posted September 10, 2010 07:19 PM            

After 3 months of using them, the house is smelling like urine. We rented a carpet shampoo machine and cleaned the carpet. But I know it's a matter of time before it's back to smelling like an outhouse. He does get taken out a lot, but still doesn't get the potty training thing down.

We really don't want to find him another home, but if we can't get him house broken we may have to

posted September 12, 2010 08:00 PM            

as nepthys said, after every meal, every drink of water especially, on the paper. have some wherever it is feasible, like near the food bowls, etc.

wish i had more tips. i have only had one dog of my own and i only had to put her on the paper once, she peed on it and got lots of praise, and never any need of reinforcement. most of them aren't quite that smart.

have to say that 6 months is pretty old...you might want to see if there is a training class you could hook up with. LOTS of walks after meals are a good thing too...

posted September 13, 2010 07:24 PM            

And my parents bought a training video that she's trying on him.
Here's the link to the video..
http://www.thane.com/products/promos/perfectdog/perfectdog.php

I feel bad for him because she's keeping him on a short leash constantly and he sleeps in his indoor kennel. Anytime she goes to correct his behavior, she pulls a certain direction on the leash (provided in the box) it tightens the studded collar. She lets him out in the morning and before bed and whenever he sits and whines at her. It just doesn't sit right with me for some reason. But then again, what do you do with a dog who doesn't seem to get it when it comes to potty training...?

posted September 14, 2010 02:20 PM            

quote:

---

she's keeping him on a short leash constantly

---

Should she even have a dog? Does she even have time for him?

Puppies usually get potty trained in a matter of days.....or weeks at the worst.... it just sounds like she hasn't spent much time with him in the past, and doesn't now.

No offense at all, but it sounds to me like SHE doesn't get how to have a puppy/dog, not the dog who isn't getting it.

Does she even take him for walks and excercise him?

Puppies are like babies and need full time attention.

posted September 14, 2010 05:24 PM            

I wasn't a part of the decision to get a puppy in the first place because I know my daughter isn't ready for the responsability to care for one. She's 18 but too selfish..
My parents bought him for her.

And she does take him for a walk once a day and lets him out about every hour.. which is way more than she's done since she's had him.

And who suffers? The puppy...
It was not well planned out and really upsets me.

posted December 19, 2010 11:28 AM            

30 minutes after eating or drinking, take them out.

Also, observation is key. When they have to go, they will start sniffing around on the floor. As soon as you note that behavior you say "Outside!" and scoop them up/take them outside. Praise, praise, praise when they go. You can also use a trigger word like "potty" while they are going. Say "potty, potty, potty" over and over again while they pee/poop and reward when they are done. "Good potty!"

Soon they will associate the word "potty" with eliminating. Tell them "Let's go outside!" and "potty" as soon as you go out.

Bathroom breaks are just that. They need to understand the difference between a bathroom break and play time.

Also, are you crate training? Crating is key to raising a puppy. Dogs instinctively do not eliminate in their den. The dog will think of the crate as their "den" and not eliminate there. You need to take them out to "potty" as soon as you let them out of the crate. Do not crate a puppy under 9 months of age for more than 4 hours max except for at night. Puppy should sleep in the crate at night and be sleeping through the night at 6 months of age and ready to go out as soon as they wake up in the morning.

To summarize:

*Use a crate!
*Frequent potty breaks, esp 30 minutes after eating and drinking
*No unsupervised free roaming of the house. If you can't watch the dog, put them in their crate
*Use a key word to associate with eliminating
*Praise, praise, praise! Reward, reward, reward!

For smarter dogs, you can eventually teach them to use a bell when they need to go out, or some will learn to go to the door on their own, bark, etc.

It is not hard, but it takes a good 2-3 weeks of your full attention and a lot of patience.

Rubbing their nose in it/punishment does NOT work! By the time they have gone in the house it is too late. They will not associate the punishment with the act of eliminating in the house. It will only confuse and stress them.

If the dog goes in your house it is YOUR fault. Not the dog's. You are not supervising it properly.

Lastly, if your house smells like an outhouse, that needs to be rectified immediately. Dogs (cats too) are attracted to the scent of their own urine. If it smells like pee, they will keep going back to the same spot. The pet store has plenty of products designed to remove the urine odor. Use products that counteract ammonia. Your house smelling like urine is your #1 enemy right now. The dog does not know the house is the "den". The den would not/should not smell like **** ! If it smells like pee, it thinks it is ok to pee there.

Time, effort, patience and you doing YOUR job is all that is required.

posted December 20, 2010 03:36 PM            

Puppy Raising Tip #2:

You can see the evidence of positive reinforcement when you are training your dog to come when called. "Happy" voice will always work better than "Get over here!" mean voice, especially with pups. Mean voice should only be used when your dog has perfect recall and in dire emergencies. Even then, ALWAYS reward the dog when they come (petting is sufficient), even if you have called them for doing something bad.

You never want them to associate coming to you with punishment. That's very dangerous. You should be able to trust your dog to come to you when called 100% of the time when off leash. If they aren't reliable, leash them.

posted December 22, 2010 05:44 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by NickiG:
rub his nose in it and spank him..thats the way we'v always done it and its always worked

---

That is actually not the way to do it. Within seconds a dog forgets what they have done. They cower because they are reacting to the punishment. Bear the Leo was used to that type of training and we realized it was causing fear in Rocky not training.

Labs are very smart and we did have issues with Rocky. We had to keep on him and keep taking him out at various times, especially after eating. We rewarded him when he went to the door or when he came to us with a whine because we knew that it was time to go out.

He is 9 months and the only mistake he has made in a long while was when we were out for more than 5 hours. I know he hated to do it because he loves being the "good boy" when he holds it and gets rewarded.

posted December 23, 2010 12:17 AM            

Labs have the best recall ever, they almost always come when called with no issues. And go and come, and go and come, and go and come LOL.

A lab with a ball is a lovable pest My aunt actually hides her lab's balls sometimes otherwise he will keep dropping them at her feet "Throw it again! C'mon! Throw it!"

posted December 30, 2010 04:09 PM            

------------------
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~