Ugh! I have so many things ongoing and today was annoying. I had class today and two tests to take in addition and the childcare at school was closed. It turns out it was some kind of misunderstanding. On thursdays it's usually my dd and one other child and the other child did not come in. The childcare lady was ill and had the days of the week mixed up. Mistakes happen, but I was kind of stuck. At least with a 3 yr old in tow my teachers believed me and said I could test later. I am having a terrible time house training the puppy. At first it seemed to be going well and I feel so helpless. I have no idea what to do. I'm taking her to an obedience course later this month, but it's messy now. My son is not listening to anything. He has adhd and it seemed to be improving. Now it's like he's not on meds at all. Running around, being loud, eating pudding with his hands, eating messier than a 2 year old, not fininshing his in class assignments. It's hard not to get frustrated. I know he's having trouble and I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening.

By Missymelissy on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 08:56 pm:

((((HUGS))))

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 09:19 pm:

{{{HUGS}}} I know it was a good month or two, before Jasmine really got the hang of going potty outside. I remember being so frustrated and like the messes were never going to end.

Can you keep her on a leash, with the leash around your hand, while you are doing your stuff? That is what helped with Jasmine. I didn't like leaving her up in her crate, while I was down in the basement. It helped me keep a closer eye on her.

Otherwise, are you using a crate? Dogs don't like to soil where they sleep. (So, the other hint is don't give your dog a rawhide bone, when you are going to be gone for Christmas! Yikes. Poor Jasmine pooped all over her crate, because the rawhide gave her diarrhea. She looked horrified when we got home. No more rawhides for her, after that. The compressed ones don't do that to her, though.)

Hope things are better soon.

{{{HUGS}}} to you and your son. I don't have any advice for that.

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 11:34 pm:

No advice, just (((((((((HUGS)))))))))

By Dancermom on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 09:32 am:

Good luck!
No advice here, my doggies are still horrible.
Unfortunately they don't have a problem pottying in their crate or puppy beds. AND they dig in their puppy beds.
Ugghh!

By Kaye on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 10:00 am:

Pam, if your dogs are soiling their crate it is because of a reason. The normal issue is the crate is too big. Take a box and put it inside to make it smaller. Another reason has to do with food in the crate, never feed them in there.

I had a very hard to train dog, I ended up using her as a project for a behavior management class...LOL (another guy potty trained his son!). Anyway, really the key is to have a plan and to follow it. I have to literally write it down and let everyone know. Things like when she left the crate, she went straight outside. She was allowed to play inside the house for s number of minutes (we set a timer), she went back into the crate. And then the routine starts over. I had more issues, but those were the basic steps.

By Dancermom on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 10:39 am:

We actually did away with the crate. It was the tiniest one you could get and he was actually outgrowing it. No food or water in there.
These dogs just don't care.

We don't leave food out, they have regular feeding times. Last potty break is 10:30pm-11:30 pm everynight.

We did the wee wee pads, they just shredded them.
They are confined to the mudroom at night now and when we are gone.
Anything I put in there to make them more comfortable (rug, bed, towel to soften the tile floor) they pee on or shred.
I have gone through so many puppy beds. They immediately pee on it and then lay down.
I'm sure it's behavioral, I'm sure they need more attention. When they would poop, one of them would chew it up and spread it around the room. I bought the stuff to put in their food to discourage it, he didn't care. He would chew his poop or the other puppy's poop. Didn't care. Vet and I are out of ideas.
Accidents are rare now, usually if we are gone too long (our own fault).
They also will NOT keep a collar on. They pull them off each other and chew them up.
We just leave the collars attached to the leashes and put them on when they go out now.
Oh, and they are 1 year and 1 1/2 years old now.

By Dancermom on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 10:41 am:

Rayelle, I'm glad your teacher was understanding of the situation. Whew!

Sorry about your day, some days you just can't catch a break.

I hope today is better.

By Rayelle on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 01:25 pm:

Thanks. Today is going better. Ds has an appt. thursday to reevaluate everything. I worry about him and want to strangle him at the same time. I know it's not his fault, but I can't let him think his behavior is ok. It's complicated. Today he was up and dressed for school at 5 a.m. He's been doing fine until this past week. sigh.....Thanks again!