Friday, May 8, 2009
I have a 10 week old German Shepherd/Blue Heeler mix. House training is what I need the most help with. Thanks
Answers:
First off, he's 10 weeks old.
He doesn't have the ability to "hold it" yet. 10 weeks is (almost) like a 8 month old human baby. Not even close to potty training age, with no ability to understand the concept of "potty training".
Don't look for any real training until about 4 months.
Yeah! You have a long road ahead.
The best thing you can do is get him on a strict eating and bathrooming schedule.
Crate train
Go out frequently
Either keep a leash on him and tied to you all the time, or use baby gates to contain him. He shouldn't have free run of the house yet. You need to watch him and take him out when he starts to potty.
House Training:
Don't use ammonia to clean up any messes, because it smells like urine to the dog. Use vinegar or the special pet stain cleaners, instead.
1. Watch her very carefully when you are home and take her outside after she drinks, eats, or sniffs around. Keep her outside for 5 minutes, then come back in. but keep careful watch. Always take her to the exact same spot outside for her toilet, and clean up solid waste every few days.
2. When you can't watch her, put her in a crate. You want to try to let her out about every four hours, but she is old enough that she can handle 8 hours, if you are diligent in walking her before and after meals, and before and after leaving for work/school.
3. If you don't use a crate, then confine her in a room, like the bathroom or kitchen that you can cover with newspaper.
4. Put food, water, toys, and bedding in one corner. When you come back after a few hours, take her outside for a walk. Then clean up soiled newspaper, clean the floor underneath with vinegar, and save a small piece for the smell. Place some clean newspaper in another corner of the room, away from her food, and place the smelly piece of newspaper in the corner. Keep newspaper on the rest of the floor.
5. The next day she should have tried to go to the bathroom close to the smelly corner. Repeat the process from above, clean the floor, use new paper, place a new smelly piece of paper in the corner opposite her food.
You are trying to teach her where her toilet is by placing a large blinking sign that says bathroom. Since your dog can't read, you are using a small piece of paper for the same purpose. Your dog has a good sense of smell, so the smelly paper doesn't have to be very large or disgusting. Just a few inches.
6. Keep doing this for a few days, until your dog goes to the bathroom consistently in the same 5' x 5' area. If you are patient and loving, then she may learn to go in an area less than 2' x 2' in less than 4 days, but don't push it.
7. If things are on track after 5 or 6 days, then remove all of the paper, except a 5' x 5' area in the corner, with a small smelly piece of paper.
8. Advanced: If she is a small dog, then you might slowly reduce the area to about 1' x 1', then you can train her to use a kitty litter box inside... but that may be pushing things.
9. When she is consistent, then remove all the paper, and move the smelly piece of paper to the outside to show her where her bathroom is. She may have a few accidents, so try to understand what happened and why she had the accident.
But this method should work for most puppies and dogs.
10. Things to remember:
A. You can remove the paper when you are home and watching her. You only need the paper during the training period of about two weeks, and only when no one is home to watch her, while she is confined in the kitchen/bathroom.
B. Always clean up the floor under any mess or mistake with lots of vinegar to remove the smell.
C. Remember that the smell to a dog is like a large, red, blinking sign to people.
D. Always get rid of soiled newspaper, except for a tiny piece with smell. Replace the soiled newspaper with clean newspaper for the first few days.
Also, walk her, pet her, and talk to her softly... so that she will learn that she has a loving home.
more info would be nice...like whats the problem..?
first i guess pups need a routine. time set even. first thing in the morning right after every feeding, after playing, after a training lesson, right before u leave the house, and last thing at night.
puppy needs to be caught doing the deed..and stoped even if in the middle of it pick pup up by the scruff of the neck(mom does this) light shake and a low firm growl of NO place out side and wait...once he goes LOTS OF PRASIE. and maybe a small treat for every time he goes out side.(baby gates are great to keep the pup with u at all times)
pick up poop that happened inside and place outside point it out to puppy..
and i would say a puppy training book.that goes with behavoir of dogs.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment