DoctorPup Complimentary Service

Getting Accustomed to the Palace

Q: Hi. This year for Christmas, my husband bought me an adorable Yorkie puppy. We initially put him in a crate in the room with my daughter to sleep. He cried the first night or two, but within a couple of days he got use to his surroundings and didn't make any noise until the morning. We set up a separate pen for him to potty and he has learned that this is where we expect him to potty. Occasionally, he will dart up the stairs to the area where the pen is and try to go on the part of the pad or newspapers that is sticking out of the sides. A few days ago we purchased the pup pee poo palace and started using it for him at night. We keep it downstairs. Last night was his second night sleeping there and he's gotten up between 2am - 4am each morning barking, screaming and crying. It's hard to ignore it because the kids are up super early and get him out around 4:45 each morning while he's still having his episode. I think that may confuse him and make him think he's getting a response. He also jumps around and steps all in the poop which is awful to have to clean when we go to let him out. Do you have any advise on 1) things we can try to stop him from crying 2) ways to keep him from stepping in the poop 3) when to build out pen for extra space during the day 4) how to tell when your puppy is ready for trays around the house? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :-)

A: From your description there seem to be several possible explanations. It sounds as though you changed to the palace and changed its location at the same time, he may be objecting to the new location as much as the palace itself especially since you comments suggest he accepted his original crate. Also, since he sometimes returns to the pen area to eliminate he may do okay with expanding his area adjacent to the palace. Any training device has its best chance when used from the beginning so it is not unusual for there to be setbacks when a new system is implemented. I think you might should try the palace in its original location with an adjacent exercise pen reduced to a small area.