|
Author
|
Topic: Help! Housetraining
|
QQ
Junior Member
Member # 653
|
posted February 11, 2004 09:39 AM
My friend gave me a dog which is a Shih Tzu, female, 7 month old. She is very sweet but is not housetrained. Not only this, her former owner let her eliminate at the spots she wanted. She does not have a schedule to eliminate and I tried to confine in a crate but she eliminated there and made herself dirty. Please give me some advice on how to train her as I want her to go to the toilet I prepare for her inside the house. I don't want to take her out in cold winter. Thanks.
Posts: 3 | From: Canada | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
BreeZy/sheltiepups
Member
Member # 297
Member Rated:
|
posted February 11, 2004 11:03 AM
1. CLEAN
Thoroughly clean all areas your dog has previously soiled in your house by using biological washing powder solution or a specially formulated enzyme product to remove all traces of the smell. If possible, keep your dog away from these areas until the training is complete.
2. SUPERVISE
Keep your dog under constant supervision while inside - if you must take your eyes away even for a second (or longer) confine your dog either in a crate (see crate training article), in a room with a hard-surfaced floor where accidents may be easily cleaned up, or outside in a secure area.
3. PICK A SPOT
It is easiest for a dog to understand going in one spot is what you want, rather than just outside. Pick a "potty" spot, be it in your yard, a grassy area out front, or a corner of your patio. Most dogs prefer porous surfaces (dirt/grass/gravel/carpet/newspaper) if you have a bit of what the dog has gone on before, you can place it where you want the dog to go.
3. MAKE A ROUTINE
Get your dog and yourself on a strict schedule of sleeping, feeding and play/exercise, and the dog will start to go to the bathroom on a schedule. And you can make sure he's at the right spot when the time comes! A typical schedule would include first thing when you wake up, after breakfast, then at set intervals. 2 hours apart is great. Longer times will work, it will just take longer for your dog to learn to physically be able to not go for longer periods.
Take your dog to his potty spot at the times you've set and wait (on a leash is often best). Be patient and wait for at least 5 minutes. If he starts to relieve himself, praise quietly until he is finished, then praise him very enthusiastically and reward him with a game or food treat. If he doesn't go, its back to supervision until the next set time. Continue with the routine, and once he's going when you take him out, gradually increase the time between visits to the potty spot. When you're down to three times a day and no more accidents inside (anywhere from two to six weeks), you've housetrained your dog.
4. LEARN THE COMMAND
"Get Busy" or “Go Potty” or any set phrase can really help to get your dog to understand when and where to go the bathroom. Use it just like you use any verbal command – like “Sit,” you say it before you want your dog to do it, and then if he does, give him lots of praise and treats. It won't work to say it too many times in a row (two or three is enough), and should be said in a happy tone of voice, never as a punishment. Also, if you catch your dog in the act of “getting busy” in the correct spot, you can say “get busy!! Good dog! Get busy! Good good!!” so they associate that phrase with what they are doing.
5. PUNISHMENT?
Yelling, making a loud noise with pennies in a can, swatting your dog or your hand with a newspaper, pushing your dogs nose in its mess... aside from being inhumane, they often have the effect of making the dog afraid of you or afraid of going in front of you, and housebreaking will take even longer, or may never happen. This usually what has happened to dogs that go in the house only when left alone, or in a back room when you aren't watching. Positive reinforcement is the fastest, easiest way to train. Punishment is the slowest and least pleasant way to get a dog to do what you want, and usually doesn't work at all.
The worst is punishing your dog for ‘accidents’ that you discover after the fact. Dogs cannot make a connection with punishment for something they did in the past. Some owners will say, “Oh, but he knows he has done wrong because if I show him the mess he looks guilty.” The dog has simply learned that if humans are present and there is a mess on the floor, he is likely to be told off or punished. He has not learned not to make the mess in the first place.
If you see your dog about to or in the middle of relieving himself indoors, you can say ‘NO’ firmly, but not raising your voice or yelling. Then take him immediately to your chosen place outside and reward him - praise, treats or play, which ever he most enjoys. Although he has done nothing to be praised for, it is essential that he associate going to that place with reward. If you have caught him in time he will still need to go. If he does go, praise and rewards!
--------------------
this is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose
Posts: 147 | From: PA | Registered: Oct 2003
|
|
QQ
Junior Member
Member # 653
|
posted February 11, 2004 04:14 PM
Thank you Breezy for your advice.
Today after cleaning everything up, I confined my dog in the laundry with newspaper on the floor. When I was about to leave home, I found that she pooh on the newspaper but made herself dirty again. I know that her former owner let her eliminate in her crate (also her bed) and so she just does not mind to be dirty. I immediately returned to the laundry and did the cleaning again. The question I have in mind is why she did it just before I am going to leave. She didn't do it after wake up and play. Is it because she wants my attention or shows me that she does not want to be alone? The first thing she does every morning when she comes out from the laundry is play. I tried to put her to potty spot, but she can just sit there and waited for over ten minutes. When I let her play first, she made mistakes again. If she wants my attention, do I encourage her this morning because I returned to her immediately.
Posts: 3 | From: Canada | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
Dawn
Moderator
Member # 14
Member Rated:
|
posted February 11, 2004 09:27 PM
If you don't want her going in the house, DO NOT put down papers, that's only going to tell her the house is an alright place to go potty. If she went in her crate, it was either too large or you left her in there longer than she could physically hold it.
Posts: 428 | Registered: Nov 2002
|
|
QQ
Junior Member
Member # 653
|
posted February 12, 2004 08:52 AM
I don't want to take her out in cold winter because the temperature here can be as low as -30. I think it is not good for the dog too. As for crating, I tried to confine her in laundry room and also tried small pet cab. She can eliminate several times during short period of time and doesn't mind to get herself dirty. I think she got used to it when she was with her former owner. How can I change these bad habits? Help!!
Posts: 3 | From: Canada | Registered: Feb 2004
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic