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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Elaine has been training dogs professionally for 14 years. She is a CPDT as well as an endorsed member of NADOI. She is also certified in narcotics detection and is one half of a (twice) certified explosives detection team - the other half being her Dutch Shepherd Spawn, who is also titled in several protection sports. Elaine is the owner of Canine's Best Behavior, a Los Angeles based training company, offering Basic Manners, CGC, K9 Games (soon!) as well as behavior modification for aggression fears phobias etc.
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[Edit]
8/1/2005
I have a mini toy poodle, she is almost 2 yrs old. The problem is she very very rarely barks, not even when she needs to go out. I know this is very unusual cause I've never seen a dog that doesn't bark. I have to let her out every so often, but she sometimes still poops in the house. I don't know how else to train her. Most of the time she jumps on my leg and when I stand up she goes around in circles. Are there any ways that I can train her to do something different when she needs to go out? I've run out of ideas... Thanks for your time, Heather (Heather224, Virginia )
Hi Heather,
Mini Toy Poodles can be challenging to house train! Not so much that they are difficult, more that by the time you realize (smell) that you have a problem, it's been going on for quite awhile!
Here are some things that may help:
- If you are leaving the food down all the time, pick it up and offer it a couple of times a day. If you can control when it goes in, you have a better chance of guessing when it's going to come out.
- Make sure she's simply not being over fed. It does not take much to fill up a tiny dog!
- Make sure that it's only poo with a Stinkfinder, it's a black light that will show every speck of urine or feces that may need cleaning with an enzyme based cleaner like Nature's Miracle.
- "If" you find a scent post (an area that has been
chosen for all "deposits") de-scent it and then feed her there. You know that expression "they won't poo where they eat"? It will also redefine what that particular place means.
- Put her on a standardized schedule say every 3 hours. Shorter if you find bathroom mistakes. Keep a log of what happened (and what didn't). Within a few days you should see a pattern and can adjust the schedule to accommodate her "I generally poo at 4pmish" pattern.
- In the long run, it's easier to be aware of her schedule and work with it, rather than waiting for her to tell you.
- You may want to read "Way to Go" by Patricia McConnell, available at dogwise.com
Hope that helps!
How do you get a pug that is 7yrs. old to speak on command? Thanks For Your time idigdogsms (idigdogsms, Wisconsin)
Hi I dig dogs,
Does your Pug bark at anything right now? Some common things could be: the door bell, the mail box or the holy grail of barking....emergency personnel sirens.
Once they start you could use a hand signal and say "Speak" in between barks.
Suggestion: with some dogs this can open the floodgates of barking H*&#! If I were going to create a speak command I would also teach a "Quiet" one too. You can do this just as easily with a smelly fabulous reward right up in their face and saying quiet, the second that it happens
Elaine Allison CPDT NADOI
Canine Behavior Consultant
Canine's Best Behavior
1.866.K9s.Best
www.caninesbestbehavior.com
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