My friend is giving me a 5 month old Papillon. Due to some things going on in their lives, they weren't able to properly house train her. I've read a lot about training small dogs, and understand it can be difficult. I was just wondering if anyone here had some first hand experience and first hand advice!! tia

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

Be consistent!

Take her out often.

If you catch her in the act, interrupt her (clap, make a loud noise) then take her directly outside, even if she already finished in the house. (don't punish her)

Buy a "pee stick" Simple Solution Pee Spot Pheromone Stick | NextDayPets.com

Reward her every time she goes outside (verbally, with treats or a toy, whatever she responds to.) at first, you don't have to do this forever.

Buy some Nature's Miracle and use it to clean up any messes she makes. She's more likely to go inside if she smells her previous messes and regular cleaning supplies won't get rid of all the scent.

If that doesn't work and there's one place she always goes, leave something (paper, puppy pad.. whatever, but always use the same thing, every time) to mark the area, then start taking that outside with you and try to get her to pee on it there.

Good Luck!

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

Excellent and new advice!! Thank you! Where do I get Nature's Miracle??

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

Petsmart carries it. Petsmart.com Amazon does too, and probably lots of other places.

Oh and if you see her sniffing around in circles, take her out immediately.

Is she crate trained?

If possible I would try to keep her close to you anytime you are awake in the house and use a crate when your not. She shouldn't be in there very long during the day, so if you work full time it's probably not a good option. In the beginning you may need to get up once at night to take her outside. Usually a dog will hold in when they're in the crate. They don't like to "go" where they sleep.

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

Well, I'm not working yet, so that's why I thought we would go ahead and get another dog now. We had to have our sweet mut put down this summer. We had had her since my son was 4, and he turned 20 this year. She was the BEST dog.

I would like to get a job soon, but probably only part time when I do, so that would be ok. She is not really trained at all. Everything I read said to keep her in the crate unless she was being played with, etc. I don't like the idea of that...maybe they just meant until you've established a potty routine. I'll have to look again. I'm excited to train her and for the company!!

Have you had small dogs before?? probably so... We never have and I didn't realize it was a whold different ball game!!

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

I have a pug.

I don't think I'd keep her in the crate most of the time, but I would keep her in the same room as you whenever possible. That way you can catch her every time she has an accident or looks like she about too. She may catch on quickly, but maybe not and it might take a lot of patience on your part, but she'll get there.

Lots of dogs come to love their crate, it's their "den", their safe spot. Introduce it as a positive thing. Put a few treats in there, leave the door open and let her in and out as she pleases at first. Slowly start shutting the door for longer periods of time. You can also get a Kong Puppy KONG Dog Toys for Beginning Chewers - Toys - Dog - PetSmart fill it with treats or peanut butter and tie it to the inside of the crate and leave the door open. That the only way she can chew on it is when she's in her crate.

Enjoy your new puppy, Papillons are adorable.

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

I'm really excited...DH, not so much lol. He's afraid I will go in the truck with him and make him take Carly out to pee pee at a truck stop!! Too funny, but probably not too far from the truth, lol.

I guess one of the keys is to keep them busy, huh? Our sweet Hanna was an incredibly easy dog from day one, so I am really at a loss, but willling to learn! Thanks so much.

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

We have some relatives with Pappies that they love.

I'm not as crazy about them, but it's because they aren't ours, and they really only seem smitten with their own people, ya know?

They are extremely, extremely devoted to the mom (my cousin's wife). Extremely. They follow her all over and whenever she sits down they are both up on her lap immediately.

One of them absolutely hates little boys... to the point that I wished they would shut the dog in the garage. They have a son who wasn't nearly as kind to the dog as he should have been. He's a boy they adopted as a preschooler who came to them with all sorts of behavioral problems, and his presence really upset the dog... and he was not kind towards the dog. As a result, the dog goes ballistic anytime a boy under... oh... probably 5'2"ish walks into the room.

Our youngest son is as sweet as can be with dogs but he has NO chance with THAT dog. None. At. All. The dog just barks and barks and snarls angrily as long as our little guy is in the room. Our son can't even walk by him without getting 'yelled at' by the dog. Fiercely.

As soon as our son leaves the room, though, the dog is absolutely calm and asleep on my cousin's wife's lap.

We don't live in the same town as these dogs and only encounter them 1-2 times a year over a 4-5 day period (holidays, etc.). They definitely do have opinions (the dogs) and I would not label them as easy-going or laid back... but if loyalty is what you want, and you and your DH and another older (as in HS kid or above) family member are the people with whom the puppy will have primary contact, you'll all probably bond really well!

One other thing in order to have less and smaller poops I would consider feeding a grain-free food. I feed Taste of the Wild. There's lots of others out there. You won't find them at Walmart though. They tend to be more expensive, but they eat less because they're more digestible, it's also healthier. TOTW is comparable in price to Iams and cheaper than Science Diet. If price is an issue Kirkland food (not grain-free but pretty good) at Cosco is decent quality, so is Diamond naturals (grain-free) (not diamond regular)

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

Too funny wowoitsdark! This particular dog has been around lots of kids and other dogs. So I don't anticipate any problems, but who knows. Once she gets spoiled here, she may decide she doesn't appreciate children anymore!! lol

I'm anxious to get to know her and spend time training her. I've never had a ton of time before to do that, so I'm looking forward to it. I will NOT turn into one of those people that values their dogs comfort above that of humans though. Dogs are dogs, people are people, the line will not be blurred! You act stupid, you go in your kennel. lol Too bad you can't do that to your kids! (I'm just kidding...........kind of)

I've read about the food, that they require and do better with higher quality food. Don't they sell Iam's at Wal-mart? Or isn't it the grain free kind?

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

They do sell Iams at Walmart. It's grain-free that Walmart doesn't carry. I used to feed Iams (for my cats). The quality is slightly better than the cheaper brands, but not enough to justify the cost. You can usually find higher quality foods for similar cost.

Here's a site that reviews tons of different dog foods out there. Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

Here's their criteria for rating food.
How do you rate the dog foods?

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

That's funny that you mention the grain free kind. A girl that I work with is a nut over her dog's nutrition, as is her vet. She swears by the fact that dogs do not need any type of grains in their food. I can't remember the name , but she said Walmart does carry one type. But she buys something from the pet store that she says cost the same, and they eat less of it because it fills them up quicker. Don't know for myself, but she swears by it.

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*** Find A Need , Fill A Need ***

If you hear what kind Walmart carries I'd love to know. I searched the ingredients on all the bags (I'm sure they thought I was nuts) and couldn't find anything. If it's one that my Walmart doesn't carry I can ask them if they plan to. I live in a small town with no pet store and usually by pet food at the feed store or off the internet.

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

I will ask her tomorrow at work and let you know!

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*** Find A Need , Fill A Need ***

Hi, the one at Walmart is called Lamiderm, and Nature's Choice, has a black lab on the front. Another is Taste Of Wild at Pet Supplies Plus. My friend says they eat half of what they usually would, and only do their business once a day! Now I've had 3 different people tell me about it and they really believe it, I'm thinking I'm going to try it!

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*** Find A Need , Fill A Need ***

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out next time I'm there. Right now the dog and cats eat Taste of the Wild from the feed store (and just regular meat). I'm really happy with it and so are they, but it'd be nice to have another choice if need be. There's not many options in a small town.

They do eat about half what they did before (it can take a little while for them to realize that they don't need as much) The cats used to be on Iams and the dog was on Science Diet. The TOTW cat food is about the same price as the Iams cat food and the TOTW dog food is less than Science diet.

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

I ended up, after much searching and reading, getting CORE "wellness".. I've never heard of it, but found it at a pet food store. If Wal-Mart carries something, that would be great, because the store I got it from is 2 and half hours away!!

Still don't have the dog....soon, I hope!!

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

Wellness Core is an excellent food, if we had it here I would be feeding either that or Innovo Evo or Orijen.

I looked up the brand that Walmart carries "Natural Life Lamaderm Lamb Protein & Rice Dog Food" it isn't a grain-free food, however it does seem to be better quality than other food you can get at walmart. So if Walmart is the only option that's what I would go with.

With the Wellness Core, I would transition slowly, it's very rich and some dogs get soft stools at first, but in the long run it will be so much better for her.

Good luck!

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

So......last week I went and bought toys, food, pee pads, and some other things to get ready for my puppy. My friend who was giving me the dog kept having to put off bringing her here. She wanted to come just to visit too, so I was patient. She was supposed to come today, but before she could leave the school called and there was a problem with her youngest son and his eye. So she had to take him to the Dr. Once again, the arrival of my papillon was put off. Obviously her son comes first, so no big deal. Well....

the dog got hit in the driveway this afternoon. Ugh. Some things are just not meant to be.

I guess I'm off to the humane society tomorrow. I need some companionship since Faith is gone.

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.

Oh no! That's terrible!

You can start searching on Pet finder to find a list of puppies at local shelters and rescues. Your Humane Society may list their animals on there too.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find the perfect match.

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We can't stop here this is bat country.....

I've actually been doing that. Our local shelter has two poms for adoption, but there is a pretty good chance they are gone already. I'm heading over in the morning to see.

I feel really bad for my dear friend. I know she was upset for me, but she's had a pretty bad week with sick kids and now her son's eye. He lost vision in it at 3 years old due to an accident, and now at nine, he just continues to have problems. They are seeing a surgeon on Mon.. Anyway...I know she feels terrible, but has bigger problems than that.

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Melissa

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak argument.