SOS please help with my new puppy

[Lunna]

Hi everyone!!!

I need all the help I can get from you guys. I have a 3 month old name Lunna and have no idea how to train her.Ive got her foor a little over a month now. I take her out for long walks twice a day, but she hardly "goes" outside. I have no idea how to potty train her and she destroys everything within her reach when I leave the house. I try not to leave her alone for long and always take her for a walk before I leave the house. Although I had pets growing up, thiis is my first experience as a dog owner by myself. I have a 4 y/o daugther and we are all crazy about lunna, but we need tons of help. thanx

jessie

[sutsibe]

Ok. To start, can you get a dog crate to use for her? If you can keep her in a confined area when you aren't home or can't watch her, it will help keep her from being destructive and help with housetraining. The crate should be big enough for her to stand up in and turn around in - there are many that you can buy a size large enough for her when she'll be full grown, but that have a panel you can put in to make it smaller for the time being. Dogs generally don't like to mess the space they're in - their beds or "home". Be prepared for loud complaints and some rather rough language from your pup, telling you how you are abusing her by restricting her from doing the things she wants to do - and that you don't want her to do!

You could also confine her to a small room when you can't watch her, leaving papers down for her to use, which is helpful if you have to be gone for longer periods of time when nobody can take her out. Puppies can hold their bladders for approximately 1 hour for every month of age - so she should be able to wait about 3 hours at this point. I prefer to get them used to "going" outside as much as possible, however, so that they have a strong aversion to "going" in the house at all!

Set a schedule, and stick to it as much as possible! Feed her at the same times each day, and don't leave food down so that she can eat whenever she wants. This will help get her "going" on a schedule. When you take her out, take her to the area where you want her to eliminate, and pretty much keep her to that area, so that she isn't distracted by lots of interesting sights, sounds, and smells. Praise her lavishly when she does go (be silly - who cares if you look foolish if she thinks it's a reward that is worth not eliminating in your house?), and then give her a walk to wear off some energy. If she won't eliminate fairly promptly, and you have the time, put her back into her crate, and take her out again in a little while. If you can do this on a day when you aren't rushed (going to work, etc.) and devote the day to it, it will be immensely helpful! Pick up water about 2.5 hours before bed - or maybe even a little earlier, and let her play with an ice cube! It will quench her thirst with less liquid.

Here are a couple of links that should be useful - more info than I can easily fit into this post. There are other, earlier posts on housetraining, as well... Good luck!

http://www.housetrainingapuppy.org/

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2114&aid=157

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/housetraining_puppies.html

[Lee&Falks]

Also you mention taking on long walks, with puppies it is important to not walk them for too long as they are growing everyday and it can be bad for them. The general rule is 5 minutes per month.

Good luck with your training