An excellent tool for house-breaking puppies

You gotta be careful and think about what you're really teaching your dog.

One idiot I know is trying to teach his Ches. Bay Ret. (an intelligent breed) to heel. But , when the dog doesn't comply immediately , he literally kicks the dog in the chest or ribs. Now he doesn't understand why the dog does the opposite and tries to run every time he hears the word "HEEL".

He's creating a negative association for the dog , but in the owner's mind , the dog's just stupid and stubborn.

I've worked in abuse shelters , with vets , and I currently run a local off leash dog park for the municipality I live in. One thing I can say with certainty is that consistent positive reinforcement is THE BEST WAY to train a dog. That doesn't mean that stern warnings aren't in order sometimes , but only with a discernable purpose to the dog. (Anything else IS in fact abuse--whether mild or blatant--or whether you personally choose to believe it or not). A dog that respects you through fear will only listen becuase it HAS to. The second he's not being watched , he'll likely disobey.

A dog that respects you through love will listen because he WANTS to. You've taught him that it's in his best interests and he'll be rewarded with kindness and not a kick in the chest.

The golden rule applies to animals , too.



Just my 2 cents.



(P.S.---sorry if that sounded preachy , but it's a passionate subject with me).
 
Another little bit of info for people who put the dogs face in the mess, that will teach the dog that going potty is bad, and soon enough thereafter you will find the dog goes in very bizarre, semi-hidden places. i feel people's pain though, it's taken a really long time with my dachshund, but he is pretty darn near perfect now. it's pretty rewarding when you can see a dog learn etc.
 
I agree with the positive reinforcement approach.



You have to remember, DOGS ARE NOT PEOPLE. They do not process information in the same manner. To housebreak, it's no different than with children. The last thing you want to do is make it a negative experience. Praise your dog when he does it right and pretty much ignore the "incidents" unless you observe (notice I didn't say catch) him in the act.



If you observe him in the act (within 5-10s), state the command "Outside" and bring them outside and have a set command for "Pee" and "Pooh". I use "Hurry Up" for peeing and "Anda" which is Portuguese for "Hurry" for Pooh.



So what I would do is state "Momo Outside", pick him up and when outside, take him to a common spot and state "Momo Anda". Wait five minutes, then bring him inside (this isn't play time). Wait 1/2hr, do take him to the spot and state "Momo Anda". At first, he'll look at your strange but shortly, he'll get the hint. The key to all this is when they do go outside, make a small party out it and give him a tone of praise. I don't believe in cookie training but if you are having a hard time, that works as well. I personally don't believe in food rewards but that's a contraversal topic.



Note some key tips:



1. ALWAYS address your dog by his name first. Then the command. That way, your dog associate his name with a command to follow.



2. In house breaking, the key is consistency! Consistency with timings of feedings, timing of outside breaks (irregardless of whether they go or not). That way, the dog develops a routine and can come to "anticipate" when he'll be able to go out.



3. CRATE TRAIN. Dogs do no like to go where they sleep. It's important to properly size your crate for the size of dog you have. It can be too big or else they'll go in it. The crate is his "safe" place. NEVER NEVER ever use the crate as negative reinforcement. i.e. when the dog does something wrong, put him in the crate. That wil make him neverous of the crate. Remember, the crate is a fun place, a safe place.



THE MOST IMPORTANT thing is consistency of commands and timing.



Myself or many here can give you a schedule to follow that will help greatly with the housebreaking.



1. Breed

2. Age

3. Your work schedule

4. Evening schedule



There is never a reason to hit a dog.



Dogs have memories but admistrating punish for act they committed minutes, hours ago is not seen by them the same way you think it is.



Dogs love ROUTINE! I can not stress that enough. Believe, even 1/2 off a routine at this point can mean the difference between 4-8 week housebreaking and 6-months.



Paco
 
i can totally understand everyones problem. i have a bassett hound that is great about going outside. she has had her accidents in the house but very rarely. when she needs to go out she will come up to you and start crying until you get up and take her out. on the other hand, we also have a chihuahua that we adopted who seems to think that the kitchen is the best place to do his business. its hard to catch him too. we also believe that you have to catch him in the act or else there is no point because they have no clue whats going on.
 
I dont doubt the positive reinforcement. But the chances of Josie or I catching him in the act, are slim! (He's sitting right by my side right now like he knows Im talking about him!) He's such a great puppie, and brings so much joy to the kids, as well as my wife and I. I truelly belive, they are a mans best friend!!

Me and Bruiser are going for a ride ! See you folks later! Thanks for all the views on dog training!
 
Thanks for the idea Sean, my parents will be eager to try out with our puppy, Luna.

She's been pretty good with "accidents" in the house but not perfect.

Heres a pic of here wondering whats going on...

lunaMedium.jpg
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Well if I was within 15 seconds of the accident, chances sway that it could have been avoided. Kind of like a dog nipping at the postman, "If I'd only knew" type of mentality.

What your telling me is a canine has no memory of "bad situations or incidences?" I have to disagree with these so called experts your referring to, sorry. 15 seconds may be best, but its not an absolute.

I did scold the dog for wizzin in the bathroom..I took him in there, and showed him the accident, and repeated "bad dog". I see no abuse in "reminding" a dog, its done a bad thing........Or maybe I should have waited until I caught him in the act? What would have been worse, let him pee, then scold him?

As for abuse, that dog is more spoiled then my kids.....and yes, he gets positive affirmations, including the regular hugs and kisses puppies get when we go downstairs, and he relieves himself in the proper location (and yes, I pick it up in a baggy), and a treat. BUt if I dont get that to him in 15 seconds of him relieveing himself, he'll never remember ? I agree, proper discipline is good, and in the eye of the guy scoopin the poopin, and clean'in the pee'in.....
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Sorry, I didn't mean to say you are "abusing" your dog; I simply meant that that type of method was kind of "abusive" from your dog's "point of view". I think some of the others explained what I meant much better than I did. :o
 
DFTowel said:
This simply will never work. Never! You are making the very common mistake of believing a dog's brain works like a human's. It simply does not. The only way a dog will know he is doing wrong is to scold him in the act and not after. For all we know if you bring him to the accident and show it to him and scold him he probably thinks that you are scolding him for sniffing or looking at it, not the act of doing it.



Positive reinforcement and praise does work however. Think of positive reinforcement as GOOD ACTION --> PAYCHECK, that is, for every time your dog does what you want (pooping outside for example) he gets a paycheck in the form of praise or a treat. If you use treats also use praise because you don't always have handy those great little smelly soft things they like to munch on.



We have two TDI and AKC certified therapy dogs that continually undergo training in all sorts of situations (crowds, noise, cars, wheelchairs,crashing pans, kids grabbing.) Going through weekly training with them you begin to see how their little brains work, the best reinforcement and training is praise! Even treats don't work as good as praise and attention. Good sit! Good stay! Good down! Our dogs even know the difference between "stay" (don't move no matter what!) and "wait" (stay for a moment while I get my keys or leave the house then you can romp.



One thing I taught them early on, and you guys should really think about this, is the command "LEAVE IT!" spoken very loud and forceably and if need be a yank on the leash. This is of absolute importance if you bring Rover to a car show or cruise night, you want them to know that if you say "LEAVE IT!" they damned well better not sniff at or lick that antifreeze on the ground! As you may know... antifreeze KILLS dogs! "LEAVE IT" is easy to teach... put a small dollop of peanut butter or their favorite treat on the ground and walk by with Rover on the leash. As soon as he goes to get it shout "LEAVE IT!" and yank the leash and keep walking. Do this several times over a few days and pretty soon just a "LEAVE IT" in a normal tone of voice will stop him cold. You can then progress to "OK" and let him have the treat. What will soon happen is that Rover will not touch anything on the ground unless you say "OK."
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THAT is excellent advice!!
 
Further dilemna....Bruiser woke up this morning and we quickly went downstairs so he could do his duty. Which he did, #1 (On several occasions), and #2. So I have him praise and stroked his ego, then we took a small walk.....We come up stairs, and the rest of the family wakes up. Within 45 min to an hr, he goes #1 in the bathroom again, his same old spot!! I have been trying a different method since my first reply on this thread and nothing is helping......Positive affirmations, and a treat when hes completed, hugs, kisses, everything! Im treating this dog like my own child!
 
A.K.A. Patrick- If you haven't tried it yet, get some of that Nature's Miracle stuff. You put it on the spot (use lots of it) and let it dry/evaporate (don't wipe it back up). It'll destroy the only-dogs-smell-it remains of the previous #1. Then you'll just have to work on his idea that your bathroom is another place to use for such things. Removing the scent will make this easier.



I'd put down the Nature's Miracle and keep the bathroom door closed for a while so he gets out of the habit of going in there for *any* reason.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
...Within 45 min to an hr, he goes #1 in the bathroom again, his same old spot!!...
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Once they were somewhat hosebroken both our dogs were doing this in my office, nowhere else in the house except there! I used the neutralizer spray and then started keeping the door closed when I wasn't in there. After a couple of weeks I started leaving the door open again and no more accidents. I think they simply forgot that was their "accident" place.
 
Nature's Miracle stuff
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I actuall have some Accum, I use it to keep freeeekin cats off my patio.....This is the first incident with Bruiser in a few days, I really thought we were over the hump......

DF, Im definetly going to give it a try, but the bathroom is one of two in the house that is used quite frequently, so Im worried traffic may reduce it effectiveness........
 
Patience....

The longer an animal has gone without proper correction of a particular behavior , the longer it takes to "untrain" them.

Every animal is different , of course , but it always takes PATIENCE...and plenty of it!
 
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