Jonesy (and her Mom)

[Jonesy's mom]

Hello All!

My boyfriend and I just got our new baby, Jonesy. She is a mini poodle/chihuahua mix and just adorable. Today is her third day with us and she's as perfect as any new puppy can be. Jonesy is 3 months old and has the most awesome temperament I've ever seen. She hasn't really barked (yet) which I hope will last because we live in an apartment and her little whining is just enough to get our attention.

She's very playful when she's not snoozing and is learning to potty in appropriate places, Yay!

I've never had a puppy before so caring for her feels like caring for a new baby. I would appreciate any advice you can offer, especially ones that relate to her breed mix.

We want to make some new puppy and human friends. Also, if anyone is in the DFW, Texas area please let me know of any meet and greet events as I do need to get this baby socialized as much as possible (and within her age tolerance) and I'm pretty new to the area myself.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Cia

[Deerie me]

Hello Cia and Jonesy. Welcome to the DP from Tracy and Deerhounds, Loki and Idun and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Libby in beautiful North Devon, England.

[kian]

Welcome, I am in the neighbouring state to the west of you! We do have another Texan, but she isn't that close. Your pup is cute, feel free to ask anything as we can direct you to a thread where your question maybe answered.

I'm Kian, the owner of two Aussies, Allie and Ice.

[RubyJeansMom]

Hi Cia and Jonesy

Welcome to the DP from RJM, Ruby, Kessler and Gizzie in Michigan

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Welcome to the Daily Puppy Cia and Jonesy, from Oliver & Henry, and their Mum in London, Ontario, Canada.

You should check out our Behaviour Section as the top threads are devoted to basic housetraining and other puppy issues. While breed mix might play a part, some of the most basic steps can be applied to any dog, in different living arrangements. We've had a lot of new puppies join lately. This seems to happen a great deal in the Spring.

I noticed Jonesy in the Recently Added Section and thought what a cutie she is.

[Jonesy's mom]

Wow - thanks for the responses

I'm so new to puppy stuff and she's getting really comfortable with us so her little personality is starting to come out. Boy is she stubborn sometimes lol! Her last owner had a different name for her so getting used to Jonesy is hit or miss with her.
This morning was...interesting. She doesn't sleep through the night (don't expect her to) so we got up around 3 to potty (missed the pee pee pad, but made it for a BM go figure). We played quietly (ha!) for about 45 minutes until it was back to bed. She's not whining so much now being in her makeshift crate (laundry basket turned upside down -- I'm looking for a real crate/kennel for her this weekend...$ ugh ) and she stayed cool until about 10 minutes before the alarm clocks went off. Nice. I didn't feed her immediately. Yesterday morning she was fed almost as soon as we woke up, but it was really early, like 4:30. I didn't want her to get used to eating so early so I kept her busy this morning until 6 ish. BF was able to have a semi peaceful yoga workout before work YAY! She was so ready for breakfast by the time 6 rolled around. I don't let her free feed throughout the day and I cut her off at 6 for the evening so to say she was excited is an understatement!!
Right after she ate BF was finished with his workout so he entertained her while I made his breakfast. I missed her potty queue though - she snagged a sip of water and was off to pee before I could direct her to the pee pee pad. I keep a notebook and she logged a "miss" at 7:10 (trying to understand her schedule and how long it takes after she eats/drinks before she has to go), but that was my bad for not paying close attention. Bad mommy!!!
It made for a semi stressful morning for us though. We're both new to puppies and keeping our emotions (frustration) in check is taxing. We didn't yell at her or anything. BF tried to scold her with a firm no, but he was too late. I read that you have to catch them in the act for it to work. So we had a discussion about it and I read him a few potty training articles so we could both be on the same page (BF is one of those "I'll believe it when I read it" kind of guys). We modified our strategy though, so hopefully we'll see some improvement in the next few days. We realized I was confusing her during the day. I take her for potty breaks outside and we also have an indoor pee pee pad. We think she just got confused because she was headed for the front door when I tried to grab her and direct her to the pad. She got it right - I didn't. So we're going to focus on just getting her to go on the pad (which she was doing relatively well until I started training her on one spot outside), and we moved the pad near the front door. I think we're back to square one, but she seems to catch on pretty quickly. Her mommy and daddy just need to get it together.

[Jonesy's mom]

Here are some pictures from play time with daddy last night.

[mintyduck]

Aww, love the pictures! Hope Jonesy is chomping delicately in those.

[Jonesy's mom]

We're working on that. She's home all day with me so she just want's to play when he gets home. I don't let her chomp but he gives her a wide berth Working on that too.

[daschoundsrule]

Cia and Jonesty, Welcome to DP from Cyndy and the girls in San Antonio, TX. She sure is cute. Good luck with your potty training.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Cia, may I suggest, if I haven't already, that you check out the Behaviour Section. We have two threads in there devoted to Housetraining and Nipping/Biting. Your BF has the right idea actually when it comes to mouthing. He is teaching her what is acceptable and what is not. Since pups explore their world with their mouth, it's great that she is already learning to be gentle with human hands.

Puppy pads are generally not recommended for two reasons. They are a choking hazard if the pup is left alone with one in a playpen, and it means you are trying to teach the dog to do two things, rather than one. As you noticed, your pup went for the door. That was perfect and yet you insisted she go back and try to use the Pad. If I'm not mistaken, you live in an apartment. I know it can be difficult to rush a pup outside from an apartment, but since she seems willing, it would be easier on everyone if you ran out of the door with her. It's less confusing for her, but means more work for you in the early stages.

Dogs are not Cats and generally prefer to do their business outside. You really do need to find a better way of securing your pup than an upside down laundry basket! Crates do not have to be expensive and should be the right size. You may wish to buy one that has a divider so that it can grow with her. Keeping your pup safe is worth every penny.

May I also suggest that you whisk the puppy outside after eating, drinking, playing, sleeping or a 20 minute lapse. Praise, praise, praise when she does her business where you want. You must completely ignore the mistakes!!!! They are YOUR mistakes. Don't bother saying a word if you catch her "in the act" as you have failed to pick up on the cues.

I'm sure once Brian realizes that he is doing something right (the mouth playing) he will be more cooperative with the housetraining. It's easier if there are 2 pairs of eyes always watching, rather than one, but consistency is key.

Jonesy sounds like a smart one already. Take comfort knowing that all the hard work you put in during these early days pays off by having a lifetime with your well behaved, "go anywhere with you" dog.

You are on the right track, so keep up the good work!

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

Oh, my...Jonesy is so adorable!! Those eyes melted my heart!

Welcome to the Daily Puppy from Margie and Jose in Vermont.

[Phyrie]

Welcome from Phyrie and Kiba the Cav, in BC, Canada.

Yeah, you need to educate yourself about potty training. At twelve weeks, she is no more capable of "holding it" or knowing when she is going to potty than a human infant. Scolding her for something she has no idea she is doing, let alone doing it WRONG, will just create fear in your pup. If she's squatting, she CAN'T stop, simply can't. You can sometimes stave off a soaking by whisking up a piddling pup and rushing it outside, but DON'T scold her. It's YOUR fault.

As Deb, and everyone else, will say, take her out after waking up, after meals, after play (that's a big one!) and every twenty minutes. You will be doing this for WEEKS, so don't get too excited if she seems to "get it" after just a day or two. She doesn't, but she IS settling into a routine.

Read, read, read. Ask, ask, ask. And NEVER scold a piddling pup. It's not just counterproductive, it can cause real harm.

[Jonesy's mom]

Lol! When I said he gives her a wide berth - I meant he lets her play as aggressive as she likes, which I discourage. He's coming around though.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice - when Jonesy is napping, I'm reading everything here (learned a little bit more than I wanted about poop though lol). I really think our problem is the human issue: I'm the home "mommy" who knows all the little signals and quirks, dad comes home and plays. She's not receiving consistent training from BOTH of us because we have different views on what's really going on.

@Phyrie - I'm right with you on everything you said. I never scold her for missing, but use a firm NO only if I happen to catch her in the act...which is not often.

@Oliver&Henry's Mom - Read almost every single thread in that forum today. Seriously. My neck hurts, eye's bloodshot lol. I think I was a little confusing in my meaning of "gives her a wide berth". Unless I'm mistaken, which I totally could be (no ego here ), I was under the impression that aggressive biting should be discouraged with a loud Yelp or a firm No when puppy bites too hard. Jonesy does not play aggressively with me - she got my toe (accidentally) once and I yelped quite naturally. She hasn't nipped me hard ever since. I do let her do her version of gumming me...but just long enough for me to grab her Kong. BF, however, lets her get pretty nippy and aggressive and I've discouraged this since I think and have read it will just lead to problems later on. Jonesy bites him very hard when they're in the thick of play time. I think I was finally able to get across to him WHY he needs to discourage her and he was very different with her during this evening's play time.
Also, I too dislike the pads method. It's confusing. I'm confused lol. The thinking behind this is because she is so small, when I do return to work (unknown date) she will be open crated in a pen (does that make any sense?) BF is so far pretty adamant about this. I've crate trained a rescue dog before (mini poodle as a matter of fact but she was older) and so I know how the work/pet game works. Any dog he's had were outside dogs only so the whole idea of crating is very foreign. I believe the last dog he had was given away when BF was 12. We both are new to puppies - but sometimes old (and bad) habits and behaviors die hard. I don't think my problem has much to do with my dog...

[Phyrie]

I think, that while you are on the right track, you are missing a couple of key points. When we say "NEVER scold a puppy" for pottying, we mean NEVER, not if you "catch" her at it or not! This is fairly straightforward. There is NOTHING wrong with a piddling puppy! Would you yell at her for yawning, or blinking? No, of course not. SAME THING WITH POTTYING!! If you scold her for a perfectly natural bodily function, simply because she does it in a place YOU do not approve of, you will accomplish a couple of things, none of which you want. First, you may teach her to hide her potty. So, you think she's becoming housestrained, but instead, you've taught her to fear her own functions, and she hides it from you. You don't want that! Or should become so shy about pottying, you NEVER get her to go where you want. Or she holds it so long in fear, she gets sick! And you confuse the pup. Why are you yelling at her for pottying, when you praise her for pottying? (I am assuming here you praise her when she goes outside, AS YOU SHOULD!) A confused puppy doesn't make good decisions. Remember, right now, she CAN'T control it. Just can't. Don't yell at her, unless you want to be cruel. And I am pretty sure you don't!

Although puppy pads have value (for example, while a dog is recovering from surgery, or is on bedrest with no walking) but the consensus is: Ditch the pads. They are confusing for your pup, and you'll still have to teach her to go outside. Forget about the middle man, and stick with outdoor training. Get yourself some enzymatic cleaner, and THOROUGHLY clean up any spots where puppy has had an accident. You may not be able to smell it, but she CAN, and will potty in a place that has been pottied in before. Those puppy pads are actually impregnated with the smell of urine, to try to teach your dog to go there! Our human noses don't detect it, but dog's noses sure can.