Anonymous
Post 03/07/2025 17:42     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why I'm a cat person.

My 4 month old ragdoll kitten used her litter box from the first day with us, and she's never had an accident. She's affectionate and wants to be with us all the time, but her little voice is cute. She sleeps on our bed or wherever she wants because since she uses her toilet, she doesn't need to be "crated."

Also, she keeps herself scrupulously clean and even though her food stinks, her fur somehow smells of sunshine and marshmallows all the time.

I'll see myself out now.


Cats really the best.


All cats are AHs (I own two), but they're significantly less work to raise/train/keep than dogs, it's true.
Anonymous
Post 03/07/2025 17:41     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.


It took our puppy a good 6-8 months to PT. We did indoor with pee pads and grass mats and outdoor and were very consistent about it. After a ton of accidents got smart and covered the floors and sofa with giant pee pads. It does get better but it takes time.


HMOG...

Why, on Beyonce's green Earth, would you invest all of that money in stinky trash when a crate for even a huge dog could be had for less than $100?

6-8 months of this? With your house all stank like dog piss and having to wash grass mats and pick up pee pads?

I have trained so many dogs I'd have trouble counting at this point. I have never once had a dog take more than 3 months to housetrain. Even the worst offenders, the most stubborn breeds, the derpiest puppies...

This is fockin' madness. Why on Earth would you choose this when crate training is easier on your wallet, the dog, the environment, AND you?!
Anonymous
Post 03/07/2025 08:59     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:This is why I'm a cat person.

My 4 month old ragdoll kitten used her litter box from the first day with us, and she's never had an accident. She's affectionate and wants to be with us all the time, but her little voice is cute. She sleeps on our bed or wherever she wants because since she uses her toilet, she doesn't need to be "crated."

Also, she keeps herself scrupulously clean and even though her food stinks, her fur somehow smells of sunshine and marshmallows all the time.

I'll see myself out now.


Cats really the best.
Anonymous
Post 03/07/2025 08:57     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.


And if you don't care about crate training then have fun picking crap and pee off your floors for the next 1.5 years or more.
Anonymous
Post 03/07/2025 08:56     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Sounds like the puppy was not ready to be separated from its mother, TBH. I've never had a puppy be as much work as what you are describing.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2025 18:32     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
This is why I got a dog from the breeder. She started crate training and the first night I brought our dog home, she went in the crate without a peep and has done it every time since.

Our dog is schedule oriented and always has been. Wake up, straight outside, treat for perking/pooping, breakfast, walk, in the crate for the morning nap. Then outside for peeing/pooping, lunch, walk, playtime, afternoon nap in the crate. Ditto for the evening. If you use a similar wake/sleep schedule that a toddler has, your dog will know what to do. Ours still takes an afternoon crate nap every day. Frozen yogurt Kong in the crate makes the crate a desirable place to be. It is rare for dogs to soil their crate so if you work on crate training, you’ve won half the battle.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2025 14:35     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Our small dog took months (and she was 11 months when we got her!). The issue was she was like 90% housetrained when we got her, but that last bit took forever. The problem, I think, was that she'd go a week or even two without accidents, and we would assume she was completely housetrained, we'd give her a little more freedom, and then she'd backslide. Ultimately it took a month of no accidents before she didn't need constant supervision.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2025 13:54     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.


It took our puppy a good 6-8 months to PT. We did indoor with pee pads and grass mats and outdoor and were very consistent about it. After a ton of accidents got smart and covered the floors and sofa with giant pee pads. It does get better but it takes time.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 17:32     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.


The fastest way to potty training is crate training because it uses the dogs natural instinct to avoid soiling its den to your advantage, and gives you a secure place to keep the puppy while you shower, when you go out, etc.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:41     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.


What worked for me was LOTS AND LOTS of treats, cue words and lots of time in and out for them to pee. I would say that with in a couple of weeks it's clicked though accidents persist for a few months. One of my pups from years ago was trained in 3 days. My current dogs were a bit longer, about a week and a half.

All of my dogs stay with me so I also learn their cues so when I see the cues, I rush them out, cue word, pee and treats.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:38     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry this was so hard, OP. It shouldn't have been this stressful.

We once got a rescue dog who had been in a terrible non-socialized environment who was also scared to death. All the advice wasnever raise your voice, be totally gentle, follow dog's lead. Well, the dog could not grasp walks and pooping and peeing outside not inside. I dutifully did all the things and just cleaned up mess after mess (and she had a difficult case of worms, did I mention that?). Finally, after a week or so of this, I lost it and yelled at her No! No! while cleaning up the mess. And, after that, she started to understand. It really did take one time getting 'punished' for her to get the concept. Boy that was a tough first week.

Please don't beat yourself up too much. You have a pet, you know what it takes, you did things right, and this just wasn't the dog for you. sometimes it just doesn't work out.


This is why "positive training" needs to be taken with a huge scoop of salty consideration given to the unique circumstances of each dog being trained. Dogs in the wild don't passively correct. They bark, snarl, growl, nip... boundaries are declared and everyone knows what's what.

While I don't advocate for heavy-handed discipline, or sharp corrections to start, sometimes it's kinder to the dog to just make the damned point the once and be done with it. Dogs understand "NO!" and your displeasure. This is how they would've been disciplined by their packmates.


I entirely agree. It's so refreshing to hear voices of reason on this board, which otherwise goes way overboard on the positive discipline.


I mean, it does work for some dogs. But if it's the only tool you've got, you don't have enough tools.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:36     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.



I'm the OP and I don't care about crate training. I just needed her to be house trained.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:11     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry this was so hard, OP. It shouldn't have been this stressful.

We once got a rescue dog who had been in a terrible non-socialized environment who was also scared to death. All the advice wasnever raise your voice, be totally gentle, follow dog's lead. Well, the dog could not grasp walks and pooping and peeing outside not inside. I dutifully did all the things and just cleaned up mess after mess (and she had a difficult case of worms, did I mention that?). Finally, after a week or so of this, I lost it and yelled at her No! No! while cleaning up the mess. And, after that, she started to understand. It really did take one time getting 'punished' for her to get the concept. Boy that was a tough first week.

Please don't beat yourself up too much. You have a pet, you know what it takes, you did things right, and this just wasn't the dog for you. sometimes it just doesn't work out.


This is why "positive training" needs to be taken with a huge scoop of salty consideration given to the unique circumstances of each dog being trained. Dogs in the wild don't passively correct. They bark, snarl, growl, nip... boundaries are declared and everyone knows what's what.

While I don't advocate for heavy-handed discipline, or sharp corrections to start, sometimes it's kinder to the dog to just make the damned point the once and be done with it. Dogs understand "NO!" and your displeasure. This is how they would've been disciplined by their packmates.


I entirely agree. It's so refreshing to hear voices of reason on this board, which otherwise goes way overboard on the positive discipline.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:06     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Puppies are not that hard. I think a lot of your issues them from wanting the crate train that dog and that dog wanting to be with you. That’s why it’s always crying and making you miserable. The dog is lonely, they are social pack animals. Maybe yours is extra social and wants to be with you physically.

Anonymous
Post 03/05/2025 16:02     Subject: I was an idiot to get a puppy.
Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry this was so hard, OP. It shouldn't have been this stressful.

We once got a rescue dog who had been in a terrible non-socialized environment who was also scared to death. All the advice wasnever raise your voice, be totally gentle, follow dog's lead. Well, the dog could not grasp walks and pooping and peeing outside not inside. I dutifully did all the things and just cleaned up mess after mess (and she had a difficult case of worms, did I mention that?). Finally, after a week or so of this, I lost it and yelled at her No! No! while cleaning up the mess. And, after that, she started to understand. It really did take one time getting 'punished' for her to get the concept. Boy that was a tough first week.

Please don't beat yourself up too much. You have a pet, you know what it takes, you did things right, and this just wasn't the dog for you. sometimes it just doesn't work out.


This is why "positive training" needs to be taken with a huge scoop of salty consideration given to the unique circumstances of each dog being trained. Dogs in the wild don't passively correct. They bark, snarl, growl, nip... boundaries are declared and everyone knows what's what.

While I don't advocate for heavy-handed discipline, or sharp corrections to start, sometimes it's kinder to the dog to just make the damned point the once and be done with it. Dogs understand "NO!" and your displeasure. This is how they would've been disciplined by their packmates.