Hi Steve,

I thought Emily Cain's message re housebreaking was so clear & sensible,
I asked her if I could suggest it be entered into the archives.  She
gave me the OK, so I'm hoping you'll agree and include it.

> Our three SPs were a cinch to housetrain. Our first SP, Rosey, was
> contracted back to her breeder for a litter, and we kept a pup
> which was co-owned with that breeder and a brood bitch for that
> kennel, but lived with us at all times, so we've raised several
> litters of SPs, and each litter, even the winter litter, was to all
>  intents and purposes housetrained by seven weeks, which is to say,
>  by seven weeks they all ran to the back door but didn't always
> manage to get all the way outside. But, they all had the idea of
> peeing/pooping outside, and liked it. However, no dog is ever
> completely housetrained until about nine months of age. If a pup
> has the idea of housetraining, and the people slip up, and the pup
> has to go in the house, not to worry, this is your fault, and you
> clean up, and eventually when the pup is about nine months old, the
>  pup will have the maturity to be responsible for the people
> slipping up, and will devise a way, or the people/dog will devise a
>  way, of compelling you to take the dog out. Timers help the people
>  not to slip up. If you have children, you can set the timer to
> every hour on the hour, and then the pup goes out, and everyone
> stands around freezing to death while the pup remembers how to
> pee/poop. Be glad you are not standing outside in your flannel
> nightie in an Ontario winter. Put on your coat. Yes, I like crates,
>  but don't use 'em much, when raising a pup. I prefer the timer and
>  freeze to death method. --Emily Poodle History Project (annotated
> bibliography) http://www.poodlehistory.org




-- 
Diane and the Casual Country Poodles, Sadie, Cassie, Angie, Mandy,
Pshanel, and Sophie