How To Train A Dog

Anna Walker answers:

Keep a crate and don’t pen her in the kitchen or any other room. Only use the crate when you are unable to watch her but make sure the crate is of the proper size. Crates should just be big enough to allow the dog to stand up, stretch and turn around in. Dogs will not relieve themselves in the area they are sleeping unless they absolutely cannot hold it or the area is to big. Also there should not be anything left in the crate that the puppy can chew such as stuffed animals or blankets. Food should not be left or fed to in a crate. If she does happen to have an accident in the crate these will retain moisture and the mess will be harder for you to clean and it’s also a choking hazard. Remember that puppies need to go out often as they have little bladder control.

When she is inside and out of the crate you can tether her to you, so that you can watch her closely. This also teaches her to be on a lead and at the same time she can be with you. If you don’t want to tether her then when she’s not crated you have to watch her like a hawk, not only in case she relieves herself, but for her own safety. She will chew things she shouldn’t that can be very dangerous. Many dogs have been electrocuted because of chewing through power cords.

To house train her. Take her outside every 20 minutes by carrying her, she hopefully won’t pee on you while in your arms. Tell her “Outside” in an exuberant and happy voice. Take her to where you want her to go, put the lead on her a tell her “Go Pee” watch her and when she goes praise her profusely. Something like ” Good Girl, Go Pee” and make sure you pet her at the same time. Take her back inside, into the crate, tethered or just watching her. She will have accidents and (You have to catch her in the act) when she does, show her what she did and say in a stern low voice “No potty”. It’s not what you are saying that gets her attention it’s how you say it. Take her outside as above and say ” Go Pee”. She likely won’t because she just went in the house. Stay outside for a few minutes and bring her back in. If training is consistent it should take no longer than 10-14 days. After she starts getting the idea you need to teach her how to get your attention when she needs to go out.

Anna Walker answers:

These are some sites that say some ways to train your puppy

http://petcaretips.net/dog_training.html

http://perfectpaws.com/index.html

http://www.clickertraining.com/puppy

http://petcaretips.net/dog_trick.html

this is for pet tricks

Anna Walker answers:

Any dog we’ve ever had all it takes is one time of rubbing their nose in it and they learn quickly.

Anna Walker answers:

First of all, please make sure that you make an appointment with your vet to have them checked over & started on proper shots/health maintenance.

The easiest way I have found to house train a puppy is to use a crate. This becomes their ‘house’, open for them to go into at any time, and for them to stay in when you are gone, busy in the house & sleeping.

When using the crate method, make sure that the puppy goes outside immediately upon arriving home or waking up. Use a phrase (we use ‘go now’) & use lots of praise when they go (happy voice, treats, pets).

Then, when you are home, they should go out every 2 hours, and shortly after meals. Water should be pulled 2 hours before bedtime, & let them out immediately before being put into the crate when you leave or go to bed.

Within a short time, they will begin ‘telling’ you when they need to go, & you will become familiar with their schedule. If they only go every 4 hours, then adjust from the 2 hour schedule, changing back if accidents begin to occur.

When they are loose in the house with you, have a ‘puppies in sight’ rule. This means if you are watching TV, they are in the same room with you. You move, they move. If you are busy making dinner, either tether them to you on a leash, or put them in their crate for the short time. (do not abuse the crate option when you are home, puppies like to be social!)

Watch the puppies for signs that they may be ready to go to the bathroom… Then say ‘wanna go OUTSIDE??’ this gets their attention & helps them learn to let you know when they need to go.

As for pooping, take care to let them be active outside after eating. The combination of adding food to their bodies & moving around tends to help get things going out the other end. Some puppies only need to run around the yard once, others need 5 minutes of ‘play’ before they feel the urge.

If you see them starting to squat in the house, clap your hands & shout NO NO NO then scoop them up & go out side, use your phrase & praise, even if they have nothing left.

By keeping tabs on the puppy at all times & using a schedule, they should be trained in short order.

Finally, keep in mind that based on age, they need more than one meal. Rule of thumb is 4 meals/day until 4 months, then 3 meals from 4-8 months. I go down to 2 meals as adults, so they dont take in so much at one time. Some people can ‘free feed’ as adults (leave food out all the time) but that is dependent on the dog (dont want fat sausages!!)

If you are ‘free feeding’ now with the puppies, that could be a contributing factor to the pooping problem. Change it to scheduled meals & potty times & you should see improvements.

Finally, if you haven’t had them vet-checked, there may be issues that are contributing such as worms (you cant always see them in the stool), so do make sure to take them in.

Good luck, 2 at one time must be SO much fun!! =-)

Anna Walker answers:

The easiest way i found to house train my dogs is to buy some training pads and keep them in the same place but first when he/she goes to have a wee pick the training pad up and put it under him so he wees on it, it may take time but he/she will soon learn. Also never pick them up when they are having a wee as they wil get frightened and stop.

Also maybe get them some toys to play with and maybe if she is biting the sofa and other things try bitter apple spray or black pepper they dom’t like the smell and hopefully walk away.It really depends on what breed of dog it is, some take longer to train then others hope this helps. And even if you do already maybe have a routine like a certain time they get up and a certin time you feed them and take them for a walk.

Hope this helps