Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. My wife and I just adopted a 3-year-old Pug named Lola. We picked her up yesterday afternoon and spent the day getting to know her. She was mostly well-behaved during the day even though she wasn't trained very much by her previous owners. But we had lots of problems in our first evening.

She wouldn't poop when we took her out, so we locked her in her crate with some blankets and a bone that her old owners said she liked. Within a minute she flipped out and clawed and jumped around until I let her out. She is not crate trained, so we expected this may be a problem. We just didn't want her pooping in the apartment.

Sure enough, she did go on the floor, but we didn't notice until the next morning. Lola spent the next two hours trying to jump up on our bed before we finally relented and let her up. We don't want her up there, but we were exhausted and didn't know what else to do. Once she got up, she immediately went to sleep and didn't bother us for the rest of the night.

I don't know what to do with her tonight. Please help!

>>Hi. My wife and I just adopted a 3-year-old Pug named Lola. We picked her up yesterday afternoon and spent the day getting to know her. She was mostly well-behaved during the day even though she wasn't trained very much by her previous owners. But we had lots of problems in our first evening.
>>
>>She wouldn't poop when we took her out, so we locked her in her crate with some blankets and a bone that her old owners said she liked. Within a minute she flipped out and clawed and jumped around until I let her out. She is not crate trained, so we expected this may be a problem. We just didn't want her pooping in the apartment.
>>
>>Sure enough, she did go on the floor, but we didn't notice until the next morning. Lola spent the next two hours trying to jump up on our bed before we finally relented and let her up. We don't want her up there, but we were exhausted and didn't know what else to do. Once she got up, she immediately went to sleep and didn't bother us for the rest of the night.
>>
>>I don't know what to do with her tonight. Please help!

Hi and welcome!
I think it's wonderful that you and your wife adopted Lola. Since Lola is use to a different routine, it may take some time for her to adjust to her new home. It also sounds like she is use to sleeping in a bed at night. If you don't want to continue this and until you get her use to a crate, you might want to gate an area of the kitchen or some other room where she'll be safe and not cause many problems. Provide her with some toys and a bed so she'll be comfortable. Since she's three years old, she's probably house trained but being in a new home can confuse some dogs. With a small dog it's best to take them out more frequently until you establish a routine...especially at night before they go to bed. It may take some time for her to adjust to a new home and a new routine. I have no experience with crate traning so perhaps someone else can help you with that.

Good luck with Lola and I sure hope things work out for all of you. I hope others will offer some suggestions as well. When you have time perhaps you can share some pictures of Lola. I'll bet she's a real cutie.

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Mary Lou & Katie

Yes, its great that you've adopted.

Mary Lou about covered it all, but one thing you might try, is to put Lola's crate on a table that is level with & beside your bed.

I've always had good results using a fan. It can just be close (not blowing on her) to create a soothing hum. I like a fan at night, out in the country in warm weather, it helps our dogs, cos they can't hear wild cats yowling.

If my dogs stir at night, I make a slow humming sigh or two to help them relax.

Let us hear all about your new family member.