No puppy will be house broken by the age of eight weeks and if you think about it how could they be? Up to that point the baby has lived in a pen with it's little brothers and sisters pottying whenever it felt the urge. What makes your house any diffrent?
Housebreaking
Your Puppy
IT IS POINTLESS AND UNJUST TO PUNISH
A LITTLE PUPPY FOR NOT KNOWING WHERE TO POTTY.
It doesn't make any sence to make
a big fuss of the incident and force the babies nose in to it, and it will
be to late to run the puppy outside screaming at it after the accident
has already occered.
What you need to do is set your puppy on a schedule of eating, then going outside and playing, then sleeping. You should feed your puppy three times a day and give your puppy enough time to finish it's food, then immediately after it finishes take your baby outside in the area you want it to potty and say the phrase you will be using like "go potty" and makw sure to wait until it happens so that you can reward your puppy verbally with high tones of ‘good baby’. You need to take your puppy outside to the same spot of the yard for this to be effective. With an eight week old puppy that means whenever it wakes up after naps, and whenever you come home you need to immediately take your baby outside so that it won't have time to make any mistakes.
After a dog has exercised or has
been introduced to your friends he/she will probably need to relieve itsself;
so keep it on a schedule for about a week that way you’ll know where your
at and can extend the time slowly from there. Praising the puppy each time
it has done what was expected of it will help dramaticly with potty training.
This takes time and patience because a puppy may need to go outside six
or seven times a day, so take your dog outside saying the same words ‘let’s
go out and potty’ and be in the same place, going through the same door
and at the same times. Last but not least, if your dog does make a mistake
in your house, do not let him see you cleaning it up , use a biodegradable
soap and water, rinse, and use a product which will change the ph to neutral;
I use club soda, but there are products on the market available. Be sure
not to call his name or say ‘come’ and then reprimand him for his mistake.
He will eventually never come to you or trust you and that’s not your aim.
Go to him and pick him up or have a leash dragging on him so you can get
to him and show the pup what he did wrong and where its right.
Learning
the command "Sit"
The command to SIT is the second
command you will be working on after or during the potty training. Your
dog will be on your left side, as if you were both waiting at a curb to
cross the street. You will say your dog's name first and then the word
sit. Put your leash from the left hand to the right and use your left hand
and push down on the hind quarters of your dog saying good, and giving
your dog a treat at the same time your dog is in the correct position.
Say the word O.K. for the release command.
Repeat this seven times and then
give your puppy a short break.
Do this every day for a week or more before you start the next command. If your dog does not pay attention to your command tighten up the excess of your loose leash attached to your dog and quickly jerk and immediately release it while saying the word no. You may find it easier to have your dog tired out a bit, so exercise it before practicing your commands. Also, if your dog is outside of the house it will be more cooperative. Feed your dog after the lesson not before you begin, and it will respond quicker for you.
Say your command word once only followed by the word good or no depending on the action of the dog. If your dog responds positively, then lengthen the time you have him/her in the position by seconds each time. If your dog does not do what you asked, say the word no with a quick jerk and release with the leash and repeat the command again. If your puppy still does not respond give a stronger tug and release of the the leash with the word no and put him/her in the correct position.
Repeat the procedure.
If your dog does not sit give it a quick jerk and release simultaneously with the word no and then repeat the command to sit. When your dog does sit for you say good dog , then the command stay, give it a treat when it is in the correct position and say good dog. Repeat this seven times a day for a week, increasing your time by ten seconds approximately a day.
Next, tell your dog to sit and stay and move one step away from it and return immediately to your original spot and give your dog praise with the word good and a hug. Do these four or five times and then increase your amount of space of one step to two steps away from your dog. Repeat this several times, always going back to your dog to praise it so it will move.
Next, move three steps away from your dog and stand away from it for five seconds and return to praise and pet your dog. Repeat this several times.
When your dog does not stay in the stay command, take your loose leash which is attached to it, and tighten up and turn it in a circle back to the place it moved from and say the word no as your moving your dog back.
Start again. Say sit, good dog, and stay and move away two or three feet and remain there for five or ten seconds and return to your dog before it moves to praise it.
Give it big hugs and praise with
a high tone voice saying good dog.
When you begin this session of training your dog should be comfortable with the collar on for a week. You will also have an easier time getting him to cooperate if he has been conditioned with a leash. Simply, that means letting it get used to the leash being on its collar. An easy way is to let it drag the leash around attached to its collar for 4 or 5 days. Also if your dog has been exercised before the lesson begins you will have its attention on you instead of play.
Take the leash comfortably in your hand and walk 10 paces encouraging the dog as you go with the word good. If the dog moves away from your side use a quick jerk of the leash with the word no and release the tension on the dogs collar immediately. Do not stop walking to the end of your 10 paces when you've had to correct your dog. Keep an even comfortable walking rhythm. You can tell your dog if it is the correct place next to you when there is no tension needed on the leash. You can tell your dog every step it takes with you the word good or no depending if it is correct or not.
Once you have successfully completed
walking straight 10 feet you can try turning in place clockwise in a pivotal
manner. Remember not to tug on your dog to make it turn. Keep the leash
loose and encourage your dog with the word good. You can give it a treat
at the completion of your turn. Be sure to have the treat at the level
your dogs height is when on all four feet and its entire body is on the
side of you in the correct position. You should keep on walking as you
give it a treat. This way it will understand you are praising it for walking
by your side. Repeat the next 10 paces as previously and again pivot clockwise.
If your dog does well then break for awhile and begin again. As you and
your dog progress you can begin to do figure eights, turning both to the
right and the left. Always keep in mind the dog needs to know when it is
doing it correctly and when it is not. Let it know by saying the word no
with a tug of the leash as your walking and say the word good when it is
doing it right.
Seems hyperactive, chews destructively,
digs holes.
Your dog may be bored. Take it
out of the yard for exercise for at least one hour a day. Play fetch, set
up play dates with other neighbor dogs, toss a disc, go to the dog park,
take OBEDIENCE or AGILITY CLASSES together. Don't restrict your dog to
only living in the back yard. The more it's left alone, the more likely
it is to dig out of boredom. Play together and leave toys out for your
dog to play with when alone.
Digs in the middle of the yard Check
for moles, gophers, rabbits or other burrowing animals.
Dogs will dig to get at them. If
you find an animal burrow, consider hiring a humane trapper familiar with
laws protecting wild animals.
Digs at the fence line to get out
of the yard
Your dog may be bored and trying
to get at something on the other side of the fence. Consider whether the
dog's social needs are being met. Neutering or spaying will curb some digging
tendencies. Fill in gaps below the fence with concrete, brick, large rock
or attach chicken wire to the bottom of the fence and curve onto the ground,
burying it below the grass. Cayenne pepper sprinkled sparingly near the
fence line may deter it from digging.
Dog is pregnant
Digging is normal. Dogs dig to
create dens in which to give birth. Be patient and wait until after the
pups are born to see if the behavior disappears on its own.
Digs up new bushes
The dog may be attracted to the
smell of fresh dirt. Protect new plants wire and snowline fencing. Once
plants are mature, dogs tend to lose interest.
Digs despite all of your attempts
to stop it
Consider conceding a portion of
the yard. Perhaps build a doggie sandbox and bury bones and favorite toys
inside. Cover an emerging lawn with chicken wire to make it difficult for
dogs to dig it up. Perhaps set up a kennel area for your dog with the knowledge
you need to give it daily exercise
