Puppies/Pee/Dog Smell

[ikesmom]

DH "s boss's dog had Mini Poodle/Aussie pups and he brought the 2 sisters home so the kids could choose one to keep. We couldn't bear to break them apart so we are keeping both in a folding pen.

I take them outside to potty every half and hour and they are making progress. They still go during the night and we put a pee pad down , but they still pee on our ceramic tile. We have an enclosed crate..it is really small. I am not sure if I should just put them in it at night.

I have a large commercial mop bucket and a a lot of vinegar. I add a squirt of dish soap. I don't want to use bleach on our floors. I looked at lots of products in the cleaning isle and wasn't sure about hazzards..toxic..ect. I am worried that my house will start to smell even though I am trying to keep on top of it. We only have carpet in the bedrooms.

Is there anything else I can do to avoid odors?

[Ola_]

What you need is an enzymatic cleaner. That way they won't be able to smell where they pottied. They normally have them at pet stores - Nature's Miracle and Petastic are two names that come to mind but there are others.

But I would definitely reconsider having two puppies, especially two female puppies. That sets you up for trouble down the road. I think one puppy with Aussie in the mix will be challenging enough.

[~Adorkable~]

Not sure what age they are, but as soon as they are capable of holding it, I would go straight to crate training, it is something the helps them their whole life and is not only cruel, it helps them in many many ways.

Even if the pen that you have is small, it's probably not small enough, they can still mentally decide part of it is the bathroom.

I also agree two puppies mightb e cute, but please make sure you are ready for two Ausie mixes in your life. Be honest about the time you can devote to their needs.

I would read the thread that is ongoing about the aggressive dog, it is a similar herding dog and their is some great examples of what herding dog need in their day from all the responces.

[Oubliette8]

I agree use an enzymatic cleaner. We use Simple Solution here. You can buy them at any pet store. Also, do not let them out of your sight. If you can't directly supervise them in such a way that you can quickly pick them up and take them out if they start to potty, then they should be confined to their pen.

Peeing at night- use the crate. Its good that its small. Most dogs will not pee in the same space they sleep. If its too large, they'll pee in a corner and sleep in the other. I would really consider crating them separately though. Crated together they cant escape each other if one gets too pushy.

I would also SERIOUSLY reconsider two puppies. Raising litter mates is very challenging. They need to have separate time, and quite a lot of it. They should be trained separately, they should be exposed to new things separately, car rides etc. Not all the time, but it should be a very common occurrence. Otherwise what can happen is that they develop a dependence on each other. Which may seem cute, but it won't be when they are older and need to be separated for whatever reason. For instance, if one dog gets sick and needs to stay at the vet, its awful when their sibling whines all day or refuses to eat etc. And heaven forbid something causes them to be permanently separated, like an unfortunate accident. The surviving dog in those situations can be terribly affected. I've actually heard of cases where one dog needed treatment and the other had to be boarded with them at the vet or they would become ill with worry.

The other thing is that training two puppies is a lot of work. They each need their own training time. Most people have trouble making training time for one puppy. Littermates may also tend to bond more with each other than their humans, which makes training more challenging and doesn't really give you the dog you wanted. They can also learn behavior problems from each other.

And, Aussies and Poodles are both extremely smart, energetic dogs. Many people have trouble providing for the energy and mental stimulation needed by one of those breeds, much less two, and at the same stage of development (ie, its not like you'll have one trained, calm older dog, and a crazy hyper adolescent- you'll have TWO hyper, crazy adolescents)

[luv-my-boys]

I 3rd or 4th Natures miracle, its found pretty easily in petstores or big box stores (white bottle-red lettering) I absolutely LOVE it. In fact even though our dogs are grown and potty trained I still keep a bottle in the house.

If they are peein on the ceramic I would caution you by putting something down because the pee can seep into the grout and cause staining and odor that will be heck to get out.

[ikesmom]

Thanks for your replies. We have had a great week so far and I am shocked that they had 2 nights without any pee/poop on the tile when I woke up the next a.m. We take them out every 30 min and they are even going in the same area where our other dog goes. I have never had sibling dogs...so this is new to me. I have had many offers from friends to buy one of the pups. Dh's boss said if anything doesn't work out that she wants a dog/s back. I am hoping all goes well as we are in love with them.

I forgot to mention that we put the crate in the pen and left the door open. They both slept inside it without a peep.