Our honeymoon phase is definitely over (clean, poop, train, biscuits)
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My sweet, calm dog is not so sweet and calm anymore.
It began on Saturday morning. It was my first entire day alone with Beesley. I'm not sure if it was our change of schedule or the fact that he's finally settling in and testing his limits, but he pooped in my bedroom. He KNEW he had done something wrong, because as soon as he was done he RAN into the next room. I didn't get mad, but I put him outside while I cleaned up. Later that day I took him to get groomed at Petsmart, and he peed in one of the isles.
He went from going to the bathroom outside within 1 minute of me taking him out, to making me stand out there for an hour+ without him doing anything. He KNOWS the only reason I take him out to my patio is for him to go to the bathroom, and I know he had to go, as it had been a good 2 or more hours since he had last gone.
He'll go if I take him outside for a walk, in fact he'll go multiple times. What could it be about my patio that is making him not go? It's concrete with a little patch of dirt. Before you think it's the concrete that's making him not go, he ALWAYS goes on the concrete when we go for walks. To date he has never gone on grass, even though my condo is surrounded by it.
How do I get my dog back into the funk he was in before? Am I just being too impatient?
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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I sometimes find myself getting irritated when people quote or paraphrase Cesar Milan, but he definitely has the order correct in his "Exercise, Discipline, then Affection" rallying cry.
What do you do with the dog that counts as "work"? Dogs do get bored if they are not challenged and do not have something that they are expected to do and expected to do your way. A bored dog is worse than idle hands; idle hands are just a playground while a bored dog is actually Satan.
If it were me, I would get enrolled in an obedience class, become well-read on obedience training and establish a good, healthy relationship with the dog in which there is no question between the two of you which one is in charge. All training becomes easier once you and your dog have reached an agreement regarding your respective ranks.
A dog who is confident can be a great dog. A dog who is confident, bored and has insufficient leadership is a nightmare.
I sometimes find myself getting irritated when people quote or paraphrase Cesar Milan, but he definitely has the order correct in his "Exercise, Discipline, then Affection" rallying cry.
What do you do with the dog that counts as "work"? Dogs do get bored if they are not challenged and do not have something that they are expected to do and expected to do your way. A bored dog is worse than idle hands; idle hands are just a playground while a bored dog is actually Satan.
If it were me, I would get enrolled in an obedience class, become well-read on obedience training and establish a good, healthy relationship with the dog in which there is no question between the two of you which one is in charge. All training becomes easier once you and your dog have reached an agreement regarding your respective ranks.
A dog who is confident can be a great dog. A dog who is confident, bored and has insufficient leadership is a nightmare.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,784,973 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAtheBanker
I'm signing us up for classes as we speak.
It sounds like you really want to do this the right way. Kudos to you.
Keep in mind that the obedience class is more for you than for your dog and it's really just a starting point. Good dogs require a lot of work over the course of their entire lives; there is never a point at which you can "let go" and there will certainly be a fair helping of sacrifice if you want your dog to be all that he can be. The funny thing is that once you and the dog get on the same page and you have shaped the relationship into something to be proud of, the work and sacrifice starts to feel a lot less like work and sacrifice and more like "exactly where I want to be and exactly what I want to be doing." That's been my experience anyway. There is nothing like the bond between a handler and a good dog.
Look at my housetraining post first....That has all the information about giving your dog a refresher course.
I believe I also sent you a recommendation about training books, but classes are GREAT. Please make sure that the trainer uses ONLY positive methods: no 'pops' on the leash, no 'corrections,' no alpha rolls, etc.
I am among the people who do not like Cesar Milan's approach to training. I took my pug to his obedience title using ONLY positive methods. And this is with a breed that is considered by many extremely difficult to train!
Remember, in any emergency take your OWN pulse first.
You cant' change your schedule on the weekends---especially when they are puppies but even for adult dogs that are new to the house. Dogs need to depend on you to let them out at a certain time and feed them at a certain time. After all these years, our dogs can handle a couple hour difference in the morning, but when they come into the room looking for us it's because they need to go.
Schedules are important for all sorts of reasons. For instance, we trained our dogs to hold it as long as we are at work. Even when I became a stay at home mother, I kept them on that schedule because I knew someday I'd need them to hold it all day again. Dogs adjust their water intake to meet these schedules.
As for getting him to go outside quickly, you can train your dog to go on command. You just need to have biscuits with you. Pick a word you would never use casually in the house. Keep repeating the word. Our word was 'pass.' We didn't feel we could use poopy or peepee because we were potty training a child a the time. We'd say "Pass, Rover, Pass." over and over. When he did, we'd praise him and give him a biscuit. After months of success, we stopped taking buscuits with us and then would give the biscuit when he came into the house.
Most importantly, I'm wondering how your dog came walking into your room this morning when you were sleeping. Arent' you crate training? It makes all the world of difference. A dog will not go to the bathroom in it's own crate. Always take the dog immediately outside as soon as you open the crate door. That teaches the dog the right place to go. Fear not, you don't need to use the crate forever. We stopped using the crate at 3 years old.
Hopes has made an EXCELLENT point: you cannot change your schedule on weekends - especially in the beginning of your time together. You can always walk him and go back to bed on weekends!!
You cant' change your schedule on the weekends---especially when they are puppies but even for adult dogs that are new to the house. Dogs need to depend on you to let them out at a certain time and feed them at a certain time. After all these years, our dogs can handle a couple hour difference in the morning, but when they come into the room looking for us it's because they need to go.
Schedules are important for all sorts of reasons. For instance, we trained our dogs to hold it as long as we are at work. Even when I became a stay at home mother, I kept them on that schedule because I knew someday I'd need them to hold it all day again. Dogs adjust their water intake to meet these schedules.
As for getting him to go outside quickly, you can train your dog to go on command. You just need to have biscuits with you. Pick a word you would never use casually in the house. Keep repeating the word. Our word was 'pass.' We didn't feel we could use poopy or peepee because we were potty training a child a the time. We'd say "Pass, Rover, Pass." over and over. When he did, we'd praise him and give him a biscuit. After months of success, we stopped taking buscuits with us and then would give the biscuit when he came into the house.
Most importantly, I'm wondering how your dog came walking into your room this morning when you were sleeping. Arent' you crate training? It makes all the world of difference. A dog will not go to the bathroom in it's own crate. Always take the dog immediately outside as soon as you open the crate door. That teaches the dog the right place to go. Fear not, you don't need to use the crate forever. We stopped using the crate at 3 years old.
No, I'm not crate training him. He stays in the kitchen behind a gate. I usually let him roam the house when I'm home, and that's why he made the mess. I wasn't asleep, either.
He sounds like some of the kids I used to have in my day care. They were so sweet during that initial honeymoon period. Once they got comfortable, they didn't hold back anything! They tested my limits and authority, just as your dog is doing with you. Good luck with the training and everything! You two will figure it out!
No, I'm not crate training him. He stays in the kitchen behind a gate. I usually let him roam the house when I'm home, and that's why he made the mess. I wasn't asleep, either.
It doesn't matter if you were asleep or not.
The POINT is that you changed your schedule----you said so in your post.
Dogs need to have consistency.
I was recommending crate training because what you're doing ISN'T WORKING.
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