really need some direction

[simon'smom]

Greetings!
I am new here and in desparate need of some help.
I have a 12 week old St. Bernard puppy, 3 kids, a 4 yr old, 3 yr old, 16 mo old and I am newly pregnant.
My puppy is SOOOOOOOO awesome, and so are my kids. I love them all being together, but it is incredibly challenging to housebreak him with the other kids around ,and sometimes, I'd wish I could crate my youngest , just to get him out to pee!
He is sort of housebroken- he will not pee up in the bedrooms, because he thinks this is his den. He poops outside, and I have him on a schedule of 2 hrs after every meal (2) he poops in the same place with my aid in telling him "go potty" I also take him out 15-20 minutes after he drinks water which is 3 x a day- 2x with a meal. That potty is quick as I don't want him running about after intake of anything. I know that management of water intake is cruc ial right now.
Peeing is harder, he thinks the basement is his toilet, and also our middle floor as well. He squats everywhere, several times. And what is most challenging is I cannot just pick up and run him outside to pee for correction, because I am in the middle of changing a diaper or breaking up a Barbie fight, or trying to pry my little one off the dog's tail. Then I feel like it's too late to correct him.
Then there is the command issue-
I have been following the dog whisperer and the dog wizard about identifying myself as the alpha dog- which seems to work, but sometimes he is more interested in the girls than listening to me. (typical boy! lol)
I think I need to get a pro in here to help me organize my thoughts and direction on what I need to accomplish with him-but I would welcome any and all direction in training me to train my sweet boy. He is a good boy and gets tons of praises-no doubt.
Thanks for listening!

Amyjean- aka simonsmom

 

[Maxy24]

I have been following the dog whisperer and the dog wizard about identifying myself as the alpha dog-

Don't follow what the dog whisperer says, he's a TV entertainer, not a dog trainer IMO. Don't try to dominate your dog (alpha rolls, jab in the neck with fingers and such) it could be dangerous for you and is not all too kind to your pup. I've never heard of the second guy. If he thinks the basement is the potty then block him off from there for now, use a gate or a door.

Make sure when he goes potty outside you give him a treat and lots of praise. When you can't watch him put him in the crate. You might want to tie him to you with a leash so you don't miss any accidents. write down every time he goes to the bathroom so you might see a pattern and know when to go out with him, you seem to be doing good so far. you have not had him too long so just keep up with consistent positive training and he'll figure it out eventually.

 

[Charliesmommy]

Your life sounds pretty crazy right now! The first few weeks with a new puppy can be aggravating, even without a houseful of kids so try to find some time here and there to just breathe and relax a minute.

Maxy gave you good advice. Crate training is probably going to help you more than anything! And leashing him to you when he is not in the crate. At 12 weeks, and I think you said you just got him, what is going to be required of you more than anything is just patience. It takes puppies a little time to learn the rules so try not to go crazy in the meantime! Goodluck!

 

[Saintgirl]

A great bit about housebreaking puppies is stickied in the training section called House breaking a dog w/o being mean. It will help you out alot.

I know that management of water intake is cruc ial right now.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Puppies should have an unlimited access to water duing the day. I take water up in the evening to help with the over night pees, but not during the day. You may find that Simon is more difficult to housebreak than other breeds of dogs. I have heard time and time again that Saints can be slow learners for house breaking. It can be 6-8 months before they are reliable without an accident. And trust me, a 6 month old Saint empting his bladder on the floor is more like a pond in your living room or kitchen!

You will find that many people here are not great fans of the meathods used by the dog whisperer. Saints are especially sensitive to their owners and positive reinforcement works wonders on them. A Saint truely wants to please their owner, so training done in short bursts several times a day teaches a pup quickly. It is especailly important to get this training worked on early before your pup turns into a 175lb + adult.

He squats everywhere, several times.

How often is he doing this? If it is frequently I would bring a urine sample to your vet to rule out any urinary infection. I recommend a crate for you to help with training. If you have to attend to one of your children put him in his crate so he doesn't have the chance to pee or get into something he shouldn't. At this age if he can not be supervised 100% of the time, a crate is a wonderful tool to help with house breaking and training. Good luck, and he will catch on in no time at all!!

 

[DanL]

+1 on the crate. Changing a dirty diaper? Crate the dog. Making a kid a meal? Crate the dog. Basically, any time you can't focus nearly 100% on the pup, crate it. Then when you are freed up, take him from the crate directly outside.

 

[squirtsmom]

You picked a heck of a time to get a puppy. Hehehe. I do not mean this in a mean kind of way, but you have your hands full.

 

[otch1]

Hi Simons' mom. You do have your hands full! Lol. As your children are at an age that requires close supervision and you're puppy is also quite young, appropriate training equipment and a very consistent schedule are important. While you're waiting to get into an obedience class, recommend you pick up several good books on training, as this is a daily process and time set aside for your puppy without the distraction of kids is a must. Yes, you need to schedule your pups water intake during potty training, verses allowing unlimited access and not knowing when he's "full". More importantly though, your puppy is never to have run of the house or unsupervised time off lead. As others have said, especially when you need to tend to the kids. Recommend you start training him to an x-pen due to his breed and eventual size. Crating giant breeds for prolonged periods can have an adverse effect on their growth, joints, muscle development. You'll still need your crate for potty training and travel, but using both right now would be wise. There are several threads about favorite training material and books here. (Who is the dog wizard?) As you are pregnant, recommend you get into a training class asap to get some help with handling, leash work as well as potty training before your furry baby gets much larger! Good luck.

 

[Dog Diggler]

wow.. I'm not sure I could manage that.. not the kids anyways.. one is enough for me.. or maybe two later on.. =) but more to the point, if you could get someone to help with the kids, you could concentrate on the pup and he will learn fast enough.. then you would have one less thing to worry about anyway..

 

[squirtsmom]

My Great Pyrenees Baby, potty trained very quickly. Good luck.

 

[Saintgirl]

Yes, you need to schedule your pups water intake during potty training, verses allowing unlimited access and not knowing when he's "full". More importantly though

I stand corrected! I personally have never limited the water intake- however I have only had puppies to house break (and not children too!) and could devote 100% of my time to them during this process. After water we always go outside.

 

[otch1]

Oooops, my apologies Saintgirl. Standard advice I give to all owners still having potty training problems with an older pup and new puppy owners, to offer water at frequently scheduled intervals during day so they can time potty breaks successfully. Leaving unlimited access to a full bowl of water throughout day, for an owner that has the pup off leash to play in the house, is a bad combination. You're right though, the water needs to be offer frequently enough to keep the pup well hydrated. I just worry about an owner with this many little ones, humans and furry creature, being aware of when that bladder's full. Lol

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Wish I knew that a week ago Otch
Pees successfully outside.. go in.. 15 minutes later more pee on carpet cause he'd drunk again.. Now we are on a better schedule of water outside water outside..

 

[simon'smom]

thanks

Thanks for all your input- I hate to crate him because he barks and whines, but it is needed with all this going on. So, since the kids playroom is in the basement- when we are down there, I will crate him whenever I cannot attend to his needs and when I need to care for the little ones.
Then, once I can focus on him, outside after the crate. Without the kids!!! I made that mistake only once!
I hope that by doing this, it does not allow him to pee everywhere in the basement like he has been doing.
Another issue I have is the girls get him very very excited, and he nips at all of them, even me. The first time he did this, it freaked me out- and he caught onto that. Now if he does, I shush him and tug on his collar. It helps sometimes, but the bigger problem is getting the little ones to understand they are making him excited. Everyone needs training here!
The other issue I have (oh why so many??) is he doesn't always listen to me. I try to get him out of the house to pee and sometimes need to drag him or pick him up to get him out, he puts up a struggle, until we are finally outside, then we have a bit of a battle of the wills- he wants to go one way, I want to go the other.
When he is a good boy, I praise him to the Heavens, but I don't know what to do when he ignores me.
I know its day 4, and I am a novice at all this, but I really want to do things right that will last a lifetime. He is so treasured and I don;'t want to break his spirit by screwing up his puppyhood education. Know what I mean?

 

[simon'smom]

oh, the dog wizard- www.911dogwizard.com he is the Russian seen on Letterman. (Letterman wasn't too thrilled with him and his political humor, but I thought his method was interesting.)

 

[simon'smom]

You picked a heck of a time to get a puppy. Hehehe. I do not mean this in a mean kind of way, but you have your hands full.

tell me about it! we found out we were pregnant the day before getting our puppy!

 

[Dekka]

wow not sure if there was someone out there worse than Mr Milan..but that Wizard guy is even scarier! They are the snake oil salesmen of the moment, promising cure alls and miracles.

Better to get books by Dr Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Pamela Reid...and a few others, I am having a mind blank.

On the crate training, don't let him out when he is barking/whining, or he will think that is what he needs to do to get let out. With small children you are going to NEED a dog that will chill nicely in a crate. Feed him in his crate (with door open at first.) Have some great chewies (stuffed kong, bully stick etc) that he ONLY gets in the crate.

Good luck (I have 5 JRTs but only one child..and we are past the 'needing a dozen sets of eyes' stage...he's 6)

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with Dekka.....please stick with real behaviorist/trainers who use real honest to goodness canine learning theory. There are no gimmicks or snake oil. I love that...perfect description.

 

[Saintgirl]

Oooops, my apologies Saintgirl.

None needed at all- you gave wonderful advise!!

 

[LuvsDogs]

Welcome to the forum. If you want to find the answers to some of the problems you are having look up www.siriuspup.com by Dr Ian Dunbar. Look in the behavior problem section & also the books & video section for a free download of his book 'Before You Get Your Puppy'.

 

[simon'smom]

thanks so much!
The crate works great- we ran out this morning to get him some yummier treats an d he was ready to pee when we got back. He did pee right away, but I stopped that and ran him outside.
The new treats are better received now- I was using the Organic Newmans own...and Simon thought they were yucky. SO I got some real meaty type and he is soooooo eager to please! We're only on day 5 and when we're outside, I say "Go potty." He looks at me, then pees- on cue! Of course he gets the treat and tons of hugs and kisses.
Every day is getting better and better.

Thanks again for all your insight!
Check out my photos when you can!

Be well
Amyjean AKA Simon's mom