DOG TRAINING TIPS- I need help please!

I've had my dog for a year- she's 1.5 years old, but she just isnt getting the whole "housebreaking thing." My parents are threatening to get rid of her if she has another accident- she has several a day. I dont know what I would do without my dog- I love her so much. I'm crying right now. I would really appreciate any tips and tricks you could give me on house training her, please. I'm desperate.

She's a great, sweet, affectionate and playful dog and I love her. I dont want to give her up. Please, advice anybody?

You know those water sprayers
This might sound cruel but it's really helped me train my pugs
They HATE water and I use one of those water sprayers when they do somthing bad, and now they listen. They fear the water sprayer :D
Most dogs dislike water so you could use that to discipline them.
Good luck

I am not much help, my dog was already trined when I got her. 
Have you heard of The dog whisperer.

house training can be done but you have to train her that going potty inside is not ok.   Have you taken her to the vets to make sure there is no medical reason for her to be having accidents?  If that has been ruled out then here are some things you can try.  

First make sure that she goes outside as soon as she wakes up and after she eats.  Make sure she goes out as soon as you get home too.  Once she figures out when it's time to go outside she will let you know if you forget. 

When she is inside with you keep her with you at all times.  The best way to do this is to get a short leash, 4 feet is good, and attach it to your belt loop and hook her to the other end.  That way you will know what she is doing at all times.  If she starts to go potty you can stop her and take her outside right away. 

Praise her when she goes outside, give her small treats and lots of attention.  If she has an accident ignore it, clean it up and go on.  Don't yell at her or scold her often times this will only make her afraid of you.

You could try crate training her, most dogs wont urinate and defecate where they sleep. If you are going to crate train make sure you do it slowly and use treats.  Once she gets us to it she may actually go into her crate when she is tired. Here's a link to crate training  http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

If you have any questions feel free to email me.  Try to explain this to your Mom and Dad and have them help.  Pets are part of our lives and quickly become part of the family.  With the help of your family she can stay home with her family.  Which means YOU!

Take care and let me know how things are going.  I am here for you if I can help you with this at all!

Erin and Sunny

Go back to square one.  Kennel crate her, and only let her out to go to the bathroom.  Take her straight outside and then when she does it, reward her on the spot with  her lots of verbal praise, so that there is some word association with it, Like "Good girl, my baby (or whatever her name) did her WHIZZ "(or whatever you decide to call it.)  Use the same sentence and word every time. Give her a bit of kibbles or some other treat.  Then take her back in the house and offer her water, then back in the crate. 

Sounds mean, but she will soon get the idea, and a kennel crate actually makes them feel quite secure.  Within a few weeks, she will be asking to go out.

I have had many many dogs in my 65+ years, and this has been most effective of all.  One other thing, with  my last puppy (see my gallery) I got some of those GIANT diapers that they use in nursing homes, and spread one on the floor, plastic side down,  in the corner if I had her out for a bit. If she doesn't use it, at least it is super absorbent for mopping up, plastic side up.

One more thing... I found a spray bottle with 2 tablespoons oxiclean to 1 liter water (about a quart) to be a great stain remover.  Make the water hot when you make it up to disolve the powder, but I use it cold afterward, too. 

Original Post by lovestonedtim:

You know those water sprayers
This might sound cruel but it's really helped me train my pugs
They HATE water and I use one of those water sprayers when they do somthing bad, and now they listen. They fear the water sprayer :D
Most dogs dislike water so you could use that to discipline them.
Good luck

Sorry, I disagree with this.  Bathroom duties are not punishable offenses.  They are natural.  Punishing her will only make her go hide behind couches, in closets, and in shoes since she cannot NOT go.  She needs to learn the association of outdoors with her bathroom duties., not fear of punishment.

Sunnydog98 and fransen are right on.  My daughter is a dog trainer and when I asked her for advice on this post she gave exactly the same- kennel crate train it.  

I agree with some of the postings in reply to your request for help, especially the ones that recommend you praise the dog when she goes (outside). Find a word to use for when she goes. I use "pee pee". Just like with a young puppy, take her outside at certain times of the day, when she typically has to go, such as a certain time after eating, in the mornings, in the evenings, before "going to bed", etc.

 Then, when she goes (outside), praise her repeatedly by saying something like "good pee pee".  Keep this up for about a few weeks, even if she is housebroken. If she gives you a sign that she needs to go outside (most dogs have some sort of sign, like walking around sniffing, looking for a spot, being restless, or even going to the door), you ask her if she has to go "pee pee" and then let her out and encourage her to "go pee pee". Then praise her once done.

Sounds child like, but works well and fast! While I am no "dog whisperer", I learned this technique from a dog training book and from a professional dog trainer.  The only thing that may make this take longer (provided it is not a physical problem) is the fact that she may already have bad experiences with potty training. Ask your parents to help support you by being consistent with you with the potty training approach.

  

I agree partially with fransen about the kennel/crate training...I have several dogs and that is how I trained them...and all are PERFECTLY house broken.

One big thing I don't agree with is putting them directly back in the kennel if you are going to be home!  If you are there, then just make sure you watch her while she is loose.  Let her out every hour or when you see her sniffing around.  Definitely PRAISE her when she does go outside. 

Locking her in the kennel after she did exactly what you wanted her to do looks/feels like a punishment!  The kennel should NEVER be used as a punishment! 

Dogs are den animals, and a kennel is like a safe spot.  My dogs frequently and voluntarily use their kennels to sleep in, I leave the door open and they go in and out as they please. 

Lots of good advice (eh, except for the water sprayer) and mine would personally be most like that given by clausi. You really have to get used to reading the signs so you know when the dog needs to pee or poop. Take her outside straightaway! My dog knows what to do when I tell her to "do your wees." It comes in handy too when you're travelling and only can make limited stops.

For the first couple of years it seemed like Penny was never going to sleep through the night without having to pee! I would always get up and let her out.

Little dogs are harder to potty train.  Here's some tips...

1.  DO NOT FREE FEED YOUR DOG!  If you just fill your dogs bowl in the morning and let it eat whenever it wants it's going to be harder to train.  Get your dog on a schedule.  Feed your dog the same time every day, that way you'll know what time she ate and when she'll need to poop.  Free feeding can lead overeating which equals more poop and obesity.

2.  Teach your dog to ask to go out.  Everyone is saying that you need to watch for her potty behaviors.  Yes, that's a great idea but wouldn't it be easier if you taught her to ask to go out?  Tie a bell to the door that you use.  Everytime you take her out make her ring the bell (you'll have to start by picking up her foot and making her do it).  Eventually she'll get into the habit of ringing it herself.  Then one day it'll click "If I ring the bell, I get to go out!"

3.  You need to get the potty smells out of the carpet.  Tell your parents that she'll keep going on the carpet because it smells like a bathroom to her.  Have them buy some dog smell remover (they make lots of them, you can find them at PetSmart, Petco, like this one http://www.petco.com/product/100579/Pet-Gold- Pet-Stain-and-Odor-Remover.aspx )

4.  The key to potty training (or any training) is to be consistent.  That means you're going to need to tell mom and dad all these ideas and have them help you come up with the plan that works best for your family.  Next EVERYONE (you, mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, granny, and pa pa) all have to be 100% on board.  Everyone has to do the same things when taking the dog out, when watching the dog, everything.  Otherwise it's not going to work.  If you show a real vested interest in keeping and training your dog your parents will follow suit.

Good luck.  Here's some links!

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/housebrea king-dogs-consistency-video.htm --potty training videos.


http://www.dogster.com/forums/Behavior_and_Tr aining/thread/480707
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Behavior_and_Tr aining/thread/479494
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Behavior_and_Tr aining/thread/477545
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Shetland_sheepd og/thread/475652

Oh, and PLEASE do not spray your dog in the face when it's pees or poops on the floor.  Also, do not scold your dog for potting in the house either, or rub their nose in it.  That will make your dog pee behind the couch and eat it's own poop so it won't get caught.  It does not, I repeat DOES NOT, help with potty training at all.

Original Post by smp0811:

I agree partially with fransen about the kennel/crate training...I have several dogs and that is how I trained them...and all are PERFECTLY house broken.

One big thing I don't agree with is putting them directly back in the kennel if you are going to be home!  If you are there, then just make sure you watch her while she is loose.  Let her out every hour or when you see her sniffing around.  Definitely PRAISE her when she does go outside. 

Locking her in the kennel after she did exactly what you wanted her to do looks/feels like a punishment!  The kennel should NEVER be used as a punishment! 

Dogs are den animals, and a kennel is like a safe spot.  My dogs frequently and voluntarily use their kennels to sleep in, I leave the door open and they go in and out as they please. 

The only reason you put them back in the kennel is to isolate the behavior so they understand what it is they did.  The crate thing only needs to last 2 or 3 days. After that they will understand perfectly what they did.  I do agree that if you will be watching them every minute, then they can be with you ... but if you aren't in the same room, you probably will get hit and miss results at best.

Personally, I suspect the dog has given signs all the way along, and the humans let her down and didn't notice what she was trying to say.   My dog is two years old, and there have been times when I did not pay attention to her pleas to go outside and she broke training out of necessity.  I never let on to her I even notice.  I remove her from the room, clean it up, and move on.

Incidentally, when she was just little, but starting to show me her needs by going to the door, I hung some Santa bells on a shoelace and made a big deal of ringing them, and lifting her feet up to ring them.  I was afraid she would stand silently in front of the door and I would not notice.  She learned to ring the bells for me, and I had no doubt what she wanted, and we never missed. I did not ring the bells if we were just walking for pleasure unless I was sure she also would do her business almost immediately.

When the weather is very bad and I can't walk, she uses the back yard (small in a condo) and I immediately take a bag and clean it up.  She is so pleased with her spotless patio, she now shows me where to look if I miss it.  They WANT TO BE CLEAN.

I agree with the kennel, like most others but there's one thing I have to make clear;

You can't train your dog if you don't train yourself, too.

My fiance brought a dog into the relationship.  I don't hate her, but I don't like her.  She's just there to me.  Therefore, I let my fiance pick up the slack when it comes to feeding her, walking her, bathing her, and all of those sorts of things.

One thing I notice, though, is the dog begs constantly.  Even if you have a glass of water, she's right in front of you, to the side of you, or behind you.  My fiance feeds the dog his table scraps.  If he's done eating, she always gets to lick the plate. 

I've started swatting my fiance's hands when he does such a thing now because it condones bad behaviour.  The dog always expects to get something out of our meal time.  This has lead to her doing other naughty things.  Eating goodies out of the kitty litter box, having accidents in the house because she eats in excess and doesn't eat her own dog food, and tearing up our belongings when we're not home.  We're assuming she feels like she's the boss now.

In short, make sure that you yourself are properly trained when you're training your dog.  Good luck. =)

Best advise I ever got when it comes to my dog is this:

If you control when they eat and drink, you control when they pee and poop.  Do not free feed and water your dog!  EVER!  Put the food down (even better if you make it sit for it's food) and take the dish back up after 20-30 minutes.  If it doesn't eat, too bad, it has to wait until the next meal!  It will learn very quickly that it needs to eat when you allow.  Once you get you dog onto a schedule, you will start to notice a pattern of how long after a meal the dog needs to poop.  Once you know when you dog needs to go, make sure you take him/her out at that time!  **Also, if you present your parents with this plan, hopefully they will see that you are committed to changing this and give you some time to implement it!** 

How often you water the dog depends on what kind of climate you live in.  I live in Florida so I give my dog plenty of water.  If your dog pees during the night, try giving it ice cubes in the bowl instead of water.  This way, it gets the moisture it needs, but doesn't get to gulp down a ton of water all at once.

The crate is also a godsend and NOT CRUEL at all.  Never use the crate as a punishment and your dog will come to see it as it's little den.  Most dogs will not soil their den unless they really really cannot hold it (in which case, it's your fault for leaving them in there for too long, or maybe it has a urinary infection). 

Good Luck!  Please feel free to message me if you need more tips.  I am fanatical about dog training because I have a great dane who could drag me around and ruin my home if she wanted to and did not know any better.  She is also in training as a therapy dog right now and so we have been through a lot of great classes and books! 

If you have a local 4-H club they might have dog training groups. It can be a very helpful experience. You can meet people with experience training and learn a lot.

One of my dogs was hard at training- one time after he pee'd in the house- I soaked it up with a paper towel and brought him and the paper towel outside.  I layed the towel on the ground with his pee on it to let him know this is where I wanted him to go. It worked.  He also was one of those "silent" standers- He would and still does to this day- just stands by the back door- he will not bark. So I had to be ware and watch his signs.  He loves his crate too. He eats in there and when I leave the house he willingly goes in his crate.  As to my other dog- She is a rarity- she hated her crate and would bark NON-STOP- her crate was inside the house and my neighbor's were complaining because they had to listen to her barking all day long.  If I take her to work with me and put her in the dog runs- even if she is with Floyd- she will still bark almost constantly. It is very hard to train a dog that barks constantly in their crate. After she was housetrained- I decided to try her without the crate and she is perfectly fine- she doesn't bark unless someone comes to the door. But she is the exception to the rule.

Crate training. Google it, do it.

thanks for all the advice everybody :)

Original Post by sunnydog98:

house training can be done but you have to train her that going potty inside is not ok.   Have you taken her to the vets to make sure there is no medical reason for her to be having accidents?  If that has been ruled out then here are some things you can try.  

First make sure that she goes outside as soon as she wakes up and after she eats.  Make sure she goes out as soon as you get home too.  Once she figures out when it's time to go outside she will let you know if you forget. 

When she is inside with you keep her with you at all times.  The best way to do this is to get a short leash, 4 feet is good, and attach it to your belt loop and hook her to the other end.  That way you will know what she is doing at all times.  If she starts to go potty you can stop her and take her outside right away. 

Praise her when she goes outside, give her small treats and lots of attention.  If she has an accident ignore it, clean it up and go on.  Don't yell at her or scold her often times this will only make her afraid of you.

You could try crate training her, most dogs wont urinate and defecate where they sleep. If you are going to crate train make sure you do it slowly and use treats.  Once she gets us to it she may actually go into her crate when she is tired. Here's a link to crate training  http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

If you have any questions feel free to email me.  Try to explain this to your Mom and Dad and have them help.  Pets are part of our lives and quickly become part of the family.  With the help of your family she can stay home with her family.  Which means YOU!

Take care and let me know how things are going.  I am here for you if I can help you with this at all!

Erin and Sunny

This is what you need to do.... It's time consuming but worth it if you want to be able to keep her/him.  In addition to the crate training make sure the crate is only big enough for your dog to walk in, turn around and lay down.  If the crate is too big your dog will potty in the crate.  Let me know if you have any q's!  :o)  Glad to help!

Oh, and also useing a command.  WHen Bruno was a puppy and he pee'd or pooped outside I'd tell him GOOD POTTY! GOOD POTTY!  Now when looks at me funny  and I'm not quite sure what he wants (never did the bell thing but should have) I'll ask him " need to go Potty?" and he'll run to the door.  The BEST part is when we're playing outside and it's time to go in.  I'll tell him 'go Potty' and he'll stop what he's doing and go do his thang.  Learned this from my dad who trained police dogs before he retired.  He always preached.... MY DOG WILL **** ON COMMAND!!!  HEheheheh funny but true and very easy to train!  Remember, positive reinforcement is even more important than negative reinforcement.  Your dog WANTS to please you!