This is a Clean Go Pet Indoor Dog Potty. We have had a lot of people calling and asking about this so we tried it and think it works really well! I like that we can just wash it off and reuse it. The puppies seem to take to it pretty fast and can not pick it up and try and play with it like they do a piddle pad or newspaper. The last 2 pictures show the pad inside a tray that is available. The pad is very similar to the material used on putting greens.
We start housebreaking our puppies when they come out of the whelping box around 4 weeks. Wild dogs do not go to the bathroom in their den so we follow nature and teach our puppies not to go in the area of the pen with their blankets, food and water. The mother dog goes to the back of the pen and puppies follow her from a very early age. In nature, dogs go to the bathroom where some other dog has already gone so puppies will naturally go where their mom has previously been.
When the puppies are weaned, around 6 weeks, we set up their new homes. We make a very distinct “home” area with their blanket, water, and food, and a very distinct “potty” area, a blank space. When the puppy comes to your home, you can put any of the following in that space: piddle pad, litter box, green pad, newspaper, etc. While still at the ranch, they are also put in a pen where they learn to go outside through a dog door into a long dirt pen where they can play and then -by nature- go as far away from their house as they can to go potty.
If you are not a stay at home mom/dad, crate training is very hard to do because a small puppy can only hold it for so long and will go in the crate if left for several hours. That is why we recommend a 8 sided wire pen (shown above in several configurations). You can use this pen during the day and when you are not available to watch them closely. One of the ways we recommend using your pen…… When you can see the puppy, close the bathroom door by pushing the pen closed over the potty area. (top right picture). Then
when you notice they need to potty, immediately take them outside then praise and reward them with a treat. When you have to leave them in the pen or are unable to watch them closely, leave the pen open (as in all the other pictures) and they will go in the area you have designated away from their “home”.
How We Are Different
There have been several articles and news stories over the last few months regarding “puppy mills” and irresponsible puppy breeding. There are responsible, good, caring breeders. I have put this page together to let you know how and why we are different from the horror stories being seen on TV and in your local newspapers. The new TDLR law only requires a dog’s living space to be 6″ wider than the dog on all sides and stacked cages. You will find NO cages of any kind in my kennel and my dogs all have ground pens with inside and outside access and over 500% larger pens than required by the TDLR. Our Kennel has met all the requirements of the new law and we are way beyond the requirements according to TDLR. The TDLR Inspector was very impressed with our kennel and the amount of space, time and care that our dogs and puppies receive. The inspector was very pleased to see that we have a retirement home for our older dogs. We do not euthanize or discard any of our older dogs, they are very well taken care of and the inspector gave great compliments. You may visit our kennel but are no longer allowed to walk through the entire barn due to TDLR laws. Before you buy from a breeder, visit their kennel and make sure you can see the entire area and that the dogs are not in cages of any kind!
I have taken quotes from the book “THE DOG’S MIND, Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior” by Bruce Fogle, DVM M.R.C.V.S. We use the principals in his book to offer you a well adjusted, happy puppy. (All excerpts are italicized)We are very careful to only breed from our dams who are sweet natured and make good moms. If for any reason we feel that one of our dams is not suitable to pass on her personality characteristics, she is not bred.
“The concept of ‘critical periods’ in the emotional development of the dog is a well documented one. ”
“The first weeks of the pup’s life are the most important, that the earliest experiences it has will have a tremendous impact on the mind of the pup.”
To insure our puppies are well adjusted we start from the day they are born. Everyday our newborn puppies are picked up and very gently rolled over on their backs. We continue this process until the day they go to their new homes. We encourage our new families to continue this process. Puppies who will roll over on their backs will make better pets because it tells them we are a very loving and gentle boss.
By 3 to 4 weeks “The influence of the litter mates and us starts to increase.” We accomplish this concept by taking the puppies away from the mothers for 30 minutes to an hour twice a day starting at 3-4 weeks. They are introduced to different environments (playpens, outside) and are given wet food, toys and lots of tender play time. We feel this is very critical in the human bonding process. We have found that puppies raised in puppy mills and only receive food and water with no social interaction, do not have the social skills to transition into a new home. We spend countless hours with our adults and puppies handling them and giving them the loving, playful time needed.
“As the pup leaves the transition period, he enters what will be the most important eight weeks of his life, the time during which he learns to live both with his own kind and with us.” At 6 weeks is when we wean our puppies and introduce them to world that they will be living with when they go home with you. We use Katie (westie in pictures below) and other “super grannies” to help the puppies make the transition from their mother into the big world. The puppies continue to be placed in different environments and are also placed in a pen with a dog door. This enables them to learn to go outside away from their food, water, and living area to eliminate. As you can see from the pictures, we have an excellent trainer for the dog door!! This is when we also start testing the puppies to decide what personality characteristics they have developed to better enable us to place them with the right families.
As part of the “going home” process, we make sure your puppy has been introduced to other dogs and animals. We believe this helps them be better family members. Many families today have multiple animals and this is our way of helping your puppy be ready for whatever animals you may already have. Sammy (golden retriever) loves the puppies and are pretty much given free reign. We also have some kittens that the puppies are allowed to play alongside.
Last but not least I would like to show you the barn where the puppies and adults are raised. While it is not the most cosmetically beautiful building it serves its purpose perfectly. Because it is open and not a closed in environment, the adults and puppies suffer no respiratory problems. Dogs and puppies that are kept in “storage building” like conditions often suffer from respiratory infections. While it can be hot during the summer time to us “humans” the floor level of the barn is kept at a comfortable temperature for the dogs. This is also the case during the winter months. Heat lamps and dog houses with blankets are used in the winter time to keep everyone warm. Almost all dogs have access to the outside ground ( no wire cages) at all times. The pregnant and whelping females are kept inside the open barn in large pens until after the puppies are born then weaned.
Dear Peggy,
Aubrey our female Cavachon had her vet check with our vet today and passed with flying colors! (We knew she would!)
I just wanted to let you know that Aubrey has adjusted to her new home and family so well! We are so happy to have her! You know how cute she is, but we are most impressed with how smart she is! We can tell that the work that you did with her has got her started on some great training!
When we brought her home we immediately took her outside to go to the bathroom where we want her to go and she went almost right away! She got her treat of “puppy ice cream” and has been going to the bathroom outside ever since then (with the exception of 2 accidents- those were probably my fault for not
taking her out after she had been out and about for more than an hour). She has figured out the back door the backyard where we want her to go and will actually go to the door and scratch to go out and whine when she needs to go! We are so impressed that an 8 week old puppy is able to do this after only being home with us for 4 days! We know that she is not completely housebroken and it will be a while before we can leave her out of her pen without constant supervision, but she is well on her way! We are
planning on taking the pottypad out of her pen in the next day or so. We are so pleased that the training you suggested is working so well. You may remember that when we first spoke about getting a puppy, I wanted to “crate train” her as this is what we had done with our last dog. You convinced me to do it your way as this is how the puppies were started with their training and boy are we glad we listened! It would have been like starting from scratch if we had done crate training. With the continuation of what you had already started, things are moving along quickly! Thank you!
I also wanted to thank you for starting her on her basic commands! She is doing very well (when she is not doing her crazy puppy time) with her basic commands! I am attaching a video of her completing her commands with me on day 3 at our home! I can’t believe that a puppy can follow these basic commands at 8 weeks! This video is not a fluke either, she was doing this on day 2 with us, I just didn’t believe that
she really knew all of this, so didn’t try to video until she could repeat it on day 3! I am glad you started her with basic commands as well as hand signals as we feel it is very important to teach hand signals. Our last dog became completely deaf the last 3 years of his life and having him already know hand signals saved us! Even though he couldn’t hear a thing, he still understood what we wanted from him with the hand signals!
Thank you again for our wonderful puppy! Our entire family is so pleased and so in love with her! We are looking forward to a lifetime of happiness with her!
Kirsten