# New Puppy....Need Advice



## Deborah A. (Mar 2, 2011)

Hello to all. We are now the proud owners of a 4 1/2 month old Hav named Lacey. She has acclimated beautifully to our home, but am getting a bit stressed with house training. I am familiar with the ins and outs of the process, but do have some questions. We have had Lacey for a week now and have had 6 accidents. Not terrible I guess, but I think I was expecting a bit more success, since Lacey is a bit older. She does not and did not previously use wee wee pads. I find that she does not always tell us when she needs to go, so we are very much on top of her. What I am curious about is why she would pee outside and then in about 30 minutes need to pee again. This is when she usually has the accident, since I'm not really expecting it. Has anyone else experienced this with the Havanese breed? Could it be a possible urinary tract infection? She does excellent during the night. Crate is always dry, and she doesn't wake up to go out. Suggestions?


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

Welcome and congratulations!!
6 accidents in the first week is actually REALLY fantastic!!!
These little guys and girls have VERY small bladders, so a 1/2 an hr can be a very long time!! Usually people will let thier pups have a very short time after they pee of free time in the house and then either crate or x-pen or take them back outside!!


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

have you tried bells on the door? I have poochie bells http://poochie-pets.net/ and they work like a charm...it only took her about a day to catch on to ringing when she has to go out, and she does it all the time! Before she would stand by the door waiting for me, but the bells are great!!!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

They are smart little dogs but really hard to house break. My little one is now 8 months old and we just hit the 3 week mark without an accident (and only about 3 accidents in the past 2 months). She's finally "getting it" but i have to stay right on top of her and take her out frequently. I still wouldn't trust her with a full bladder to tell me she needs to go out.

If you see her drinking a lot of water (like after a long walk) then expect to take her out 2 or 3 times in the next couple hours. Also, don't distract her when she's peeing or she may not completely empty and just need to go again in 30 minutes. Don't scold her when you catch her going in the house, you'll just make her afraid to go in front of you and will set back her housebreaking (personal experience on this one).


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

as soon as you see shes gone in the house, take her right outside, she'll learn outside it the only spot to go. like Tuss said, she probably didnt finish the 1st time... I know Gabby gets distracted by birds, sounds etc...


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## Dory (Jan 4, 2012)

When I bring Quincy out to do his business, I swear the whole neighborhood can hear me clapping and saying good boy to him LOL. We have quite the potty party outside when he goes out there. Don't get me wrong, he still has some accidents from time to time, but for the most part he is really good. He still doesn't give me clues as to when he has to go out, but I just bought some of the poochie bells to help with that. Either he's giving me the clues and I'm just not getting it or....well, I'm probably just not getting it LOL
I just try to stay on top of the time and notice when he's drinking a lot. it's not unusual for us to go outside to potty every two or so hours during the day. At night, he's fine and hasn't used the pee pad during the night since we've brought him home even though it's there for him just in case.


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## sunnydays (Aug 22, 2012)

Gabs said:


> have you tried bells on the door? I have poochie bells http://poochie-pets.net/ and they work like a charm...it only took her about a day to catch on to ringing when she has to go out, and she does it all the time! Before she would stand by the door waiting for me, but the bells are great!!!


I'm thinking of getting some kind of bell system and training my little guy to use it. How did you train your pup to ring the bell so quick? Any tips?


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

sunnydays said:


> I'm thinking of getting some kind of bell system and training my little guy to use it. How did you train your pup to ring the bell so quick? Any tips?


I would walk her to the door, and I would ring the bells every time we went out and say "ring the bells". She caught on that ringing the bells meant potty time outside. The next day she started to swat at them, not every time, but I would ring them and say "Gabby ring the bells" and got her to swat at them before we would go out (gave her LOTS of praise) & that was that. If I saw her standing by the door, I'd come down and say "ring the bells" and she would, then out we went. She took to them naturally and only rings them when she has to potty. I didnt start the bells until she was 7 months and I wish I had known about them earlier.. once I introduced the bells we never had any more accidents :whoo:

It's so fantastic because you can take them with you and no matter whose house you are in, they know where to go for potty breaks.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

PS I think they come with instructions.. might even be on the website.. but that is what worked for me


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## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

I have found the havs to be easy to potty train. But, I dont train to go outside. I use the ugodog. Otis is 7 months now, and I have fully trusted him for 2 months. He did good before that, I kept him confined to just a couple of rooms before that. Repetition works great for these guys though. They are super smart, for sure.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

sunnydays said:


> I'm thinking of getting some kind of bell system and training my little guy to use it. How did you train your pup to ring the bell so quick? Any tips?


I also trained Tillie to use the bells very quickly, within a few hours. I found that once she had a WAY to TELL ME she needed to go out she didn't have another accident ever!! She was one of the very few that was reliably trained by 5 months, because she had a SUREFIRE way to tell me she needed to go out.

I started by just ringing them with my foot every time we went out (I have a very bad back so I couldn't do this any other way.) after a few times, she got curious and she sniffed the bells, which made them jingle ... I made a HUGE deal out of this and let her out right away... she quickly made the connection - ring the bells=go outside. BUT let me warn you, it was several MONTHS of CONSISTANTLY opening the door, every.single.TIME. she rang them, even though I KNEW she didn't have to go potty. But it was SO worth it for us to go through that time knowing the reward was a FULLY potty trained dog that we NEVER have to worry about. But man, was it exhuasting at the time!! honestly, there were times I would just prop the door open with a shoe.... lol
I just got cheap-o Christmas bells from the Dollar store. and hung them on the bend that is right by the front door so we didn't have the issue of them jingling all the time...  She also just bumps them with her nose to ring them as opposed to some dogs who use thier paw... Tillie isn't very "paw-y" so the nose is MUCH simpler for her. 

It doesn't work with all dog for some reason, BUT definitly worth a shot in my opinion!
btw, around 8-9 months old I was able to wait her out a bit when she rang them, she would make it very clear if she ACTUALLY needed to go out (ring them again and again and again) or just wanted to go out to chase the cats (she will just lay down and sigh. lol). Now at 2 yrs old she typically only rings them when she needs to go out. Or if a cat is locked out of the garage... LOL


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## sunnydays (Aug 22, 2012)

Gabs said:


> I would walk her to the door, and I would ring the bells every time we went out and say "ring the bells". She caught on that ringing the bells meant potty time outside. The next day she started to swat at them, not every time, but I would ring them and say "Gabby ring the bells" and got her to swat at them before we would go out (gave her LOTS of praise) & that was that. If I saw her standing by the door, I'd come down and say "ring the bells" and she would, then out we went. She took to them naturally and only rings them when she has to potty. I didnt start the bells until she was 7 months and I wish I had known about them earlier.. once I introduced the bells we never had any more accidents :whoo:
> 
> It's so fantastic because you can take them with you and no matter whose house you are in, they know where to go for potty breaks.


Thank you, I love all the helpful people on this forum!!! I think I'm going to try building him something similar, I think I have some little bells in my Christmas decorations box! I'm in Canada and I'm not sure how long it would take to ship here, I want to start my little guy on them right away, it sounds like a great potty training device!


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## Deborah A. (Mar 2, 2011)

Thank you for all of the advice. I have started using the bells, but she is still not very consistent. I guess these little ones take a lot more time housebreaking! I actually made the bells myself. Picked up some bells at the crafts store and attached them to some ribbon. Some times she rings for potty other times it's just to go out and play! When I take her out to play, I don't put her on a leash, but when she rings the bells, it's leash time and down to business. Hoping she makes the connection soon. This is exhausting! Can't last till 8 months old! Hope she starts catching on. My team of 5 kids who couldn't wait to get this puppy are abandoning ship! Boy the novelty wore off quick!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Deborah A. said:


> Thank you for all of the advice. I have started using the bells, but she is still not very consistent. I guess these little ones take a lot more time housebreaking! I actually made the bells myself. Picked up some bells at the crafts store and attached them to some ribbon. Some times she rings for potty other times it's just to go out and play! When I take her out to play, I don't put her on a leash, but when she rings the bells, it's leash time and down to business. Hoping she makes the connection soon. This is exhausting! Can't last till 8 months old! Hope she starts catching on. My team of 5 kids who couldn't wait to get this puppy are abandoning ship! Boy the novelty wore off quick!


Kodi had very few mistakes, but it was because I learned his schedule, and kept him in an area where I knew he could be successful. He was one that never got the hang of the bells, even though he is a very quick learner in most ways. Since he has an indoor litter box, if I missed a time he needed to pee, it was no big deal... he just used the box by himself. He was over a year and a half before we took all the gates down and gave him free access to the entire house. Could he have handled it earlier? Maybe, but we didn't want to risk it. He was successful in our large kitchen and family room and that's where the family spends most of our time. So I felt no need to take any chances.

For poop, he would MUCH rather go outside, but we knew that we could get that done on a schedule... he goes out first thing in the morning, before breakfast, and then again in the late afternoon. He was past two when he FINALLY started to bark to go out to poop. Now we have the double insurance of knowing his usual schedule, but also knowing that he'll let us know if he has an "emergency" call!

He still only SOMETIMES barks to go out to pee, though. (he's 3 1/4 now) Usually he just gets out often enough that he doesn't need to ask, (and he will pee on command) and he also sometimes uses his box. Every once in a while, he'll decide that he wants to pee outside, and let us know.

This arrangement works fine for us. I don't mind keeping a litter box for him... it makes it MUCH easier in really foul weather.

As far as kids "helping" with puppies... As you've learned, the novelty fades quickly. I hope you got the puppy MOSTLY because you and your spouse wanted one. The adults in the family usually end up being the primary care-givers for the dog. At very least, they have FULL responsibility for nagging one of the children into doing what needs to be done!:biggrin1:


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## Deborah A. (Mar 2, 2011)

So everyone agrees these Havanese are smart. I think you're all right! Lacey may not always ring the bells to go out to pee, but I found she will ring the bells to go out when we left her in her pen while my family and a few extra kids were having dinner! Apparently, she felt left out and found a way to get my attention! Of course, she didn't have to go!  Spouse didn't want to get a puppy, but had promised it to the kids. Won't do a thing for the pup. So guess who has all of the responsibility? Feeling stressed, but hopeful!


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## angiern2004 (Apr 24, 2011)

The having-to-pee-30-minutes-later thing also depends on what she's doing in those 30 minutes. If she's awake and playing, there will be super-often pee sessions. At that age, if Trooper was playing it was every 12-15 minutes. If laying down and relaxing, they may not have to pee as often, but then again some do. It's a matter of learning her routine. 

When it comes down to it:
more activity=more pee
more drinks=more pee
long drink=more pee
post-nap=more pee


uhhhh, I know I'm forgetting some.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

sunnydays said:


> Thank you, I love all the helpful people on this forum!!! I think I'm going to try building him something similar, I think I have some little bells in my Christmas decorations box! I'm in Canada and I'm not sure how long it would take to ship here, I want to start my little guy on them right away, it sounds like a great potty training device!


Good luck!! I know you'll love them! Dont give up if he doesnt take to them
right away, they are sooo worth it to teach him how to use.
I'm in Canada too, petvalu sells them, but they are nothing special, any bell will work!


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

sunnydays said:


> Thank you, I love all the helpful people on this forum!!! I think I'm going to try building him something similar, I think I have some little bells in my Christmas decorations box! I'm in Canada and I'm not sure how long it would take to ship here, I want to start my little guy on them right away, it sounds like a great potty training device!


Im in Canada too. I got them in a little private pet store but after that I saw a set in the dollar store. I think bells for dog training are becoming pretty popular


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