Overexcitement when cleaning up accidents

[Shanti Lall]

Hi everyone. Okay, first question: we are paper training Florrie, our 9 week old lab/bc/springer puppy. But each time we start cleaning up one of her accidents, she goes a bit manic, tries to steal the soiled piece of kitchen towel or j cloth and then tears around madly ('zoomies'). Anyone else had this? Any ideas about how to stop her?

She also seems to eat (not just chew) things like concrete, wallpaper, cardboard, the edge of pee pads. Is this normal and could it harm her?

Thanks for any advice - new puppy owners!

 

[JoanneF]

Baby gates or a pen are useful for containing puppies when you need them not to be in about what you are doing. At her age everything is new and exciting so it is understandable that she is doing all this. You can also give her something like a Kong toy with a frozen filling to occupy her while you do other things.

Do try to stop her eating things. Paper and cardboard may not do her much harm but concrete could and besides that, it is a habit you don't want in case she picks up something that really could do damage.

I hate puppy pads though. They give mixed messages to puppies about whether indoor toileting is allowed or not and create confusion, and slow down toilet training. Better to set her up to succeed by taking her out frequently. Aim for every toilet to be outdoors and give her huge praise and reward when she does.

 

[JudyN]

Make sure she has plenty of things she is allowed to chew on, and that will be rewarding for her, such as the sorts of toys you can rub liver paste or whatever, frozen Kongs, and bones.

 

[Shanti Lall]

Baby gates or a pen are useful for containing puppies when you need them not to be in about what you are doing. At her age everything is new and exciting so it is understandable that she is doing all this. You can also give her something like a Kong toy with a frozen filling to occupy her while you do other things.

Do try to stop her eating things. Paper and cardboard may not do her much harm but concrete could and besides that, it is a habit you don't want in case she picks up something that really could do damage.

I hate puppy pads though. They give mixed messages to puppies about whether indoor toileting is allowed or not and create confusion, and slow down toilet training. Better to set her up to succeed by taking her out frequently. Aim for every toilet to be outdoors and give her huge praise and reward when she does.

Thanks for that advice. We are planning to get baby gates to stop her going on the stairs since I'm worried this isn't be good for her joints.

It's difficult to take outside to toilet as our outside is a roof terrace and we don't want her going up and down stairs. The times we've tried taking her outside a little time after meals she hasn't done any business even when we've waited ages!

She has a few rope chew toys and other squeaky toys and a plush toy, all of which she loves chewing. She has got a kong but I haven't filled it with food because I was worried it would be overfeeding her. Also we don't have a freezer so can't use a frozen filling.

Any idea how we stop her eating things? We've tried bitter apply spray and she's not deterred by this. She's also not deterred by 'No', frowns, etc. Distracting her works, but then she goes back to the wallpaper, cardboard box or whatever a moment later!

 

[JudyN]

Stairgates are invaluable - my dog is 8 and we still use them!

Could you fill a large tray with turf and train her to go on that on the roof terrace? You might be able to use astroturf which would be easy to clean.

I would replace the cardboard box with a plastic one - or move it somewhere she can't get to it. Wallpaper is more of a problem. I think as well as distraction, I would give 'timeouts' - every time she goes for the wallpaper, pop her in a pen or behind a stairgate (you could put a lightweight house lead with no loop on her so you can lead her out), and leave her there, with no attention, for 5-10 seconds, then let her back in. That may sound like a very short timeout but if you leave it any longer she'll just find something else to eat, and it also allows for a LOT of repetitions. Expect to spend half your time putting her in timeout, letting her in and then having to put her straight out again, but eventually she'll twig that eating wallpaper means that the fun stops.

My dog seemed to like the taste of some bitter-apple-type sprays, but one I found worked better (sorry, I can't remember which). But I'm wary of spraying something around that a dog doesn't like as they'll probably be able to smell it from a long way off and not just taste it on the wallpaper.

You could try smearing a very thin layer of dog food, pate, peanut butter, cheese spread, etc. round the inside of a Kong so she doesn't get too much. But at her age you might be best sticking to proprietary products like 'Kong Stuff & Paste'. Also be aware that some peanut butters contain xylitol which is poisonous to dogs.

 

[JoanneF]

Can you make up a shallow box ( for your roof terrace, using compost and topped with turf from the garden centre? That would give her an outdoor space to learn to toilet and also make the transition to grass outside easier when the time comes.

For picking things up, train two things - 'leave it' (don't touch) and 'drop it' (give it to me).

If you look up Kikopup (she has loads of really good videos) there are a few on 'Leave It' and 'Drop It'.

 

[JoanneF]

Cross posted again - I had a call while typing and didn't think to check for replies! At least we suggested the same thing.

 

[Shanti Lall]

Stairgates are invaluable - my dog is 8 and we still use them!

Could you fill a large tray with turf and train her to go on that on the roof terrace? You might be able to use astroturf which would be easy to clean.

I would replace the cardboard box with a plastic one - or move it somewhere she can't get to it. Wallpaper is more of a problem. I think as well as distraction, I would give 'timeouts' - every time she goes for the wallpaper, pop her in a pen or behind a stairgate (you could put a lightweight house lead with no loop on her so you can lead her out), and leave her there, with no attention, for 5-10 seconds, then let her back in. That may sound like a very short timeout but if you leave it any longer she'll just find something else to eat, and it also allows for a LOT of repetitions. Expect to spend half your time putting her in timeout, letting her in and then having to put her straight out again, but eventually she'll twig that eating wallpaper means that the fun stops.

My dog seemed to like the taste of some bitter-apple-type sprays, but one I found worked better (sorry, I can't remember which). But I'm wary of spraying something around that a dog doesn't like as they'll probably be able to smell it from a long way off and not just taste it on the wallpaper.

You could try smearing a very thin layer of dog food, pate, peanut butter, cheese spread, etc. round the inside of a Kong so she doesn't get too much. But at her age you might be best sticking to proprietary products like 'Kong Stuff & Paste'. Also be aware that some peanut butters contain xylitol which is poisonous to dogs.

Thanks so much for this detailed reply. Will try some of these ideas.

 

[Shanti Lall]

Cross posted again - I had a call while typing and didn't think to check for replies! At least we suggested the same thing.

Thanks for the advice and ideas.

My husband wanted to train her to poo on the terrace (in a tray) so as not to need to when we (eventually) go out. Do you think this is feasible?

 

[JoanneF]

Do you think this is feasible?

Yes, absolutely. That said, a dog who will only toilet in one place can be a nuisance for you if you are away from home. What about teaching her to toilet on cue? Obviously if she doesn't need, she won't be able to do it on cue but if she does; it's handy to tell her when it is a convenient time.

 

[Shanti Lall]

Yes, absolutely. That said, a dog who will only toilet in one place can be a nuisance for you if you are away from home. What about teaching her to toilet on cue? Obviously if she doesn't need, she won't be able to do it on cue but if she does; it's handy to tell her when it is a convenient time.

Thank you.