House Breaking.... HELP!!!
By sarchix
@sarchix (10)
United States
November 20, 2008 2:56pm CST
We got a Border Terrier pup about a month ago. He's currently 14 weeks old and a great dog!
My problem is, I've never had a puppy before or housebroken a dog. I've read several books on puppies and housebreaking but feel I might be missing something.
Does anyone have any advice on how to do it without going crazy in the process???
1 person likes this
3 responses
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
21 Nov 08
devref, is that how you would teach a child? Because dogs are no different, they don't know what is expected of them any more than a child would. It's up to us humans to teach them in a humane manner. That method you describe is oldfashioned and cruel and it's a good way to get dogs scared. You should go read up on current dog behaviour and how to train a dog using positive reinforcement. I can't imagine ever owning a dog that does what I ask of him only because he's afraid of what will happen if he doesn't do it, it's much more fun to have a dog that does what he's told because he wants to please you.
@devref (240)
•
21 Nov 08
yes it works better the younger they are.my gradfather was a breeder and the dogs were always broken this way.a tap on the nose was also the best way to prevent them doing other things like chewing furniture.as the nose is very sensative to them when tapped firm but not hard enough to cause pain it makes them realise they dont like it.
@Cynthia212008 (57)
• United States
20 Nov 08
Well, I had gotten my dog when she was almost a year old and she had never been house broken she also had bad habbits. And the only way I was able to house brake her was to buy a small pet taxi and place her inside it when i wasn't home or was asleep (anytime I was unable to take her outside to go). Just as long as you make sure to get the right size pet taxi because I first placed her in a larger one and she was able to move around alittle too much which she then did her bussiness in the front and slept in the back (which really wasn't pretty). So that would be my suggestion to keep your puppy in a kennel or pet taxi when your unable to let him out to go, also if he makes a mistake correct him with a firm No and put him inside his pet kennel or taxi. I hope this helps you and your puppy it was the only thing that worked for me and my little dog.
@Cynthia212008 (57)
• United States
21 Nov 08
I don't know the time frame in which it took to brake her but I can tell you that I know don't have to keep her in pet taxi anymore even when I'm not home (only if she is in heat will i put her in one, only because of my male dog). She is 5 now and I believe the only reason I had such a hard time with her in the begining is because of previous owners neglecting to teach her properly and she was very fearful of any kind of violience so yelling at her or doing anything pyhsical to her(like picking her up or scolding her) would make her try to bite. I have had to teach her to take a bath properly and have her nails clipped, she was alot of work but my guess would be since your puppy is so young you shouldn't have a problem with using a pet taxi as a way to teach him right from wrong. My only concern with other methods would be that it could make the dog fearful if you were to use a forceful way of teaching like using a news paper and hitting him or something that was aggressive. I acually read I believe in a purina puppy book that this is what they recommend is using a pet taxi to housebrake.
But from my experience my dog is a 110% better from when i first brought her home and I believe its from doing just as i have said, firmly correcting her with a No and placing her in a pet taxi when she makes mistakes. Good Luck
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
21 Nov 08
The key to housebreaking is supervision and consistency. If you cannot supervise the puppy properly, then he should be in a crate that is just big enough to stand, turn around and lay down in. You can even take a leash and attach him to your belt so he's always by your side so it's easier to keep an eye on him. Make a schedule and follow it. It helps a lot to set an alarm clock to ring about every hour so you don't forget to take the pup outside. Pups need to go out after sleeping, drinking, eating, and after any activity (and sometimes during it). You need to go out with the pup and stay out with him until he goes, regardless of weather. Always food reward and praise him when he does go outside. Never ever punish a puppy for going inside, he doesn't know any better. It's not his fault, it's yours for not supervising him well enough.
My dog had only 4 accidents inside the house, all within the first week before I learned to read the cues he gave. Actually before my parents learned the cues as he was on their watch at the time. Since he was 9 weeks old (I got him at 8 weeks) he's been practically housebroken, although not reliable before he was about 5 months as in he wouldn't ask to go out, I always needed to make sure he was outside when he needed to go. It wasn't hard really, I just used the alarm clock. I set the clock to ring every 30 minutes at first, then gradually increased the time. I took him out once a night the first month, after that he was able to hold himself over night. I know it's time-consuming but it's well worth it and you won't have to live with knowing that your pup is hand-shy because you took old-fashioned advice that said to rub his nose in it or smack him with a newspaper whenever he does something wrong.
