Expert: Nancy Perry - 7/13/2006

Question
Thanks for your advice! I've tried putting him in a "puppy room" with papers, and puppy pads, but he would always tear the papers up, or chew on the walls, or pull the puppy pad around until it was all pushed up against one side of the wall, and then he would mess all over the floor (which is tile, so it's not as hard to clean as a carpet, but still...) He's a spunky little terrier, and a chewer. He has little tantrums I think, or he's bored, and I don't want him to ingest the papers.

I tried putting a separation between his bed area and his puppy pad area in his crate with an opening like a door to get from one area to the other. I don't know if it will work, just one modification I came up with. What do you think? How do I keep him from tearing up his "puppy room"? and messing off the puppy pad and on the floor?
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Followup To

Question -
I live in an apartment complex, and it is not a place where people condone pets to relieve themselves on community lawns. I have a Yorkie-Poo and he is adorable, I have tried a few methods for potty training, but someone suggested that I buy a crate that is a size larger than his size, and put his bed, and a puppy pad inside. Does this really work? I work full time and so does my husband. No one can come home in the afternoon to take him out, or take him to the puppy pad during the day, so I am reluctant to "traditionally" crate train him. This puppy pad in the crate philosophy isn't working very well for us right now. Do you have any suggestions for a terrier breed that needs to stay indoors almost all the time?

Answer -
Can you gate him in a bathroom or laundry or kitchen area?  I think that would be much better.  I don't agree at all with that type of crate training.  It teaches a dog to dirty his bed area.  I think you should put him in a bigger area and put his bed in there and newspaper/pads.  The bed should be on one side and the papers about a foot away from the bed and all over.  As he gets cleaner and starts going more and more in one place, you can pick up a little of the paper each day, narrowing it down until you can get him to go in one area.  Another suggestion, if you don't have an area to gate him off, is to get an Expen.  It is used at shows.  You can put down plastic and the expen fits over it.  It works the same as gating him in.  His bed on one side and papers cover the plastic.  This way he can actually be on a rug, but can't ruin it.  There is actually a plastic expen floor that can be used as well.
Try this and please DONT do that crate thing.  The poor little thing will have to sit in his excrement all day.  Also get him those toys that you put kibble in and he has to figure out how to get it out to keep him busy.
good luck
nancy

Answer
I would go with newspapers because they don't have plastic like the puppy pads.  The plastic can really be a problem, the newspaper usually can pass and they don't get enough of it to worry about.   Get him those toys that make him work for the food inside of it.  they have them in large petstores.  also if you have him in a room where you can tie a tug of war toy to something so he gets resistance when he pulls on it.  Give him things to chew on also, this should tire him out enough til you get home.
nancy