at least cats can pretty much take care of themselves for a few hours.

You shouldn't have been the only one in the group to speak up.
 

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure why people get pets they don't have time for. Especially puppies - at least cats can pretty much take care of themselves for a few hours.

You shouldn't have been the only one in the group to speak up.

I wasn't. I think a more than a few people got the boot.
 

lucky_bee

RBF expert
biggest. pet. peeve. ....pun intended.

Had a friend last year, he's had dogs and they were good but never had a PUPPY. He was going about it all wrong and always asking for advice and never listening to it. I finally gave it to him straight and told him: your actions are directly affecting how your puppy is taking to training. You are its problem and these things you're doing with the pup are confusing him and are totally conterproductive to all the training you're trying to establish. Do X, Y, and Z and stop doing A, B, and C and you will see some results. He was a little annoyed at first that I didn't baby him about it but actually took my advice and the dog finally stopped peeing and pooping all over the house. People were just telling him "ohhh its ok he'll grow out of it, he's just a pup" NO. if you don't train a pup where to use the bathroom, you end up with an adult dog who still doesn't know where to use the bathroom! :sshrug: :banghead:
 

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
Seriously. And you can't have a puppy if you're going to freak out over your hard wood floors and carpet. I don't have carpet, but I do have hard wood floors. The puppy has pooped on them, and they are not ruined. However, I guess if I were gone all day, the poop and pee might do some damage-or at least start stinking up the house because it's soaking into the boards. After the carpet and floor fiasco, she probably started putting the puppy in the crate, and I have no doubt that the crate she was attempting to keep this large breed puppy in was one she had used for her miniature size dogs. If the puppy is doing it's business in this crate, it's all over the puppy every day.
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
A puppy can be trained, however, it takes consistency,patience and dedication. My daughter and granddaughter just adopted an 10 week old puppy last month. She and my granddaughter take the dog out every morning, rain or shine to do her business. When my granddaughter gets home from school, she takes the puppy out for a walk immediately. When my daughter gets home from work and after dinner, homework are finished, they walk her again for approximately 45 minutes and of course before they go to bed. The pup is put in her crate at nighttime and no accidents. You have to establish a routine with the pup so they are on a schedule that fits yours. Not saying an accident may not happen from time to time, but, remember when you were trying to potty train your kids...they slip every once in a while.
 

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
A puppy can be trained, however, it takes consistency,patience and dedication. My daughter and granddaughter just adopted an 10 week old puppy last month. She and my granddaughter take the dog out every morning, rain or shine to do her business. When my granddaughter gets home from school, she takes the puppy out for a walk immediately. When my daughter gets home from work and after dinner, homework are finished, they walk her again for approximately 45 minutes and of course before they go to bed. The pup is put in her crate at nighttime and no accidents. You have to establish a routine with the pup so they are on a schedule that fits yours. Not saying an accident may not happen from time to time, but, remember when you were trying to potty train your kids...they slip every once in a while.

When a puppy has an accident, there's a good chance that accident was your fault. Every-single-time Boomer had an accident, it was my fault, with the exception of when she had tummy issues from her worms, She has a follow-up fecal today for that today, btw. One also has to take into consideration that puppies bladders have not matured.

What you don't do is make an 8 or 10 week old puppy and "outside" dog. I'm hating this woman, and I don't even know her.
 

RareBreed

Throwing the deuces
I'm not sure why people get pets they don't have time for. Especially puppies - at least cats can pretty much take care of themselves for a few hours.

You shouldn't have been the only one in the group to speak up.
We inherited a Dalmatian from my sister in law who was a drunk and didn't take care of him. He had anxiety issues from the years with her. My husband would go home during the day and let him out to use the bathroom because he'd wet if he was alone too long. I remember being in the hospital in labor with our second son and he'd leave to go home periodically to let the dog out. It's the price we paid when we took in the dog but we knew that beforehand and accepted it whole-heartedly
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
Nope, dont believe in outside dogs either. Like I said, when your kids are being potty trained, they have accidents, same with pups. Cant expect perfection right away, but, it will come. I got my four legged daughter when she was 8 weeks old. I had her completely housebroke in a month, but in that month time, she may have piddled on the rug. After she was housebroke, never had an accident and she lived to be 18 years old. All I'm saying is, not to expect any accidents is, imho, unrealistic. Potty training isnt done in a day.
 

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
I might be the only one - because my wife uses the same phrase - but why do people use the term "potty training" when they mean "house training"?

I absolutely laughed out loud, hard, when I first heard someone phrase it that way - "you've trained your dog to use the potty? You're a god!".

I realize lots of people say it, and everyone knows what it means, but it always sounds weird to my ears.
 
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