House Breaking a Dog w/o being mean??

mw6569

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 1993
Messages
2
Likes
0
Points
0
#1
I have read many articles regarding training your puppy .

Our puppy is currently 11 weeks old and the only really thing that bugs me is his continuously wanting to bite.
We have had his for 4 weeks now he loves his food , i mean what puppy don't.
I take him out every couple to 3 hours.
He can go for nearly 2 hours being on his own , as he will need to go for longer periods when i recover from a broken ankle.
But he always seems to get hyper and then that's when his biting starts at first i did not think it would last that long , but he really is a very dominating dog, of which we are trying to get him out of that.
My wife is the more experienced of the two of us even thought this will be my 4th dog.
But it really is stressing us out as he is a truly gorgeous looking dog, he enjoys his walks, even though he tries so hard when people are just walking by to be very sociable, but not every one is animal orientated.
But his biting is beginning to get out of hand
 

Fandogg

New Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
96
Likes
0
Points
0
#2
How do you house break a dog with out yelling and screaming. I love positive reinforcement training not negative training. What's the propper way to do this?
 

Saje

Island dweller
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
23,932
Likes
1
Points
38
#4
lol candy.

There are tons of threads with advice and suggestions on this. Why don't you read some of them and then ask any questions you have about them?
 

smkie

pointer/labrador/terrier
Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Messages
55,184
Likes
35
Points
48
#6
It isn't necessary to yell or scream at anyone..in fact the more u do...the less u get your point across. If u keep your dog in the same room with u always during the training time it takes to teach them to eliminate outside..that will be the first step. WAtch when they first wake up and scoot them right out the door....don't wait until they squat...beat them to it by getting them outside and THEN when they squat tell them how proud u are..the same with after they eat. Most dogs and puppies will eliminate within 20 minutes or so after finishing their food. Victor goes straight from his dog food bowl to the door..so as soon as your pup eats..take him outside and play for awhile..running around always gets the bowels to moving and then of course praise when the deed is done. If your dog is very youg..get a timer and set it to the amount of time u think your dog will go between urinating..and take him out first.even if you think he doesn't have to go..he will catch on very quickly that doing his business outside pleases u. Use a short a sound..sharp..one time if he does start to squat. That is a sound no dog likes and it startles them so much that they very often will stop midstream...then scoot outside. I have housebroken everydog i have ever run across within 3 days..some less..my puppies were housebroken at 8 weeks when they went to their new owners. I did not give them run of the house where they could go unattended (literally) and when a bowel movement did happen..i didn't even scold..just looked at them with a shame on u face and cleaned it up figuring it was as much my fault for taking my eyes off the dog as it was theirs. Victor figured it all out very quickly and we were done with this in 48 hours. I would rather take a few days and concentrate completely on my dog then to hit and miss which is completely ineffectual. This has always worked for me..not only in housetraining my dogs..but in toilet training the children that were a steady source in my growing up life. My Mother was a licensed daycare for children under the age of 6..most were two. We had 4 potty chairs lined up in the bathroom...for many, many years. You learned to keep one eye on the child and could tell when they would change an expression (that usually meant only one thing) ..the more u observe, the easier it gets. I have never used a punishing style in my training..i think it teaches nothing.
 

Mordy

Quigleyfied
Joined
Jan 9, 2005
Messages
3,868
Likes
0
Points
0
#7
at the risk of being redundant, here is my personal method. using it i have trained two puppies to be almost 100% reliable within only about 10 days, and everyone who received these instructions from me and has stuck to them has had great success within one to two weeks.

it's all about supervision, a strict routine, consistency and lots of praise. :)

you get yourself a crate, a piece of paper and a pen.

anytime anything goes into your dog (food, water, treats) you note down the time, and anytime something "comes out" (regardless if t is an accident or in a "proper" place), you write down the time too.

when you bring your pup home, make it a point to take it outside every hour on the hour, and additionally each time after (a) a meal, (b) a play session and (c) a nap. each time on the way out, you give the same cue: "do you have to go outside?" or "need to go potty?" etc.

you make sure to keep the same routine every single day, from waking up in the morning, to each meal, nap times and potty breaks. the more disciplined you can be with this, the faster you will be successful. don't let up and don't skip a potty trip, even if it might be without results. do not play during potty trips, but remind the pup what the task at hand is - "get busy" or "go pee/poop" are good cues for example. bring along a very high-value treat, but keep it out of sight until the pup has finished. praise enthusiastically after the "business" is finished, and give a treat. don't do this while the pup is still peeing or pooping, or you might distract it.

after keeping notes for a few days, you will clearly see your puppy's schedule and slowly be able to eliminate some of the "extra" potty trips at times where you see they are unsuccessful.

while inside, always supervise your puppy. if you must, put a leash on and tie it to a belt loop of your pants. make it a rule that indoors your puppy is either under close supervision, or in its crate. no exceptions, ever - until you know your pup is reliably doing business outside. even if you have to go to the bathroom and don't take the pup with you, pop it in the crate for the 5 minutes you can't supervise. get a phone call that you know will take your attention away from the pup for a while - "hi, can you hold on for a sec?" and in the crate it goes.

the less accidents you let happen (yup, it's all on your head, little puppies don't do wrong, they just don't know better! ;)), the faster your dog will be reliable indoors.

i highly recommend to crate train, even if you plan on letting the dog sleep on your bed (or some other designated spot) later on. being familiar with spending time in a crate and behaving properly is one of the best things you can teach a dog, especially if you plan on taking him/her lots of places, get involved in dog sports and so on. :)
 
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
1
Likes
0
Points
0
#8
potty training

Does the crate routine work with a dog that will be a yr old in about a month..We got a corgi/chiaua mix about 3 weeks ago and we were told he is potty trained, well guess what?...he isnt.....We r having a hard time with him pooping and peeing in the house. We take him out, sometimes he dont do anything and most of the time he just pees and we find the rest later in our house. We have tried sticking his nose to it and scolding him everytime we find it (which is after he had done it, not in the act) and it doesnt seem to work. We r at our wits end and we dont know what to do. If i have to spend the money for a crate, i definetly will....but i need to know if it will work on an 11 month old pup/dog. We have a 3 yr old American Eskimo and she is great about going outside...she will go to the door and bark when she needs to go out. We want wyatt to be the same way....PLEASE HELP!!!!
 

elegy

overdogged
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
7,720
Likes
1
Points
0
#9
yes, it will work on an adult dog. luce wasn't totally housebroken when i got her. supervision and catching/interrupting her when she was about to make a mistake and then getting her outside to do her business and making sure she did it fixed the problem. she was a year old.

neither of my dogs, at 4, ask to go out. i've never taught them to do so- it's just never seemed necessary. i make sure they get out frequently and do their business before coming back in.
 
R

RedyreRottweilers

Guest
#10
Couldn't this get put up as a sticky? So many requests for housetraining....

House Training

House training your dog is simple if you follow a few basic rules.

1) The puppy must have NO time unsupervised in your home. NONE.
If you are not directly watching the puppy, it should be in the
crate, or outside in a safe area. You MUST watch the puppy at ALL
times when loose in the house. Use baby gates, crates, or tie the
leash to your belt.

2) The puppy should sleep inside the crate by your bedside.
This way you can hear if the puppy should happen to need to go out
during the night.

3) You must go WITH the puppy outside for ALL trips for
elimination. You must have treats with you. When the puppy is
urinating, say "GO PEE PEE" in a nice praise tone of voice the entire
time. When she is finished, pop the treat into her mouth at once, and
praise praise praise. This should be something she gets at no other
time, like tiny pieces of string cheese or boiled chicken. Same for
defecation. Say "GO POOP" while she is going, and food reward and
praise afterwards. You must observe and reward ALL outdoor potty time.

4) Keep a schedule. Feed at the same time, and walk outside at
the same times. Your pup needs at least 4 trips outdoors each day,
and 5 is probably better. Pup needs to go out at wake up time, lunch
time, 4-5 PM, after dinner or any other meals, and before bed.

5) Use a key word each time you go out. I say "Let's go out!!"
in a happy tone of voice each time I'm opening the door to go out with the dog.

6) If you catch the puppy IN THE ACT of eliminating in your
house, CLAP YOUR HANDS, say AH AH, OUTSIDE!! And immediately rush her
outside. If she finishes there, do your usual food reward and praise.

The keys to getting your dog reliably housetrained are:

SUPERVISION: NO loose time in the house if you are not watching

REWARDS: ALL outdoor elimination MUST be observed
and rewarded. If you only do this ONE thing, your puppy will get housetrained.

PATIENCE: Anger and punishment have no place in dog
training. Elimination is a natural and pleasurable experience for
your dog. You can teach her to not soil your house, but punishment
will NOT help. It will only teach the dog to hide when she needs to eliminate.

If you have applied these techniques carefully for 4 weeks and you are still finding spots or piles after the fact, it's time for stronger measures. Roll up a newspaper and fasten both ends with a rubber band. Keep it handy. The very next time you find a spot of a pile that the dog has left behind, whip out that newspaper, and hit YOURSELF over the head firmly several times as you repeat "I FORGOT TO WATCH MY PUPPY".

Works every time.

:D
 
Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
15
Likes
0
Points
0
#12
One thing that really helped me was to teach my dog to pee on command. We only had 3 accidents in the house ( 1 was completely my fault), the other two she was still learning. I tell her to go potty, and that's it. This has come in very handy when it's cold, we are driving somewhere, and when the vet needs a urine sample. Every time she pottied in the right place I praised her (while she was going) and had a treat waiting for her when she was done.
 

nica

Happy dogs expert
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
44
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Singapore
#13
My take on training our dogs to do what pleases us, be it paper training, toilet training is to be very consistent...our pets learn by association, so if we are consistent, they get it really fast. so rally your family members to cooperate to ensure they are reminded each time "acccidents" happens.
 

LuvsDogs

New Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
542
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Sydney N.S.W.
#14
I totally agree with this method, it's so simple. One exception, I did it without a crate, just puppies own little room, with bed, toys & water.
April, now 14 had a few mistakes, but Sooty, now 6 1/2 was trained at 10 weeks old. One Christmas I left her in her room while I went to my cousins for Dinner. I was gone for 7 hours. I opened the door & walked in gingerly, as the light switch is across the room. There was nothing there to step in. I was so proud of her. I put her outside to do what she had to & brought her back in for the night.
We adopted both dogs a 5 1/2 weeks old, hence some of their other issues!
But they're both great dogs to live with. :D
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
29
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
43
Location
Chicago burbs
#15
Excellent thread.

My quesiton is... are those pee-pads ok to use? Afterall i wont be able to take the new pup outside 5 times a day if its raining or snowing.

The praise thing has worked so far with my 11week old american eskimo. (only had her for 3 days) She wont go in her crate/bed anymore which is good. She will go first thing in the morning outside instead. Most of the time she only whines now when she has to go to the bathroom. So thats my sign to take her out.
 

Maxy24

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,070
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Massachusetts
#16
My quesiton is... are those pee-pads ok to use? Afterall i wont be able to take the new pup outside 5 times a day if its raining or snowing.
I don't recommend them... They tend to be very confusing to the dog, although it does work for some it fails for most. As far as rain she can go out in it as much as it were a regular day (even if you don't like it your going :p ) and you don't have to worry about snow for a while since it's June but I'm sure she can handle that just fine too. She is an ESKIMO dog after all lol. You'll have to brave the weather.
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
29
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
43
Location
Chicago burbs
#18
So far the advice here has worked.

Only one question. After a nap I took her outside and sure enough she went to the bathroom. But then we came back inside and she had more water, does that mean i should take her out yet again in 20 mins?
 
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
6
Likes
0
Points
0
#20
How do you house break a dog with out yelling and screaming. I love positive reinforcement training not negative training. What's the propper way to do this?
scream in an encouraging fashion.. like......in ...the military.. :)
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top