OK, as most of you have seen my "name that pup": thread, I just obtained a puppy. Let me give you some history about me and my abilities in the training area, then a bit about this puppy.
I have a one and a half yr old girl named Jade. Jade is a wonderful companion. When I got her she was a rescue dog that had been paper trained. It took me about two weeks to have her trained to go outside with few accidents after that. I brought Jade to dog obedience, where she and I learned the basics, sit, stay, come, down, heel, as well as I taught her things like byby car, lake, park, hunt, hot dog, chicken, steak, bacon! Jade is crate trained and will go in her crate when I leave for any extended period of time. I truly love this beautiful girl.
Well, Jade loves other dogs so much, when we go walking she has to say hi to every dog we pass, and play with them. So, I thought I'd get her a companion puppy. That's where the new pup comes in.
The ad said he was completely house broken. That he was a playful pup, akc papers and was free. When I went to visit him he was cute, and brought him home.
This pup has a lot of good qualities I believe, such as, Jade is content staying in the other room checking on me every once in awhile. Pup insists on being with me every second of the day, no matter where I am. I got a surprise first night with him here, he jumped in my shower! He was biting at the water coming down on him! He absolutely loves water to the point I have to keep the bathroom door closed. When we are walking he'll run with her, but he doesn't go far, he comes right back to me!
He loves Jade, and Jade loves him! They rough house with one another, run when we are out walking! and I laugh when I picture them playing tug a war! A few times I caught Jade on her back with the rope in her mouth and him pulling the other end of the rope dragging her across the rug! It was hilarious!
But he's all puppy, with no training whatsoever. This morning I was so furious with him I wanted to kill him! Around 2 am he asked to go outside, so I brought him out, and put him back in the crate for the rest of the night. Around 5 he started crying again, so I let him out. He h ad already gone in his crate! ARGH! so I bring him outside, then put him in tub to give yet another bath because he had gotten it all over himself! I went to clean the crate and wouldn't you know it (just minutes after being outside) he sh*t on my carpet! OH< i was furious! Jade knew my tone and cowered by the front door out of all the chaos! I put him outside till I cleaned up the mess, then put him in crate where he's been since. Right now I don't want anything to do with him and thinking of getting rid of him.
I think I'm more angry with his previous owners! People have a tendancy to get a dog at the novice of "oh, he's such a cute puppy!" But when it comes to training said cute puppy they haven't a clue! And when it gets to be this puppy's age, 7 months, they decide it's too much to handle and dump him on some one who's willing to untrain all the bad habits, or worse, end up in a pound somewhere!
This puppy is 100% puppy! when he plays he runs through the house, more hopping t hat running. he wants to play nonstop! He's thick headed and teaching him sit ... well, lets just say I have to start with step one.
So, I'm asking advice. This morning I was so angry I wanted to kill him! I wont, obviously I love animals!
Should I keep puppy and continue trying to work with him? when a puppy is content going inside the crate, it makes training all the more difficult! Or, find someone who's home more often and can work with him? Willing to work with him?
I think he has been dumped once already..... and really could use someone that is devoted to him..... but labs are labs.... and they do tend to be thick headed/bull headed (to be honest its one of the reason they are not my favorite breed) they can be wonderful pets but they are not the easiest dogs especially if they have not had alot of training or have not had consistent training.....
So a couple of things..... come to my mind
1. dogs don't generalize well, so he could have been housebroken at his old house and not at his new house..... he doesn't understand that the rules are the same AND to be honest many puppies are not totally 100% trustworthy at seven months anyway.... and here is a puppy who just lost his home....
2. he doesn't understand what happened.... he just lost his family, everything he has ever known is gone and he doesn't understand any of this.... so take your time..... and remember that seven months means he has been ALIVE yes alive for approx. 210 DAYS......
3. Luckily for you labs are food motivated dogs.... if you want to get his behavior under control I would start instituting NILIF right away and get him into a training class...... NILIF = nothing in life is free
you want your dinner = sit first, yoiu want out = do a down, you want a pet = all four on the floor...... I belong to an excellent dog forum that could help you with this ..... it is what I use for my seven retrievers..... they work for everything..... it reinforces pack order being that I am in charge and it helps them to learn that they do have some self control.....
4. Remember he is an adolescent..... right now he is equivalent of a 12 year old boy.... and we know how they are..... he wants to run and play so make sure that he gets lots of exercise..... and let Jade tell him off when he is being a putz.... the best thing you can do is let those two figure it out....
5. Go back to housebreaking boot camp.... pretend he is a puppy a weee baby and step back and treat him like that..... he will get the idea pretty quick that potties go outside......
I agree wtih you..... they weren't honest in their ad.... but now you have a chance to help this dog realize all of his potential.... and isn't that what we are all about.... realizing our potential???
thx 36... But I truly don't believe he was ever house broken. The day I picked him up his owner had told me he went again in his crate, poop. He said he did it often. I thought when I seen the crate that the crate was the issue. It was WAY too big to try to train a dog properly and thats why I thought I could teach this pup.
Your right, he is very thick skulled. We sat at the door for a half hour (Jade was very good, sat the entire time but I could tell she was getting upset with him for not doing as he was told). He'd sit, but he'd get up as soon as I started opening the door. Today we will be training on a leash sit and stay, and the ok command. BAsic training 101.
And yes, I do allow Jade to correct him. He'll get up on me when I'm on the couch and I'll tell him "off!" and she gets in there getting him down! She's awesome!
I have seven and let me say that the changes are most extreme from going from 1 to 2
an from 2 to 3
after that its just another food dish....
two is more work..... and it doesn't help that you have a puppy.... and regardless of how big he is, he is a puppy.... and a lab puppy at that.....
If you are unclear about him and it is to much for you then find him another home.....its not good for you or for him for you to be angry at him and resentful of him .....
But if you are thinking about keeping him then try the nilif..... give it a few days and see how things settle in.....
the housebreaking sounds like its the biggest deal
with him going in his crate ..... and that is a hard habit to break.... the best way to do that is to tether him to you..... and take him out and when he potties outside you need to act like he is the best puppy in the entire world and how could you ever be so fortunate to have this wonderful pup.....
but you know all of this....
it is an adjustment.... from 1-2
and only you can decide how invested you are in the situation and whether you are able to give the boy the home that he desperately needs.
If yo dump the puppy then they next person is prolly gunna do the same thing. If the previous owners never did really train him then he needs help. He cant just know to go outside. My last puppy took a year to potty train. If you can affored obedience school again i would take him there. I think that is the best thing you can do for yourself and the dogs. As far as the potty training goes just work on him and he will get it eventually. Be patient and dont take your frustration out on him becuase he doesnt know any better. I know its frustrating but he has to learn and it looks like you will be the one teaching him. Just take a deep breath and start today. If your home take him out every 20minutes just as you would do an 8week old puppy. Good luck
Candy, good point! Yeah, he's in his crate, I'm fixin to take both pups to the park.
Unfortunately I'm unemployed and training is out of the question. I have been given permission to sit in on the advanced class this monday to observe. Iknow the basic commands, but this puppy is all puppy, so I will work with him at home first. I am wanting to move up with Jade, as she's ready!
ok...so you took this dog on...now its time to get over the frustration and deal with it. He's a dog...anytime you adopt a dog you don't know what you are getting into. But you took on the responsibilty. Its not fair to him. The old addage...you can't teach an old dog new tricks is not true. Time to reestablish training. First comes housebreaking. If you can't keep an eye on him...he must go into the the crate. A crate needs to be large enough for him to turn around, stand and lay but not large enough he "pottys" on the other end. Next, we need to establish potty and meal times. GET Him on a schedule. No food or water when in the crate..he's an adult dog and will be fine. Next, its training time. Take him outside and teach him a command like "go potty". It make take freaking forever, but keep asking and when he potties...praise the heck out of him and give him a cookie for his effort. Next get on a schedule feeding. Twice a day at the same time...this will help with housebreaking. If you're other dog is use to free freeding..she will adapt. Leave food down for 15 min, if not finished..that's all for that feeding. Remember you need to be immediate rewarding good behavior.. and yelling at the dog for pottying in the house does nothing. DOGS DO NOT THINK LIKE HUMANS. I know most owners think that is the case...but they do NOT. No matter what we would like to believe. You need to start thinking like a dog. So start giving him the commands for potty when outside. When he does it, be prepared with cookies in pocket, to tell him "good potty" and give him a treat. He can be trained. Make sure a dog with that much energy is getting 1-2 walks that are usually 45 -60 min long. He needs to wear out his energy. If you want him out of the crate but cant continually watch him...do what's called umbilical leashing...put a 6 foot lead on him, attach to your wrist or waist and when the leash is pulled, look around for signs of posturing to go potty, such as sniffing and pawing at the ground. Take him out immediately and reward him when he does good.
You just need patients...please don't be like the others, that give him up and abandon him. Trust me, I'm a veterinarian and worked shelter medicine for 3 years...i can't tell you how many animals i had to euthanize because they were unloved and didn't have a home. please accept the responsibility you chose. Even though you say you can't afford training..there's good programs out there to check out. If you have tv..check out the programs, Its me or my dog on animal planet..or go to the local bookstore and sit down and read the Dog whisper by Cesar Milan. Those are my favorite training methods...they really do work. But the biggest thing to remember when training dogs is patients..and also remembering that "negative reward is still reward...so yelling at a dog when its jumping on you..does nothing, all it teaches the dog is when i jump on you, you give me attention. Its important to start thinking like a dog and not like a human. Good luck!
Last edited by GatorgalstuckinGA; 08-21-2008 at 08:59 PM.
We are in the process of housebreaking a 2.5 year old dog and let me say it is a challenge but he is so much better than the first couple days that we got him.
1) Take him out often
2) If he has an 'accident', don't clean it up immediately. Let him stay there for at least a few moments, then take him out and clean up.
3) Make sure the crate is sized right, I think you mentioned that his previous owners had a large crate, but it is just good to make sure yours is the right size for him.
4) Do teach him the keywords. We have "pee" for pee and "potty" for poo. If he goes outside, praise him like he just did the greatest thing in the world.
5) Do not let him out of your sight when he is out of his crate. Tether him if you have to.
6) Try to learn his cues. Some dogs have very subtle cues, some have very obvious cues.
7) Stop him in the middle of doing his business if you catch him and take him outside immediately
8) Clean up his mess with a paper towel and place it in a location that you would like for him to go (ie outside)
Umm that is all I can think of off the top of my head. Honestly, puppies are going to be puppies and it takes a lot of patience to take care of a puppy. I love dogs but a puppy is the last thing I would get for myself because I don't know how well I could deal with the puppy stage. Young adults are enough trouble
Gator, my dog trainer told me because he's going in the crate and doesn't seem to mind to start feeding him in there and leaving the empty bowl, of course letting him out to potty within twenty mins!
That seemed to help as last night he didn't wake me up to go out at all, nor did he go in the crate!
He was just chewing a frisbee so when I was posting in a daily thread thought nothing of him chewing, I turned and he destroyed one of my best pair of dress shoes for interviews! ARGH!
Gator, my dog trainer told me because he's going in the crate and doesn't seem to mind to start feeding him in there and leaving the empty bowl, of course letting him out to potty within twenty mins!
That seemed to help as last night he didn't wake me up to go out at all, nor did he go in the crate!
He was just chewing a frisbee so when I was posting in a daily thread thought nothing of him chewing, I turned and he destroyed one of my best pair of dress shoes for interviews! ARGH!
thats a lab ..... so now you can take a newspaper and roll it up and mack yourself on the head with it.... for leaving your dress shoes within reach.... Retrievers are NOT easy dogs.... they are mouthy.... they physically need to chew and at 7-8 mos until 13 mos. that need gets stronger.... stronger than when they were little because their adult teeth are setting and they must chew..... When Emmett was little I lost 2 pairs of shoes..... one a pair of 110 dollar ariat clogs.... the other another 80 dollar pair of brown flats, both of my work shoes.... so now the summer is over and I have to start teaching again in a couple weeks and I have no shoes.... but its my fault for leaving them around (as my husband so likes to remind me)
so go and puppy proof.....
I would not leave him to sit in his mess like another poster suggested... because it doesn't accomplish anything.... clearly this is a dog that doesn't mind being dirty.... while that might work for a dog that hasn't learned to poop in his crate already.... for a dog like this one that doesn't mind being dirty if probably won't do anything at all or it will reinforce that he likes being dirty..... your mission is going to be change that and get him back to being like a normal clean dog.
I had a pup that would poop in his crate and feeding him in his crate totally stopped the behavior.... that is a great idea and something that we did and it worked.....
I am glad that you decided to just work with the little guy
good luck
s
36... I had left the shoes on the dryer, not in eyesight!!!!!! I know because the outfit I wear with them is there, as is another interview outfit and it's shoes are up there! As is the mate to the one he chewed!
But your right, he needs more attention especially since he obviously likes to sneak up on things!
ETA: NO, I would never leave a mess nor him in a mess for any length of time! I hate my house smelling like dog, cat or anything else!
nellie, thanks for the site.. I knew all that (due to my obedience training) but it was a good reminder as I had forgotten most of it. Since Jade never jumped on me I forgot the rule of how to get the dog to stop! I was kneeing him, which is not effective!
Regarding the not cleaning up the mess immediately, I've never done it because neither of my dogs have ever done their business in a crate. I had heard that is what you should do if they do go because otherwise they would know that if they do have an 'accident', then it will be cleaned up immediately. I'm not talking about hours though, but I think 20 minutes might be effective.
Advice pls.
