Help

[remy378]

Help!

I just purchased a 5mo undesexed male from a backyard breeder who couldnt afford to keep his dogs. I met the parents, both nice natured dogs. Remy (we named him) is a little nervous but very lovable and a real lapdog.

However, he is not toilet trained, not even paper trained. I put him in the laundry on his first night and he didnt even attempt to go on the paper and he also tried to rip apart my laundry!

Yesterday he got desexed and vaccinated and I put him in a pen in the double garage so it was away from the children and quiet. He had all the comforts and howled most of the night. This morning i let him in and he curled up in my lap but when my 10 month old crawled towards him he yapped at him and peed all over me!

What do i do? Where do I start? I cant have him howling in the laundry because its right next to my baby's rooms. I cant have him in the garage howling his head off because he is waking me up. What do i do?

[Nekhbet]

your dog needs a routine and also to learn about the world as he is probably unsocialised. He is also soundign very very stressed, remember this dog has been uprooted, put into a whole new world he doesnt understand. Where did he sleep before? would it maybe be worth trying a crate and covering it so he feels secure, even a small pet carrier?

contact Mark Singer to at least have one consultation to work out what is going on and implement a plan especially as you have children in the house.

http://www.caninetraining.com.au/

[persephone]

Agree with nekhbet...This pup has probably never had any need to be housetrained, or to be with babies, or even be by himself

You need to almost treat him as a blank slate ... he knows nothing of living in a house around a family!!

he is frightened and stressed..and professional help will be invaluable to you, and Remy

[puggy_puggy]

I am almost certain that Iggy's don't like being alone and are really pack animals. You are going to stress the poor little thing out even more if you just ignore him crying and howling.

As well as treating the pup as a blank slate and starting from scratch with toilet training etc you are either going to have to work out a way that the dog can be with you or get it a buddy for company.

Are you able to babygate off areas of your house so that the puppy can still see you? Maybe you could crate him or puppy pen him in the rooms that you are in so that he can still be with you.

There is a Italian Greyhound thread HERE

[percyk]

i know a couple of iggy owners and their iggies sleep with them

they get cold even when they have coats on them- a laundry is a cold room

dont know that an iggy could sleep happily in a garage either unless it was heated which would be hard to do i think

iggies arent the most loyal of breeds but they will do anything for body heat - one i know will jump on anyones lap just to keep warm even though he shies away from pats

i also read that iggies are regularly dumped for their failure to be toilet trained - not here i guess but in the states in new york -they are hard to train and apparently they dont like to get their feet wet

perserverance is the only thing that will get you through

i have toilet trained many small dogs and one was five months old when i got him

but i had them tethered to my arm the whole time i slept

this way the minute they stirred id be up and out in the garden

this was in the dead of winter and it wasnt easy working and getting up twice a night but it got better til the boy started to sleep through til 6

iggies are house dogs - more than that they are couch dogs bed dogs undertheblanket dogs

they love the sun and will follow it around gratefully

they worship the heater and need to wear a coat for a good part of the year

it is hard to have an iggy and ten month old baby- iggies arent real great dogs for kids cos theyre so fragile in those early months and even beyond

theyre not exactly playful with kids either- they can be pretty aloof

really sorry youre having these problems

will take time to train your iggy

please make sure he is warm- they will bark if cold

[Kirislin]

They will really feel the cold, and it's not enough to have a nice basket or similar with blankets for him to lay on, he needs to be covererd over as well. If you try that and find he keeps getting uncovered get a cardboard box, tape up the openings and then cut a hole just big enough for him to climb through in the side, fill the box with warm blankets and maybe even put a blanket over the top to cover the hole, like a curtain, it will be lovely and warm and dark in there, like a little cave. Plus it doesn't matter if he eventually trashes the cardboard box.

see, they like it so much they wont even come right out for the lick cycle.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Kirislin

[Gretel]

Great pics Kirislin

[oakway]

Italians need to be with people.

They feel the cold something shocking and need to be rugged

or kept in a very warm environment.

Love to be cuddled most of the time and like to sleep in bed with you.

They can be very hard to house train.

The only other thing I can suggest is to get a belly band and put this on

him. It is a wrap that goes around him and his willy with a sanitary pad attached

for when he is inside.

Good luck with the training.

From an owner of two Italians.

[Kirislin]

I wish the OP would check back in here. What's happened to the pup?

[Serket]

My husband and I have had a chat and have decided he isn't going to work as we have two young children under five. If anyone wants to buy a five mo desex microchipped fawn and white male please pm me.

From the Italian Greyhound breed thread. Looks like the pup has been/will be rehomed - hopefully somewhere appropriate and not the pound ;)

[Kirislin]

bugger, I didn't see that post but I had a feeling about it. I sure hope that little pup gets a knowledgable, understanding home.

[persephone]

oh _ wondered why they didn't check back in ...

[oakway]

The owners were asked in the I G thread if they would surrender him to I G Rescue.

I don't think any news has been given since.

It's a shame for the little fellow. I hope he finds a good home that will understand I G's.

[CBL]

The owners were asked in the I G thread if they would surrender him to I G Rescue.

I don't think any news has been given since.

It's a shame for the little fellow. I hope he finds a good home that will understand I G's.

I spoke to the owner via PM a couple of times to check in and give some advice on toilet training and potentially allowing him inside (plus some links to information about the iggy personality). Last I heard he was still sleeping in the garage but did have a heated bed and coat and was allowed to spend some time inside. The husband was doing some training with him.

While they had decided not to sell him, there is an add on gumtree that I am assuming is the same dog. I did encourage her to keep coming back here and letting us know how he is going.

[oakway]

Thanks CBL, it's a shame when this happens. At least he will be warm,

and getting them to let him in is a great start.

Cheers.