# Housebreaking and "Small Dogs, Big Hearts"



## Esperanita (Jul 12, 2008)

As a new pet owner, I have been reading books about Havanese, training, etc. Well I got the book "Small Dogs, Big Hearts" and was surprised when it said dogs in the Bichon family "...are nearly impossible to reliably housetrain..."

What are your thoughts on this statement? What has been your experience? Cuba is 4 months and seems to be getting there, but I wanted to know if you thought this statement was accurate...

Hope


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## Tritia (Nov 17, 2007)

I have a bichon mix, that I'd say is 99% house broken. I'm not giving her the full 1% because of her "excite-a-pee" issues. That, and there has been about 2, 3 times when we've come home and she's had an accident. BUT..it's something that I could tell wasn't her fault. (diarrhea)

Cooper, my hav at the age of 2 I still will not leave out when we go anywhere. He'll still poop in the house once in awhile. Not as bad the last yr, though. I think maybe ohh..5, 6 times?? But, yesterday I did find their big doggie pillow SOAKED with urine. I'm pretty sure it was him. The others had gone out to pee first thing in the morning, and dh couldn't get his lazy butt off the bed. Probably because he'd gone in the night


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

I can't agree, with that statement, based on my experience.
My 2 were reliable by @ 7 months. 
Of course, both breeders had them pad/paper trained when they arrived at 10 weeks.
I am a SAHM and was diligent with each of them, taking them out constantly during the day and watching them, and when I wasn't around, confining them.
They are 100% reliable now. (hope I don't jinx it by saying that).
The only problem I ever had was when puppy Cali was using the pad and the urine smell was in the house. Chico marked at that time. He hasn't done it since I took up the pee pads.


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## Sissygirl (Aug 8, 2007)

Sissy is 100% trained and she has run of the house when we leave. She will be 4 yrs. old is December. She trained really early with the bell system. She caught on really quick and was trained in just a few days. Haven't had any accidents since she was probably 4 months old. She was paper trained by the breeder when we got her at 10 weeks.


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

i would agree...

i have never had dogs before that took this long to understand and follow the concept of 'going' outside.
maybe 3 days and they 'got it' but these little havs are something else.
it's frustrating because they seem so smart at other things.

jmho


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## Mizell26 (Aug 2, 2008)

Sissygirl said:


> Sissy is 100% trained and she has run of the house when we leave. She will be 4 yrs. old is December. She trained really early with the bell system. She caught on really quick and was trained in just a few days. Haven't had any accidents since she was probably 4 months old. She was paper trained by the breeder when we got her at 10 weeks.


Bell trained? I have read that here before but how did you actually do it? Did you ring it for them when exiting? Did you swipe it with there foot? How do you actually bell train?


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Don't believe everything you read!!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

the only hav I knew before I got my boys was never successfully house trained...so when I got Jasper I was determined... I am happy to say that both my boys are 99.9% reliable... But it took a lot of diligence on both my and my DH parts, and I they both had a set back around 9 or 10 months, but then after a year both were trained... The trick is being vigilant... a years worth of work and a life time of a well trained dog with a big heart.


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## Tritia (Nov 17, 2007)

We started with the bell with Bodie(non hav) and he's done GREAT. But, he came to us at 6 months and was already house broken. I wish I had tried this with Cooper. Right now, he just chews on them. 
Daisy(bichon mix) will sit by the door and eye ball you while you walk by, and kind of crunch down a bit. It's her way of telling us she has to go. I've NEVER, EVER seen Cooper by the door when he has to go. They all go out, and he'll just sit on the patio. I'll toss him in the grass, and it's like.."oh, I do have to pee". :doh: Then he'll go for what seems like minutes! 
With him, I feel it's ME that's trained. We take them out about once an hour, unless they're asking on their own.


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## Sissygirl (Aug 8, 2007)

You can believe me when I tell you that Sissy is 100% Bell Trained.

A lady down the street gave me a bell and told me to ring the bell with
Sissy's paw everytime I take her out. I took her out often and praised,
sang and loved on her everytime she "pottied like a big girl". Soon she was
ringing the bell herself. 

She would ring the bell and expect us to jump right then to let her out. We went with her on a leash. We took her everytime she rang. Sometimes we would get tired of
her ringing the bell - BUT WE TOOK HER EVERYTIME. The novelty wore off of her control to make us take her outside and then she started ringing it just when she wanted to go potty.


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## Tritia (Nov 17, 2007)

Sissygirl said:


> You can believe me when I tell you that Sissy is 100% Bell Trained.
> 
> A lady down the street gave me a bell and told me to ring the bell with
> Sissy's paw everytime I take her out. I took her out often and praised,
> ...


bodie rings the bell when he has to go to the bathroom. but, often when he just wants to go and sit on the chair on the patio  it's sweet, but there are times i'm like "NO MORE RINGING!!".

and at first, bodie would slap at it. now, he sits and grabs the bell with both paws. then shakes it ound:


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## Hav a lot of pets (Apr 4, 2008)

Our Luke (pointer/beagle mix) is 100% bell trained. It actually happened by accident at Christmas when I had some bell decorations on the knob. He heard the ringing every time we went out and taught us to take him out when he rang!

HOWEVER, Linus does not seem to care where he goes. When we are outside, he poops on the path, grass, garden rocks, etc. He goes just wherever he is (inside or out)--no need for grass. He does not have too many accidents because we are so vigilant taking him out, but he is definitely not trained. He does not seem like a dog. He seems to lack dog instincts.

I am going to start a new training technique tomorrow so maybe I will have some luck.


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

Posh has been marking every house (and training center) that has a dog. I know that it's a dominance issue and not a matter of "I have to pee" because she A. doesn't do it at home and B. has had plenty of "outside" area to pee on before we get into the house.

So, I'm totally trying to "pee her out" before we get into these places, and the two times in the last week I have caught her (one was in the agility tunnel at class and today was at my mom's house on her rug) I have growled loudly mid-stream "we pee outside" and picked her up and put her out to pee, and she most definitely knows I'm "pissed."

I'm also thinking this isn't a bladder infection because she doesn't do it at home.

Any thoughts? Will a belly band work on a female? My Mother in law will not watch her for us without making me feel like total poop that I'm a terrible dog owner who has a dog who pees.


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## Esperanita (Jul 12, 2008)

Sissygirl said:


> Haven't had any accidents since she was probably 4 months old.


Thank you! Your reply is so encouraging :whoo: I've bell trained Cuba as well and he uses the bell to go potty about 90% of the time and to get my attention (when I'm eating dinner) or to lie in the grass about 10% of the time. I got flossies this weekend and they seem to calm im down/keep his attention too..


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## Esperanita (Jul 12, 2008)

Sissygirl said:


> A lady down the street gave me a bell and told me to ring the bell with
> Sissy's paw everytime I take her out. I took her out often and praised,
> sang and loved on her everytime she "pottied like a big girl". Soon she was
> ringing the bell herself.


I used the same technique for Cuba except I rang it for him when I first got it at 10 weeks (it was a stretch for him to reach it). Now he can give it a ring with either his paw or his nose.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Before getting Bailey I would have thought havs are just impossible to potty train, even though many on this forum have had vastly different experience with it. My very limited knowledge was based upon Milo and one other hav who still at 2 isn't reliable. However, Bailey proved that concept wrong. 

I was really concerned about getting him so young (almost nine weeks). But it was the best thing I could have done. He didn't yet have the bad habits Milo came to me with. Now, at six months, he is very reliable almost 100% of the time and has been for a couple of months.


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## Redorr (Feb 2, 2008)

I know alot of hav owners who will say they have pretty average success with most of their havs by one year. But everyone seems to have a story. I met four havs at the park the other day and their owner says one of them just won't get it. My dentist has two and the male doesn't get it.

My hav is 13 mos and she was trained, watched diligently and was doing pretty good at 6 mos. Then had a set back when she stayed at a kennel. Then had another set back at 11 mos when she started having pretty serious separation anxiety. I finally figured out that was her issue, and now that we seem to have that worked out, she has been accident proof for 3 weeks. (Except the one night I didn't close her crate door and she came upstairs in the middle of the night to get in bed with me and didn't get my attention and pooped in the corner. I learned my lesson! )

I started giving her free roam of my (fairly small) condo 3 weeks ago and she has not been tempted by the dining room table at all! The separation issues were pretty awful. I would leave and within minutes she would pee right next to the pee pad and poop in the corner. One time she even peed on her favorite bed/pillow. That's when I realized it had to be something more than not being housebroken. She would do that rather than chew things or bark. I tired crating her or putting her in an expen when I left the house and she peed and pooped all over the place. NOw that we have spent weeks on SA she's pretty cool. She lies right by the door sleeping until I return. No more pooping inside!

Now, I don't know what is going to happen at someone else's house. I'll find out this holiday season! She pooped in her dog walker's truck last week. Not sure what that was about. 

So 100% reliable ---- no way at 13 mos. Time will tell.


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## ginny (Mar 29, 2008)

I had a male Bichon, adopted at four months. He was not house broken and it took almost two years before he was reliable. He was 100% reliable under his bladder stones and crystals caused the occasional accident. Even with those problems he tended to suffer the pain rather than soil his home.

Suzy's breeder is fabulous in all areas including beginning house breaking. We took her home at just under nine weeks & she seemed to pretty much understand the concept of outside for potty. I had her outside frequently and she now will potty on command. In fact if she is excited about going somewhere and needs to potty first, she sort of hops on three legs while peeing in her enthusiasm.

She is now 7 months and housebroken. She was 95% reliable from around 10 or 12 weeks. 

She had a set back after being spayed. 
She also has the bells & rings them for being let outdoors and also to signal play time.

If we are not near the bells I think her signal is jumping and twirling. Took me a bit of time to understand that signal. 

I don't know how a belly band would help a female- no idea how it could be attached. Maybe trying the doggie diapers if she does not chew them. A diaper with a onsie over or some way preventing the ability to shred the diaper?


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I can state for a fact that it's not true...........UNLESS. 

Bichons have the reputation for being stubborn. I wouldn't say that Havanese are stubborn but are very much creatures of habit. I can see where it would be nearly impossible to train one who has been raised to let it fly any kind of way-such as on raised grates in a puppy mill.

Housetraining is the number one reason that any small dogs end up in Rescues. It is a responsibility of breeders, for this reason alone, to make sure that any puppies get proper training from the beginning and work with new owners to understand how the training needs to continue and work with any issues that come up AS SOON as they come up.

Housetraining problems can always be traced to "too much freedom" and "not paying attention".


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Bugsy is 2 years 2 months and has been potty trained/house broken since he was 6 months. He he completely, 100% reliable and has had the run of the house along with my big guys since he was seven months. I do have to say that small dogs are much harder to train then large ones. My standard male was fully house trained after the 1st time I showed him where the sliding door is.... period. My standard female took almost a week and I thought she was slow. lol


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## havaone (Mar 25, 2008)

Havanna is 8 months old and is 100% housetrained. Olivia is 3 1/2 months old and is probably 99% housetrained. We have a doggy door, which is wonderful and makes life a lot easier for me!


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

great photo!


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## Sissygirl (Aug 8, 2007)

Michele,

That is a great pic. You need to post it on the September challenge.


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## Sissygirl (Aug 8, 2007)

My mother has a bell on her door at her house. They furbaby sit Sissy for me sometimes
and she rings the bell at their house, too!


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Well Bogart has been 100% housetrained since he was about 1yr. He does not pee in the home whatsoever. Brando is 100% as well now but he will use the pee pad in the bathroom if he can't hold it. Brando is now 14month.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

havaone said:


> Havanna is 8 months old and is 100% housetrained. Olivia is 3 1/2 months old and is probably 99% housetrained. We have a doggy door, which is wonderful and makes life a lot easier for me!


lol I just love that pic!


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## havaone (Mar 25, 2008)

Thanks, Marie. I didn't know there was a September Challenge!


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## DAJsMom (Oct 27, 2006)

Dusty is 100% housetrained and has been since about 15 months. She is now 2-1/2. We got her at 7 months so we had an adjustment period to deal with also. 
Indie is 15 months now. We have had her since April. She is not yet completely reliable in the house. She is doing much better though and seems to be regressing only when it rains. Fortunately it doesn't rain much in Arizona, but we have had a wetter than usual summer! 
Both dogs are trained to ring the bell to go outside. Dusty rings it to go outside. Indie rings for the butler. Sometimes she wants out, other times she wants a treat, or to be fed, or to play, or wants us to let Dusty in from outside. At first I though Dusty was smarter. Now I am not so sure. :suspicious:


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*never let them have an accident...*

Havanese aren't easy but easier if they aren't allowed to make mistakes. Riki is very reliable unless he covers up Daisy's errors. She sneaks sometimes and it still confounds me...

I take them for regular walks. They have to go down two flights of steps to the doggy door...but they can and do!

Bigger dogs see the whole house as their den. I don't think small dogs do. If Daisy does pee in the house she goes to the room we use the least.


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*love the doggy door photo*

Now that is a calendar photo! Please post it in the September photo thread.


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