Best/Worst liked Dog Breeds

[Zanshin]

Crate training is probably the best way to go.

[SD]

My old man got a German Sheppard pup. Beautiful dog but it's a little wild as most puppies are. They're sending her to obedience school next week. Sunday when my daughter and I went to visit the dog jumped up on my daughter and left a nice scratch under her eye. She was being jealous and overly aggressive with her. I swatted the dog across the other side of the room and now it won't come near me. I made peace with it before I left (cornered it in their laundry room).

[PhillyPhanInDC]

picked up a Morkie over the weekend.  that's a maltese/yorkie mix.  he's a small little guy, about 3 lbs now and will only grow to be about 7-8 lbs.  gay dog, yes, but it's for my girl and that's what she wanted.  i got to name him though...dawkins

this is my first dog owning as a puppy since i was a kid.  i get the basics of house breaking, but i'm having trouble getting him to leak on his mat by the door.  when he pees on the carpet do i punish him?  yell?  smack him?  how do i get him to consistently go where he should go?

If you catch him in the act give him a good stiff "No." and take him out or place him where you want him to piss. After he's pissed on the carpet, yelling or getting pissed will only confuse him, he'll have no idea why you are mad. Generally, if they have an accident, it's your fault, not the dogs. It's repetition, over time he'll get it down. As Zanshin said, the crate training is the best method. Being a puppy, his bladder is the size of a peanut, and he'll have to piss often.

[Diomedes]

this is my first dog owning as a puppy since i was a kid.  i get the basics of house breaking, but i'm having trouble getting him to leak on his mat by the door.  when he pees on the carpet do i punish him?  yell?  smack him?  how do i get him to consistently go where he should go?

I have always used crates rather than pads/newspaper for house training. 

Here's what I do:  I get a crate that is too small for the dog to piss or shtein in without getting itself dirty.  They have a strong instinct not to mess themselves.  If they can piss in the crate in a corner, curl up in the other corner and stay dry, they will piss in the crate.  If they can piss on a mat in the crate and then shove the wet mat into a corner, they will do that.  So the key is, smallish crate, no mat.

The dog goes in the crate whenever I am not home, or asleep.  I do not keep the crate where I sleep.  When I am home, the crate door is open and the dog is free to go in and out.  I do not use the crate for punishment, ever.  The crate is the dog's den:  a safe, dry place.  If possible (depending on where I live, what size dog I have, etc.) I put the crate under a table, so that it has a roof of sorts.  It has also been helpful to put a blanket over the crate so that the top and sides are covered.  For my last two dogs, I was able to put the crate in the kitchen near a door that opens to the fenced back yard.  This made it easy for the dog to get from the crate to the yard.

Whenever I come home or wake up, I open the door, open the crate, and herd the dog outside.  It will immediately piss of course, and when it does, I praise it, and sometimes even give it a treat. (small biscuit). 

If the crate is the right size and you are consistent, this works very well.

When you are home and the dog is not closed up in the crate, you have to be vigilant.  Especially with very young puppies, you should take it outside every half hour to hour.  It doesn't know how to tell you yet that it needs to pee, so you won't see signals at first.  Lacking these, just get it out there frequently and when it does the deed, praise.  Puppies, like people, want to piss after sleeping.  If it naps when it wakes, get it outside. 

Accidents will happen inside of course, but they truly are on you, not the puppy.  PPinDC is right on...a firm no and then outside.  No slapping, no yelling, no snout in the mess, etc.  I scold only when I catch the puppy in the act, because after that, I'm not sure he knows what I'm saying "no" about, even if I take him to the mess when I say it.  If I find a mess, it means I wasn't paying close enough attention to what the dog was doing, and wasn't getting it outside often enough.

Dogs have been bred for millenia to please us.  The dog wants to make you happy.  It will do what you praise it to do. 

It's gonna take some time.

FWIW, both of my dogs had crates for 2 years or so....long long after they were housebroken, because they liked them.  It was home base to them.

[SunMo]

great info Dio, i think i'm on the right track.

i bought a wire cage with a divider, and with the divider in he has enough room to walk in, turn around and lay down, that's it.  he has already run to his cage for safety when things got overwhelming with the kids.

the thing we haven't done, is keep him in the cage when we aren't there, i will maybe try that.  my worry is that with his small bladder he won't be able to hold it for the 8-9 hours we aren't home.

it sounds like the pads are not worth the effort if we are using the crate.  my thought was to get him going on the pad that is right by the back door, then when he gets used to that, take the pad outside so he's familiar with it.

[Diomedes]

my worry is that with his small bladder he won't be able to hold it for the 8-9 hours we aren't home.

It's a reasonable concern, to be sure.  At first, the dog may not have the control over that period of time, so maybe when you are gone for that long, you leave the crate open and lay some mats on the kitchen floor.  You'll have a mess to clean up, but at least you won't have to clean the dog.  I don't remember my dogs ever actually messing themselves, but I'm sure it happens. 

If the house is consistently empty for long stretches of time like that, maybe a crate isn't best, I don't know.  Between my wife and me, who operate on somewhat different schedules, our dogs are not often alone for an entire day. 

Maybe you can use the crate starting with when you go out for errands...a three or four hour stint...rather than for the whole day at first.  Work your way up to longer spells.

I'd be inclined to try full days right off the bat, since that is the routine the dog will eventually live with for years.  If it works, awesome...you won't have to tinker with the program.  If after a few attempts it clearly isn't working, then maybe try the gradual thing...

[SunMo]

thanks for the info everybody

[Diomedes]

if the dog keeps pissing itself and your home, may I suggest a name change?

Donny

[PhillyPhanInDC]

My lab-boxer mix had no issues being in the crate a full day, so long as you make sure they piss right before they go in. If the house is quiet while you are gone, they will sleep almost the entire time you are gone. Don't put too much water in the crate while you are gone. I've never had a toy dog before because they are for Hoydas and women, but you might have to get home during lunch or whatever and let the little guy out to prevent accidents. Otherwise, the pads might be the only option.

[Diomedes]

btw, if this dog is for your woman, why are you the one doing all the footwork to train and care for it?

[SunMo]

because he's a cute little guy and i don't hate him.

[hbionic]

I thought it was because your girl's cooch is made of gold and tastes like honey. And smells like the best tuna-ahi EVER!

That would be a good reason too?

[SunMo]

yes, that would be a good reason

[PhillyPhanInDC]

The best tuna-ahi wouldn't smell like anything.



Sunny, get your wife's little doggy a pal.....maybe a presa canario.

[hbionic]

The best tuna-ahi wouldn't smell like anything.

Exactly.