ok, I need some help, on a big dog, housetraining, hasn't been in the house for years

[Spirit2010]

Well, my mom said she would think about letting Hershey in!!! :D If she says yes, I will be soo darn happy! So, now, he hasn't been in the house for a few years, and I need some pointers. Ok, first, crate training, he has never liked his crate. never! So that is going to be a challenge. How do I get him to go into his crate? And I know, I am going to treat him like crazy when he is in there, and the door is shut. :)

Ok now, chasing the cats.. ug, I got a feeling he will chase the cats, (2 cats) What do I do on this?

Ok, running in the house? How should I stop him from doing this? I know my mom will not like him running in the house.

Ok, now, trash in the house.. eep! He loves getting into the trash! How should I reinforce him getting in the trash?

Taking things out of places. things such as, fish stuff, nik naks, and all that stuff.

Toys, how many should I get for him?

Well, I think that about covers it. :) If not, I will post some other things. Thank you for reading!

[©DeannaT©]

Hey there! pretty dog!! Is this the dog that will be coming into the house? How old is he?

I only have experience in this once, and that is with the Saint Bernard who we currently have in the house. He came from being solely outside, at a farm to inside with us. He only had one accident (that was while he was still intact, he peed on my couch). He never chewed anything, only chased the cats until they stopped running ( took about 2 days ). The trash we keep under the sink cuz there is no way to keep them out if you aren't standing right beside it all day!! We gave Teddy ( the saint ) chew toys, but he seldom needed them. He was 9 months old ( and 120 lbs ) the first time he came into the house and we have had absolutely no issues. He's now almost 3. Now, perhaps he is the exception, but I believe older dogs to be far easier to acclimate to the house. I am looking forward to hearing everyone else's' ideas. Always learning!:) Good luck to you!

[Julie]

As I said in another one of your threads....take it slow.
Start off with evening time, keep him on a leash.....you could even let him sleep in your room with the door shut.
As far as a crate in this circumstance.....I wouldn't do it.
He has lived outside for many years tied outside. By giving him little freedoms at a time he will learn manners.
But when you cannot be there to redirect and influence his behavior...
I personally would put him back on his tie out.
That way your mother cannot blame him for things during her watch, while you are in school etc. And his whole life would not be upturned by sitting in a crate that he hates (as you stated).
Just start off slow....getting him reconditioned to the house in a respectable manner will show your Mom that it is possible for him to be a good house dog.
I am sure you will notice a difference with evening and night time in the house, he will learn how to act.....then eventually your mom might invite him in while you are at school or whatever.

[PWCorgi]

If I was you, I would take his crate outside and work with him on getting used to it outside, very slowly. Get a clicker, if he sniffs the crate, click and treat, if he steps in the crate, click and treat, if he even looks towards the crate, click and treat. He needs to associate the crate with good things, not being locked in side of it. Eventually, throw a toy in the crate, when he goes in to get it click and treat. After a while, if he gets comfortable in the crate and sits or lies down, you can close the door, then open it right back up, don't even latch it. Build up time slowly, and if he does get to the point where he likes it in there, if you have to shut him inside, make sure he has something to keep him occupied while inside. I would also have a bed or something comfortable to lay on inside the crate, just adds to the appeal :D

I also fully agree with what Julie said about taking it slow and keeping him on a leash.

[Spirit2010]

She works too. She works from.. I think 8:00 a.m. to 5;00, and school, 7:55 to.. 2:55, we get home at 3:30. :) thanks though!

[BostonBanker]

Julie is giving you fantastic advice on several threads - please pay attention.

I completely agree with putting him back on the tie-out when you are not right there, paying attention to him. He's on it 100% of the time now, so any time in the house is an improvement. You want to set him up to not make mistakes - both for the sake of his training, and to keep your mom from getting upset and banning him again.

I'd bring him in for a while on a leash. Have some nice treats all ready, and reward anything he does that is "good house behavior". Any sitting, laying down, or just "settling". Any time he makes eye contact with you. Any time the cat walks through the room and does anything other than try to bother it. If he's a typical food-happy lab, you may even be able to use his kibble if your mom doesn't want to buy treats or give him "human" food.

Make sure he has something appropriate to chew on near him, and if he is chewing on that (as opposed to the floor or furniture), tell him he's wonderful.

And when you need to go do something or can't watch him for even a minute, put him back outside. If you can get your room picked up so there isn't anything for him to get in trouble with, Julie's suggestion of leaving him in your room and letting him sleep there is also great.

We suspect that Meg was an outdoor dog before I got her. She was extremely worried about being indoors and didn't know stairs or furniture. She was about a year and a half at the time. I was always careful to keep her near me while she was learning about houselife, and she adjusted beautifully, with only a couple of accidents and a few chew marks on various surfaces - all times when I should have been paying attention and wasn't.

Also - give him as much exercise as you can. If you can play with him and walk him a bit before bringing him in, it may help him settle faster. Tired dogs don't get into things!

I think it is wonderful that you are going to try to improve Hershey's life, and I wish you all kinds of success with it!

[Doberluv]

Julie is giving you fantastic advice on several threads - please pay attention.

I completely agree with putting him back on the tie-out when you are not right there, paying attention to him. He's on it 100% of the time now, so any time in the house is an improvement. You want to set him up to not make mistakes - both for the sake of his training, and to keep your mom from getting upset and banning him again.

I'd bring him in for a while on a leash. Have some nice treats all ready, and reward anything he does that is "good house behavior". Any sitting, laying down, or just "settling". Any time he makes eye contact with you. Any time the cat walks through the room and does anything other than try to bother it. If he's a typical food-happy lab, you may even be able to use his kibble if your mom doesn't want to buy treats or give him "human" food.

Make sure he has something appropriate to chew on near him, and if he is chewing on that (as opposed to the floor or furniture), tell him he's wonderful.

And when you need to go do something or can't watch him for even a minute, put him back outside. If you can get your room picked up so there isn't anything for him to get in trouble with, Julie's suggestion of leaving him in your room and letting him sleep there is also great.

We suspect that Meg was an outdoor dog before I got her. She was extremely worried about being indoors and didn't know stairs or furniture. She was about a year and a half at the time. I was always careful to keep her near me while she was learning about houselife, and she adjusted beautifully, with only a couple of accidents and a few chew marks on various surfaces - all times when I should have been paying attention and wasn't.

Also - give him as much exercise as you can. If you can play with him and walk him a bit before bringing him in, it may help him settle faster. Tired dogs don't get into things!

I think it is wonderful that you are going to try to improve Hershey's life, and I wish you all kinds of success with it!
__________________

Super duper posts! I hope this works out for you!

[Spirit2010]

Me too. :) I will follow everyone's advice, and probably kind of sneak him in the house when no one is home. (she'll find out, but she won't really care, as long as I clean up after his mud) he is food happy, he will take just about anything for a treat.