I have a 4 year old Silky Terrier (Osker), who just seems impossible to completely house train. We've paid for trainers, and have been crate training. ie. every time he's bad, scolding him (not hitting or anything) show him what he's done and putting him in the crate, telling him in a stern voice he's bad. And praising him when he's good and asks to go out, etc... but there's no guarantee he will tell you when he needs out. In addition he gets very aggressive after you discovered he's gone potty in the house (before you even yell at him, just once he knows you've seen it) when you reach for the leash he'll bite at you and get very upset. The same thing when he's barking when he shouldn't be, if he gets really excited he'll bite at you when you tell him to stop and try to pull him away from the window. In addition, we have one couch that he's not allowed on, but when no one is looking he'll sneak on it and when you try to pull him off he'll bite at you (I should explain he was trained wearing his leash and often has his leash on all the time). He's not always bad, but it's usually a given then he'll have to go in the crate at least once a day, sometimes more. We love him very much, so we hope we can do something to make this better. We've also tried paper training (even bought one of those grass pads and the spray to see if we could teach him to use to mat when he does potty inside. He's very defiant and often doesn't seem very remorseful about being bad, only angry he was caught. Any tips that might be helpful?? We're trying everything!:hail:
Silky Terrier Advice (help please?)
- Thread starter OskersPet
- Start date
First off what you need is potty training advice, not silky terrier advice 
(sorry I just find it amusing that people come in and post questions like these listing the breed as if that is the problem)
Dogs don't feel guilty, if they have peed on the floor 2 minutes ago and yet get angry they have no idea why. What people percieve as guilt is appeasment behaviour. To your dog you randomly turn into 'angry human' for no known reason. Of course he is going to bite you. As far as he is concerned you attack him randomly.
What you need to do is train him where you do want him to go. He will now be thoroughly confused and nervous about going anywhere.
Put him in a crate at all times when you can't directly watch or have him tethered to you.
Take him out of the crate and take him outside. When he goes praise him and FEED him an uber tastey treat. Take him in and keep him tethered to you. Repeat this A LOT. Over and over reward him for going outside. Don't give him a chance to go inside.
If he does start to go inside DO NOT GET ANGRY. You can say 'eh' or something to get him to stop and take him outside and reward for going out there.
Dogs form substrate preferences. Its like the floor rewards him every time he goes on it. Don't let him be rewarded.
(sorry I just find it amusing that people come in and post questions like these listing the breed as if that is the problem)Dogs don't feel guilty, if they have peed on the floor 2 minutes ago and yet get angry they have no idea why. What people percieve as guilt is appeasment behaviour. To your dog you randomly turn into 'angry human' for no known reason. Of course he is going to bite you. As far as he is concerned you attack him randomly.
What you need to do is train him where you do want him to go. He will now be thoroughly confused and nervous about going anywhere.
Put him in a crate at all times when you can't directly watch or have him tethered to you.
Take him out of the crate and take him outside. When he goes praise him and FEED him an uber tastey treat. Take him in and keep him tethered to you. Repeat this A LOT. Over and over reward him for going outside. Don't give him a chance to go inside.
If he does start to go inside DO NOT GET ANGRY. You can say 'eh' or something to get him to stop and take him outside and reward for going out there.
Dogs form substrate preferences. Its like the floor rewards him every time he goes on it. Don't let him be rewarded.
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It doesn't sound like you're using an approach many people have success with.
He's probably going in the house because when you scold him, he doesn't know it's because he's gone in the house, he thinks it's because he's gone potty in front of you.
He's not angry that he's getting caught. He's frightened or trying to stand his ground by not letting you use the punishment methods you've been using. His crate should not ever be used as a time-out. If he gets out of control or over excited, walk away from him, ignore him, or distract him.
You should probably start crate training over. Make the crate seem like a positive thing. I'd do away with pee pads unless absolutely necessary. Put him in the crate when you can't watch him, put him in the crate if he hasn't gone potty outside. Reward him for going outside. If he does go potty in the house and you don't catch him, ignore it. Make sure you're cleaning it thoroughly. If he starts to go in front of you, just distract him by saying "whoops!" loudly and rushing to the door or grabbing his leash.
Also, if you notice him sniffing around a lot or looking like he needs to go, take him out immediately! The best way to housebreak is by preventing accidents.
He's probably going in the house because when you scold him, he doesn't know it's because he's gone in the house, he thinks it's because he's gone potty in front of you.
He's not angry that he's getting caught. He's frightened or trying to stand his ground by not letting you use the punishment methods you've been using. His crate should not ever be used as a time-out. If he gets out of control or over excited, walk away from him, ignore him, or distract him.
You should probably start crate training over. Make the crate seem like a positive thing. I'd do away with pee pads unless absolutely necessary. Put him in the crate when you can't watch him, put him in the crate if he hasn't gone potty outside. Reward him for going outside. If he does go potty in the house and you don't catch him, ignore it. Make sure you're cleaning it thoroughly. If he starts to go in front of you, just distract him by saying "whoops!" loudly and rushing to the door or grabbing his leash.
Also, if you notice him sniffing around a lot or looking like he needs to go, take him out immediately! The best way to housebreak is by preventing accidents.