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A tiny baby step: I'm trying to take Emma out every hour on the hour. This last time, I tried a different technique. I told her it was time for her to "go potty," got up from where I was sitting and walked down the hall. She followed me. When I got to the dining room, I quickly opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the deck, closing the door behind me before she could come out that way, too. Before I could even walk from the deck to the lawn, she'd gone out the doggie door totally by herself, and was running towards me on the lawn. Within less than a minute, she'd peed.
With respect to Friederik. I am seriously starting to think I am going to need to get the help of a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, which as you may or may not know, is definitely not the same thing as a dog trainer. This certification requires a Master's Degree in animal behavior. There aren't a ton of these folks around, but they do know their stuff. After nearly nine months of thinking Friederik was finally trained, only to have him have a so-called "accident" after ten or twelve days of perfect behavior is just more than I can handle. The closest one to me is a whole state away. I'd have to drive from Utah to Colorado and probably pay this person a couple of grand. But I'm getting seriously desperate.
I was thinking you might place a pee pad by the doggie door as insurance, not close off the door. Just so that it's there to catch accidents. My pups throughout my life were younger than yours and I think it might be harder when they are older. But I'm just guessing.
Okay, I must be confused. Are you saying to lay a pad down right in front of the door, just inside the house, in case the dog doesn't quite make it out in time?
I echo Deserter's statement. I can potty train a puppy faster than anyone I know.
My secret is not to act angry or stern, but TERRIFIED if the puppy is peeing/pooping in the house.
Act the way you would act if you looked at the puppy and noticed a huge snake was wrapping itself around your puppy. Like that.
Jump up, express fear, oh no!! oh no!!, grab the puppy and RUN outside. When you put the puppy down in the grass, demonstrate relief and begin petting the puppy and calming down. Whooey, averted that disaster. My dogs pick up on that in literally a day. And then, of course, a few random emergency accidents after that, but they clearly want to go OUTSIDE before pooping or peeing.
*I will say a word of caution, Katz. A lot of dogs end up in rescue because they're impossible to housebreak, and the owners will never say that. Especially when you consider a desirable breed like a mini aussie, that they could have sold for real money, it's likely there's a secret problem with the dog that you aren't told about. Sounds like you're doing very well.*
That's really good to hear, but when I hear people say they can housebreak a dog in one or two days, I just think that I must be doing something terribly wrong.
I've never heard that until this thread, and I don't believe it. Emma is doing great. Fredrick is a different case. His world has turned again and he's temporarily regressed.
Okay, I must be confused. Are you saying to lay a pad down right in front of the door, just inside the house, in case the dog doesn't quite make it out in time?
I was thinking you might place a pee pad by the doggie door as insurance, not close off the door. Just so that it's there to catch accidents. My pups throughout my life were younger than yours and I think it might be harder when they are older. But I'm just guessing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit
Yes. Just to see if that makes a difference.
I would not recommend doing this unless you want to encourage your dog to think it is ok to pee in front of the door; I can't imagine how this would be productive. If the owner is attentive and proactively managing their dog there shouldn't be a reason for the dog not to make it outside in time. If you want to continue to work on house training the dog to potty appropriately outside then continue to take it outside, manage its freedom in the house, continue to go outside with the dog and praise/treat when puppy potties outside.
I would not recommend doing this unless you want to encourage your dog to think it is ok to pee in front of the door; I can't imagine how this would be productive. If the owner is attentive and proactively managing their dog there shouldn't be a reason for the dog not to make it outside in time. If you want to continue to work on house training the dog to potty appropriately outside then continue to take it outside, manage its freedom in the house, continue to go outside with the dog and praise/treat when puppy potties outside.
I can see this for tiny dogs. It actually comes in very handy for people who have to walk their dogs to potty, especially in the dead of winter, but OP has a doggy-door, this is not needed at all, and as you say, contrary to the 'outside only' training that is happening.
I asked on here myself when I was not enjoying getting up at night about the pad and people said sure, go ahead, let her use that, IF you want her to learn to go inside! Sigh, ok, I will keep getting up. It won't go on forever........
Well I'm sorry but this is my busy season and I can't come to SLC now unless you're really rich. Then I can come anytime.
I think part of what I'd change is not take her out so often if she can hold it. At 4.5 months she shouldnt have to go out every hour unless she's peeing inside very hour. But you said she can hold it for hours, so I'd go to longer intervals. Unless she pees more often than not when you take her out you are training her to go out and not pee more than training her to pee.
Well I'm sorry but this is my busy season and I can't come to SLC now unless you're really rich. Then I can come anytime.
I think part of what I'd change is not take her out so often if she can hold it. At 4.5 months she shouldnt have to go out every hour unless she's peeing inside very hour. But you said she can hold it for hours, so I'd go to longer intervals. Unless she pees more often than not when you take her out you are training her to go out and not pee more than training her to pee.
I don't think so. Pupper is being set up for success this way. I only disagree about saying 'go potty' when they don't know what 'potty' means yet, I think that does what you are saying. 'Go potty' means to Emma: 'go potty or don't go potty', i.e., it means nothing.
I wait for the natural potty, use the word while it's happening, and don't say 'go potty' until much later, when they know what that means.
Someone else must have taught this dog the word. (I adopted her from 8 years old). I just randomly tried it one night, needing her to before bed, and she did. I was like yay! Now I can use that anytime I am in a rush. Maybe my Mom did that. I remember her saying she was teaching words...........
I would not recommend doing this unless you want to encourage your dog to think it is ok to pee in front of the door; I can't imagine how this would be productive. If the owner is attentive and proactively managing their dog there shouldn't be a reason for the dog not to make it outside in time. If you want to continue to work on house training the dog to potty appropriately outside then continue to take it outside, manage its freedom in the house, continue to go outside with the dog and praise/treat when puppy potties outside.
Yeah, I see what you mean. When Emma pees inside, it's almost always just a tiny spot, and it will be wherever she happens to be when she gets the urge. It's almost like she's marking, but I've had four female dogs in the past and none of them really did much if anything of what I think of as marking. So anyway, if Emma gets close enough to the door to go out, she'll go out, and I don't want to her to think, "Well, I'm not going to bother to go out if I can go here and have it be okay with Mom."
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