Housebreaking Frustrations...

desi

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#1
How long does it take to housebreak a puppy, and why won't my puppy let us know that he has to go? We take him out regularly and watch him when he is out of his crate. Many times when he has an accident, he simply squats and pees with no sniffing or warning at all. I am frustrated already. He goes out nearly every two hours at night, and during the day he has 2 long walks and goes outside MANY times and does go "potty". Also, since I'm the usual person who takes him out, he does not want to come when I call...it's cold outside. My husband and daughters have been taking him out and doing all the "dirty work" for the last day or so and I've been trying to be the "nice guy" to help with him not wanting to come to me. He's still leery. He is only 9 weeks old and we've had him for 1 week. HELP!!!!!
 
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#2
WOW! Seems I'm not the only one... okay here's what my friends told me:
Since he gives you no warning you have to watch him REALLY closely,whenever he squats you have to grab him and take him outside,when he goes outside you have to praise him and give him a treat. When he goes inside scold him,but not to much because you have to remember,he doesn't know it's wrong and he might get scared and hate you for the rest of his life!

If you want him to come you have to stand by the door and make a scene so he'll come over then open the door and go outside,still making a scene,so he'll follow. If that doesn't work,you have to grab him and take him outside on a leash,and wait until he goes. Ignore him and don't play,or else you'll be out there for hours!

P.S. I'm not sure if this works,I'm told it does and it works for my mom.
 

desi

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#3
Thanks for the advice!!! We tried making a scene and it scared him. I don't think he was hurt at all where he came from. Are some dogs just big fraidy cats? We've never had a puppy from the beginning, so this is very new to us.

I went to the craft store and bought a couple of large jingle bells and we attached them to a rope and then looped it over the door we use to take him out (Zack). At the other end, we tied a couple of huge knots, so that he can grab ahold of it. Now, everytime we take him out, we ring the bells and show him that he can grab it. I heard that can work too.

I have heard from different people that it can take weeks to MONTHS to housebreak a dog...is that true? I have bitten off more than I can chew! Well, he's adorable...lab/collie mix.

By the way, I'm new to the forum stuff as well. I'm Desi and I'm a full time mom, "driver", cook, maid, wife, med student AND NOW dog taker carer! I think I've lost my mind!!
 
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#4
Heh,I'm just a kid. My mom made it clear that if I wanted a dog I had to take care of it on my own,but she helps out. I don't know how long it takes,Luke is my first dog and he's not house broken. Most of my friends call me Mistreated,0_o don't ask, and one of them did the thing with the bells but my mom said she would rather let Luke scratch the door. Dogs can be hard yes,especialy for moms,because when your kids give up,you're the only one left to take care of the dog. :)
 

Brattina88

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#5
Depending on the dog, the owner, and how the dog is being trained it could take 6mos to fully house train a puppy. We fostered a young German Shepherd who took to the bell idea. She rang them whenever she needed to go out after she got the idea.
House training dogs in the winter can be hard for some dogs, especially if they really hate the snow. Consistency and patience does the trick. ;) Good Luck! HTH!
 

desi

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#6
Thanks all!

We ring the bells each time we take him to the door to go out...is that the right way???

We have also taken to keeping him in his crate when we are not directly with him or when he has to go out. He doesn't hate it, but it's not his favorite thing.

I hope it's the right thing, though! Thanks for all the advice...I'll take anything that works for us! He has only had 1 accident in 24 hours!! But, like I said...he's restricted to the crate for now.

Trying to be patient,
Desi ;) ;)
 

desi

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#9
Great! This is classic. My 7 year-old took Zack outside to use the bathroom and while she was putting her jacket on he peed on the patio. Is this just a lazy dog??? I'm so ignorant, but I'm really trying.

We take him to his "spot" when we take him out and he has no problem. Maybe I'm expecting too much, too soon??

Desi :confused:
 

Brattina88

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#10
our old, obese, arthritic sheltie went on the back porch a couple of times. i know that she is just being lazy, but if theres a bunch of snow on the ground it may be hard for the dogs to tell.

We taught our german shepherd we were fostering to ring the bell by going to the dog and getting her excited to scratch at the door, or bump it with her nose. The instant she made it jingle (it didnt matter to us how she made it ring) we opened the door, gave her a lil treat and then let her out. she caught on pretty quick with this method. Let us know how it goes !
 

desi

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#11
Will definitely let you know how it's going. Today was pretty good after the patio accident.

Zack was so funny with the bells. After he went potty, we came in and I dried his feet/belly and then he sat in front of the door and rang the bells...I opened the door and he just looked out, so I closed the door. He rang the bells again, and again I opened the door and he just looked out. This happened a couple more times until he decided to go out. I think he got the bell ringing thing down.

He's still not to be trusted in the house alone, so like the vet said...he's getting crated when we're not directly with him.
 
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#12
Heh,figures. I took my puppy out on a two hour walk so he could go potty,he didn't go at all because he was too busy exploring,then when he came back he went on the carpet.
 
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#15
I feel your frustration! Our first Fila, and my German Shepherds, spoiled me. None of them had to be housetrained! It was wonderful! Shiva, however, was a different matter . . .

It took a lot of patience (on my part, Charlie doesn't have much), watching her with an eagle eye for signs of squatting (like your Zack, Shiva would just squat and pee with no warning), quickly scooting her outside, scolding when she didn't make it (Charlie's job), and praising her lavishly with hugs and baby talk when she did her 'thing" outside. We had to leave her in the laundry room at night, since it's a small area and most dogs don't want to soil their own areas. I think that was the single most helpful thing we did, as it seems to have helped her develop more bladder control. Some dogs develop bladder control and capacity more slowly than others.

Good luck, with patience and perserverance Zack will get it before you are ready to check yourself in to the psyche ward. Keep saving your newspapers to soak up the accidents. Do be sure to clean Zack's spots with a citrus or non-ammonia cleaner so he won't have the smell to go back to and repeat the offense. If you mop up the spots with ammonia it will enhance the ammonia in the urine and he'll think he's supposed to go there. Oh, watch his reaction to the bells. Some dogs really respond well to them, but other dogs don't like them, especially if the tone of the bells is too high pitched; it hurts their ears. You just have to watch and see how your dog reacts to the sound.

Med student on top of all your other jobs! You're a brave woman. Best of luck.
 

desi

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Thanks, once again, everyone! Well, Zack seems to like the bells. Either he likes the sound or he likes to play with the knots at the end of the rope. They are the large bells and have a deep sound. I can see why some bells would scare a pup. We just put two on the rope. It's not so loud that way, but we can hear it through the house. Anyway, when he sits in front of the door and plays with the bells, we open the door...he looks out, but doesn't go. Then we close it. He does it again and we open the door again. Too funny to watch! He has figured out that the great outdoors is better than the kennel, and enjoys terrorizing the cat.

He has really taken to the covered porch, but does his "duty" in his spot...not really where I would have chosen, but where the family ended up taking him. So, once they've picked a place, is it pretty easy to get them to go somewhere else? Is there just no satisfying this dog owner??

Our relationship has become much better since we've kept to the crate. No accidents, we carry him to the door. In fact, he can actually whine to go potty and make it to the outside before he has to go. He has been holding it most of the night now. Only wakes once, maybe twice if he drinks alot before bed. We keep his kennel next to our bed for now.

Crate training seems to be the way to do it!

Desi
 
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#17
Glad to hear you're getting a break. I re-read one of your earlier posts in this thread; you mentioned Zack peeing on the porch. That will probably change as he gets older, too. Shiva was really bad about just taking a couple of steps off the front stoop and squatting right in the middle of the walk for several months, but she's now to the point where she does go out further into the yard. Now, if Bimmer can just get her to pick up his habit of going out in the bushes or the pasture I'll be thrilled. A 100+ pound 6 month old puppy leaves some BIG piles! My German Shepherds have spoiled me; they've all preferred to go in the bushes as far away from the house - and where we walk - as possible. I don't know if it's a peculiarity of the breed or not, but it's much appreciated.
 

desi

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Renee - what kind of dog is Shiva? I think I missed that one. I had to laugh at the "big piles" because Zack is "mostly" my 7 year old daughter's dog. She has insisted that she be the one to pick up the yard after him. Well, his piles are getting bigger along with him. She's not as eager to run out with the grocery bag!!

Zack has also figured out that if he makes noise in the kennel he gets to go out. It is SO HARD to determine whether he is "faking" or not. He's actually been out and hanging around with us most of the day, and went to the door. We let him out and he went. He didn't bother with the bells that time.

Good luck with that 6 month old giant!! Sounds to me like your German Shepherds are awesome! I think dogs are pretty cool. Even better when they're trained!
 
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#19
Desi, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I missed this one! Shiva's a Fila Brasileiro. The immediate front yard looks like a minefield, between her and the pet bull calf I'm bottle feeding. Thank goodness Bimmer goes off in seclusion to do his business.

Instead of bagging the piles, have you thought about getting one of those dog pile composters that you sink down in the ground? They have a lid that fits down "flush" with the ground and you just take the lid off and drop the business down inside. It just allows it to break down and the nutrients leach back into the soil. No more "goody bags!"
 

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