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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Lynne has been training dogs since 1985. She has worked as head trainer for two facilities, a studio trainer (print ads, commercials and television) and as a continuing ed and certification rep for what was then the largest dog training company in the US. Lynne is a member of the IACP and keeps her training techniques current by attending various seminars and reading books. She currently competes in the sport of schutzhund, has a registered therapy dog, and has started her young Papillion in agility. Lynne owns and runs Blazing Trails K9 Academy in Santa Clarita/Antelope valley California.
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[Edit]
10/5/2005
My puppy is almost 6-months old and not house trained. My husband and I are expecting a baby in March so we have until then to try to get our little guy trained; otherwise we won't be able to keep him. During the day we both work full-time jobs so he is confined to the kitchen. We have a litter box for him; he will use it maybe once then he will eliminate on the floor or even on his puppy bed! If he is in his crate which is the correct size for him, not too big or too small, he will urinate in it and does it in such a way that it gets on the floor and on the door. We also take him outside to use the bathroom; we checked with out vet to make sure this wouldn't confuse him and they said it was fine.
We know that kennel training for house breaking purposes is said to be quite successful however, with both of us away from home during the day it is impossible. We need any help or suggestions that you have. We don't want to have to find another home for this little guy but he has even urinated on our bed and on all of our furniture! He has stood there, looked at me without giving me any indication that he needs to go, and just peed on the sofa! We're really at the end of our rope and need some kind of help. Do you have any suggestions? (triciadcooke, Maine)
Hi there, you didn't note what breed of dog this puppy
is but I'm assuming a small breed since you'
re able to
use a litter box for him. Sometimes the little guys
can be harder to housebreak then the bigger dogs since
their bladders are smaller, but it CAN be done.
The
first thing I'd like you to do is decide whether or
not you're going to make the commitment to train the
dog or not. If you have the option of getting rid
of him always in the back of your mind, you're going
to be looking for even the slightest mistake to use as
an excuse to get rid of him. Plus if that's a thought,
you're more likely to behave differently with
him...humans tend to behave differently towards things
or animals that they view as "disposable". That
creates more stress than the dog needs when you're
trying to housebreak him. So you decide to either keep
him and do everything possible to train him, or you
decide to get rid of him and then he becomes someone
else's problem.
Sometimes we like to think of a big
"ranch" somewhere where dogs with behavior problems
can go, but it's simply not feasible. More then likely
if you get rid of him, he'll end up in a pound, having
gone through a few households and eventually lose his
life because of the behavioral problems unless SOMEONE
is willing to take the time to train him. So please,
for his sake, for your family's sake, and for the sake
of the stress levels in the household, make the
commitment to take the time to train him.
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