# Slept All Night!! Also couple new puppy questions



## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

I can't believe it, not a peep out of her on her second night, I woke up before she did. I think she stayed curled in the same spot (in her bed) from the time I put her down. Only a few whimpers right at first, I think it did help to have the ex pen near the bed. 

She has been good with the potty training so far, but I take her out a lot. Predicting the poops has been a little harder, I missed one this morning and didn't catch her in time to show her where to go. I had taken her out first thing, pee and a good sized poop even before breakfast. Then fed her less than 1/2 hour later, so I thought I had a window before she'd need to go again - guess I was wrong. I let her run around for maybe 5 minutes, and then found 2 long tootsie rolls in the living room, at least it was on the hardwood and not the rug, which we haven't gotten around to taking up yet. Come to think of it, it's the same spot the poop from her first day happened.

Vet's today for shots, poor baby. I really wanted to put this off, but everyone says I shouldn't put her down in public places until this second set, and I want to start taking her for walks, she's not bad on the leash when she's not trying to bite it and play tug with me. The day I took her home was her first time with a collar and leash. Impressive how fast she's adjusting. 

Her breeder mentioned I should keep her cleaned up underneath, maybe trim her little wick. What do you use for quick clean ups to help with the smell?

And, for cleaning crusties around their eyes? 

How soon should she get her nails trimmed? I'm still afraid of hurting her doing that, but I did buy clippers. Her nails are mostly black with white tips, a few pink with white tips, and a couple all black. I'm handling her feet to get her used to it. 

And, I've been with her 24/7 so far, but in the next day or two, I'm going to have to go out to the grocery store or something. Should I practice going in and out, even if she's screaming in her ex pen, so she sees I come back? Stuffed kongs don't seem to hold her interest if she thinks I'm leaving her, but I'll give her something like that anyway. With my yorkie we just went and did what we needed to do. She eventually realized that we would always come back and got over it, there was no targeted approach to de-sensitizing her, but it was traumatic in the beginning. 

That's a lot of questions.... sorry...!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

I'm happy for you that Violet is doing so well this soon. You will learn her potty times after a while and that will help. Also watch if she heads for that same area she has used.

"Maybe" when you are going to leave...go outside and walk around for 3 or 4 minutes and come back in the house...but don't pay her any attention...then go to the store...and come in put your stuff away first, then go get her if she is quite. Cicero learned real fast that we are coming back and that we will get him out once we have put our things away...so he just calmly waits for us. I think she will be a fast learner...especially with a tiny treat at "good" times and getting ignored at "bad" times. You are doing great with her!!!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Diane, you are doing wonderful and sounds like Violet is too. The crying times when you leave the room shorten over time. They learn you are coming back. My two just patiently wait for me at the gate now. And now I notice they are even starting to play when I leave the room. I do crate them if when I leave the house. Like Dale said, I don't make a big fuss when I leave and I don't make a big fuss when I return. I wait a few minutes before saying hello. When I let them out of the crate, they are all over me like they haven't seen me in days. It's all a process.

The eye goop, wet it first with a cotton swab. I wait for it to soften and comb in out with a flea comb. Be prepared for her to hate it at first. They get used to it. About every 3 days, I clean their faces with a facial scrub.

To clean her genitalia, I bought the puppy baby wipes at PetSmart for $10.00. I learned that is too much money and a wet paper towel does the same thing. 

Hope you have a fantastic day with Violet. You're a great Mom and she sounds like a wonderful pup.


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

spoke too soon on the potty thing, I guess I cannot assume that once she's peed or pooped, she won't do it again 15 minutes later. I've missed yet another poop (same spot in the living room, less than 2 hours after she'd been up, and after 3 long turds already this morning!). Then Brad took her out to pee, but maybe she didn't empty because 20 minutes later while playing with her in the living room, she suddenly squatted, no sniffing or warning, so I guess I have to stay with the tether thing and keep her in her pen at the other times. It's stressful trying to watch her every move, even while tethered, and I think I've given her too much freedom too soon. Right now she's back in her pen and trying to dig up the pee pad. I think she's mad at me for putting her back in there when she wanted to play. It's funny because her precociousness is starting to come out as she gets more sure of herself in her new surroundings. She reminds me so much of my yorkie, I'm starting to think she reincarnated into this dog!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

BTW...I cannot offer any advice on trimming nails. I can't do it. I am petrified. They have black nails and I cannot see the quick. Many others will help you out on that question. I am toooo chicken....and I will listen to what they tell you in case some day I get brave enough to do it myself.


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

Sounds like Violet is a very good girl and a typical puppy! Can you put up a gate to keep her out of the living room? We had a gate up and doors closed for a year with Jackson. He was restricted to the family room and kitchen, and I still keep the doors closed to the living/dining/sunporch rooms just because I don't want him dragging bully sticks and other things in there. We had an oriental rug in the family room that saw quite a few accidents, but Nature's Miracle saved many a spot.

Eventually Violet will learn to clean herself, but I just use baby wipes or damp paper towels for extra cleaning. I use a flea comb for the eye debris (daily), and wipe with some special pads for eye stains. Jackson has two black nails . . . I trim the white ones first, and then judge how much I cut off them to trim the black ones (and always err on the side of shorter!)


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

her eye debris is so crusty, I do think I need to soften it first. What eye cleaner do you use? 

Her ears is the other thing. I bought some herbal ear wash, but it says to pour it in the ear pretty much, and that seems like it would be uncomfortable. Maybe a cotton ball. 

I have also read that some people pluck the ear hair, and others don't. Maybe it can be clipped? It does seem a little oily underneath her ears and down toward the canal. I guess that's another question for my vet. I just hate to yank out ear hair - which I gotta think is painful - if it's not necessary.

So far she is not all that interested in her toys or flossie unless I'm on the other end of one. I am hoping at some point she's up for amusing herself a bit with different toys (as I've heard Havanese do - though I'm sure not all) because I'm afraid she'll be bored silly while I work all day, and there's only so much napping a dog can do. We'll take breaks throughout the day, but she's going to have to be content to just hang out with me while I'm working. It'll be so much easier once she's reliably potty trained and I don't have to restrict her access to various rooms, she can sit in the window out front and watch the pedestrians and squirrels....


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## Jammies (Apr 4, 2009)

Diane...I know that you want to clip her nails yourself, but if you think they need it now and you aren't quite ready to do it, ask the vet to have one of his techs do it...in fact they may even show you how. Just a thought.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

She's still a baby, it will take time for her to be comfortable and want to play on her own. Murphy is just now doing it, I think it took him so long because Scooter is here for him. Mine had potty accidents and for the first few weeks I felt like all I did was run outside or clean up a mess inside. Very hard for me to predict when they had to go but you, and she, will get better at noticing. She'll be able to hold it longer as she gets older too.

I think you're doing great! I was a wreck.


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## hedygs (May 23, 2007)

Diane it sure sounds like things are going in the right direction. We still have some pee accidents but if I am on top of things they don't happen.

Anyway, did you clean the spot where she pooped with Natural's Miracle or something similar? It seems she gravitates to the same spot for her accident so maybe there is a smell there that entices her.

I can hardly wait to meet you all.


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Bravo, you are on your way. Her, and esp. YOU, getting sleep makes everything else easier.

I'll let others answer some of the questions.. .but for eyes, every day or so I loosen the stuff around the corners with a damp warm paper towel, and then comb out the gunk with a fine metal flea comb.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Diane, you and Violet are doing great. It is amazing the amount of pee and poop these little furbabies create. I found writing down every pee and poop for a day or so gave me a good idea on frequency and times. 

As for always going in the same place...clean that place good with an enzyme cleaner like natures miracle or simple solution and then sit in the spot and play with her and give her treats there. also... feed her there. They won't soil where they live and eat so be sure to live and eat there.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Has your Vet checked Violet yet? Have him check her ears for mites while you are at the Vet. I plucked the inner ear hair canal, so it stays aired out. When I first plucked Dexter's ear hairs all kinds of goop came out. I had to treat for mites first, which is probably why all the junk came out of his ears. My Vet recommends plucking the inner ear hair out....Dexter has lotssssssssssssssss of ear hair. Dexter did not mind the plucking of the ear hairs at all.

You are the playmate! Whenever Violet is playing on her own, give her lots of praise. Introduce the toys to Violet and call them by name and teach her how to play with them. Dexter knows his frog, monkey, bone, Mr. Blue, lady bug, squirrel, fox, and pig by name. 

Do not interrupt independent play, let Violet play. No matter how cute she looks and is playing, let her play.

When Dexter was young and he was finally tired out and sleeping, I would clip a few of the nails, just the very tips. It was very hard clipping Dexter's nails because Dexter was so wiggly. When I had the Vet clip Dexter's nails, someone held Dexter while the Vet clipped the nails and you would think someone was killing Dexter. 

You will learn a little bit each day what works for you in dealing with Violet's care.

You are going to do great with Violet!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

To clean the ear with the ear cleaner, I used to dump it in and Kubrick hated it... plus it never really got totally clean (I do NOT pluck ear hair). I spoke to my vet about it and he told me to instead SOAK a cotton ball with the solution and stick that into the ear, giving it a good twist to clean it out and make sure the solution would get inside that way. Kubrick much prefers it that way!

And yes, you should practice going in and out of the room even when she's screaming her head off. It's important for her to realize that you're coming back. Don't look at her or acknowledge her during these brief trips in and out.

I think you're already at the vet, but I'd have him/her do the nail trim there for the first time so you don't have to.


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

*What a cutie!*

Violet is a darling little girl and it sounds as though you are both doing great! Murphy will be 8 months old in a few days and he is getting to be very reliable. He hasn't had an accident or an on purpose in weeks. I am able to give him more freedom now though I keep several of my rooms closed off to him until he is totally reliable.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Daine, with three, I found that, just like kids, they are all SO different. Some may potty only a few times, some, 6-9 times a day,some less, some more. 
It sounds like she is doing great & you are doing great. Give her some time, she will let you know what her schedule is. It must be so exciting for you!


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

I use a small flea comb to pull the goop-crusties out of the eye area, the small size is great.

ha ha - I too was with baby Henry 24/7 till the 3rd day when I needed groceries.
Popped him into the crate and away I went, for 20 minutes. Not too long , he was so cute I had to get back.


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

just got back from the vet, she's the best. I love her balance of holistic and realistic. Not cheap and not close by, but worth it. I'm such a dufus, I totally forgot to ask about her nails because it wasn't written down on my list. She did tell me not to mess with the ears in terms of routine cleaning unless there's a problem. She says on a healthy raw diet if she has no allergies or chronic issues, her ears should be fine, so I think we'll see how it goes. She approves of the Nature's Variety raw, says it's a well balanced food and should meet all her nutritional needs. I can supplement with omegas, etc. She says raw recreational bones or raw meaty bones are good to add to that periodically for teeth cleaning, etc., but not to go overboard with bone because it is already ground into the prepared food. 

Violet was so good for her vaccine, and for the whole trip, she is such an agreeable puppy. The vet gave me a homeopathic that I'm to give her on a particular schedule which helps offset the side effects. She's talked me into doing heartworm prevention, but spread out at six weeks. Unless and until I feel confident I've found a reliable alternative, after talking to her I think I'm OK with that. Not ideal, but I do not want her getting heartworm. She agreed I should stay away from the topical flea prevention, to just maybe treat the house with something natural like the boric acid and maybe DE, nematodes for the yard if I want, B-vitamins and garlic, and to use topical herbal/oil sprays on her coat cautiously because it can sometimes be too much for toy breeds (and cats).

I just fed her, and she whined for maybe 30 seconds afterward about being in her pen, but now she's curled up in her bed. I'd like to take her out for a little walk, but the vet said to wait till the weekend to take her into public spaces. I'm still exhausted, but today was better, and I can see where she is a fast learner. I think my biggest challenge will be the potty training - mainly just getting that right and watching her, and possibly keeping her from getting bored while I work. I'm anxious for puppy class because I need some structured training guidelines, despite all I've been reading.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Your vet sounds great! 

Potty training IS the biggest challenge, I'm sure. Just expect it to take a long time, and it won't be as bad as wishing it were over each day.


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## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

Diane, sounds like you are doing wonderfully! I got Mimi at 12 months, but she still acted in many ways like a puppy... I learned her signals for going potty and that girl can wait!

Mimi comes to lick me when she needs to go outside... There is subtle urgency to these licks to the others when she wants a belly rub or wants my attention to her instead of the computer... I still watch her like a hawk because she's had a few accidents, some because of my lack of discipline.

I am sure that with time you will learn little Violets signals too and it will become easier to know when to go outside. 

What are you using in the car for trips?


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## sweetlotus (Nov 26, 2008)

I can really relate to your potty challenges because I have been working with Mochi and she is finally, recently, reliable at 6 months (feels like forever). These are some things that really helped me. 

You have to be really persistent and limit her area as much as possible. I gave her too much room initially (even one room is too much room). I ended up restricting her space to about double the size of her playpen. I then expanded it slowly and if she made a mistake, I would go back to square one by decreasing the area again. Only after she peed would I let her out of her restricted area and then only for a short while, not long enough for her to pee.

I also used command words "go potty" and strongly reinforced each pee with lots of liver, praise, and play. Pretty soon, she was peeing on command. My only problem arose when she wouldn't go pee without me telling her to. So, if I didn't tell her to go pee and she needed to, she would whine and start running around. Since I wanted her to go pee independently of me, I ignored her and she started having mistakes again. That was a more difficult transition for us. However, for the past week she has finally been going on her own  Anyway, my point is, getting her to go on command was probably the single most helpful thing in preventing accidents because I could control the frequency of her pee. It also comes in handy when you want to take her on a trip but need her to pee beforehand or want her to pee before bed.

Lastly, I know I'll get disagreement with this but... timeouts really helped me a lot. Mochi improved and seemed to "get it" when I gave her a timeout for peeing in the wrong spot. Violet is obviously still too young for timeouts. I started giving them at around 4 months old. Last time Mochi got a timeout was for peeing in front of me b/c I wouldn't tell her to go. Ever since then she has gone on her own. Am I terrible?  You don't have to do this obviously, but if you ever feel like you're not getting anywhere in training.. it may just help.


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Wow, Mochi is getting so big and what a darling pic of her. Sounds like she is doing great!


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

Thanks, Lotus! We are doing the go potty command, and I started doing "go poo" also to try to differentiate the very frequent pees from the less frequent poops when I KNOW she's got one in her. So far I'm not sure the "go poo" is registering, maybe I should stick with one word for both, but I know better now than to let her have any freedom other than on the end of a leash without even turning my back on her because that's when it will happen. It's hard keeping her confined because she so enjoys being out and seems to really dislike being cooped up even in the ex pen which is a lot larger than a crate. So far she's only used the pee pad once in there - peed on the pad, then pooped on the floor in front of it, I think she's one of those traveling poopers, and that pad is too small of an area for it. I have read some dogs won't poop on the same pad where they pee, so we may have to devise something different in the future for a backup bad weather potty, or when I'm gone too long. We've been really fortunate with the weather so far, but I'm not sure how this will go when it's raining... or snowing, which I don't think she's even seen before.


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

It is interesting how some get the peepad and some don't. Be patient , though, because if she does it near the peepad the first week or so, eventually she may consistently do it ON the peepad. Biscuit would do both on the peepad, and would also go outside, so a no brainer. Heath only wanted to shred it any way he could, even in a holder. But, he will use the UGODOG to pee on, or interestingly and disgustingly, to throw up on! But won't poop on it. The UGODOG could be your backup method for bad weather. . .or an alternative to the plain peepad. It is big enough for them to do everything on it.


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

Thanks, AMy. You know, I very nearly got a UgoDog, but I really do not want to deal with cleaning it, scrubbing stuff that gets stuck in the screen. It's only about half the year that I could hose it off in the yard, I'd much rather just pick up a pee pad. She only used it once, and it was during a freakout when we went in the other room for half an hour and let her scream for the first 15 minutes of that. The pooper was next to it, but that's OK, at least it was all contained. Right now she's sleeping on the pee pad, and I KNOW she has to go because I just fed her, there was only one small poop this morning, and no pee for several hours. I tried to take her out in the rain, held an umbrella over her, but no go. It's not pouring or anything, but she just crawled under me or under the plants nearby, apparently doesn't like getting wet. That is going to be a problem in this climate, we have plenty of rain and snow in Michigan.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Diane,
I'm sitting here smiling..."holding an umbrella over her..." Already, you are her slave!  I have the same issues with Tucker, but now that he's 2, he obeys the command "go potty!" even in the rain, although I still have to actually go out the door with him to get him out! Ha! Love some of the quirks of these guys, as long as we can work around them to get what we need!


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

I've done that umbrella thing, too, Diane, and still do when it's really pouring. For Heath the little prince. Be patient, honestly, she will get it. At first you have to take them out every half hour to hour, and IT'S ALL YOU DO. I can remember being out with little puppy Heath at midnight begging him to go. Sigh, but very quickly she will catch on and you'll be taking her out less frequently. It all takes several wks to get her on a schedule. . . .but I promise it will happen!!! Also, for weeks Heath used the UGODOG as a play platform, but suddenly started using it. It isn't too hard to clean because the screen is in two parts. . . .


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Also, I have little rain jackets for my guys and they really like wearing them when it's raining, to go out in the yard to pee. They will do it with the jacket on . . .you might want to find a simple little one you can slip on and off her easily.


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## Petaluna (May 9, 2008)

Amy - rain jacket! Thanks for the suggestion and the encouragement! She is so smart and totally learning and coming out of her shell already, it's only been 3 days. I really think potty will be our biggest challenge cause nature just wants to take over with her right now, but I understand. If I could just catch up on sleep.... I'm having a hard time getting anything else done.


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