Why I need to put this out there I’m not sure. I’ve been reluctant to talk about my puppy because I’m intimidated by the majority of working dogs here and mine is a just companion dog. A little Bichon, Lulu. I’ve had her a little over a week. House training is catch as catch can, pretty much, but she’s only 9.5 weeks. I’m trying to treat her as if she were a large breed.

I dropped her yesterday. I was placing her into the ex-pen we have set up in our sunroom where she is when she is not in her crate or outside. She wriggled out of my grasp and landed flat on her back. Her reactions over the first hour were pretty much what I would expect. But then she started a labored breathing and drooling. I took her to the vet where they did a chest x-ray and observed her most of the day. I brought her home at 4:30 pm with a pain med if I thought she needed it. I gave her a dose this morning as her ribs seem tender.

Other than that she seems to be back to normal. I am still on edge, but calmer. I’ve learned I must handle her with two firm hands. She is too small to go up and down stairs herself and I need to hold onto the rail, especially when going down stairs, so I’m thinking of putting her in a basket with a locking lid. Any suggestions?

A dog harness with a handle If you can find a really small one is an idea .

Hi Mariellena, No need to be intimidated - we have members with chihuahuas up to Great Danes and everything in between! Not everyone has a working line/Schutzhund dog and most folks are here just to help anyone who needs / wants the help.

I think one of the small "carrying cases" for small dogs or a basket with locking lid is fine to help get her up and down the stairs until she is older would be fine. It will allow you to support her entire body and carry the case with one hand while holding onto the rail with the other.

Are you using a crate or teathering the pup to assist in housebreaking? The more you can completely avoid the mistakes in the house, the faster she will train! Keep in mind, the smaller breeds have very small bladders and will need to go outside more often than a larger breed pup.

We'd love to see a pic of Lulu!

Yes, I have two crates and two ex-pens. One set upstairs (on top of a “picnic blanket” on top of carpeting) and one set downstairs (on a tile floor). I take her out at the very least every 2 hours. I started at every hour, then 1.5 hours. She will hold her bladder from 10 pm until 6 am as long as I have her in the smaller crate which is in my bedroom. But she can’t quite get the idea that peeing and pooping can be done during the same trip outside. She will either pee or poop the first trip, then we go inside for a drink of water, sometimes a meal, then take a second trip outside to do whatever she didn’t do the first trip. She is in the ex-pen when not in her crate. I haven’t started tethering her to me yet as she is so small I’m afraid I’ll step on her and I’m up and down the stairs a lot. She is okay in the larger crate during the day. She hasn’t pooped in there since her first night home. That’s when I got the smaller crate.

I decided she was getting very distracted in the yard. I have a specific area I have dedicated for her use. To make that more clear to her I’ve set up another ex-pen there (she is always on a leash outside, but I do remove it from the collar when she is trying to concentrate on elimination). It has simplified my life tremendously in just 3 days of use. I even brought out a fold up chair for myself. I broke my tailbone many years back and standing for even a short time makes me very cranky. Not good for a young pup. She has peed/pooped in the same trip a few times, but mostly not.

Okay, I just now figured out what I need to do. I need to feed her in her crate, then take her outside. That should stop the sneaky pees/poops in the ex-pen when I’m not looking. But how do I encourage her to pee and poop in one trip, especially between meals? I’m feeding her 4 x a day, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm. I haven’t switched her to raw yet. I am sensitive to all kinds of chemicals so cleaning up after raw food could be a challenge. I’m even sensitive to the heat/sweat generated inside gloves. Probably a benefit of smoking for 30 years. I quit in 2002.

She does seem to be a chow hound. I’m feeding her what her breeder had her on, Blue Buffalo Puppy. She practically inhales it.

As for carrying her up and down the stairs until she is old enough to do it herself, I suppose I could use the small crate she uses in my bedroom. She has already started to climb into it on her own for her naps.

OHMYGOSH is she cute! I'm sorry you had the scare, hope she's ok.

That's all I've got. No puppy experience under my belt.

Congrats on the new baby bichon.

It sounds to me like you've got your set up right for housebreaking. As a note small dogs take longer to housebreak than larger dogs. Sometimes up to and past 6 months depending on the owner and the dog size. The most important thing imo in house breaking small dogs is making them walk at least part of the way to where they need to go to potty. The ritual is important and while walking along on a leash is a new thing for wee puppy it's an important often missed step. As far as wee and poopy in the same trip... try taking a quick short walk to help get things moving. Don't forget praise and reward for each correct act.

As far as handling the little darling we toy breeders enjoy this thing called the toy puppy shuffle which does involve a bit of foot dragging to avoid stepping on puppies until they learn to stay out from underfoot. I also use the two hand method of picking up and putting down the little wrigglers where one hand is underneath with a front leg scissored between the middle and index finger and the other hand on the back. If puppy starts wriggling I have control to keep them from bouncing out of my hand.

Personally I don't tether a puppy until they're at least 4lbs and leash educated or 6 months old. Happily bichons don't tend to be super tiny so I imagine you'll be there by 4 months old.

We have a small nylon, soft-sided small dog/cat carrier that could be handy for your situation. Just leave it around open and put a treat or two in it every now and then, and pup would learn to like it.

Alternatively, the "football grip" has always worked for us with puppies, small dogs, and cats. Your arm goes between the dog's legs, thumb on one side of chest, three fingers past sternum straddling the neck from underneath, pinkie finger under the other front leg on other side of chest. Then you just clutch the critter tightly into your chest, and envision someone trying to knock the dog out of your arms. Hold it tight like a football! This is a "one-armed" carry - so you can use your other arm on the handrail to get down the stairs. Even if the dog squirms, he has no where to go - his legs are swimming in air.

Melissa - good description - we have to walk with with "foot shuffle" in my house also with critters about.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

My husband took over doggy duty until 4pm when he brought her up to me. Because she hadn’t peed for him we put her in her crate (the small one). Note to self…don’t put a sleeveless t-shirt in the crate with the dog. I nearly killed her again. When I took her out at 4:45 she’d almost twisted the arm opening around her neck.

I walked downstairs holding her football style (it really works). I took her outside and let her walk from the patio to the potty place on leash. She wasn’t thrilled to get in the ex-pen but she did pee and poop. Lots of treats. Whoo-hoo! I then let her chase me around the yard a little. I carried her football style into the house, removed the collar and leash and placed her in the ex-pen (using two hands) for a drink of water while I prepared and ate my dinner (husband went out looking for a new vacuum). At 5:15 pm I carried her football style upstairs and placed her in the ex-pen while I prepared some grooming supplies on the grooming table. SHE PEED in the ex-pen. I put her in the crate and she’s staying there until her dinner time at 6pm. I’ll get back to the grooming later.

I realize we are still in early days, but I want to make sure I’m not depending too much on the crate. I'd be lost without it.

Holy moly what a precious little pup!!! Okay, so she may never excel at Schutzhund, but with a face like that, who CARES???

Remember out to potty after eating and drinking at this age. It's not that she doesn't want to hold it it's that she can't hold it yet.

BTW I use dishtowels in puppy crates. Works well and they are cheap...

Have fun grooming. I love grooming bichon puppies. Well bichons in general.