Baby Doxie - Training Tips

[DubLovinDapple]

Hello All,

My wife and I just got a Mini Dapple last week. She is almost 7 weeks old. We have read a lot about them and have come to the conclusion that ours is very Stubborn and Brave in the same time, which can be a concern as she wants to jump from couch.

There are several things that we need help with.

1. Potty training-We bought a potty pad and the disposable absorbing pads, and on first day she did both #1 and 2, and we thought to ourselves great she I trained. The next day, she wanted to go on every carpet but the potty pad. When we catch her mid action, we move her to the potty pad and she just sits there and waits for us to let her go. Once that happens she runs for carpet.

2. Biting, we read that is part of their teething process and yes her teeth are sharp. We keep trying to distract her by using another toy but up to this point we kept yelling NO and giving a small tap on the nose, but that seems to make her "play" even harder. I've read here that you should not yell but use a different tone and make a sad facial expression. Have not tried that yet but will give it a shot.

3. Crate training - We bought her a crate and she goes in it willingly. However, with our work we cannot keep her in it as she will soil herself if she stays for too long. We understand that she cannot hold it for long period of time. We have isolated her in a corner of a living room where she has her crate, toy's and potty pad. Is this a bad idea or should we keep her crated even though she cannot hold it that long.

Aside of that My wife and I are very happy with her. We named her Henrie, and she has already brought us plenty of joy. Here is a picture of her.

 

[CaseyKC]

What a sweet little face! Welcome to the wonderful and sometimes frustrating world of being dachshund parents. I honestly believe that the key to raising a loving, happy, and well behaved dachshund is to remain calm no matter what the puppy does. Do not shout. It does no good anyway.
I can't speak to potty training on a pad because we have always taken our pups outdoors. This does not mean we didn't have indoor accidents, we just didn't use puppy pads. I do think when you start her outdoors that it would be helpful to take a small portion of a used puppy pad outdoors, put it in a dedicated potty spot and praise the daylights if/when she does her business there. The smell from the used pad will give her the idea that this is a good place to go.

About biting. She is most likely teething, but you don't want her to get into the habit of tasting humans, or to even think this is acceptable. Find a word such as "ouch" and say it in a different tone, high pitched or whatever you choose and do it consistently. Stop playing and give her a time out by herself. Although she is very young, if you are consistent she will eventually learn that play and fun time stops when she uses teeth on humans. This will take awhile, but stick to it. In the meantime, give her plenty of acceptable things to chew and freeze some wash cloths for supervised chewing to give her some short term teething relief. I have heard of a gel that you can get to rub on her gums, but you should ask you vet about that.

About crate training. I do think it is a good idea to get her used to a crate, but all day long is way to long to be crated. I think if you absolutely can't get home during the day to take her out, something like an X pen with puppy pads and an open crate to come and go to sleep or rest, while not ideal, is an okay alternative. We always had someone home, so I didn't have to think about that.

I would also try to get her used to using a ramp or stairs to prevent jumping off furniture. I started this to late and my Libby refuses to use either one.

Good luck and as I said, the key is to remain calm, consistent, and very, very, very patient!

 

[DubLovinDapple]

So, We have started saying Ouch in a painful voice, and retract our hands when she bites us. She tends to look at as in a what happened kind of fashion. I think if we continue this it might work. We are less loud around her.

We still cannot seem to get a grip on the potty training. We caught her twice in a matter of an hour trying to poop and caught her mid action and placed her on a potty pad and she just kept trying to run away and play. The way she acts is almost as if the pad is NOT where she should go. The only way we can get her to poop is to let her go and watch her when she starts sniffing around. She still has not had all of her shots, so we do not want to take her outside to potty. We tried once and she did not like the leash and kept trying to eat the grass.

As far as crate training is concerned, at this point we cannot keep her in it all night long, nor can we keep her in it all day long when were working.

Last night we crated her and she cried for 30 minutes initially and got quiet. She lasted 3 hours before she cried and we got up at 1 am to see her and she just wanted to play, not potty. After we left she cried for 20 minutes and lasted another 2 hours before crying again and she did potty that time. At 4 am we were too late and she soiled herself. We keep going back and fourth and trying to figure out what's best. So far we have not been consistent on the crate training. Its hard waking up in the middle of the night to see if she needed to potty or play.

This below is what we have made for her.

Casey, you mentioned to use a used pad and keep it in one area so she knows where she should potty. She does not seem to get the idea of going to the same spot. Its only until the last minute that we catch her mid action that we place her on the potty pad.