# New Arrival Advice



## duncan88 (Dec 27, 2015)

So this is our fifth day with Chester and things on the whole are going well I feel and he is constantly making me laugh. He was 8 weeks yesterday and I have realised how cleaver and quick he learns. This is my first dog and just looking for some advice from experienced owns on a few things.

So me and my partner decided on crate training Chester and to be honest after only 4 days he was going in there to relax, being fed in there and even taking toys in there own with out prompting. When it comes to closing the door we have slowly built it up and now he is ok with the door being closed but does not like it when I move way from the crate. On a night he is sleeping in the bedroom in his crate and whimpers when he need taking out. Last night he woke at 0130 and went down for a wee then put him back in the crate and he settled. Woke me several times after this, by whimpering but when I opened the crate wasn't interested in coming out. So he slept in till 0600. This seemed like a long time with everything I have read about puppies bladders. 

Then it comes to the actual potty training. This is our hardest thing at the moment. With the terrible weather at the moment we are really struggling to keep a routine of where to take him for toilet. We began by taking him outside but he is hating the cold and the rain. He will just sit there and bark or pull on the lead and bark to go back inside. This is difficult as we live in a mid-terrace house with him barking and waking up the wicked witch of the street that lives next door. We have put paper down by the back door and when the weather is terrible, we let him do his business there. He has had a few accidents both pees and poos around the house, but we have always caught him in the act. He has never been unsupervised and left us a present around the house. But this morning he had a wee on the paper after waking up, then an accident in the living room and then was getting sleepy so I was persuading him to go in to his crate and he went in and came back out when I noticed a wet patch where he had gone in his crate. This destroyed my confidence in what we are doing. Am I expecting too much from him at this young age.

The last question, I promise, is he has his crate but we have an open plan lounge, dinner and it feels that he is starting to use the whole house as a bit of a den, is it worth putting the crate in a pen and placing pads in there as well and start from there. I feel that when he has had his second lot of injection I would be able to walk him to the end of the street to do his business just finding it hard at the moment with not being able to take him any where.

Sorry if I have rambled but any help would be greatly appreciated 

Many thanks Duncs, Roseanna and Chester


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Hello, duncan88, and welcome to the forums!! I've adopted my last two dogs as young adults from shelters, so it's been a long time since I raised a puppy. I'm really hoping other members will advise you about specifics. It sounds to me like you really want to do right by Chester. I do think that maybe you are expecting a little too much from such a young puppy. Remember, he is just a tiny little baby! Be patient, be consistent, and give him lots of love. :}


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Hi and welcome! Nice job with crate training! That can really be a stumbling block with these guys.

On potty training. Ian Dunbar recommends doing something like the pen/crate/pad setup, so check out his site (sounds like you may have already) http://www.dogstardaily.com/taxonomy/term/53 for advice on that. I didn't use that method, so I can't really advise. 

Personally, I like to make the distinction as simple as possible between inside and outside. I'd be worried that using pads inside the house will only confuse the puppy as to where is appropriate. However in theory, especially while there is bad weather, you could start carrying him to the pad, say whatever cue you want (I say do you need to go out?, some folks use bells by the door, if so jingle it.) place him on the pad, use your potty command, and praise him exuberantly if he goes. For transitioning to outside, you want to make outside more desirable than going inside on the pads, so I would add something else to the praise part if he goes outside. Extra treats, even more praise, play time, whatever. 

I think you've seen how effective routine is with crate training, so I would encourage you to stick to routine for potty training regardless of weather or anything else. Set a timer and every 15, 30 minutes pick him and and go outside. Vizslas are good at acting like wusses, but unlike your wicked witch of a neighbor, he will not actually melt in the water, so make him suck it up. He's got a brave and noble hunter somewhere under those puppy wrinkles! And really, more than just make him suck it up, make it fun, play a game, and try to look like you enjoy the rain and cold. And if you do want to preserve relations with the neighbors, a note, bottle of wine, and earplugs go a long way. 

If he has an accident, pick/soak it up, take it and your boy outside, place it on the ground where you actually want him to go, let him sniff it, and praise him. One of our long term members, Ozkar, has given that advise over the years and helped a lot of people, myself included.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I'd say you guys are all doing really well for this early on, good onya!

1) 8 week olds..mine anyways...went out every 30 mins or so (night time, too), right after eating, and right after a little bit of play time. These intervals lenghten with time and development, but for the first month or so, 2x.hr.

2)Establish a potty area. Carry Chester outside, even in the rain..they are big babies and hate anything that isn't super luxurious...and put him down in the potty area. Encourage him to "go potty" or whatevr your term for that is, so he makes the connection btwn the act and the word. That way, you can actually get him to go on command, which makes the trips outside quick and effeicient.

3) Limit his access to the whole house, you want to build up to that, and you also want to work with his instinct to keep 'His' clean, and given his perspective as a little thing, that means less space. This is why the crate works. for a while, less space is best, recall that when you're really small the world looks very big.

4) If he piddles or poops in the crate, you've kept him in too long, see#1 above. Do not become discouraged. You will learn, they are excellent teachers.

5) Even though he doesn't have all his shots, carry him outside and hold him and walk down the street, go into stores, etc, so he can experience the world from the protective vantage point of your arms. Socialization at this age is very important, and he doesn't need to have four on the floor to start that.

6) A Vizsla that is bonded to it's owner will do absolutely anything at all for it's people...it is truly a life changing experience....if it understands the expectations. Get into a consistent routine, 'Listen" to what he's (trying) to tell you about it, and make the adjustments accordingly. The sooner the bond develops, the easier the work. Enjoy, they are just delicious at that age.


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## nushearman (Dec 28, 2015)

Hello, 

We've had our Vizsla for nearly a month now and yeah he's not been keen on the rain at all... it has got easier though and while we had no accidents to begin with he is now wee'ing on the floor especially after he's had a crazy half hour and gone bonkers! 

A friend of mine has been using the puppy training pads instead of newspaper as they are scented so they encourage pup to go in just one place. 

We live in the middle of a terrace too and have eldery ladies either side.... We've just had to apologise profusely and they've been very understanding with his night time crying... After all... they;re just puppies and very very young. separation Anxiety is the biggest thing we've had to deal with so far. 

Good luck I'm such he will get into the rhythm of it soon enough and the older mine has got the less he's been bothered by rain and the more he's wanted to get outside and explore!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Have you thought about getting a coat for Chester?


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## Vizsla_Luka (Sep 8, 2015)

@duncan88 welcome to the forum! Don't dispair, it sounds like you're doing all the right things. It's really hard in the beginning, especially when the weather is bad! I would definitely stick with Ian Dunbar's advice of keeping his area very small for now. Ours was pretty much living in his crate and pen which was attached to the crate until we got the sense that he was able to hold his bladder more and more. At this point we started to give him more time outside of the pen (starting with 10 minutes!) but still confined to the living / dining area and by 4.5/5 months I'd say that he was totally house broken. He's still not allowed in our bedroom except when he goes in his crate to sleep at night. These first couple of months were tough because they cry a lot but it also enabled us to start him early on self - soothing as we never let him out of the crate / pen if he was crying. And one thing we always tell ourselves is he will eventually get used to things, our job is to enable him to learn what it is we want him to do! 

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

In terms of getting the puppy or dog to go out to the bathroom we had trouble too.
Ours is now just over 2 years old, almost 3. She does get us up or notifies us when she has to go. Often if the weather is too cold or rainy she will just go pee and then pull us back in. Then a short time later she will beg to go out again. It gets very annoying. At least she is going out! Dharma has a rain slicker, a sweater and a winter coat. We put those on her and she doesn't mind being out as much. When I walk with her in the rain she will try to go under my umbrella too. She is also very good about getting her clothes on surprisingly. When the weather is awful I find that I have to take her off of the property to get her to go and not pull me back in right away.


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