Puppies at 3 to 3 ½ weeks
Time to start potty training
using the "Misty Method"
Contrary to some beliefs, potty
training a puppy should start with the breeder very early in life. It is
very important at 3 to 3.5 weeks old, when the pups become mobile, and
start to potty on their own, to set their room up PROPERLY. It is not
really a natural thing for a dog to pee or poop in his crate. Wolf
mothers are meticulous about keeping the "nest" very clean. So, once
a baby starts eating solid food, and the mother no longer cleans it
up because they can walk at this point too, (at this point the mama
wolf and den mates would have trained the pups to eliminate outside
the den) it is up to the BREEDER to keep the box/nest very clean.
This causes an aversion to poop and pee. When this is done right, by
the time the buyer purchases the pup, he will already be ready to
not pee in his crate or bed. They do not pee or poop where they eat
or where they sleep. So believe it or not, what goes on from the
time of birth to the time you buy the pup, plays a big role on the
young life and what a buyer will be faced with. With this in mind, a
breeder named Bev Dorma from Misty Trails Havanese / Mastiffs has
created a method called the "Misty Method". It is basically a way of
raising the pups that gives them a concept of housetraining at an
early age. This in return not only helps the breeder keep the
whelping area clean, it makes the puppy easier to housebreak once
they go to their new homes. A win, win for everyone... Within these
pages she explains how the method works step by step.
This means, a designated potty
area, a place to eat and play, and a place to sleep. You can see that I
have now changed the room around, and have made it bigger. The potty
area should be the farthest away, as when you enter the room, they all
jump at you, and want up, and you do not want them jumping in their
poop. The bed area should be closest to the area nearest to where you
enter the room.
These puppies are all gathered in
the play/eating area enjoying their dinner.
| The pups decide to take a nap and
many of them, on their own, gather into the sleeping area. If you look
to the left, on the paper, you can see that many have gone over their to
pee, before going for a nap. |
|
|
After puppies eat, they naturally
feel the need to eliminate, This good little puppy has left the play/
eating area and made his way into the potty area to do his business.
What a good puppy! This is the first step towards potting training a
puppy. Potty training should start with the breeder. This type of
raising a puppy is called the Misty Method and is a regular practice of
Misty Trails Mastiffs /
Havanese. Puppies raised using this method
are easier to housebreak and have less accidents in the house, as you
are distilling the concept of housebreaking
into them at a very young age. They learn from the
start, there is a place to sleep, a place to play, a place to eat and a
place to eliminate and they will carry this concept with them after they
leave the breeder. Puppies who are raised in cages where the areas are
not separated do not understand this concept. They learn they can
eliminate anywhere they wish at anytime they wish. Than, after you take
them home, you suddenly expect them to understand they cannot pee and
poo in the house.
Puppy pee, the potty area is lined
with long sheets of paper that can be rolled up for easy cleanup. This
is roll ends of newsprint. Newspaper does work, but the ink can transfer
onto the dogs and for white pups, this is not good. Soon, I may change
to wood chips, BUT NOT CEDAR CHIPS. I like to wait till they are 4 to 5
weeks. I NEVER use litter for puppies. That only works for cats. For
Large breed dogs, pine shavings works, but not on the small breeds.
For small breeds paper, or puppy pads is best and you may need to
weight it down, so they don't shred it and if they try and shred it,
you just have to say "NO". They usually don't start to shred their
bedding until they are 7 weeks.
_______________
At 3½ week, the pups were all
sleeping, due to eat in a half hour. Upon waking, ALL of the pups
went from their sleeping area to the potty area to poop/pee.
I cover the poop with a small
piece of paper so the others do not walk in it.
These pups are only 3½ weeks
old and they already get the concept of housebreaking. The place
where you sleep and the place where you play, is not the same place
you poop and pee. As a result, the owners of these pups will have an
easier time housetraining their new puppy.
A brief summery of the Misty
Method...
Use a whelp box for the first
2½ weeks, with a lip, so ONLY the Dam can get out, but the pups are
contained. (make sure the lip is low enough so the dam doesn't have
to blindly leap in, but can aim her step in, and high enough so pups
do not get out and get chilled.
For Large breeds -at 2½ to 3 weeks the paper MUST be right outside
the door.
For Small breeds - at 3 to 3½ weeks the paper MUST be right outside
the door.
And the lip/door removed, so the pups can get out of the whelp box
on their own, and find their way back in.
(Kind of like removing the Den door)
THEN, you can move the potty area farther and farther away from the
bed. Pups like it at opposite ends.
When they are 3 to 4 weeks, they will come out of their bed and pee
right away, sometimes they only get the front feet out.
After they are more mobile, you move the potty away from the bed
area. I will line a litter box with paper, but not litter.
Ideally at 6 to 7 weeks old, you have an 8 x 10' area, for small
breeds, and a larger area for large breeds with a bed in one corner,
and food and potty at opposite sides of the pen.
Courtesy of MistyTrails Mastiff's
Pups 4 weeks old - More on potty
training
