[Tom King]

I had forgotten to mention belly bands in the discussions on house training problems with older males. A belly band is a strip of cloth that goes around the dog and hold a diaper in place to catch any errant results of an improper leg hiking. Pam made ours but you can buy them too. We use a No.1 size baby diaper. It will hold right much and stays dry to the touch for the dog until a certain point. It can hold a lot of "marking" shots.

I'm thinking it would be a good idea to suggest starting out a new adult male in a new house with one, given some of the problems that come up. The training can still go on the same way but it will catch any mistakes before the scent gets anywhere in the house. They're fairly easy to change with velcro that connects over the back.

If there are already marked spots in the house I would get one of the little black lights sold in Petsmart to find them with and eliminate them with Odoban or one of the enzyme products until there is nothing left to see with the blacklight. Sometimes in training it's necessary to go backwards a bit and sometimes even start over.

 

[Barney's Mom]

Hi Tom,

I am off to PetSmart tomorrow afternoon!!!! Thanks for the helpful suggestions and wish me luck! This "kid" of ours goes for 3-4 days without an accident and then, POW - a puddle left for us. We are trying to be as vigilent as we can and have now decided to crate him when we eat supper or do something we just can't monitor his presence! He doesn't like it! And, we are determined to help him "get it" soon! I'd love to be able to have the peace of mind of having him completely OK inside before we leave for FL!

Marge

 

[ama0722]

I have to agree with Tim. I had my first male dog, a dog that I fostered with Havanese Rescue. He was suppose to have house breaking issues. I found that with the belly band use (I had the purchased one that went around with velcro... they even have cute ones that say "bad boy", have wings, etc) and using the pad on the belly band, a few weeks later he really understood to not do it. He went to his new home with no house breaking problems.

Amanda

 

[Melissa Miller]

Thats a great story Amanda. I love seeing people involved with Rescue.

Im afraid if I took a blacklight to my house, the fire dept would come, I think they entire thing would light up! YIKES!
I am going to try belly bands for a while. Stogie only marks where others have peed, but I dont know how to make that go away.

 

[MopTop Havanese]

Melissa my dear~~~

Soak the area with Natures Miracle (found at Petsmart/Petco). Don't blot it up. Just pour it on and let it dry, it could take a couple of days.
This will help remove the urine smell and hopefully he will stop marking there.
I steam clean my carpets myself about once a month. I use a mixture of 1/2 carpet shampoo and 1/2 Natures Miracle in a steam cleaner. No pee pee smell here! Although I am scared for the day when we rip this carpet out.........I will be so embarrassed!

Katie

 

[ama0722]

Since we moved last fall, we have all hardwood and slate flooring except in our basement. Just get rid of your carpet <BG> In my condo, when potty training the maltese, she would go into the office every chance she had. I used the nature's miralcle and then would just rent the carpet cleaner at home depot. I have been told by big dog breeders to use white vinegar to get the smell away from the dog. You obviously have to do this on a day that you arent going to be home and use fans. This is suppose to block the smell.

My little maltese is extremely alpha and she marks over other dogs. We have friends whose dogs aren't potty trained and now, I dont let belle go over there because she will go mark their entire house... ugh! Embarassing for them and me!

Amanda

 

[Melissa Miller]

We had our carpets steam cleaned again. We are on a first name basis with those folks. Some spots still did not come up. They guy said its from too much acid. I know Stogie does have a lot of acid, because he has acid reflux.
Poor guy. Any suggestions on those stains.

The smell is gone and they have been good so far. But it has been cold out so they want to be outside all the time.

 

[ama0722]

Unfortunetly, I am more messier than my girls <BG>... not sure if this will work but worth a shot. I was drinking chocolate soy milk and and I knocked it over on our white berber carpet. I scrubbed with water and resolve to no avail. A few months later my neighbor said to try the can of spot shot. It didn't completely remove the stain but it lightened it up a lot. I found it at Lowe's and it is in an aersol can. I was suprised that it did what it did.

Good luck!
Amanda

 

[Barney's Mom]

So happy to hear others with "rescued" havanese!

So happy to hear others of you that have had rescues from the Havanese org. We have had Barney for 5 weeks now and the ONLY problem we have encountered is his potty training. He is now 19 months old and can go for 3-4 days and be wonderful, and then, BAM, he pees somewhere in the house. I am using Nature's Miracle and just stopped by our local Oreck store and was told that their enzyme product is even better, so bought some and will try it!

Many dog behaviorists have responded to my questions with the fact that this breed is impossible to completely train and they are never trustworthy like larger breeds. We have always had goldens and decided this was the time to help out a pup in need and when we got the chance to have a havenese, we jumped at the chance. He is very fearful and jumpy, but is showing signs of improvement every single day and now, when asked if he has to go out to potty, he actually has begun barking a yes!

He does seem to go more often than I would think necessary...3 or more poops at day! He is eating Innova with a TBSP of canned food mixed in (cause this is the only way he will eat at all)...any thoughts you could share with me?

Thanks, Marge

p.s. The lady at Oreck said the enzyme cleaners need to stay on the spot and wet for 24 hours or more to really work. Also, black lights can be purchased cheaply at Home Depot or Targets...

 

[Tom King]

I call BS on the dog behaviorists and wonder if they would be willing to bet a large sum of money.

 

[Guest]

I have two Havanese that are very well-trained and very reliable so I disagree with the behaviorists

 

[Melissa Miller]

Im backing Tom and Tamis call of BS.
My boy isnt totally trained because Im lazy and I forget. Goldie is trained, unless she has the runs.

 

[Barney's Mom]

I agree...

Hey Tom,

I agree with you...I think they need to say something, so they just spout whatever they "think"...I know we are getting there day by day and this little fella has stolen our hearts and we bust with pride when he now "asks" us to go outside...and then he GOES!!!!!

 

[Sherman]

I hope you're right, Tom, but I suspect the same thing--that large dogs are easier to train on the potty issue. But I used to pet sit for an adult male Maltese who was dead on house trained. Never had an accident that I ever saw, so I'm hoping Sherman will be like that some day. He's only 6 months old and goes on "walks" 6 times a day because I'm home all day and a softy. If I leave him outside long enough to do everything, he's golden. I'm afraid to get one of those black lights though!

 

[irnfit]

Potty training

I was very nervous when I heard the stories about how difficult Havs were to potty train. Kodi had "mistakes" for a while, but mostly because the humans weren't paying attention. The last time Kodi peed where he shouldn't have, he took me to the spot in the den. I told him that was not the place to go, he should use the wee wee pad. He has not had a problem since. I guess it was the way I said it, because it worked.

 

[Havtahava]

If any of you would like some high quality, inexpensive belly bands, I have found a great source. I have ordered Belly Bands from five different sources (dog shows and online) and these are by far the best. They are made with a soft flannel lining, well stitched and have a nice Velcro fastener that isn't so small (like some are) and they are very durable. You can't beat the price at $9.99 for a set of two, and she covers the shipping.

Her name is Penny Simms and you can reach her via email ([email protected]) or eBay (zpenny1 - her items listed). You can see some of her work if you look at the eBay listings.

One bonus to buying her items is that all her profit goes to dog rescue. It isn't for Havanese, but it is for her favorite rescue program and I find that admirable.

 

[Melissa Miller]

Thank you Kimberly!!!! Im going to order these tonight.

 

[Havtahava]

You are very welcome.

By the way, the best way to use any belly band is to stick and adhesive feminine pad inside for extra absorbancy and less wear on the belly band. You won't have to wash the band after every use.