Spoilt & Rotten update

[woogiebear]

Hi all! I am sorry I have not posted in a bit. I was on vacation all of last week and ran myself raggid. My best friend came down and we were running ourselves to death. My husband got to do alot of puppy sitting LOL!!

The boys are getting along grandly!! They get a little too snarky with each other occassionally but other than that they are good. I have to separate them while feeding though otherwise Rotten thinks Spoilt is gonna get all his vittles!

Spoilt's ears are starting to perk up now. They actually are straight out to the sides right now like bat wings. Looks like he is ready to take flight. I have been giving him the extra calcium and vitamin C.

I tried the Adolph's meat tenderizer in Rotten's food to thwart the stool eating but it isn't working. I also tried a tad bit of garlic. No go. I am still catching him doing it. Any other ideas?

I had previously been putting Spoilt in a baby cage type thing overnight and he has been doing real well as far as potty training. Rotten was still going in the dining room at night SO...last night I crated them both in separate crates right next to the couch I sleep on. They did fairly well. They did not create TOO much a ruckus and held it till morning.

As soon as I got up, I took them outside and they tinkled. However, they BOTH ca-ca'd inside later after breakfast. I was thinking maybe I should shorten thier morning pee walk (after they pee they just walk around checking out the cars and birds etc. instead of doing any pooping) and then feed them breadfast and follow that up with a poop walk. Does that sound right? I think I will try that tomarrow morning.

They do good holding it all afternoon till my husband gets home from work. But again, Spoilt is going both deeds outside and Rotten is only tinkling. Rotten likes to wait till he is back inside and then he does the deed inside. EW!

During the day, Rotten is closed in the kitchen and Spoilt is in the small bathroom off the kitchen. There is a baby gate in the bathroom doorway so they can see and visit each other but at the same time I do not want them to be left totally alone with each other unsupervised just yet. Not until Spoilt catches up to Rotten's size.

How is everyone else doing?

[corgimom]

Woogiebear,

sometimes first thing in the morning, Cody will just pee and then come in, eat breakfast and then 1/2 hour later I take him out and he goes pee and poop again. Most times, however, he goes pee and poop outside first thing in the morning before he eats.

So definitely, yes, take Rotten out again for a poop after he eats breakfast about 20 min. to 1/2 hour later!

When Cody was younger 3 to 4 months, he did eat his poop that he made outside. I had talked to my vet about it. Since he did not poop in the house, but only outside, I was able to pull on his leash when he would first attempt to eat it and tell him "leave it" and then re-direct him. This did take several times to teach him that eating poop was not okay. He absolutely does not eat his poop anymore. He will smell it, on occasion and that is it. I don't even have to pull him on his leash away from it. Somehow you are going to have to catch Rotten in the act - and pull him away and tell him the same thing and redirect him and praise him when he listens. We are learning the "leave it" thing in puppy class right now(Cody is 7 months) close to your Rotten's age. Our instructor has us throw various tempting things on the floor by our dogs and we have to give the leave it command and then when they do, we immediately reward them with a treat.

Be consistent with Rotten on this issue and it will work. Sounds like you have having fun with your handful.

Glad to hear from you. I was wondering how it was all going.

linda

[Shelly]

I thought onions and garlic were definitely dangerous foods for dogs. Luckily my pup hasn't started eatting his poop but he has mistaken rabbit poop for his dropped kibble when he's eatting food outside. Plus my older corgi loves to eat rabbit poop so hopefully he won't start her bad habit. How old are your two puppies?

[woogiebear]

Spoilt is now 12 wks old (3 months) and Rotten just turned 8 months old. Yes, I definetly have my hands full. Sometimes I think I should just pop a tent outside LOL!!!

I am also changing thier dinner time as well. I was feeding them later on in the evening but I got to thinking that it was too far away from thier breakfast time and too close to the next breakfast time. They get treats etc. during our dinner time so I thought previously that was ok but now I am rethinking it. I am trying to feed them closer to 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm since they eat breakfast around the same hour on the am.

I will be trying the new potty schedule out tomarrow morning and so that leaves them going outside twice in the morning before we leave for work, when my husband comes home around 5:00 pm he takes them out. When I come home, I cook dinner and then I take them out again. Around 6:00 pm. Then I will feed them dinner and wait about 30 min and take them out again. I also take them out once more before I go to bed around 10:00 - 10:30 pm. Since they get treats during the evening maybe I should squeeze one more potty in between 6:30 and 10:30 pm.

They are doing good holding it 8:00 am - 5:00 pm during the weekdays and since I had them both crated last night from 10:00 pm - 5:30 am.

I have heard they have this stuff called Dis-Taste to help stop the stool eating but I tried finding it on PetCo.com and couldn't find it. I will look around some more.

[corgimom]

Woogiebear,

You can Order Dis-taste from an online store called:

www.DrsfosterSmith.com or call 1-800-826-7206 - you can get a free catalog
and they have lots of stuff for animals. It says that Dis-taste comes in
powder or pill form.

They also have a product called For-bid to stop stool eating.

It says Dis taste is the most effective product on the market.

I would still also work on the "leave it" command with Rotten and help him
in redirecting his attention to something else with lots of praise.

Linda

[Michael Romanos]

Shelly - onions are a definite no no but a little garlic for Corgis is brilliant. Too much garlic though can present the same dangers as onions do because of the toxicity. Taylor almost daily gets a little galic - it is in the excellent dog roll I constantly purchase - not enough in it to affect his breath.

Woogiebear - good on you for giving your Corgis calcium and vitamin supplements. Should be compulsory then I'm certain that few Corgis would have ear errection problems - and of course, calcuim is vital for good bone growth - if you want your Corgis to have strong bones and be powerful and active Corgis when they get older, give them extra calcium as puppies and up til they are around 18 months.

[Fluffypants]

I tried the Dis-Taste with Jackie when she was younger, with no success. She had a problem eating her poop from the newspapers, before she was house trained. She never ate it outside, but I guess the temptation was too great for her between walks while we were at work.

It's worth a shot, though, as it obviously works for lots of dogs. You can't judge anything by Jackie, I guess . . . she's a nut!

[woogiebear]

Well I tried the new potty schedule this morning. I got up, first thing I let them out of the crates and immediatly went outside. They both tinkled. (Great! Just as planned!)

Then I brought them in and gave them breakfast and made them come into the bathroom with me and closed the door for 20 minutes while I started getting read for work. Then I took them back outside for potty round #2.

Spoilt went poop (YEAH!) but Rotten did not. Well I wasn't about to give in so easily so when I went back in, since Rotten likes to sneak about and do it while I'm not looking, I kept him on his leash and made him stay with me while I finished my morning duties and getting ready for work.

At the last possible moment, I took Rotten back outside (by himself) and NADA. Nothing. I stayed as long as I could. Was even late getting to work. But he never did go. Now I don't know if he was just being stubborn or what cause I KNOW that dog had to poop. He does every morning in the dining room when I am not looking. Sneaky little tike!

We left for work. He will either hold it all day till Scott comes home from work and go then, or he will do it in the kitchen and (EW) eat it.

(Big sigh) I am tired.

[Jeni D]

Woogiebear, good work with the persistence. Potty training can definitely be frustrating. I know with Dudley, he has started going to the door now to let me know that he needs to go, but he will only go pee and want to come back in; then, 10 minutes later he wants to go back out and go poo. At least he is going to the door so I can't complain to much, but I swear dogs like to make our lives as complicated as possible
I'm sure if you keep up with this schedule, sooner or later Rotten will get the idea that pooping in your dining room is not an option

[Jhemphill]

Do you give them a treat when they go outside and do there business? I have learned that Maxi and the others in our pack will go out and tinkle a little bit come in and get a treat and then a little while later less then 30 minutes what to go back out, so they can get another treat, smart little things. We keep them out longer now so they empty out their bladders. I have found that if you are consistent that you can get them to poo almost every time they go out at least twice a day. We also take Maxi and the pack out twice in the morning when we wake up and right before we leave for work, usually the last one they will go poo. Consistency is the key. Good luck.

[corgimom]

Rotten is no dummy and he is saving his poo duty for inside because he has been doing it so long. I am not sure how you are going to work this out, but as Jhemphill suggested, give Rotten a treat right after he pees outside and praise him; maybe he will realize that if he does his other duty out there also, he will be rewarded.

Since he is still pooping inside, I would try the dis-taste to see if it works on him not eating it anymore; It is almost like he knows that if he makes it in the house, he will be able to consume it because you will not be there to scold him. He does not know that pooping in the house is not right because he has been doing it for so long now.

What is the amount of time between the time you get up until the time you leave for work - about an hour? or more? Maybe you need to get up 20min to 1/2 hour earlier in the morning(let him outside for pee and then feed him right away and maybe that extra time up for Rotten will be enough to get his bowel going so that he will poop outside right before you leave for work. Of course, you will have to keep a close eye on him at all times while you are getting ready for work. However, he may just continue to hold it no matter what you do because to him, pooping in the house is okay - to him.

Now does he just do his morning poop in the house ? What does he do on weekends when you are around in the morning??

Linda

[woogiebear]

Ugh.

I have tried treats with him as rewards. But here lately treats only go for pooping. Rotten is not so happy when Spoilt gets a treat for going poop outside and he gets nothing. He didn't go poop. I will even show him the poop and talk excited like it's the best thing in the world. He looks up at me as if to say "whatever. Like I'm interested in seeing Spoilt's poop! And it stinks!" He then turns his nose up and wanders away from me like I just insulted him.

When I see that he has just pooped in the house, I bring him to it, show it too him and say "Bad! Potty Outside!" Then I pick it up and make him come with me to the door as I throw it outside and tell him repeatedly "Potty Outside!" He then looks up at me like "What did you throw that tasty treat outside for? What a waste!"

I have already started getting up an additional 30 minutes before I need to to try to help Rotten get into the swing of things. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I rush to the bathroom (if I don't pee first I will not make it outside for them to pee) and I am seranaded the whole 3 minutes it takes me to pee by the furry gang saying "HEY!! You are up now, what's up? Let us out!" I then immediatly open thier crates and slip my sandles on while I am talking to them telling them "Come on! Time to potty outside!" They are all wiggly and happy and I take them both out, one leash in each hand, and they will both usually pee. I then bring them inside because I could pop a tent out there and that is all they are gonna do at that time.

Then I feed them breakfast, wait about 15 minutes and take them out a second time. Spoilt will almost always poop on this second trip. Yesterday Rotten refused to poop at all, even with a third trip that made me late to work. This morning as SOON as he gulped down his food, he ran and pooped in the dining room. He has performance anxiety I guess. He doesn't want to poop when I can actually catch him in the act.

On the weekends, I try to take them out every couple of hours. I realize this may be unconventional being that they are crated all night (7 hours) and then they are sequestered into the kitchen while we are at work (9 hours) but when I am home, I will try to take them out every couple of hours. Surprisingly enough, they hold it quite well while we are at work as far as I can tell. And I have yet to have an accident over night either. Seems they do fine when crated or sequestered.

My husband has potty duty after work as he gets home before I do. Sometimes Rotten will poop for him and sometimes not. I personally don't think I have seen potty la caca from that dog in a month. At least. Oh I FIND the caca. I just don't see him making the deposit!

I don't want to keep him crated the entire day. But even taking him out every couple of hours on the weekend is not proving to be very helpful. There are times he will sit and wait near the front door, but it is usually to pee. I can say this however, (knocking on my wooden head as I say this) I have not had to pick up a pee inside from Rotten in about a week that I can tell. And Rotten's pee is usually a river where Spoilt's pee is a tiny creek. Spoilt will have an accident periodically but he is doing much better right now at the house training than Rotten is.

I'm getting ready to leave for the weekend so wish me plenty of potty luck LOL!!

[corgimom]

Woogiebear,

I know one thing that I read on the internet regarding potty training is to
take Rottens poop outside(on a paper towel or napin) right after he does it
inside. Immediately take Rotten outside to the spot you have put it in to show it to him - try this, instead of throwing it outside while you guys are inside. This way, he sees and smells it in the area where you want him to go, and then praise him and say "good potty" - even give him a
treat.

Linda

[woogiebear]

I have tried doing that but I did not praise. I only took it and him outside and repeated the phrase "Potty Outside....Potty Outside" showing it to him. He just looked at it and then at me with this look of "You gotta be kidding me" across his face.

This weekend was a disaster. Every single time I took him outside he came in and pooped. This morning I took him out twice and both times he pooped inside afterwards. I am nearing my end of patience here.

I HAVE noticed that he is eating it less frequently so perhaps the Adolphs meat tenderizer idea is working.

I don't know what else to do as far as his potty training goes though. I am throughly stuck. Spoilt is doing very well. But Rotten, well he is rotten at it.

It seems like I spend half my life mopping up puppy puddles and scooping up logs. I have no energy and I am plum tired. I can't even get anything else done! I constantly have to stop in the middle of dishes, or laundry, or cooking to either take them out cause I've noticed they are sniffing around, or pick something up that he deposited while I was busy. And that is exactly when he is waiting to do it.

I kept him on his lead for HOURS Saturday waiting for him to sniff or whatever as a sign he had to poop. I took him out every 30-40 min. hoping his need to poop would overcome his need to do it inside. I had housecleaning to do and didn't get anything done. I sat on that couch going through paperwork with his lead around my ankle. Every time I took him outside, he may have peed but no poop. Late that afternoon I had to get up and do something, I can't remember what it was. Something that would have been difficult for me to do with him tethered to me. And wouldn't you know it. As SOON as my back turned. He pooped in the dining room. I could have screamed! I was so mad!

I do not want to keep him crated 24-7 but it is nearing the point where I will have no chioce but to do so. He does not do it in his crate. I just do not understand why it is that Rotten refuses to go outside. He will wait hours just to do it inside. What gives???

Spoilt's ears are still not coming up. The breeder I bought him from said she taped up the other litter mates ears and that worked. How do I go about doing this? It seems that the tape would hurt when it was time to come off. His ears have now been standing straight out to the sides like a bat getting ready to take flight for about 3 weeks now. And this stage seemed to happen overnight. But no further progress.

[Fluffypants]

You poor thing. Instead of tethering him to you, you can put him in his crate in between walks. Keep the same schedule, taking him out very often. If he goes outside, praise him like crazy. If not, put him back in his crate until the next try. Since he won't go in his crate, you have less chance of him going in the wrong spot. It's just insurance against him making a mistake, and increasing the chance that he'll go outside. Plus, you might be able to get a few minutes to yourself between walks!