# Rat terrier owners



## straight shot (May 9, 2006)

I purchased a unpapered rat female for a family pet. If any of you have a rat T I need some advice on potty training and have a ton of other questions.

TIA


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I've had one. Smart dog but took 8 months to housebreak bec he was so small he had to go potty every 15-30 mins. Eventually you can get the pup to be better at 6-8 months. Males take longer to be housebroken. They train really fast! Mine knew sit,down, no, shut up, stay, ok, git 'em, and roll over at 6 months in both spoken english and sign language considering I'm deaf. He knew I was deaf and knew he had to hit me on the leg to let me know he needed outside.

Good luck.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Observe the puppy. When exactly does she need to relieve herself? Does it coincide with when she was last fed? Time her. Once you have a clue as to her body's schedule you can bring her outside, on leash, just before she needs to go. Put a tiny little treat in your pocket. On leash, have her sit at the door in a spot where she will be out of the way when the door opens. Open the door, tell her "out", and accompany her outside. Bring her to the spot you want her to potty in. When she squats, give her a verbal signal that will come to mean go potty (hurry up, go potty, do your business). Make sure treat is in your hand. The instant she finishes, say "good dog", and give treat. You only have three seconds to reward, so have the treat in hand. After this, jog around the yard with her, encouraging her to follow you by patting your leg. When she gets in front of you, change direction. You are teaching her to come to you when you pat your leg, and to follow you not lead.

If you think she needs to go, but she doesn't, bring her back inside and put her in her crate. Wait a couple of minutes and bring her outside again. It would also help if you took the rag you used to clean up her mess and put it outside where you want her to go. Clean up her messes using white vinegar or a commercial product for removing odors.

What you feed the puppy will have a direct effect on how often she needs to relieve herself. A cheap food like Purina or Pedigree or Ol Roy will run through her faster. Iams and Eukanuba changed their formula and they aren't much better than the others. Flint River, Nutro, Canidae, and foods like that are much better. You will feed less and have less poop to clean up.


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## deb (Jul 27, 2002)

I have 1 100% rat terrier, 1 rat terrier border collie mix and 1 rat terrier cattle dog mix. 

There have been other threads about Rat Terriers in this group so you might want to do a search to see if your questions have been already been answered. 

Otherwise, why don't you post all of your questions in this thread? 
deb
in wi


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## straight shot (May 9, 2006)

Thanks to all, 

And yes I have a LONG list of what to dos, LOL. But potty is my main objective now.

For potty training , she is getting the hang of verbal signals, and treats for pottying outside. ( She hates going to far from my back steps, she thinks snow is not a good walking platform.

But one question is why would she go #1 and #2 in her kennel? she does every time. I put her in at 10pm, I'm up at 5 am to let her outside, Last call for the dogs is at 9:50 ? Is it because she is small and can't hold? or should I take her water and food away before 6pm?

Thanks for all the pointers.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

It comes back to what are you feeding her? A grocery store brand of food is going to go through her faster. IMO, it would be real easy to feed a dog that size BARF (Bones And Raw Food). Chicken wings, a little liver, an egg,... Commercial dog food, get the good stuff.

How big is her crate? It should be large enough for her to stand up and lie down. If it is bigger, she has room to sleep at one end and poop in the other. Use a board or something to make the crate the right size, if it is too big.

When you take her out for potty, bring her to the spot you want her to go in, even if you have to shovel a path. Right now, you are training her to poop right outside the door.

When my dog was a puppy, I set the alarm and took him outside in the middle of the night. I hated it, but it's not forever.


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## Hip_Shot_Hanna (Apr 2, 2005)

straight shot said:


> But one question is why would she go #1 and #2 in her kennel? she does every time. I put her in at 10pm, I'm up at 5 am to let her outside, Last call for the dogs is at 9:50 ? Is it because she is small and can't hold? or should I take her water and food away before 6pm?
> 
> Thanks for all the pointers.


Take away her food by five p.m. Take away the water no later than six p.m. Or even move them up an hour to four and five respectively.

How old is she? 

I agree - she needs to be taken farther away from the door unless you like stepping in dog leavings all the time, and tracking it inside.


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## straight shot (May 9, 2006)

it's a vet brand food and no I don't step in leavings, I clean it up as soon as it hits the snow covered ground and put it where I would like her to do the deed. But I'm for the BARF diet so can you help me with amounts and if she goes in the house will it be easy to pick up?

And her Ken is the Large sized pet porter, she has a blanket ther snuggle pig/toy, it's right next to the register for heat. 

she likes to burrow under the afgans for ?, I'm thinking comfort?, All my dogs were shelter rescue dogs and they are happy with back porch , big dog pillows have a last potty call, enjoy chew toys and running and playing. 

But the Barf is so interesting can someone PM me or post here about it?

Thanks
SS


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

www.rat-terrier.com 
Lots of info here on Ratties!

http://www.littleluvigs.com/pages/09_care04crate.html
From an Italian Greyhound site, crate training, also has one an article on housebreaking, but you will have to look for it.

Young puppies, and small breeds seem to need to go out more often, I used to set a kitchen timer for 4 hours or less when I went to sleep, to let mine out when they were young.. Rat terriers like to burrow, and LOVE to sleep with their humans under the covers


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Porters tend to be long. Is she laying in the poop/pee? You have to really clean it once she messes in it. Try a white vinager solution. If she keeps smelling it, she thinks it's the bathroom. You may need to put her into a different container for the time being. But, you'll still need to let her out at night.

What your vet sells may not be a great food. Science Diet is mediocre at best. Solid Gold, Canidae, Innova, Max Nutro, those are the better foods.

Barf is mostly raw meaty bones, with organ meat thrown in for good measure. For a dog that size, I imagine that one chicken wing (raw) in the morning, and one in the early afternoon, and one for dinner would be plenty. You would probably need to cut the wings into two pieces as they may be too big. Chicken supplies muscle meat, ligaments, cartiledge, bone, fat (omega 3 and 6) and skin. It's practicly complete. A piece of liver for two of the meals per week, an egg once or twice a week, a raw steak bone when you have it. Dr. Billinghurst also recommends vegetables. They need to be cooked, so leftovers work well. Give Your Dog a Bone is the basic bible of raw feeding, though it could have been written better. Ask at your library. It's easier than you think it will be.

A word of caution: because your dog has been eating kibble or canned, she will chew twice and swallow. You need to give her a meaty bone that is too big for her to do that with. She needs to chew and chew and chew. But, as small as she is, perhaps one whole chicken wing would fit the bill.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

straight shot said:


> I purchased a unpapered rat female for a family pet.


Question, how old was she when you got her and where did she come from? I breed and show Parson Russell Terriers (aka Jack Russells) and some of them are real buggers to house train, although they will get there eventually if you put enough time, energy, and thought into it. But what I am wonder is if this baby came from a good breeder or a BYB or puppy mill type setting. Sometimes dogs, no matter how they were raised as little pups, poop and pee in their crates, but sometimes it is because that has been normal for them and they don't know any better.


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## deb (Jul 27, 2002)

doozie said:


> Young puppies, and small breeds seem to need to go out more often, I used to set a kitchen timer for 4 hours or less when I went to sleep, to let mine out when they were young.. Rat terriers like to burrow, and LOVE to sleep with their humans under the covers


Yup, when our rat terrier & rt mixes were puppies we always got up in the middle of the night to take them out because their bladders were small. When the 100% rat terrier was a 3lb puppy, she quickly convinced DH that she was too little & cold to stay in a crate overnight so she has always slept
curled up against his side under the blanket. During the night she would whine a bit and DH would take her outside.

In Winter when the dogs where young we would shovel the snow away in part of the yard to expose the grass and we'd always use a lease to lead them to that area. They are adults now and we only shovel snow for them when it gets too deep (like 12" or more) and usually that is just the path to the chicken house.

We started telling them as pups to "go pee" or "go poo" and now as adults, when they get told to "go..." they generally will focus and do their business.

Deb
in wi


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