Need Help She is driveing us NUTS!!!

brinriha

We have a 6 month old 1/2 Weimaraner and 1/2 Chocolate Lab. Her jumping her potting in the house i take her our about very two hours she will pee out side and I'm out there for like an hour waiting for her to go poo but she just wont do it she use to let us know when she had to go and now she doesn't do it any more. and we are tired of her jumping on people and on the counters please if any one can help us we would just love the help. She has this way of saying why should i do it outside when i can do it in the house. I really don't know what to do any more there was a point when i told my husband to get ride of her but we can't do that we saved her and we would love to get another once she is house broken but i feel like that is NEVER going to happen. i have trained her to sit stay and to walk on a leach really good i love the prong collier before i got that she would walk me and now just about a few days on it she walks right by my side. Now we just need to brake thee jumping up on people and on the counters and potting in the house.

DanniGirl · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject:

Wait...you are thinking about getting rid of her because she's only 6 months old and she hasn't been trained, am I right?
It's not her fault, SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!

As for defecating in the house...she can't be left alone. How long are you outside with her? They usually have to relive themselves more than once while they are outside. You could leave her outside longer.
ALSO praise her like crazy, even offer her treats for defecating outside. This breed thrives on positive reinforcement.
The following is a very forceful approach but I wouldn't attempt it unless all else fails; i.e. positive reinforcement approach described above.

If she continues to defecate in the house, you need to CATCH HER in the act an immediately punish her.
By punishing I mean grab her by the scruff of her neck and shove her nose in it (not literally but right next to it so she gets a good wiff) and pick her up (all 4 paws off the ground) and growl NO while shaking her. If you can't pick her up shove her head down and very firmly give the verbal command NO.
It sounds cruel but that's exactly how a bitch grabs her puppy and corrects the behavior. It will probably scare the crap out of her but she'll learn THAT IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE and WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

There are numerous threads about potty training, I'm sure you'll be able to find one that suits you.

As for the jumping up, there are numerous ways to stop that:
You could turn your back to her and pay her no attention until she settles down. Then praise her like crazy for not jumping.
You could use a squirt bottle and squirt her if she jumps up on the counter while at the same time commanding her NO.
When she jumps up on the counter, you could shove her head down to the floor while commanding No.
You could also knee her in the chest (I don't like to do that though) and command NO.

It sounds like you really care about her because you asked for help, I'd hate to have you get rid of her because of the frustration. But through all the headaches its worth it in the end...and it does get easier. Wink

DukesMom · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:29 pm Post subject:

Is there one spot in the house where she likes to go? If so, you need to block access off to that area completely. Once the scent is there it's hard to break them. You should probably clean the area thoroughly with Natures Miracle or similar. Then never let her out of your site and basically start the potty training process all over again. Is she crate trained? If so, I would put her in the crate any time you can't watch her every move. Remember that dogs don't come trained and they truly don't know that counter surfing, jumping, pooping in the house is not okay. It's your job as a responsible owner to teach them these things. It takes alot of time and commitment but it's a commitment that you should have been willing to take on before you got her. Good luck! They can be trained, it just takes patience and consistency. Really no different than raising a child.

DukesMom · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject:

And I might add: If you think you've got it rough come to my house for a day. I have two Weim puppies ages 5 months and 8.5 months!!! Every day is an adventure! But I took on the responsibility willlingly and I look at every day as a training day and keep telling myself "it will get better". There are times when they wear on me, but I love them like crazy and I am absolutely 100% committed to them. There are also times when they bring me absolute happiness and joy! Like when I am working with them on training....oh they make me so proud. They are the smartest little buggers. Or when they're sleeping cuddled up next to me..... Just be consistent and she will learn. Be committed to investing time into her and it will improve. Too many people give up to easily. My dogs are my project. It's all about commitment.

brinriha · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

Thank you all for getting back to me on this her traing is very slowy comeing along like i said there are a few things that are just driving me nuts i work wirh her about an hour a day with some basic puppy traing that i learned from going to classes with my moms dogs and since she is also a trainer i call her up for help also but there are times that i need to know from another persons point of view or someone that has the same breed of dog she is so smart and learns very fast its just the potting in the house that is driving me nuts i take her outside and i'm out there for like an hour or maybe long waiting for her to poo but she just wont do it outside she use to all of the time she will pee out side and sometimes let us know when she has to go out we just dont know whats worng with her. and thank you all again for the help if there is more i would love to learn more about traing her adn the breed.

DanniGirl · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject:

Hey, it's all good...everyone needs to vent every now and then. Wink

You know something just occurred to me, are you and your husband on the same playing field when it comes to training?
Meaning do the both of you train her the same way or is one individual more harsh on her?

DoubleTrouble · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject:

About the house-breaking, one of my dogs was SO bad about it at one point. I learned to take her out at about the same time every day and watch her. She has tell-tale signs that she is about to potty in the house (pacing, standing by the door) and when I start to see those, I take her out ASAP.

With jumping, I push my dogs off of me, say "NO!", turn away from them, and tell them to sit. When they sit, I pet them like crazy. I hardly ever pet them without making them sit first, so they know that to get pet, they must sit.

With the stuff on the counters, try setting something out and then hiding. When she jumps up to get it, yell "NO!" or smack your hands together really loud, just something to scare her. It might not work long term, but it'll help with the immediate jumping up on the counters. Also, just don't let her in whatever place she does it when you can't watch her. My dogs have NO kitchen access, because I don't trust them with the counters and I know I can't always watch them. I also have this horrible fear of them sticking their heads in the oven when I go to pull something out. If I leave a food item too close to the edge of the dining room table, they'll steal it, but that is my fault.

Even once you begin to get the behaviors you want, there will still be bad days. It seems like every day, one of my dogs does something dumb, but they are wonderful dogs. Keep training. I find the harder I work with teaching them any command, the easier all of them get.

weimdawgs · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject:

Gunnar was still going in the house occasionally at six months. I remember within the very first two weeks I went back to work, he managed to get out of the crate. We never did figure out how he got out but he pooped in the dog room and tracked it all over the house. I was shampooing the carpet until 9 o'clock that night.

sterlingsmom · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:30 pm Post subject:

Colt just turned ten months and just recently stopped having accidents in the house and in his crate...he even knows how to ring the bell to tell us he has to go out, but sometimes that wouldn't even work.
For some reason, this breed more than any other I've ever owned has been just downright terrible to potty train! They do get better....I now get compliments about how well behaved my weims are whenever I take them anywhere in public. I NEVER thought that would happen in a million years Wink

consistentcy is THE key with these guys. Anytime I do something out of their normal routine, they let me know just how much it stresses them out. They will either chew something or pee in the house Evil or Very Mad

Asarra · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:25 pm Post subject:

For what it is worth, I had a lot of luck house training Storm using a crate, strict eating and going out schedule. She is a little over 4 months old and it has been weeks since her last accident. I think it really helped to catch her in the act and startle her so that she stopps and hurry her outside to finish. It also helped to feed her at the exact same times during the day and get her going to the bathroom at the same times also. It took a week with consitent feeding times and out times to get the actual going times to line up. When she was out of the crate, we practically hovered over top of her so she didn't have much of an opportunity to have an accident.

Make sure you clean up with an enzyme to remove any type of odor that may attract her!

As for climbing on the counters, I would use a can with pennies to startle her and then correct her. Storm is horrified at the sound of this. She stops when we simply pick it up. She is very sensitive! I feel bad when I have to use it.