Am I Bad?-Long puppy story

[808veggie]

OK, so this weekend we decided to adopt a puppy from a Humane Society (not our local one) and we picked an 8 month old puppy that was hound/sheppard mix. Now we get the puppy home and we walk it and walk it and walk it all day and night and never goes potty outside. As soon as you come in from walking her, she pees on the floor. :no: She also was acting afraid of us when we would leash her to go outside. At first we just dismissed it as "new home syndrome". Well that night we put her into the bathroom and about 8am the next morning I took her out FOREVER and she never went to the bathroom. Well we get inside and I go out of the dining room for 5 minutes and come back to poo ALL OVER, I mean the dining room, living room, she tracked it in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway AND mananged to even get it on the wall!!!!! :evil: So I had to go rent a steam cleaner and clean the damn floors! Well we decided to take her back to the humane society and instead we adopted a 6 week old boxer/mix that knows how to potty outside already. I feel bad, but man I don't have the time or patience to clean poo up everyday and shampoo the carpets either!

[The Rev]

For myself, once the puppy comes home, it's family. That's me, tho. I doubt I could have taken it back. I'm sorry to say it, but you can pretty much guess what that puppy's future is.

:no:

The Rev

[punkmommy]

When we adopted our dog, he was a stray and about 1 yrs old. He wasn't trained, but with positive rewards- he caught on very fast. It takes some time and a little coaxing, but I think positive reinforcements (like treats) work wonderfully. I don't mean to sound rude, but why didn't you look into adopting a dog that was already house trained if it was a concern?

I don't know your situation, but I think that maybe leaving the puppy in the bathroom overnight isn't the best idea. Did they discuss crate-training at the HS? ( not my thing, but I think it'd be better than a bathroom).

[808veggie]

Well we felt a little misled in the fact that we were told all these wonderful things about her..potty trained etc... also, I think crates are cruel. We put her into the bathroom to have room and so as to not tear anything in the house up while we slept since she was new to our place. We would have to leave her at the house while we are at work also.

[The Rev]

Having recently adopted a dog from the local shelter, I can vouch for the misinformation thing 808 is talking about. We got a pup with distemper and they just said it was kennel cough, and most shelter dogs get that. Sometimes, I think they are so eager to get their animals adopted that they feel they have to lie or leave out important info. In the end, it just adds to the problem of people going to pet stores and breeders for their dogs, and not to the shelters.

:no:

The Rev

[Lacykitten]

It really sucks that there was misinformation going on.

Personally I think that if you don't have time to train a puppy you should get an adult dog. It's not just a matter of where they bathroom, puppies take a lot more work than that. If you're going to be leaving your puppy home alone, there's always the risk of being lonely and tearing your house apart, especially as a puppy when all they want to do is play. It needs a place where it can go while you're gone so it doesn't tear up your house. It needs socialization and to be trained what is acceptable and inacceptable behavior (jumping up on people, how to act around children vs adults, barking at people or other animals, chasing cats, etc)...

If it's going to be home alone all day, a puppy is not the best choice. An adult dog, that can lay around and ignore it's playful urges until you get home to play with it, is much better. They can also hold their potty until they can be let out. If it's going to be alone all day, you ARE going to come home to messes in the house...

Good luck, either way.

[Flower]

Even adult dogs that are completely potty trained can have accidents in a new home for a few weeks or so. There's always that adjustment time.

[Alfiedog]

Well it does take a puppy a while to adjust. A few days just ain't gonna do it.

I am involved with the dog rescue community here and just for the record - I thought crate training was horrible too. However, it really isn't a bad thing. Dogs really like the crate and especially if you use it a temporary training tool - it's fine. Better then being in a pound.

I wouldn't take a pup back for any reason, but on the flip side it may be much easier for them to adopt out an eight week puppy over a six month one.

[Banshee's Wail]

I thought crate training was horrible too. However, it really isn't a bad thing. Dogs really like the crate and especially if you use it a temporary training tool - it's fine.

I'm another believer in crate training. If you have a dog that is uneasy when there is a thunder storm, watch what they do...they'll find a semi-enclosed, darkened area of your house and stay their until the storm passes. They seek the feeling of increased protection afforded by the confined space. A crate really isn't any different if you're not excessive with the length of time the puppy is confined. Wild canines (wolves and fox) all use dens as well. Make the crate the puppy's den.

[Alfiedog]

Yes to Banshee's post - plus I have dogs who'll just go into their crates when they are tired.

[Bizy]

I don't mean to be rude, but I think it was really cruel to take the poor puppy back. I understand why you did, but I would never have done that. If I decided to get a puppy and everything didn't go my way, so what? I would rather do a little cleaning, than ruin a puppy's poor life. He most likely feels really unwanted and lonely. Think of it like a small child. If you decided to adopt and you picked Child A, but didn't like it and decided to go with Child B instead. Child A is going to have some serious psychological problems. I know not everyone considers dogs to be like children, but if everyone did there would be less animal cruelty. This all my opinion, though and I hope I didn't offend anyone.

[kpickell]

I'll try not and sound too mean. I don't think you should have adopted a dog. You weren't ready.

You only gave the first dog a day. That's not even even enough time to find out if the dog is housebroken or not. It's 8 months old, still a kid, you're a stranger, it's scared, it doesn't understand you. You weren't misled. Your expectations were unrealistic.

But what's done is done. Now you have a 6 week old puppy. 6 weeks? I'm surprised the humane society would adopt out a puppy that young, but I guess that's up to them. First of all, no 6 week old puppy is going to be housebroken. A 6 week old is going to be much different from an 8 month old. It will be trying hard to understand you because you're the only thing it has right to look up to. It's going to whine, it's going to chew, and it's going to expect you to know what that means. I would recommend reading up on dogs though as soon as possible because a 6 week old puppy is going to be a lot of work. I would invest in a crate, especially for a puppy that young. I don't see how a crate is any more cruel than a bathroom. Crates can be fun places (food, treats, toys kept in crate), they allow wider viewing, they feel safe and secure, less inclined to mess the crate, and easier to housetrain.

[FalafelsRule]

I hope someone else adopts the puppy you broght back. Poor fella/gal.

[Made4benji]

poor puppy! u didnt even give it a chance =(

[kat]

I was also going to say to think of the dog as a child. I am really sad that you took it back after only a day. You should have read up a bit more on dogs.

I have never had a dog but I have some people for potty training cover their whole floor in newspaper. They get used to doing their buisnes on the newspaper. Gradually you take away the newspaper- and maybe add it outside. So the no longer feel comfortable doing their buisness on the floor. Dogs are hard work and you have to be prepared for that. And of course all dogs have accidents from time to time,

K

[vegiemom]

shelter dogs often go thru a LOT that no one ever knows about. Some need some extra "paw holding" to bring them around to "normal behavior". More then 2 days for sure on most ANY shelter dog. It sounds like the first pup you brought home needed a more patient home. Also sounds like she wasn't the dog for you~ good luck with #2

[Lacykitten]

Well I know if I had FAMILY problems with an adopted dog of any age (ie, it tried to eat my cats or my cats tried to kill it) it'd be a safety issue and that might be enough for me to return it. We're thinking of adopting another ferret, because mine is alone and we're not home enough, but his one experience with other ferrets wasn't a positive one.. and if it didn't work out we would have to return it to the ferret group for the safety of my Mischief...

But we're well aware that that might be the case, and we'd certainly give it more than a day.(with the ferret: separate cages nearby each other to get them used to each other and all that while we're not home.. with a dog, kennel/crate while we're not home so that there's no safety risk to any of the animals, etc)

I'm gonna stop sugar coating and add that I think it's irresponsible to think that a dog can be trained immediately and that it's not, you take it back. To expect a puppy to know ANYTHING is irresponsible and sorta deluded, no matter what you are told.. As the caretaker of an animal it is YOUR job to make sure they know what they need to know, and to train them. To expect ANY animal to suddenly be perfectly fine in a totally new situation is unrealistic. And I agree with other statements.. to give it one or two days without even attempting to train it, and then giving up on it, is pretty cruel.

Again, if you don't have the time to train a puppy on where it's okay to go potty, you don't have the time for a puppy at all.

[stellar26]

If I sound mean, I don't care. You have done something horrible, and maybe you need somebody to be mean to you.
I simply cannot believe that you honestly thought that a puppy of only 7 months old.. on it's FIRST DAY HOME.. was going to be perfect. You know nothing about dogs, do you? I brought my Oliver home at 5 weeks. It took him a YEAR of constant reinforcement to be completely and fully potty trained, and to stop chewing on everything. There is absolutely no way in hell that your 6 week old puppy is, infact, completely potty trained. You will be cleaning up puppy poo and pee on your floor for at least another 4 months. Unless you are there going to be there every hour or so let him/her our for twenty minutes.
In every way, I compare the rearing of a puppy to that of a human child. They require so much attention, love, and patience that it's enough to make you want to implode. Seriously. Socialization is such a huge part of making that puppy into a wonderful dog, and it sounds as though you aren't going to have enough time to do even that- something so basic. What were you thinking when you adopted these puppies? Are you nuts? They aren't a stuffed toy that will sit on your lap and look cute for your friends. They're living, breathing, FEELING beings that will probably pee on your friends at some point- or at least chew up their shoes. You need to do some serious research and take the rearing of this puppy seriously. It's not a joke, and once that puppy has a bond to you and you finally come to your senses and realize that you are not ready for him/her- you had better not even think of just, "giving him back" because it will tear that dog up.

:furious:

[Alfiedog]

You know the other thing is that she may have had worms, or a stomach upset, which made it impossible for her to hold it in.

[das_nut]

I'm with the others -- one day and one accident isn't enough to decide that the dog needs to be replaced.

But if you are going to take a dog, and you don't have time to train it, why not look at the older dogs at the pound then? Puppies are cute, but they take A LOT OF TIME TO TRAIN. ( So may older dogs... )

[Tame]

I don't see why everyone is being so harsh. Okay, this one didn't work out, but they did adopt the next one as well. The other one wasn't there long enough to form a bond with them. maybe it's not what some here would have done, but I don't see the crime here at all.

[Christy]

Crate training is not cruel if done correctly. We put our dog in a crate when he was a puppy. He went there at night and while we were at work. Luckily my husband comes home at lunch, so he could let him out. He'd even go there voluntarily when we said, "Let's go to bed!" Eventually we'd leave him out for an hour or two while we went to the store or something, just to test him. He's been just great since then, and we put the crate away about a year ago.

[professor_b]

Crate training is not cruel if done correctly.

I agree. Our dog was crate trained from day one, and it helps in a number of ways. It worked for housebreaking him, and it provides him with his own little space that he likes. He actually really loves his crate, he'll even go in there and chill on his own when he's tired. We only have to say "kennel" and he runs right in!

With that said, training a puppy takes serious time. I spent my summer vacation last year training my dog, two weeks with nothing but full time attention to the little sucker, day and night. That got him housebroken really quickly, but it meant being with him nearly constantly. Also, as I think someone else mentioned, reward-based training works brilliantly for most dogs.

Anyway, no need to beat up on 808. She may have made a mistake in assuming that the dog would be easy to train, and she may not have been patient enough, but she's trying to do the right thing here in the end, and for that she deserves some credit (even if I wouldn't do what she did).

[Christy]

I can also understand the near panic involved when an animal seems hell-bent on destroying your house.

[Alfiedog]

Anyway, no need to beat up on 808. She may have made a mistake in assuming that the dog would be easy to train, and she may not have been patient enough, but she's trying to do the right thing here in the end, and for that she deserves some credit (even if I wouldn't do what she did).


Well, I think it's what you have to expect from a board that has people on it who are animal activists! I'm not sure if it's your first dog 808, but puppies do require a lot of work and time.