| Author |
Message |
|
| LeslieD |
 Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:25 am |
 |
|
|
Joined: 28 Apr 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Barnhart, MO
|
Hello everyone!
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. My family recently added a boston terrier/corgi mix to our furry family. This makes our 4th dog so I am not new to the housebreaking process. However, this dog is either incredibly stubborn or incapable of grasping the concept of doing her business outside!
We have tried crate training and that has been completely unsuccessful. I didn't like having her locked in a crate since I am home all day, but we tried it and she was seeming to do well-no messes in her crate for about 2 weeks. So, we let her out in the house for 30-45 minutes at a time right after she came inside and she would stop on the carpet, leave her mess and go on her way. She is almost 5 months old now and I have never had a dog still making messes in the house at that age.
I trained my other 3 dogs by keeping them on a strict schedule of trips outside and that was greatly successful within 4-5 weeks at the longest. That hasn't worked for her either. She will take care of business outside, but then can come in and 15 minutes later make a mess on the floor. I am getting so frustrated! I have heard that Boston's can be difficult to housebreak, but this is ridiculous.
Someone suggested using a bell tied to the door and ringing it to go outside. Has anyone else used that method or know much about it? I am willing to try anything. She still sleeps in her kennel at night and doesn't make a mess there. Maybe I am missing something simple, so please give me some different ideas. She is old enough now that keeping her isolated from my other dogs is causing problems because she isn't adapting to everyday interactions with them and they aren't adapting to her. She runs and attacks them outside, but doesn't know how to be calm in the house and they growl and snap at her because all she does is aggravate in the little free time she has outside the crate. See my dilemma? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks. |
|
|
| Back to top |
  |
| KellyGSDOwner |
| Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:51 pm |
|
|
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 54
|
I am not much help. I got my GSD puppy when she was 8 weeks old and had her potty trained in 1 weekend!
But my friend had a Boxer puppy who was impossible to train...I believe it took almost a year. A dog trainer told her to keep the dog on the leash whenever she is not in the crate. Tie the leash to your belt loop so that she is always attatched to you. As soon as she makes a move to potty, run outside with her and have her potty on the leash.
When my friends tried the leash method, their boxer was potty training in less than 2 weeks.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Kelly |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| susan |
| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 3:56 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 31 Jul 2008
Posts: 2
|
Leslie,
I understand how frustraing it can be when your dog just doesn't seem to be "getting it" in regards to housebreaking. I have owned and trained many dogs over the years, and have found that the smaller the dog, the longer it takes to potty train. Most dogs cannot be completely reliable in that department until 6 months of age. It does sound like your dog may be a bit confused as to where it is appropriate to go potty. Also, when you say "messes", are you referring to urine or feces? I ask because it is always a good idea to make sure it is behavior and not medical related such as a UTI, or bladder infection causing this. Once that has been determined, work on what you are communicating to your dog. I agree with the other post of keeping her on lead so you can control what is going on and where.
One question that I wasn't sure of; are you isolating her away from the other animals most of the time? It sounds like you are unless I misunderstood your letter. This problem could also be tied to lack of socialization with the family and a "pack" within the home. I know you said she aggravates the other dogs, but that perhaps should be worked on simultaniously with potty training. That sometimes helps also. Don't give up! I have Great Danes that were trained in a few days, and Cavaliers that have taken 1 year to totally become potty trained! Consistancy is the key. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| LeslieD |
| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:09 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 28 Apr 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Barnhart, MO
|
Kelly,
Thanks cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your suggestion. Keeping our puppy on the leash seemed to be the secret to her success. She is running to the door and dancing around like a little circus dog when she needs to go outside. If we don't see her, she may leave a little puddle right by the door, but is still anxious to go outside to finish the job.
The issues that she was having with our other dogs seem to have disappeared as well. She still aggravates them at times, but I expect that since she is a puppy, at least it isn't relentless anymore. We can play with her and work on her inside commands without our other dogs growling or snapping. She finally lays quietly next to them in the evenings rather than nipping and barking at them. Our house is back to normal!
Thank you so much.
Leslie |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| KellyGSDOwner |
| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:09 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
Posts: 54
|
| That's great, Leslie! Congrats! |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
