Help with house training

Sez · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 12:48 pm Post subject: Help with house training

I really would appreciate some advice from anyone who ahs gone through hosuetrtaining their weim

my lab was so easy and picked it up straight away

Bob does know he is doing wqrong becasue when is ee him and say NO! he runs to the door but he just doesnt ask me in the first place

and sometimes he just comes over and wees by ya feet!
he just doesnt care lol
i was thinking of buying another crate for downstairs his crate is by my bed but he wees in that too!
he wakes me up about 3 or 4 in the morning to go out - should he still be doing this at 4 months?
then he still wees in his crate!

my husband is getting mad now which makes me feel awful but the hosue is starting to smell!

please helpppppp Confused

anne · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:09 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately your dog has lost its inhibition to go where he sleeps. This is usually a great way to control the environment and teaching them to hold it, but if he goes in the crate, that inhibition is lost, esp if he's been doing that for a while. This is the reason that pet store puppies can be hard to housebreak, because they are in a pen and are allowed to just eliminate in there.

One thing that MIGHT help is making the crate smaller.

Bob does NOT know that he is doing wrong, he is reacting to your "NO!" He can't expect to ask to go out if he doesn't know where the appropriate potty area is, which it's obvious he doesn't.

If the crate thing is not going to work for you, then put Bob on a leash and tie the leash around yoru waist so he is with you 100% of time and so that you pay attention to him. A dog that is not housebroken should not be allowed to be unsupervised -- ever. Every accident your dog makes is setting your training back and is confusing to the dog. Dogs potty behaviors are purely classically conditioned, meaning the more they do it in a particular location the more they prefer that type of location, which is why most dogs are almost "set off' to go when they are on grass. Every time the dog gets rewarded for going on carpet (and elimination itself is rewarding since he feels relief) you are making the potty training process much harder and longer. If you are 100% consistent, you can potty train a dog by 10 weeks old or so. But you have to invest a lot of time in those first couple of weeks. If you have too many accidents, you will prolong the whole process.

So I would suggest to you to just bite the bullet now and take the time to completely house train your dog, then you won't have to worry about it anymore. Be sure you are watching the dog any time he is in an area that he is not allowed to go. And be sure you go outside with him to go to the bathroom and praise him (or even give him treats) when he goes in the right spot.

If he wakes you up to go, he is telling you that he needs to go -- you need to let him out! Again, every accident he has is setting back his training.

Consistency is the key here.

Good luck!

DXTAC · Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject: Housetraining

I would also suggest a smaller crate to force him to hold it. Dogs generally hate to eliminate where they sleep or even in a room they frequent. As far as the smell try a product called Microbe-Clean. It works GREAT! We have carpet in 50% of our home with 2 dogs and you can't even tell we have pets. My Weim Amara is a year and just had an accident about 2 weeks ago because she doesn't give a clear signal when she has to go. She never poops in the house only pees. Also as suggested in another reply, is to have him near you CONSTANTLY!! When he starts to sniff and circle you know it's coming. This was never an issue with Amara as she is ALWAYS under foot. NEVER yell or scream as this has no effect on a dog, he'll just think you're unstable. I hope this helps.

Derek