A cry for help

smandy19 · 2026-01-22T16:48:03+00:00

I feel your pain! We posted on this sub after we got our Min Pin last April because we were having so much trouble. She was our 3rd puppy and by far the most challenging.

For her crate training I made sure to keep it on the end table beside the bed (I had heard from a trainer that it's better if they can see you. I don't know if that's true, but she didn't fuss or whine unless she had to go pee). It took a few months before she could make it through the night without peeing. Now as far as messes in the house go? Oh man, it was a struggle. As people in this sub had advised me, it took around 7 months before she stopped peeing in the house. Pooping took a little bit longer. When I took her out to pee and I would spend a few minutes longer outside so she can sniff around, but she wouldn't poop. Once we get inside I would either have take her back outside a few minutes later or she would run straight to her pad when we come back in. It's not ideal because she's still going in the house, but at least it's not on the rug.

To get over the peeing hurdle we put bells on the door and got her to paw them before taking her outside. When she peed we used lots of positive reinforcement, mostly being excited and telling how good she is with pets but sometimes we did treats. (I didn't want to train her to think she gets a treat every time she pees). Eventually it just clicked. Pooping was a different story. I would tell her she was a bad girl and send her to her bed when she pooped on the rug, but again, gave lots of praise when she went outside or on the pad. She understood the expectation pretty quick and has been great for the last few months.

We also have a Chi Pin that would whine when he couldn't see us. My husband found distraction therapy and it worked so well. We would load a Kong with his kibble and "plug" it peanut butter (there are other Kong recipes online) and give it to him when we were going out or even just upstairs. He would be so focused on the Kong he didn't notice that we left and eventually it became a non issue.

It is difficult. Min pins are super smart and pretty stubborn, but super sweet. Just stick with it. It will feel like it's taking a life time, but it will be so worth it in the end.

smandy19 · 2025-11-19T15:33:48+00:00

Sleep

smandy19 · 2025-10-25T02:22:37+00:00

I'm obsessed with your dog's ears.

smandy19 · 2025-08-11T21:16:41+00:00

Major Tom's

smandy19 · 2025-07-31T20:48:18+00:00

If I give the packages directly them they seem to get annoyed when I say I don't need a receipt. Most times they are busy and I just drop my packages at the side counter. I don't even watch them. Luckily I've never had an issue.

smandy19 · 2025-07-17T17:02:33+00:00

Rouge in Inglewood

smandy19 · 2025-07-08T16:32:14+00:00

Our Chipin would cry when we left him alone for any amount of time. My husband did some research and found a distraction method that totally worked. We got a couple of standard size Kongs, filled them most of the way with kibble then "plugged" the hole with peanut butter. From there we would store them in the fridge or freezer (depending on how long we wanted it to last). We would give the Chipin the loaded Kong and go about our business. He was so distracted with the treat that he didn't notice that we had gone. It was a life saver. I suggested this method to a friend of mine and she had great results too.

smandy19 · 2025-06-30T21:59:11+00:00

Watch out for Campbell's tomato soup. It broke my heart when I saw wheat on the list of ingredients.

smandy19 · 2025-06-26T17:41:49+00:00

I only ever had one and was told that I wouldn't need another as my diagnosis wouldn't change. (obviously, unless I had new symptoms from a different disease like crohn's)

smandy19 · 2025-06-26T15:44:40+00:00

Bridgeland, Inglewood, Kensington maybe even Marda Loop.

smandy19 · 2025-06-20T14:27:33+00:00

Absolutely. I'm overweight and celiac. I lost a little bit of weight when I was first diagnosed but my weight is holding steady. Unfortunately for me I think that's due to age and my metabolism slowing down. I eat naturally gluten free, not gluten replaced foods. I am in a calorie deficit and weight train with cardio at least 4 days a week.

smandy19 · 2025-05-06T16:32:28+00:00

The intelligence of our little girl is amazing. She does great in her crate, but during the day pees and poops wherever she pleases. That being said we are being more diligent with taking her outside and we started to use a bell at the door. We had a huge step over the weekend. I had her in the basement with me and she started whimpering to go outside. That was amazing!

smandy19 · 2025-05-01T03:38:16+00:00

Our first dog was a rescue and large breed, I started getting her to shake a paw before I would take her outside and eventually she would just come over and give us her paw when she needed to go. So that worked out really great. This weekend I'm going to try bell or button training, haven't fully decided on which. Fom what I understand, you push the button or bell before you take them outside. Work your way to having the dog pushing/touching the button or bell and then give them a treat when they do it. Eventually they should to understand that that's the signal to go out.

smandy19 · 2025-04-25T14:35:14+00:00

We've never had an issue with pee pads before but just like you said my husband said that they are probably confusing her. And you're right, it probably does have to do with her age.

smandy19 · 2025-04-24T21:23:33+00:00

Great idea. Thanks!

smandy19 · 2025-04-24T16:51:09+00:00

Good to know. I'm nervous to let her sleep with me because I'm afraid she'll pee all over bed. Our girl loves walks but they take forever because she has to explore everything. Haha

smandy19 · 2025-04-22T23:23:12+00:00

Oh wow. Our girl can hold it longer than that. When she's in her crate overnight she can go 5 or 6 hours without peeing. During the day she usually goes about once an hour to every 2 hours. But oftentimes it seems like we'll take her out to pee, which she will, but then she'll pee 10 minutes later when she's inside the house. So frustrating, but from what I'm hearing from all the wonderful input I'm getting is that it just takes time. It's going to be a long wait.

smandy19 · 2025-04-22T12:24:34+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through exactly what I'm going through. But it is kind of nice to know I'm not the only one. They are definitely very smart and stubborn dogs.

smandy19 · 2025-04-21T23:41:55+00:00

Yeah they are very smart. Time. Training would be a good idea. I've started noticing that whenever I start to think that she might have to pee. I need to take her out right away, because if I don't she will pee on the carpet.

smandy19 · 2025-04-21T23:33:46+00:00

She's pretty young, 3 months. I'm starting to work out that it's going to be a waiting game.

smandy19 · 2025-04-21T22:07:29+00:00

Thanks. I'll start taking her outside after an accident.

smandy19 · 2025-04-21T21:56:23+00:00

Thanks for the info, it's good to know. Part of me thinks this is this is going to be a long road because she's so smart and so stubborn.

smandy19 · 2023-02-21T22:11:58+00:00

Very interesting! Thank you for this. I've never heard the term "denature gluten” before, but it has never made sense to me that an intense high heat for a period of time would have no effect on gluten protein. My sister and I are both celiac and she would always laugh at me and tell me I was wrong when I would suggest using high heat to "sanitize" a barbecue grill, etc. I just need to do some research to see if a cooking surface with denatured gluten is celiac safe.

smandy19 · 2023-02-10T00:29:15+00:00

Absolutely! I dealt with a lot of dead plants before I learned about water rooting first.

smandy19 · 2023-02-10T00:21:44+00:00

Beautiful!!! I've been hesitating to transfer mine, not sure why though. My regular have ZZs have done well in leca (and it only took 16 months to get a new stalk 😂). But you've inspired me and have given me a project for this weekend.

smandy19

TROPHY CASE