Posted: 4/22/2011 8:36:23 AM EDT
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Grrrrr. It's been 13 years since I have had to housebreaking a pup. I don't remember either lab taking this long.
We have an 11 week old GSD, I've had him since he was almost 8 weeks old. We are on a schedule, we have a routine, we are doing the whole good boy outside/ignore inside theory but it is having no effect. We are crating as well with no luck. I'm about to go back to rubbin nose and beatin ass (not really but getting aggravated). Refresh me on how long this should take. The little shit is already heeling off lead on command but won't pee outside. There isn't enough febreeze on the planet to fix our play room right now. I know pups require pics, so here's a link. Can't embed flikr from the phone. Kona |
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Do you know if he is peeing inside to relieve himself or is he peeing to mark? Here are some tips that you may already know, but I'll throw them out there.
Have you been using "Natures Miracle" to clean the pee spots? It's suppose to remove the marking odor. Also, pups need to be take out A LOT, like every two hours. They should be taken right outside when taken out of the crate and right after they eat(to pee). Carry him from crate to outside if you have to. They should be no playing around outside, until he does his business. Keep him on a leash to prevent playing. Once he does pee, throw a ball or his favorite toy to play with. At night stop all water before his last walk for the night. We recently got another four month old puppy and although he was more difficult then our other dog, he was house trained in two weeks(since we owned him). With our first dog, he only peed and pooped once in the house. We really lucked out with him. I caught him while he was pooping in the living. I walked up from behind him and yelled NO" REALLY loud, as I grabbed him and took him outside. I really think that scared the crap out of him  . From then on, he would sit at the door and whine to go outside.
Good luck |
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Are you being strict enough with the crate?
Crate––>immediately outside––>command to pee––>pee within a couple of minutes = praise + treat, then play/food/whatever. No pee = back to crate/no fun/wait 20 minutes, repeat. Exercise––>repeat above pattern. Eat––>repeat above pattern. All sleeping done in crate. All eating done in crate. Any free time in the house outside of the crate = 100% surveillance so you can catch the *inevitable* mistake at which time it's––>NO!––>bodily whisk outside––>repeat above pattern. 11 weeks isn't that old. Some dogs may not housebreak for a couple of months. +1 on Nature's Miracle. If it's carpet use enough so it soaks the pad underneath. eta good looking pup! |
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Here's the key: Make sure that he never goes inside the house.
Seriously. If you do that, he will "get it" fairly quickly. That means more work than just ignoring the inside accidents, it means preventing them. Dog took a drink? Take it outside until it pees. Dog just woke up? Goes outside. Dog has played for a few minutes? Outside. Hasn't gone otherwise for half an hour or an hour? Outside. Sniffing around? Outside. Watch especially for the sniffing. If you keep an eye on them, they always give signs that they're about to go. Now, the crating... you're teaching him that the crate is his "home", and dogs instinctively try not to relieve themselves in their home. You need the dog to see the entire HOUSE as his home, not the small crate. At that age, the process should be able to go pretty quickly. I got my two GSD mixes at that age, and it took about a week with one, two with the other. |
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being there all the time wsa key for me. I was just ouf of college (the first time) and i could supervise him full time. when he looked suspiicious i grabbed him and went out, encouraged him to go, and praised him after he was done. I remember a total of one accident, and that was my fault for not responding when he started to pace around
Adorable animal, btw. |
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He has the run of the house most of the week mainly because I am home 4 days a week which means he is out in the house with the kids and I. I do not have him eat In the crate because as he eats we all have a hand in the bowl and pet him. I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old so avoiding any food aggression is at the top of my list.
I probably should crate him more when I am home. And the wife definitely needs to as she is not as keyed into the signs that he needs to go. He's a smart pup. He'll get it soon. Any pup that can heel off leash as well as he does at his age shouldn't take long. Never heard of natures miracle. Where can I pick some up? |
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Quoted:
He has the run of the house most of the week mainly because I am home 4 days a week which means he is out in the house with the kids and I. I do not have him eat In the crate because as he eats we all have a hand in the bowl and pet him. I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old so avoiding any food aggression is at the top of my list. I probably should crate him more when I am home. And the wife definitely needs to as she is not as keyed into the signs that he needs to go. He's a smart pup. He'll get it soon. Any pup that can heel off leash as well as he does at his age shouldn't take long. Never heard of natures miracle. Where can I pick some up? Well, at least we found your problem  3 posters say you need 100% eyes on when out of the crate. That's got to happen if you expect housebreaking to go well. No pain, no gain, the faster you get it done the faster you can all be together again. My dog had the run of the house at 4 months when we were home, "graduated" from the "night crate' at 5 months of age and we started leaving the crate door open all the time around 6 months. The first time we went to bed with no "go crate" her little fuzzy head blue screened––it was really funny. They are such creatures of habit. We changed that habit to have her sleep on a dog bed at the foot of our bed. At 8 months she never went in the crate anymore on her own so we packed it up and put it in the basement for the next time.
Watch out on the hand in the bowl thing. Petting is good. Hand feeding is good. Taking away food is bad (not that you are doing that, just sayin') Nature's Miracle is carried by Petco and Petsmart, and probably just about any other pet place. |
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If your dog is not house broken, the only solution is to take a 6' leash and tie the dog to yourself. If the dog can't get out of your reach, it won't be doing to the bathroom inside your house.
Take the dog out as often as possible. While ours was a puppy, it was every few hours until it got it. Give it praises, treats, etc when it finishes outside. She was a GSD and had maybe two accidents in the house - surprise, when we let her out of our sight. Rubbing your dogs nose in the pee/poop is beyond stupid and does nothing. If anything RUB YOUR NOSE IN IT because YOU failed as a pet owner. If your dogs goes in the house, it is only one persons fault: Yours. |
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+1 on what most people are saying. Especially the Natures Miracle, but if your play room smells that bad then you need to rent a carpet cleaner and quite likely put up a gate to that room for the time being.
Just because you're home doesn't mean that you are keeping a close eye on him...TV, kids, text messages...damn those little fur balls are sneaky! If you can't watch like a hawk put him up. Also make sure that the crate isn't too big if he's going inside of it, some will. As a long time GSD owner I would recommend caution with using harsh methods with them. They are smarter and more "in tune" with their owners than many breeds and it could backfire on you. |
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Disclaimer: since my tone or sense of humor doesnt come through in text, I'm not rubbing his nose or beating his ass for christs sake, lighten up.
I have moved to full time crating which I hate. Even though he gets 3 walks per day, I don't like the fact that he gets less interaction in the house with the family I am keeping an eye on him all the time, ALL the time when he is out. He will go out, do his business, come inside, be sitting at my feet, get up, walk 2 steps and pee. He goes out a minimum of every 2 hours. Still, likes to do b'ness in the house. |
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Quoted:
Disclaimer: since my tone or sense of humor doesnt come through in text, I'm not rubbing his nose or beating his ass for christs sake, lighten up. I have moved to full time crating which I hate. Even though he gets 3 walks per day, I don't like the fact that he gets less interaction in the house with the family I am keeping an eye on him all the time, ALL the time when he is out. He will go out, do his business, come inside, be sitting at my feet, get up, walk 2 steps and pee. He goes out a minimum of every 2 hours. Still, likes to do b'ness in the house. Young pups need to be in the crate most of the time. As they get older, you can let them out to be with you in the house for longer and longer periods, always right after they have been outside to be "drained." At 11 weeks I would not have him out of the crate with you around the house for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Go outside, pee/poop, inside for 20-30 minutes with you, then back in the crate until it's time to go again. |
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Disclaimer: since my tone or sense of humor doesnt come through in text, I'm not rubbing his nose or beating his ass for christs sake, lighten up. I have moved to full time crating which I hate. Even though he gets 3 walks per day, I don't like the fact that he gets less interaction in the house with the family I am keeping an eye on him all the time, ALL the time when he is out. He will go out, do his business, come inside, be sitting at my feet, get up, walk 2 steps and pee. He goes out a minimum of every 2 hours. Still, likes to do b'ness in the house. Young pups need to be in the crate most of the time. As they get older, you can let them out to be with you in the house for longer and longer periods, always right after they have been outside to be "drained." If you're willing to watch them, no such crating is needed. We fostered a litter of pit bull pups, starting when they were 4 weeks old. We would "crate" them (leave them in a small, fenced area) during the night or when we were away, but if we were there, they would run around in the front room. Papers were put out in one corner, and we watched them like HAWKS, and put them on the papers when they had to go. By the time we gave them back, if they had to go, they would run around FRANTICALLY looking for a piece of paper to go on. Once, the newspapers weren't down, one ran around until it found an envelope behind the recliner, and took a dump on the envelope. We also fostered an English Pointer pup that was about six weeks old, within a week or two, if it had to go, it would run to the front door and bark. Of course, we had to make it there QUICK, because it couldn't hold it long, but still - if you're willing to just watch the dog, potty training can go VERY quickly. They learn the idea surprisingly easily, then it's just a matter of them being able to "hold it" longer as they get older. A few posts up, I gave a list of reasons to take them out. Follow that, praise and reward going outside, and it's like magic. The idea that an 11-week old puppy would need to be crated most of the time is silly. We got one of our pups at 11 weeks, she was done house-training in about four or five days, and that was it. When we were gone from the house, she stayed in the back yard, but if she was home, she had free roam. Our other, which we got at about 15 weeks, had been a stray, and had no idea of a home or den - so it took us the long time of about a week and a half, then he was done. Keep in mind that dogs naturally won't go in their "den". But in nature, their "den" is quite small, not much bigger than a crate. When you crate them, they learn that the crate is their den, and they won't go there. But you still have to do regular house training to teach them that your entire house (which is probably 100 times the area of what they expect as a den) is , indeed, fully their "den". Crating can be convenient (and can be good for when you have to leave), but just delays the inevitable. |
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from my expierence. Make a routine. Give the puppy praise when she or he does it outside. Give a treat while shes pooping outside.
NOW KEEP DOING IT AND WAIT. Puppies are like childern, they are potty trained when they are rdy, not you. ( they can hold it in and feel the urges that they are 1/4 full, 1/2 full, etc, then they will go tot he bathroom when they are let out.) My 2 cents. |
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Disclaimer: since my tone or sense of humor doesnt come through in text, I'm not rubbing his nose or beating his ass for christs sake, lighten up. I have moved to full time crating which I hate. Even though he gets 3 walks per day, I don't like the fact that he gets less interaction in the house with the family I am keeping an eye on him all the time, ALL the time when he is out. He will go out, do his business, come inside, be sitting at my feet, get up, walk 2 steps and pee. He goes out a minimum of every 2 hours. Still, likes to do b'ness in the house. Young pups need to be in the crate most of the time. As they get older, you can let them out to be with you in the house for longer and longer periods, always right after they have been outside to be "drained." If you're willing to watch them, no such crating is needed. We fostered a litter of pit bull pups, starting when they were 4 weeks old. We would "crate" them (leave them in a small, fenced area) during the night or when we were away, but if we were there, they would run around in the front room. Papers were put out in one corner, and we watched them like HAWKS, and put them on the papers when they had to go. By the time we gave them back, if they had to go, they would run around FRANTICALLY looking for a piece of paper to go on. Once, the newspapers weren't down, one ran around until it found an envelope behind the recliner, and took a dump on the envelope. Most humans need to actually sleep, work, bathe, run errands, etc. so watching a young puppy 24/7 is not an option. Many breeders train pups from the start to soil in one area, usually papers or wood chips, but that is not housebreaking. It's great that you can train them to do that, but what you've done is trained them to eliminate on paper - not hold it and eliminate outside, which is the ultimate goal. We also fostered an English Pointer pup that was about six weeks old, within a week or two, if it had to go, it would run to the front door and bark. Of course, we had to make it there QUICK, because it couldn't hold it long, but still - if you're willing to just watch the dog, potty training can go VERY quickly. They learn the idea surprisingly easily, then it's just a matter of them being able to "hold it" longer as they get older.
This sounds more like housebreaking, but again, most normal people can't watch their dogs 24/7. They have to eat, sleep, work, etc. Crating a young dog when you can't be there to supervise also keeps the dog from destroying your house and eating or chewing on things that could make him sick or even kill him. It's not just a housebreaking tool, it's a safety issue for the dog as well. |
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Best advice comes from the leerburg.com website. If you want to potty train a puppy, buy a 6' leash and TIE the dog to you. The dog will not go if it is 6' from you. Keep a good eye on it, take it out frequently, etc. Our GSD puppy we got at 8wk only peed in the house twice and #2 twice. It was flawless, both times were my fault as I wasn't watching her.
Seriously, leashing the dog to myself was the best advice ever. |