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Q: Hello,

Please help me understand how to potty train a 2lb cute chihuahua named "Cowboy". The little rascal is almost 2yrs old, and still doesn't know to go outside to poop & pee. I just inherited the dog a month ago, and have tried staying on top of him, but he sneaks away for a minute to find special places to poop. I feed him once in the morning and once at night. I take him out after both eating sessions w/ my other dog (a large lovable mutt who is potty trained) about 1/2 hour to do their deed. Sometimes he goes both, sometimes I don't know if he does anything. I am very frustrated and truly want him house broken. Please Help?

Thanks,
Ed

...

You really need to crate train him!

It's never too late, no matter how old a dog is, if they mess in the house, they need to be crate trained. You also need to be taking him outside whenever he wakes up from sleep or a nap, right after he eats (as you mentioned), and after he gets exercise. (so if you see him playing with your other dog, and they stop playing, that's another prime-time for potty)

At any rate, you need to start crate training ASAP.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs, big and small... Even Chihuahuas.

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site with some general advice on other subjects:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

Get your dog a crate and read the first and last link especially.

Here are a few general tips:

You make sure that the dog is NEVER free in the house unless you are WATCHING HIM. The second he lifts his leg or squats, you scream bloody murder, NOOOOOOO! (Never hit him, a verbal scolding is more than enough, though it must be done at the RIGHT TIME. Correction only works if you catch them in the act. The quilty look of a dog being yelled at after-the-fact, is a reaction to your tone of voice, and probably has no idea of why you are yelling. You could be yelling "GOOD DOG!" in a mad tone and he would still look guilty.)

At any rate, hopefully your scream shocks him enough that he doesn't actually pee or poo... Then you immediately take him outside and use your potty phrase (that's what you say when you are asking him if he wants to go out, or telling him to go potty. I personally use "go potty" as the potty phrase.). So tell him "go potty" (or whatever you decide to use) and when he potties outside, you praise the heck out of him and tell him what a wonderful dog he is, (you can also throw in the potty phrase by saying something like "good potty, good potty" which is helpful in reinforcing your chosen phrase.) And you also might want to give him a treat.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to email me.

Q: Sorry if my question isn't exactly clear, but I'm in a hurry! I need to know if I can save my fish's life!

My sister bought an aquarium in March, and started buying her fish, etc. Her Black Mollies had babies, and she gave me four when they were medium sized, and I put them into their own tank. Two died awhile ago, and now I have two left. One was much larger than the other, and no matter how much I fed them, the larger one kept trying to attack the smaller one. I seperated them, and they seemed to be fine (I know it's a bad idea to keep fish alone, but that was my only option), but tonight the smaller one started acting up. It's swimming in circles, and I don't mean it's chasing it's tail - It's tumbling, doing 360s in the water, and faceplanting into the gravel. It's trying to burrow itself, and it lodged itself between the bubbler and the side of the tank, under a decorative rock about the size of a nickel. My sister told me a few days ago that a couple of her fish started doing this as well, but when she got home from work that night, the fish were still alive, and I haven't been able to ask her about it since. It took forever to dislodge it, and I figured at that point it was dead. But nope, it wasn't. I tried paddling in the water, to pull the current towards me, and the fish out, but he kept tryuing to get himself restuck. I figured he was trying to find a place to die, so I took him out and put him in a round bowl, with his bubbler, etc. I looked online to find what the problem could be, and I've found that it's most likely head trauma. Most websites said the spinning is either caused by very poor maintainance of the tank, or filtration, basic problems with the tank, etc. OR that the fish has experienced some kind of head trauma. Plants have never fallen on his head to my knowledge, nor has he jumped out of the tank, but I suppose it's possible that he ran into the side of the tank or something. Anyways, the tank is clean, the filter is working, pH is fine, whatever. So obviously, it is head trauma. I don't know what to do! I hate to see my fish suffering like this, but I'm not sure what else to do. I obviously can't kill him, and though I found some sites about humanely euthanizing fish, there are horror stories about people putting them in alcohol, and them taking minutes to die. Is there any hope for my fish, what should I do next?

...

First, you should probably call your local vet when they open. Most vets or assistants I've talked to will give a free phone consultation. If your sister's fish are doing this, maybe other fish in the area are too, and perhaps your vet will have heard about them.

With that having been said, there is the possibility that it's environmental. The fact that your sister's fish are doing it too, makes me think it may be a larger cause.

For instance, there have been some interesting sun-spots lately, with reversed magnetic polarity... And there's currently a coronal hole in the sun's atmosphere: http://www.spaceweather.com/ and from what I understand, there was an M-class solar flare today. These sorts of things can disrupt the Earth's magnetic field. It's possible your fish's sense of up and down is being confused by magnetic fluxuations. Maybe some fish are more sensitive to it than others?

It's just a thought. But I'm not a vet, and you should call your vet before doing anything.

Q: I have a male Dachshund. 3 yrs old , He still pees in the house I cant hit him every more. He knows im cleaning it up and he runs.He knows hes doing bad. I had my female fixed 7 days ago I was hoping this would stop him. If i get him fixed will it stop? I want to keep him But i cant handle the pee much longer. Do you reccomend crate training or getting him fixed? Thank You N Wade

...

Yes, you should absolutely crate train him. All dogs should be crate trained, in my opinion.

Your dog is acting guilty because he is picking up on your signals. Your body language, your tone of voice, the look on your face when you see the mess, those all indicate to him that you are about to yell and scream at him. He doesn't necessarily understand "why" you are yelling and screaming. Dogs aren't particularly good at understanding cause and effect. They only understand the here and now.

That's why crate training is so important. You make sure that the dog is NEVER free in the house unless you are WATCHING HIM. The second he lifts his leg, you scream bloody murder, NOOOOOOO! (Never hit him, a verbal scolding is more than enough, though it must be done at the RIGHT TIME.)

Hopefully your scream shocks him enough that he doesn't pee... Then you immediately take him outside and use your potty phrase (that's what you say when you are asking him if he wants to go out, or telling him to go potty. I personally use "go potty" as the potty phrase.). So tell him "go potty" (or whatever you decide to use) and when he potties outside, you praise the heck out of him and tell him what a wonderful dog he is, (you can also throw in the potty phrase by saying something like "good potty, good potty" which is helpful in reinforcing your chosen phrase.) And you also might want to give him a treat.

Correction only works if you catch them IN THE ACT. Afterwards they are only reacting to your reaction. That's why it isn't working, and your 3 year old dog is peeing in the house, he can't put the two things together. It's not his fault, he's just a little dog, and he can't understand things the same way we do. Dogs want to please us, but we have to show them what we want in a way they can understand.

Having him fixed is up to you. It might help if he is "marking" but it might not. Crate training is mandatory either way.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs, big and small.

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site with some general advice on other subjects:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

So get your dog a crate and read the first and last link especially.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to email me.

Good Luck.

Q: i love my dog, and i know she loves me too, because whenever im crying she always comes and licks me or lays next to me. But most of the time she follows my mom around and i cant get the feeling she doesnt like me, even though she does, you know? How do i bond with her, or get her to like me and maybe even follow me around??
I need help.

...

In a dog's mind, the people in their home are part of their "pack". A person's place in the "pack" can determine how a dog treats them.

It sounds to me like it's possible your dog views your mother as a pack leader. And because the dog doesn't obey you (that's what I am getting from the phrase "My dog runs away from me...") the dog may view you as an equal or lesser member of the pack.

It doesn't mean she doesn't love you, you are part of her pack, but she will treat you differently than the those she sees as above her in rank, unless you elevate your position in the pack. It's just the way dogs are wired, it's nothing personal.

To raise your rank, I recommend you start taking part in her life in an obedience capacity.

If she doesn't know how to sit or stay or anything like that, you train her. If she does know, you need to take her through those things every day, and praise her very much when she does the right things. Maybe even give some small treats for encouragement.

Never give her anything without making her do something for it. Not her food. Not water. Not a treat, or a toy or a towel, or being allowed on the couch, even a petting or scratching, etc... Everything that your dog wants, make her sit or down or roll over or something like that, and only give her what she wants when she has obeyed.

Other tips for being higher ranked than your dog:

Never play tug-of-war and "lose". Your dog may think they are higher rank than you if you do this. Many people say not to play tug-of-war at all because it can cause aggressive behavior. That's up to you, but if you do play... Don't lose.

When walking somewhere, like through a door, going upstairs, or going outside, don't let your dog go first. Letting them go first can be taken as a sign of submission from you, that you are telling the dog they come before you in rank. Make your dog "stay", while you go first, then tell your dog to come on through.

Don't feed your dog scraps while you are eating. The dog should never eat before you do, or while you do. The dog eating last reinforces his place below you in the pack. You can even try pretending to eat the dog's food before having them do something and then giving it to them... So they think you have had your fill, and now it's their turn.

These things are not cruel. Dogs are happiest when their position in the pack is not in doubt. If they feel their other pack members aren't acting the part of leader, they may feel forced into that role, which brings a lot of extra stress for them. Letting your dog know that you are higher in the pack will probably be a relief, and hopefully will strengthen your relationship with your dog.

Good Luck.

Q: My puppy is almost 9 months and we can't potty train her! We've tried everything! We take her out every hour, or half hour. Sometimes shell go outside for three days then out-of-the-blue go on the floor! HELP!

...

You absolutely MUST crate train her!

No matter how old a dog is, if they mess in the house, they need to be crate trained. You also need to be taking her outside whenever she wakes up from sleep or a nap, right after she eats, and after she gets exercise.

At any rate, you need to start crate training right now.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs, big and small.

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site with some general advice on other subjects:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

Get your dog a crate and read the first and last link especially.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to email me.

Q: my cat wont stop pooping in the corner! what do i do!

...

This is hard to answer without knowing more information.

What age is your cat?
Is he new?
Was he doing fine and then started missing his litter box suddenly?
Has the brand of litter been changed?
Is the litter box new?
Has the litter box been moved?
How often is the litter box cleaned?
Are there other animals in the house?
Are there any recent changes in the household (new people, visitors, new pets)?
Have you changed his food?
Have you moved recently?
Has there been any other disruption to his everyday life?
Is he eating? Does he seem sick?
Is his stool firm or loose?

The only way you can fix it is to find out why it's happening, and there can be many reasons.

Q: I can only put my litterbox in my room and it's making my room smell. Is there any way to get rid of it?

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#1: Clean the box at least once a day. (And the more cats you have, the more often you will need to clean it.)

#2: Try Tidy Cats Small Spaces kitty litter: http://www.tidycats.com/GetPage.aspx?ContentID=288&D=6086141&T=3422026

#3: Get some baking soda, and sprinkle some into the litter box whenever you clean it.

These things should help enormously.

Good luck!

Q: I would love to make the task of cleaning the cat's litter box easier, but I'm not sure how.

I am confused about all of the choices there are for self-cleaning litter boxes. And some are very expensive.

Does anybody have any experience with automatic litter boxes? Like LitterMaid, and those kinds? Are some better than others?

...

There are actually a lot of different self-cleaning litter boxes these days, and more are being developed.

For the last couple of years, we have been using an Omega Paw self-cleaning litter box. (sometimes called the roll away litter box) Though it's not actually automatic, it does help. At least you don't have to scoop! The Omega Paw litterbox is made so that you roll the box over on it's top, and as it's rolled, the litter is sifted through a grate, and the clumps are deposited into a "drawer". Then you can just pull out the drawer and empty it.

It comes in 2 sizes, and I recommend getting the "large" size, as the grate in the box takes up quite a bit of space, and even the large isn't that large. Our 15+ pound cat can use it, but I know he would rather it were larger. The small size can be found in many pet store chains, but the large size is harder to find, and you may have to order it online like we did.

It's not perfect, and you do still have to do it yourself, but it's much better than bending over and searching for buried treasure. Also, you need to use clumping litter for this box to work. Here is a picture of the box, to give you an idea: http://www.omegapaw.com/RollAwayLrg.html

The main thing is that compared to other self-cleaning litter boxes, this box is cheap. I see the smalls range from $25-$29 and the larges from $33-$39.

...

I have not tried a Littermaid, though we have been tempted to try it. Every time I am tempted, I start reading information and reviews about it and decide it's a bad idea. The vast majority of the reviews I read are bad. The tines rust and the waste gets stuck to them... The motor isn't strong enough to do a very good job, etc. That's the sort of thing I read about. And considering it isn't cheap and you have to buy the waste receptacles, that sounds like too much trouble for the money. And yes, those bad reviews are even including the new Litter Maid Elite.

If you want to read about it yourself, check out these discussions: http://www.litterbox-central.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=1dd729ca4fdce479563b80f83511a1ab

...

And speaking of money... If we had the money, I can tell you right now which litterbox I would want. It's called the Litter Robot.

In a way, it's kind of like the rolling litter box. It's a big globe that sits on a base, and the globe turns and sifts the waste and clumps into a compartment. All of this is automated... It detects when the cat is in the box, and then waits a certain amount of time and then turns on. It doesn't require any special receptacles, you can just use small sized trash bags in the bottom to catch the waste.

I've heard tons and tons of good reviews about the LitterRobot. And the makers stand behind their product 100%. They offer a warranty that's transferrable, and I've heard of people who have called their support to get a replacement part for an older unit, and have the part shipped to them free, even though they were willing to pay for it because the unit was older and they were the second owner. The makers really seem to go out of their way to help their customers.

The down side? It's really expensive!!! It's $329.00 plus shipping! And even the ones that sell on eBay (and I have new litter-robot auctions mailed to me whenever one gets listed) sell for $250+ used! And that's because it actually works, and the makers stand behind their product.

Find out more about the Litter Robot here: http://www.litter-robot.com

...

The other litter boxes that I have heard of, I don't know as much about... But here is a short list:

LitterFree (now known as CatGenie): http://www.catgenie.com/ Uses special washable granules instead of regular litter. Requires that you hook it up to a water source. It's a kitty "toilet". They're offering an introductory price of $300.

LitterSweep (aka Litter Roundup, aka Stylette Litter Sweep Ultra): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009YUHCI/002-5494020-8842445?v=glance&n=284507 I see this one in discount stores sometimes. It's a round shaped box instead of rectangle, and has a rake system rather like the Litter Maid. It hasn't gotten the best reviews in the world, but it's relatively cheap around the $60 to $80 range.

Petmate Purrforma: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007NWNJQ/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_txt/002-5494020-8842445?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=284507
Works similar to the Littermaid with the rake system, and like the Littermaid, gets some underwhelming reviews. Not cheap, between $160 - $200+ depending on size.

ScoopFree: http://www.scoopfree.com/ Designed to be used with only Fresh Step crystals, not regular clumping litter. It still uses a rake system, but doesn't have to move clumps. It only rakes the solids, the liquids apparently get "locked" inside of the crystals. Requires cartridges, but supposedly you only have to change it about once a month per cat. The box itself is about $140.00 not including a hood. The part where they get you is the cartridges. It's $50 for a pack of 3 cartridges. So if you have one cat, and they are telling the truth that you can go 1 month between changing the cartridges, that's $200 a year in cartridges. Still, I guess clumping litter isn't exactly cheap... And it's possible that $50 for 3 months isn't that out-of-line, compared to what one would have spent on litter... It just seems that way to me for some reason.

Litter Revolution: http://www.litterrevolution.com/products.html This one is more like the Litter Robot, in that it has a moving globe-like top on a static base, and the waste drops down into the base. It's not available yet, but it's supposed to give the LitterRobot a run for it's money when it comes out. I have no idea what it will cost, but if it's not much cheaper than the Litter Robot they may have trouble finding buyers, as the robot is already a very good product, just expensive.

...

And finally, reviews and discussions of all these products can be found at Automatic Litterbox Central: http://www.litterbox-central.com/forum/index.php

Q: my 8 month old black pekingese-poodle has this big red bubble thing on her eye, its like almost under her right eye lid. She ahs this before but not this bad, we pushed it back into her eye but now like a month later, it came back out and she won't let us pish it back in. Does anyone ahve an idea on waht this is?

...

I'm not a vet, but...

That sounds like something that happened to a dog I had once. It was called "cherry eye" and wasn't dangerous in itself, but it's irritating to the dog, and can cause the dog to damage their own eye by pawing at it. Plus it's rather ugly to look at too. :-\

Take a look at these Google search images and see if this looks like your problem (Warning: unpleasant images):

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-13,GGLG:en&q=cherry%20eye&sa=N&tab=wi

The surgery to have it removed is simple. I don't remember it costing too much, either. So check with your vet!

Q: Hi All,

I am thinking about taking classes to become a dog trainer. I have a lot of hands on experience already, but I have the feeling that a certification will be important. Eventually I'd like to start my own business. There is obviously a shortage of qualified trainers and many people own dogs. So I see a need for this.

So what do you think, would you rather attend classes given by a certified instructor or a self taught person?

I can buy many books on the subject and it will be cheaper than the tuition for a coorespondence course.

How about personal consultations in the home? If you could afford it wouldn't that be better than a class with 20 people and their dogs?

...

To be honest, certification doesn't particularly impress me. A classroom cannot compare to real-life experience. I know so many people who are very good (and the best I've ever met) at what they do, but they don't have a "degree" in it, and yet they have to bail-out people who DO have a degree in it. I see this over and over again. It's come to the point that I'm automatically suspicious of people who DO have certification, rather than those who don't. ;-)

But, as already mentioned in another answer, if someone is after a piece of paper, and you have to be certified in order for them to get their piece of paper, then those people won't be coming to you if you don't have certification.

Your best clients would probably be people who just want help with their dogs, and aren't looking for any kind of certification.

That would be someone like me, and as you can probably already tell, I would have no problem taking classes from a person who wasn't certified.

However, certified or not, unless I had personal experience with you, I would do my homework. If you had references, that would help. Also, letting me sit in on a class (without my dog present) to get an idea of how you work would also go a long way in helping me to feel assured that your classes are up my alley. As would sitting down with you and getting an overview of your personal methods.

The private classes are a good idea for some people. But it's not quite the same. Some people want to be in a distracting environment with other dogs, as this not only helps their dogs to socialize, it helps them to learn to be obedient even with distractions. If people plan on taking their dog out a lot, they will probably want the communal class. If it's someone who is housebound, doesn't plan on taking their dog out much, or doesn't particularly care about socializing their dog, they should be fine with home consultations, and might quite possibly prefer them.

I would think that home consultations would also be well-suited for particular behavior problems that happen in the home. Obviously it's important to correct behavior when they are actually "doing" the behavior.

At any rate, I think it's great that you want to be an obedience trainer. I agree that we need more of that. I kind of wish obedience training was a requirement of owning a dog! ;-)

Q: I have two cats. One is an elderly cat +10 years of age, the other is almost a year old. The younger one was adopted from the Human Society and he's extremely loving so my cats adjusted ok to each other. The only problem I'm having now, is at night when I'm trying to sleep, the kitten wants to play. He makes noise all night long, playing with everything from his water bowl to my video games to just jumping off the furniture. I'd swear I had an elephant in my apartment sometimes. How can I get him to calm down more at night so I can sleep?

...

Try to have a good play session with him an hour or two before you go to sleep.

You could also schedule one of his feedings right before your bedtime. A full tummy can make a kitty sleepy.

If you don't have time to play with him, try something like a Panic Mouse:

http://www.panicmouseinc.com/

We haven't gotten one of these yet, but we've been meaning to. If you had one, you could bring it out and turn it on about an hour or so before you go to bed, and maybe that would tire your kitty out. :-)

Q: i don't know if anyone has ever had dwarf hamsters, but i do and yesterday i was cleaning out the cage and i saw three little pink things in the nest and it turned out one of my hamsters had babies. All three of the hamsters are female, i've checked and the breeder checked so i don't know what happened. i thinhk she was pregnant before we got her because we've only had them for a little while. Anyways, i was wondering if there is anything special I should do to take care of them? or does the mother do it herself? i really have no idea what to do. If anyone could halp me with this i'd be really happy. thanks.

We had a dwarf hamster who had babies. They're so cute! ;-)

First rule, don't touch the babies. Touching the babies can make the mother kill and eat them. (I know, awful)

Here is a good site that I used for info when we had dwarf hamsters:

http://russiandwarfhamsters.tripod.com/hams/id13.html

(Read the "Moms-To-Be" section too)

And here is the other site I had bookmarked for hamster info:

http://www.hamperhams.co.uk/

Basically for the first two weeks, don't touch the babies or clean the cage. I offered our mother hamster little pieces of bread soaked in milk, some cheese, and some peanut butter to give her some extra nutrition & protein.

If you have another cage to put the other hamsters in, it would probably be best to keep them separate from mother and babies. Other hamsters might kill the babies, or stress the mother out to where she kills them. First time mothers are especially sensitive to being stressed out this way.

Good luck! Once they start toddling around the cage, there's hardly anything cuter! ;-)

Q: My dogs are so cute! But they are 2 yrs old and they are still not pottytrained! one poops in my room the other pees in my room!! I am sick and tired of it! But I still love them to pieces! But like I have another dog but h is 15 yrs. old and is pottytrained! yay anyways please try to answer my question !! thanx

You need to crate train them.

No matter how old a dog is, if they mess in the house, they need to be crate trained.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs! Even Chihuahuas. ;-)

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

Get your dogs crate(s) and read the first and last link especially.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Q: omg I axcendently stepped on my ferret and now its just like laying there and its still breathing but real heavy i dont know what to do becuz i cant like take him to a vet or nething cuz they arn't open now..i dont know if its like gonna die or what! help what should i do?
I LL RATE HHIGH!
stephanie

Try not to move him too much. Get something solid that you can take him to the vet in like a carrier or a box, and put a towel or something in it so he's not laying directly on the cold surface. Transfer him to it very carefully, try not to move his position. Use a piece of cardboard or something like that if necessary. Once there, try not to touch him or move him.

Cover him with a towel or small blanket to keep him warm (but not hot), he may be in shock. Don't use direct heat like heating pad, just cover his body and feet. Don't cover his head.

If he's breathing hard, don't try to make him eat or drink. If he's wearing a collar, remove it.

Look up every vet in the phone book and call the numbers right now. Sometimes they will have an answering machine message that says something like "for emergencies, call this number" and you may be able to talk to a vet right away.

Q: i'm getting a dog next week that is a black lab border collie mix and i'm not sure what they look like. i tried googling pictures and got pictures all labelled as "black border collie". so i'm not sure if thats close to what my dog will look like or not, so if anyone could find pictures of a true black lab, border collie mix, that'd be great. thanks!

Here's a page I found with pictures of a Black Lab/Border Collie mix:

http://mark.interapps.com/Animals/dogs.htm

But keep in mind that mixes don't always turn out looking like a mix. Some mixes look exactly like their mom or dad. For instance, our dog is Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier, but he looks more like a Chihuahua than some full-blooded Chihuahuas do. You'd never know there was any Jack Russell in him.

So your doggie may look mixed like the pictures on that page, or may look mostly or all Black Lab, or mostly or all Border Collie. I'm sure he or she will be wonderful no matter what, as Labs and Border Collies are great dogs. :-)

Q: ok heres the situation..my parents said i can only get a cat if i can find a place for the litter box so my puppy wont get into it when nobodys home. i cant think of anyplace to put it, any suggestions?

If your only worry is the puppy getting into it, you could always try an open top "dog proof" litter box like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002ZS20I/103-4567163-2558265?v=glance

You may be able to find one at your local pet store or pet superstore... Or you can order it online.

Q: how do yu train a german sheppard?? how long will it take? is it possible to train a german sheppard how to not take craps in the house by a week? its 1 month and a half old and i need it to be trained by not taking craps and pee's in the house by a week or mi parents are selling him...and i dont want that to happen...plz help i will rate high and give good feedback i need this answer ASAP please

You absolutely MUST crate train him!

No matter how old a dog is, if they mess in the house, they need to be crate trained. Though at your dog's young age, you also need to realize that they don't really gain control of their "potty" muscles until they are about 6 months old, so they can't really "hold" it at that age. You need to be taking him outside whenever he wakes up from sleep or a nap, right after he eats, and after he gets exercise.

At any rate, you need to start crate training right now.

This is a great site which just happens to be by a guy who trains German Shepherds, but this info works on ALL dogs! Even Chihuahuas. ;-)

http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Here's another good section of that site:

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm

And a great Q & A on housebreaking:

http://www.leerburg.com/qahouse.htm

Get your dog a crate and read the first and last link especially.

If, after you read these, you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

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I'm DangerNerd's wife. We met on an internet personals site back in December, 1996. He flew across country to meet me for the first time in late February of 1997, and we were married a few weeks later. We've been together 9 years now. :-)

If you want to mail me, my email is DangerWench@gmail.com

Yes, I do sometimes copy and paste my own answers to answer different people's similar questions. I still personalize/edit them when necessary... but for instance, my advice about diet and exercise it going to be pretty much the same every time, and that's a very common subject for questions here... so there's no point in typing the same thing over and over and over again. ;-)

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Yes, hubby and I were both virgins on our wedding night, at the age of 26. Yes, we are both Christians, but we greatly dislike what "Christianity" (or "Churchianity") has come to represent in many people's minds these days... Hypocrisy, greed, pride... Things which the Bible says we are NOT supposed to do. We are supposed to be a good example, not a bad one. :-(

If you have a Christian acquaintance who is hitting you over the head with "Jesus will bring you peace and joy and happiness" tell them to listen to this:

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.mp3

(It's 9 megs, so it may take a bit to download)

If you can't download MP3's for some reason, you can download the zip file.

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.zip

If they are an actual preacher/pastor, this one is geared more towards them:

http://www.dangernerd.com/raycomfort.zip

Send them the link, or burn it to CD and give it to them, whatever it takes.

If they really listen to that, they will see how the Bible itself says the way they are annoying you is wrong. :-)

If you are a Christian, please listen to it, even if you aren't beating people over the head with Jesus. I promise you, it will give you a new perspective. It's totally awesome.

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I'm also fascinated by prophesy, and I do think we are living in an age where we are seeing many things come true that were prophesied 1,000's of years ago.

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There has been a lot of hubbub lately regarding my views on the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity... Mostly due to my not making myself clear. I did have a big long explanation here, but this time I will opt for the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Yes, the following is the simplified version. ;-)

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians (myself included) believe many of the man-made Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:

Roman Catholic Doctrine vs. The Holy Bible

And a final note about that link... That e-book isn't written by Jack Chick, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Chick. Some of his tracts are great, and some of them are way "out there" if you know what I mean. I do not support Jack Chick. This e-book is written by Rick Jones, who was a Catholic for many years, not Chick.

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"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Timothy 3:1 - 7)

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring..." (Luke 21:25)

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Yahweh is my God, Yeshua is my Savior.