HELP!!! Puppy Training!

L

lorihart

Cathlete
O.K....I have had it up to my eyeballs!

We (I) had the bright idea of buying a puppy about a month ago and I am having some serious doubts...although I know its to late for doubts now.
We got him when he was only 6 weeks old and now he is 10 weeks. How long does it take to train these animals?
We already have one dog but we didn't get him until he was 8 monthes. He was already trained and he is the best dog ever! He is so obedient and well behaved...but now I have this savage going around peeing everywhere.
Tell me what I am doign wrong, heres the scoop.

1. I put him out quit often, But 20 min later he could pee somewhere.
2. He knows he is doing wrong b/c he hides.
3.Last week he was barking at the door to do his poop, great! But last night he poops on the floor.
4.He was in his kennel most of the day tuesday while we were working but I told my daugther to let him out of his kennel around 3 b/c I felt bad he was in there most of the day. He was home unattended for 2 hours. Does this get him confused? Thinking he can pee anywhere?
5.Don't own a really big backyard and its still winter here.So leaving him out doors isn't an option right now.
6.I was just making the bed and he wanted to get up on it, so while I was making it.....he decides to pee on it!(just then, this is what put me over the edge)
7.His water bowl is on the floor at all times, should I take it away until he is trained and only give it to him when he is eating?
8.Congratulate him when he pees outside and gives him a treat.

I am just getting so fustrated at this point. It almost seems as if we are going backwards. I didn't expect a puppy to be a breeze but I didn't think they could "unlearn" what they have learned.
The thing that gets me is he knows he did wrong b/c when you can't find him he is hiding under the table and won't come out. Does he not know he did wrong until AFTER he pees or poops.
I know he is only a baby and beleive me....I have all the patience in the world.I am hoping a year from now he will get the hint!
Any tough love tips?
Lori
 
First of all, DO NOT LET HIM OUT OF HIS CRATE WHEN YOU'RE NOT HOME. In fact, keep him in his crate when you are home but can't pay close attention to him. His crate is his bedroom & safe place. He LIKES it there. You will confuse him if you're not consistent.

Second, four weeks is a very short time for a puppy that age. Also it depends on the breed, but I'd say w/the right training you've got about 4-12 weeks to go.

Don't give him a treat when he pees outdoors. Praise him but no treats. Do you keep newspapers right by your back door? For some reason dogs papertrain easier than outdoor training. If he papertrains & gets used to going to the back door, the next logical step is getting him outside. The thing is, you have to pay attention to him ALL THE TIME. If he's left unattended, accidents can only be blamed on you.

Believe me, he does not know he's doing something wrong when he goes indoors. And the last thing you want to do is scold him unless you actually catch him in the act. Dogs live in the moment & if you scold him after--i.e. rubbing his nose in it--what you teach him is that going is bad no matter where he does it. Then he'll end up holding it until he can't take it anymore & as soon as you turn your back he'll go.

The poor little fella is very young & has a lot to learn, not to mention adjusting to a new home & family. Have patience w/him & get all the advice you can.

The reason I know all this is b/c I have a 4 year old pug who has never really been completely housebroken. He's the 3rd dog I've had & the first two were a breeze--w/in 6 weeks they knew exactly what they should do. For some reason Maximus never really caught on. I was so frustrated but I love the little guy to death so I figured if I had to clean up crap for the rest of my life then so be it. Then a few months ago, when I was finally at the end of my rope, I contacted Barkbusters & I cannot say enough good things about them. It cost me a bit of money but w/in 4 weeks all my problems w/Max were solved. (www.barkbusters.com) It's like a miracle. My little devil turned into a little angel. I learned quite a bit about dog behavior too. It's been some learning experience.
 
Tough love is hard. My first dog was trained in 10 days, no joke and now we trained our German Sheppard in 3 weeks.

Here goes:

Puppies need to go about every 3-4 hours.
Keep your puppy in his kennel at ALL times (make it a happy place with toys and bones). Only let him out of the kennel to eat and go to the bathroom or to play with you supervised. If you want him around the house more......put a leash on him and tie it to your waste, that way you are right there if he starts going to the bathroom and you can say "NO" strong and firm when he tries to go inside. NEVER EVER let him out of your site until he is trained. THis is annoying at first, but training goes much quicker!

Praise him only when he goes potty outside. No treats for that.

TIP: I used to set my alarm at 1:00AM and then 4:00AM and take them out to potty during the night. Eventually their bladders will get better and you will only need to take him out once per night and then eventually not at all.

I know you might think its cruel to have them in their kennel so much at first, but they will learn to love their kennels. Its like their safe place. Our huge German Sheppard still goes there during the day to take naps and we just leave the gate open. Never use the kennel as punishment!

That is the best advice I can give you. You have to be very strict about not letting the dog out of your site! Good Luck!
 
Don't ever let your puppy out of the crate unless you can keep a constant eye on him. Always take him outside right after he eats (and several times throughout the day), and then put him right back into his crate when he's done. And don't stay outside for a long time waiting for him to go. He will learn that he only has a certain amount of time to go, and if he doesn't, then he will have to hold it (because he won't pee in his crate). Also, he only hides in the bushes because he knows you're mad. Don't punish him for this because this is not his fault.

PS Don't let your dog on your bed! He's a dog, you're the master. If you let him on your bed, he may develop dominance issues.

Here's a great how-to on house training:
http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm

Check out the other articles on this website on obedience training your puppy. This guy knows his stuff.

Elaine
 
EEEEk, it appears i've done it all wrong. I have a perfectly trained 2 year old that i trained with treats. The only time he gets his "perfect treats" (aka pieces of cheese/hotdogs etc...) are when he "goes pee" outside. I can now tell him at any time, "go pee" and he will at least try. It comes very handy when we are traveling or at someone elses house. Those are his "pee" treats and he knows it so he will do the duty that he has associated with it.

When i took him to puppy obedience training, it was all about the reward (treat) so that is what i did.

It worked for us! We haven't had an accident since he was a pup.
 
We also trained our dogs to "go pee" with the treat method, and it worked very well for us.

10 weeks old is still a *very* young puppy, so accidents are to be expected. Many breeders won't let pups leave their mother until they're 10-12 weeks old. If memory serves me correctly, I think Gunther was 5-6 months old before we felt confident that he could/would "hold it" for more than 4 hours at a time.

I'm also a firm believer in crate training - the crate should a happy and safe place for the pup.

Good luck
 
I felt the same way when we got our puppy! I was seriously rethinking the whole puppy thing too. However, I'm so glad I stuck with it because now she is THE BEST dog and yours will be too! You've been give lots of good advice already so I will just tell you my experience. Remember, puppies have the attentions span of a gnat and zero bladder control! He has no idea what is the right thing to do...you have to teach him that. And you have to be consistent.

Definitely continue to crate train him...please don't leave him outside. I don't think even the puppy knows he has to pee until just before it happens. That's why you have to take him out often...about every hour or two. Don't ever leave him unattened outside the crate. Yes, you are confusing him and he's probably scared wondering where you are.

Try to time his eating and drinking so you can take him out about 30 minutes afterwards. (I read this in a training book and it worked well for us) It will stimulate his bowels and he will likely have to poop (and pee).

We trained our dog to ring a bell that we hung by the door whenever she wanted to go out. It was very helpful for those times when we would be inside playing with her (not on a leash) and she would get the urge and just run to the door and ring the bell.

Also, when puppies get excited from playing it will make them pee too. Always take him out after a play session.

Get your puppy some basic training if you can. Someone already mentioned a website for training. Or maybe your local PetsMart has classes. I found a wealth of information on the internet and through books. The "Dummies" series are usually good (I bought two of those) and right now I'm reading "The Power of Positive Dog Training."

Good Luck and don't give up!!

:) Nicole
 
I forgot to mention...we adopted our puppy from a shelter group. She was part of a litter that was raised in a "foster" home where they were given free reign of the backyard during the day and slept in a crate at night. I believe it took us a little longer to potty train her because she was used to just going pee wherever and whenever she wanted. I don't think she was fully potty trained (NO accidents at all) until she was 5-6 months old! So don't give up on your puppy if it seems to take a while to get her potty trained. Some dogs just take longer than others too, just like kids. Just be consistent and he'll get it eventually!!

:)
 
I had my answer all ready to give and then I read the responses! You already got the best responses! The main points I'd emphasize is:

1. Free play time only after he's gone pee (and you've witnessed it.) He may not be going when you let him outside.
2. Try to eliminate all possibilites of an accident but if he has an accident don't freak out. It tends to teach them that they need to hide when they have to go pee and that takes a much longer time to untrain.
3. Some wise advise I heard a while ago: "If your puppy pees on the floor take a newspaper and roll it up and whack YOURSELF on the head and say 'Bad Girl, you didn't watch the puppy! Bad girl!
4. Confine. Confine. Never give him free run until he's trustworthy. This doesn't mean you have to keep him enclosed in a kennel all the time just keep him in a smaller area - use baby gates, boards whatever to set up smaller areas.

Good Luck again!
Trish
 
> O.K....I have had it up to my eyeballs!
>
> >
> 1. I put him out quit often, But 20 min later he could pee
>somewhere.

What is quite often? I take pups out every 20-30 minutes and set a timer. 10 weeks is way too young to expect to be potty trained.

> 2. He knows he is doing wrong b/c he hides.

I highly doubt this. He is hiding because he is reacting to something, not because he knows what he did is wrong. Dogs don't think this way. They are really not out to get us <G>. If he knew it was wrong, he would not do it.

> > 4.He was in his kennel most of the day tuesday while we were
>working but I told my daugther to let him out of his kennel
>around 3 b/c I felt bad he was in there most of the day. He
>was home unattended for 2 hours. Does this get him confused?
>Thinking he can pee anywhere?

He has already proven he is not housebroken so he should not be unsupervised until he is 100% reliable.

> > 6.I was just making the bed and he wanted to get up on it, so
>while I was making it.....he decides to pee on it!(just then,
>this is what put me over the edge)

How long ago did you take him out? Did he just eat or play?

> 7.His water bowl is on the floor at all times, should I take
>it away until he is trained and only give it to him when he is
>eating?

Nope. I might take it away at night if he can't go through the night.

>> The thing that gets me is he knows he did wrong b/c when you
>can't find him he is hiding under the table and won't come
>out. Does he not know he did wrong until AFTER he pees or
>poops.

Again, he really does not know what he did is wrong.

Colleen
 
I agree with the bell method Nicole mentioned. My parents just got a puppy and they were so frustrated at how he just wasn't catching on to the potty training - especially since their previous dog learned immediately.

My mom's vet told them about the bell method, and he picked it up in two days! Now they aren't regretting getting him...
 
>
>PS Don't let your dog on your bed! He's a dog, you're the
>master. If you let him on your bed, he may develop dominance
>issues.
>

This isn't true. I have 4 dogs, 2 Vizslas a lab and an intact Male Dobe. They all get on the furniture if I want them to. The key is they need to know they get on and off at your request. Just letting them on the bed is not going to make a dog dominant.

Now if he already has dominant tendencies, I might avoid letting him on the bed and doing more obedience, but for most dogs that is not what causes dominance.

Colleen
 
Colleen- I beg to differ. I can put him outside...he will pee. O.k so he should be alittle trust worthy now right? I will go downstairs and put a load of laundry in.When I come back he is under the table,looking at me, so I have to snoop around and I will find a puddle somewhere.He diffently knows he did wrong b/c why else would he be hiding? I didn't yell at him, no one else did b/c we are home alone,and when you try and call him out from in under the table he won't budge. Then I will move the table, pick him up, put him outside and when he comes in I will pick him up and cuddle hima little.No abuse going on here. He is hiding from the fact that he peed or pooped, what else would there be for him to hide from?

Ladies, thanks for the great advice. When I say..he just peed, I mean, just peed (5-10 min)The thing I am concerned about is last week he was barking at the door to do his poop and this week he isn't. It was only one day this week he was left unsupervised.Someone is always home with him.

I don't really mind him on the bed b/c he loves to be picked up and cuddled.Part of me wonders if he isn't younger then what they said he was.We already have a big dog that knows he can come up on the bed when invited and he gets down when he has to .

The reason I asked about removing is water bowl only when eating is b/c he drinks ALOT....which would be another reason why he pees so much.
In the night time he does well. He will sleep for about 6-7 hours without whining to get out.

My beef was, I don't expect him to be fully potty trained and I am well aware that he is still very young,but I thought I would see some progress in 4 weeks.The only progress I am seeing is steps backwards. Obviously I am doing something wrong, I hope it doesn't take to long to fix the mistakes I have made.
Thanks again,
Lori:)
 
Unless you can be there every time the puppy is drinking and eating then I would suggest putting the water and food bowl up. I'm not saying they should not eat or drink, just monitoring when they do eat and drink and letting the puppy eat and drink frequently. However right after the puppy finishes eating or drinking you should take it outside to do its business. Their bladder is very small and can not be held very long.

Also never put the food and water bowls in their crate. Their crate is considered their home and a safe place so they won't pee there. However if given no other choice that could change. The cocker spaniel we have now was abused by her previous owners and kept in a crate all day long and never let out to pee. She was then beat when she went to the bathroom inside the crate. She would pee in her crate every time because that was her only choice at the time. It took months to break that behavior.

It all boils down to patience. I agree with everyone here about keeping the puppy in the crate whenever she cannot be watched. Dogs do not feel it is cruel. They actually consider it home.

Lots of luck!
 
No Lori, he really doesn't know. Even my evil little pug doesn't know. I thought he was doing it on purpose too but my doggy "behavioral therapist" said he was more confused than anything. Their brains are like the size of a pea. All they can really understand is immediate gratification.
 
Just a thought...you said he was drinking ALOT. Do you think he is drinking WAY too much for a puppy? If he is drinking and peeing to EXCESS for his age that could be a signal that he has some other issue going on (medical?). You might try a call to your vet for some advice if you think that could be it.

:) Nicole
 
I see him at his water bowl quiet frequently but its hard to monitor how much he drinks b/c my other dog will sneak out and drink out of the bowl when we wren't looking:) Someones obviously to lazy to walk downstairs to his own dish!:)
The girl I work with did mention buying some worm medication. I didn't think it was possible b/c I've never seen any in his stool but she said they won't come out until they are treated for it. Could that be why he is drinking so much?
Its hard for me to say whats to much b/c I have never had a puppy before.
I don't put anything in his kennel with him.

I hope no offense was taken to anything I have written. I guess I figure he knows that he has done wrong b/c I know my other dog knows. He won't even come to the door when we come home if he has gotten into the garbage or something.He just lays on his bed with is ears down.
I just wanted some insight b/c I (obviously) have no clue about pups.I've never raised one so its hard for me not to go by the behaviour of my other dog.
Thanks again,
I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed.
Lori
:)
 
Puppy training, it's so much fun isn't it. LOL! I use the crate training method with my dogs. My last dog took less than 2 weeks to understand what the going outside/not inside process was (she was 10 wks when I got her). I thought it was a miracle! Most puppies will take alot longer than that. I've read quite a few times that if they are not trained by 6 mo. then YOU have a problem and need to change YOUR training method. So, it can take up to 6 mo. for some to fully understand what you want from them.

Everyone's advice about keeping your pup crated when you aren't watching him is crucial to your training. If your pup goes pee and you don't see it, then later pees again and you catch him and get mad, all he has learned is to do it when you aren't looking. He has not learned to not do it in the house. You must be there EVERY time he has an accident and ideally before he has one.

A book I highly recommend is "Dog Problems" by Carol Lea Benjamin. She has some great books on dogs.

Here is her sample schedule on Crate training. You can adjust to your own schedule and how often your dog needs to go out. All dogs are different.

I'll add that 'Walk' Means-Take outside ON LEASH to the exact same spot to do his business, then you can free him to play. Always say the same words before (like go the bathroom), and the same praise words after (like, Good job!)

7 am - Food, Water, walk, play 15-20 min. CRATE (I would take the pup out first thing in the morning, then do this)

11 am - Water, walk, play, CRATE

3 pm - Food, water, walk, play and train 20 min. CRATE

7 pm - Food, water, walk, play 20 min. CRATE

11 pm - Walk, kiss, CRATE overnight

Until 4 mo.-5 walks per day
Until 8 mo.-4 walks per day
There after-3 walks per day

Your pup might need more walks while he's still young-mine did.

I've saved alot of customers sanity by recommending the Crate method. I own a dog grooming shop and house training is the main frustration for new puppy owners.
 
Lori,

Studies have shown that usually the human's behavior gives signal to the dog that the human is upset and the dog then reacts. If I came home and the dogs got into the garbage and my posture changed from happy to upset, even if I was quiet, my dogs would slouch or look hesitant. Now if the garbage was strung about and I came home and kept my usual home return, hello and kisses...they would not react. Dogs can sense the slightest change in our behavior and/or body language.

Also 10 weeks is still a baby. Many pups aren't even to their new homes yet. And inconsistency is the biggest problem. Right now, the pup is going inside and outside and thinks it is ok. The biggest problem is when they have an accident, no matter what we do, they are already self-rewarded by relieving themselves. Nothing can take that away. The gratification is already there. That is why it is crucial to prevent accidents.

I would not do any over the counter worm medicine. If you think it is an issue, then I'd suggest going to the vet. Also typically the vet checks this at the routine check-ups with shots, etc. I really just think he just doesn't get it yet. I've trained dogs for competition and fun for over 10 years and personally never had one fully housetrained by 10 weeks.

I think they key for you is to make sure he doesn't have any accidents. Be proactive. Take him out often and either kennel him or tether him to you and do not leave him unattended at this point. Did I mention how much work puppies are <G>?

Here are more links for you:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/housetrain.htm

http://www.bichonfrise.org/crate.html


http://www.dpca-breedered.com/housebreaking.htm

Colleen
 
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