CF Dog Tips.

[Zanshin]

Well, somehow my three year old convinced my wife to say yes about getting a puppy.  She had a couple of conditions, but the deposit is in, and in a couple of weeks, we'll have the pup.  Normally, I'd get a dog from the pound (like I did when I was a kid), but there were some allergy issues so I'm going to pony up for an American Hairless Terrier, which is weird enough to be sort of cool.

At any rate, the pup will be 9 weeks old when I pick her up.  I've never raised a pup before, but I think I've been talked into crate training.  Any key tips from CF-ers with dogs about training a young pup, in general?

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Teach the dog to eat its own eye boogers.

[Sgt PSN]

Teach the dog to eat its own eye boogers.

And in return, have the dog teach you how to lick your own balls.  Then get rid of the wife. 

[Zanshin]

Well, thankfully, the AHTs aren't prone to eye boogers.  That said, I'm sure they are a tasty treat...and I plan on saving any available for myself.

[Wingspan]

I have a 1 year old mutt (irish wolfhound, golden retreiver mix we beleive...along with something else that has kept her size down).

Crate training is the way we went. Went pretty well, we adopted her at about 3 months old.

Just don't use the crate as a punishment spot. You want the dog to know that the crate is a place of comfort to them.

[ice grillin you]

i thought this was gonna be a little red rocket thread

[Sgt PSN]

The one time I tried to use a crate to train a dog was an absolute disaster.  An ex girlfriend from maybe 5 or 6 years ago got a puppy and a crate for it.  Maybe it's just because I had no clue how to properly crate train a dog since every dog I ever had, we house broke the old fashioned way.  Anywho, one thing I learned from trying to crate train this mutt is that who ever said that dogs won't piss or crap where they sleep is full of shtein.  It seemed like any time we went out for more than a couple of hours that the dog would mess all inside her kennel.  That dog was an icehole. 

I'll probably stick to the old fashioned way which is taking them outside every few hours so they can do their business and give them a treat.  And when they go in the house, just rub their nose in it, give 'em a little kick in the ass and then take it outside.  

[Father Demon]

The one time I tried to use a crate to train a dog was an absolute disaster.  An ex girlfriend from maybe 5 or 6 years ago got a puppy and a crate for it.  Maybe it's just because I had no clue how to properly crate train a dog since every dog I ever had, we house broke the old fashioned way.  Anywho, one thing I learned from trying to crate train this mutt is that who ever said that dogs won't piss or crap where they sleep is full of shtein.  It seemed like any time we went out for more than a couple of hours that the dog would mess all inside her kennel.  That dog was an icehole. 

I'll probably stick to the old fashioned way which is taking them outside every few hours so they can do their business and give them a treat.  And when they go in the house, just rub their nose in it, give 'em a little kick in the ass and then take it outside. 

Ditto.  Coincidently, that's how I housebroke all my kids.

[Seabiscuit36]

I'd pick up Puppies for Dummies There's actually a lot of good tips in there.  The crate works great, use bitter apple and you may have to get different brands.  Some actually taste good to dogs.  We taught my pup that vegetables were good, and he eats them for snacks along with icecubes.  When dealing with pups, its not how loud you yell, but just how it comes out.  Dogs know when your angry just by your eyes. 

[Wingspan]

The one time I tried to use a crate to train a dog was an absolute disaster.  An ex girlfriend from maybe 5 or 6 years ago got a puppy and a crate for it.  Maybe it's just because I had no clue how to properly crate train a dog since every dog I ever had, we house broke the old fashioned way.  Anywho, one thing I learned from trying to crate train this mutt is that who ever said that dogs won't piss or crap where they sleep is full of shtein.  It seemed like any time we went out for more than a couple of hours that the dog would mess all inside her kennel.  That dog was an icehole. 

the crate was probably too big.

we had very few accidents with crate training. People mistake crate trainig for less work than traditional house breaking.

With tradional housebreaking, you do nothing but teach the dog where not to go. But you never really teach it where to go.

With Crate training, you're teaching the dog the opposite, where it's okay for them to go. We have it to the point now that we can take the dog pretty much anywhere, all day, and she wont go on someone else's property, she'll wait until she gets home, and goes in the back yard.

[rjs246]

I have a Great Dane/Black Lab/Shetland Pony mix.

The only tip I can give you is make sure that it knows who's boss. Establishing dominance with your dog should be priority number one, especially since you have children. You are the boss, your wife is the boss and your child is the boss. The dog needs to understand that all of you are higher up the food chain. This means that it shouldn't jump up on you and stare you in the eyes, it should give you 'right of way' when you are walking by, it should move easy when you attempt to move it off the couch/bed/whatever and not bark or snap at you.

You can do this in a number of ways. The easiest is to make sure that everyone in the family feeds the dog, which helps establish that you are all responsible for providing it food. Reward it for good behavior and show displeasure for bad behavior, but only if you catch the dog in the act. If you yell at it an hour later, it won't know what the farg you're yelling at it about. Dog's crave your attention so if your dog is being a real pain in the ass, just ignore it. Don't put it in its crate to punish it (a big mistake that I made).

Kick your dog. A lot.

I'm done being helpful.

[Sgt PSN]

With tradional housebreaking, you do nothing but teach the dog where not to go. But you never really teach it where to go.

With Crate training, you're teaching the dog the opposite, where it's okay for them to go. We have it to the point now that we can take the dog pretty much anywhere, all day, and she wont go on someone else's property, she'll wait until she gets home, and goes in the back yard.

I don't know about all that as far as traditional housebreaking is teaching a dog where not to go.   Like I said, when my dog was a pup I would take him outside every few hours.  I did that to try and make sure he didn't "have" to go when in the house.  At the time I was living in a small apt complex so I didn't really have much choice but to take him to the same spot every time.  And when he was a pup and messed in the house, a lot of times I blamed myself for it because it usually meant that I had kept him inside too long.  But I still beat him anyway because it's fun.

Regularity is the importance with house training a dog the traditional way imo.  Take the little bastich outside every few hours during the day and maybe an hour or so after it eats or drinks.  When he does his business, give him a treat or atleast give him some verbal reassurance that he did the right thing. 

And rjs is right on about establishing dominance, especially if the dog is a male.  You are the alpha male and he/she must understand that.  When my dog was a pup I would actually growl and bark at him if he'd approach me while I was eating.  It seems to have worked because now I can leave a big, juicy steak sitting on my coffee table comepletely unattended and he won't go near it.  When food touches the floor, it's free game for him.  Other then that, he won't touch it. 

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Sounds like you're getting a small dog, but even still, exercise is an important part of the process. A dog all amped up with energy won't respond nearly as well as one who has had it's ass run off. I have a bigger breed, and she would be totally unattentive, like a kid with ADHD, if I hadn't exercised her. I used to run her in the back yard, playing catch, or go for a run with her. Similar to what RJS said, dominance is key. Just like kids, if the dog thinks it can pull your punk card, it will - often. The walking/riding/running thing can also reinforce this as well. Make sure when you take the dog for a walk or run, you lead always.

And if all else fails.....rolled up newspaper. Like farging cryptonite.

[Phanatic]

We used crate training and never had a problem with that. Once the Dog gets older there wasn't any need for the crate at all.

Biggest reason for the Crate that I remember is even after they're trained to do their business outside the chewing lasts till the dog is just about two. We could keep an eye on this when we're home and Crate them while we were out and not worry about half the house being chewed up. Learned this the hard way and lost some couch cushions in the mean time. Now the dogs have outgrown that and it's not a problem.

[ice grillin you]

a lot of times I blamed myself for it because it usually meant that I had kept him inside too long.  But I still beat him anyway because it's fun.

lol