Havanese Forum banner

Hi

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  krandall 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,
I recently adopted a bonded pair that were rescued from a bad breeding situation. While I was originally told the pups were miniature poodles I knew the boy was not. My vet identified him as a Havanese. (He estimates the boy is about 4 years old & the mini poodle is about 6 years old.)
These poor pups had to be shaved down since they were so matted. Even tho overall they seem to be adjusted well neither of them were potty trained & must wear doggy diapers. My boy does seem to have some anxiety too. He doesn't want to go outside unless I go with him & he seems to go around & around in circles at times. I have now had the pups for a little over a month.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
 
#2 ·
Welcome. I hope someone see's your questions as I'm not able to help much. Such a busy time of year I think a lot of the members are not checking into the forum as frequently. You might try using the search feature on the forum and look for other threads regarding potty training or anxieties. When you say one of the dogs goes around in circles, Willow does the same thing. She has to go back and forth and sniffing the ground before she finds the place she wants to use as a toilet. When she defecates she always spins around clockwise 3 or 4 times before she actually goes! Kind of funny! I always go out with her on a leash as we do not have a fenced yard.
 
#3 ·
HI! How wonderful for you to takes in these little guys! Lots of work, but so worth it.

I am sure somebody will give you a better, and fuller answer, than I will give. But my thoughts were TREATS and an inside potty option, too. Not sure where you live, but if they have been shaved down and it’s only been a month, they might still get quite cold when taken outside. My little girl has the option of going inside or outside and that has worked well for us. She gets a treat for going inside and not eating her poop! LOL!

Treats are a wonderful thing. She is very food motivated, so when she does something that makes me happy, she gets a treat. Poops right where I’d like her to poop in a short amount of time, she gets a treat. But then, she also gets some play. Don’t have them poop and turn around and go right back home. They’ll figure quickly that going to poop/pee will end their outside fun, so they’ll make sure to drag it out.

I don’t understand the diapers.. Have you tried having them in a small area, like enclosed in an ex-pen area, just as if they were puppies? That might also help in making them feel more secure. And will get them used to inside pottying. And remember treat, treat, treat to reward the right behavior. And lots of praise. Best of luck to you all. It’s a wonderful thing you are doing.
 
#4 ·
Welcome to the forum! If you want to potty train these pups I would ditch the diapers. Going outside with your dog while training is the only way to know if they have actually gone potty, and that is a good thing. If they go you can give them some supervised freedom in the house. An area of confinement, like a crate or expen, is a great way to potty train and also give you a safe place to have them in when you can’t watch them. I would definitely get them a sweater to wear until their fur grows back a little. It may even help with the anxiety somewhat. Thanks for rescuing these two and Good Luck with them.
 
#5 ·
I agree that you are doing such a great thing! Did the organization you adopted them through provide any kind of support or resources for you? It sounds like they were in a very difficult situation and the person adopting them would certainly need some special guidance.

My guess is the most important thing right now is helping them feel safe and secure. I would really suggest consulting with a trainer or behaviorist at least to come up with a concrete training plan. When you start whatever potty training program you come up with, make sure you have family or friends to help in those first few weeks and everyone is on the same page so that you can be super consistent and someone is available to supervise and take them potty over and over. I think that’s incredibly important when you’re talking about undoing old habits and retraining new ones. I agree that the diapers will make it harder to potty train, although I get that right now the alternative is having them pee everywhere. Even if they have accidents, at least if you can see them and interrupt, you’re in a better place to redirect them to the right potty place than if the accident is hidden by a diaper.

I really think a good training plan and a lot of help for at least a few weeks is your best bet. Of course, there’s is a ton of great advice here on the forum, and we can all provide support and input along the way, but it can’t compete with having help in person.
 
#9 ·
At this point, if you want them to ever be reliable in the house, you will probably need to tether them to you, so you can have eyes-on supervision at all times while training. Then you can interrup and correct ever single instance of marking. (You may have to work with each dog separately) When you can't do that kind of intensive training (no one can full-time!!!) I would not allow them freedom of the house. I would keep them in an ex-pen with their diapers on. The problem with letting them loose with the diapers is that although it is keeping them from spreading urine all over the house, they are still practicing the behavior, and you need to stop that if you want them to learn that it is unacceptable.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top