We have collected Molly!

[CherryT]

Hi everyone - we collected Molly on Sunday afternoon!  She is SO sweet and coped very well with the 3 hour journey back to Cornwall, in fact she slept the whole way home - first on my lap and then on the floor, wrapped up, in the well by my feet.   She mostly slept and was cuddled yesterday but today she has been full of beans - having sudden bursts of energy, racing all over the place and skidding on the wooden floor! She's eating well, likes her toys, wags her tail when she sees us so all good so far.  However, I have a question: she seems ok with her crate but both on the night we brought her home and last night, she has poohed in her crate.  Here is the story,last night she was crying again at 1.30am and I went down and it was Everywhere and was REALLY smelly. I cleared everything off her blanket, vet bed and the towel I had tried to clean her with and put everything in the washing machine, resettled her.  When she woke an hour later and started crying, I nudged Brian and sent him down. He didn't come back and at 4.30 I went to check that everything was ok to find Brian asleep on top of the spare bed that's in the room, the radio on and a side lamp on and Molly in her crate with door open, looking as if she'd like to play.  So, do I leave her with the crate door open so she can get out to do a poo or do I shut the door and deal with the consequences?  I am not too worried as it has only been 2 nights but I don't want her to associate the crate with doing a poo!  She is only doing one poo during the day and seems to store everything up until night time. (We don't have a garden here so I can't take her out after every meal, I put her onto newspaper but she is not very interested!). Sorry for such a long post!

[twiceover2]

Molly sounds like she's doing great. I know some people manage to train successfully with newspaper but I have found taking them out worked best for us. Even though you don't have a garden, is there anywhere you could take her to toilet? We just had a backyard which worked fine.

[CherryT]

You are absolutely right, that's what I need to do but we are in Cornwall for another 2 weeks (timing for a new puppy not brilliant!) and where we live we are on two floors like a house but have no outside space. Molly will have her second injection on Friday and a few days after that I should be able to take her outside each time  - the houses are built in a sort of U shape on an old farmyard so there is enough space to take her out for wees etc.  (when we get back to Oxfordshire, she can go out in the garden all time which will be much easier!) But it was either coping here for a couple of weeks or not having her which I couldn't bear !  She is very sweet!

[bracken]

What times are you feeding Molly ?

[Jonnydog]

If Molly is very young and in a couple of weeks you're going to have a garden for her to go in, I'd kind of postpone the main housetraining until you get there. Meantime, give her an open crate and newspaper, which will, as you say, stop her associating crate with poo! Then when you get to what will be to her a new situation, you can show her 'this is where we do the toilet' outside. That's what I'd do in your situation anyway.

When we got Penny she was 10 weeks and we started housetraining from scratch as she'd been in a kennel. It was no problem, even though up till then she'd gone on newspaper.

[jaybee]

Agree with johnny dog in your situation leaving the door open is probably the best thing to do.

Bingley messed his crate the first two nights, he had a bit of a dodgy comig home tummy which didn't really help. Once we'd cracked the times to wake up and take him out we were fine. I'm sure you will get there soon enough

[Joules]

Hurrah!  How exciting - can't wait to meet her    I can't help but notice though that you haven't posted any photos of her yet    You do know they are compulsory on here don't you  

Re the housetraining, I think I agree with Jonnydog - I would just muddle through as best you can for now and start from scratch when you get back home.  If newspaper isn't doing it for her, you could try the puppy training pads (I think they contain some sort of pheromone that make them more attractive for toiletting).  Mind you Coco just chewed them  

If Molly is very young and in a couple of weeks you're going to have a garden for her to go in, I'd kind of postpone the main housetraining until you get there. Meantime, give her an open crate and newspaper, which will, as you say, stop her associating crate with poo! Then when you get to what will be to her a new situation, you can show her 'this is where we do the toilet' outside. That's what I'd do in your situation anyway.

Re pooing in the crate - how much space does she have in there?  You can reduce the size by putting an upturned cardboard box in there for now.  I just left enough space for her bed, water bowl and puppy pad.  I was lucky though, she only pooed in there a couple of times - I used to stand outside until all hours waiting for that last poo of the day  

It is very early days as you say so it will take a while to get her into a routine - it will be sometime before she can hold all night for a wee but hopefully if she does a poo last thing, you will get away without a poo in the night    It may be an idea to feed her a bit earlier or give her a smaller meal for her last one, to make her more likely either to hold on or to do her last poo before bedtime.    Really it is a bit of trial and error working out what works for you and for her but she has only just left her mum so is probably still very unsettled - meanwhile, get a peg for your nose and plenty of Dettol floor wipes  

Now do you understand why I thought you were mad?  

[CherryT]

Yes I do Julie!  We are feeding her the last meal at 6pm but it seems to take 3 or 4 hours for it to go through!  I think your general advice is spot on - we will muddle through until we get back home.   Today she has done some of her wees and one of her poos on the newspaper (may be more luck than design) so that's a start. She is gorgeous though and seems happy and is eating fine. She seems so tiny!  I haven't even put a collar on her yet!  I am longing to post pictures of her but as soon as I try to take a picture she moves so all I get is a tail or part of an ear!  We have had her a whole 4 days!  Can't wait to show her to you Joules! Love to all at COL - even if I don't get much sleep at the moment it is SO good to have a doglet again!