puppy advice

[spongebob lover]

doods/ettes any help on how can i train my puppy to let me know when she's gotta go potty at night?
during the day she's getting good at showing signs that she's gotta go like standing by the door or when she starts smelling around BUT at night she sleeps by the kitchen i don't know how to do it, she's good at letting you know that she's gotta go poo by crying but the pee..she doesn't cry :lol:, i put a potty mat so she can do her business there but she pees everywhere BUT the mat :lol::lol:.
any adivice would be awesome .
ohh yeah and i also just got a bell for the door so she can let me know but it seems like she's interested in playing with the bell more than letting me know .
any tips would be great .
i also thought about putting her in a crate during night time so that when she wakes up starts crying but i don't know if that would be a good idea since she's not crate trained yet .

Thank you everyone

 

[reefnewbe]

crate tring is the best way to go, i have 3 dogs, and all of them are crate trained. she most likley will not use the bathroom in her bed, so when she has to go, she will cry to be let out, then she gets used to going out at night

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Agreed On crate training, Being a breeder and Dog fanatic I have never seen a dog use the bed as a bathroom, The crate actually triggers the cave feeling from way back before they were associated with people. Its humane, Safe, And gives the puppy a sense of security unmatched by anyting else you can do. Try it and you wont regret it.

 

[spongebob lover]

kewl, we're getting a crate on wednesday .

Agreed On crate training, Being a breeder and Dog fanatic I have never seen a dog use the bed as a bathroom, The crate actually triggers the cave feeling from way back before they were associated with people. Its humane, Safe, And gives the puppy a sense of security unmatched by anyting else you can do. Try it and you wont regret it.

dood you're a breeder?? awesome !!! .
what type of breed are you doing?

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Crate training is the best way to go by far!!!

 

[spongebob lover]

ok what about when your puppy barks at you?
for some reason if i go to one side of our yard, she starts barking at me and nipping ,so far we're doing clapping and screaming, water with vinager,grabbing from the mouth (which is ouchi for me :lol, grabbing from the back of the neck but it seems like nothing is working for me:doubt:, i mean it's like she goes from playing to being mean .
any tips? i'm looking for a puppy class for her so i can get more training but i'm trying to do as much research as i can aswell.

 

[Curtswearing]

ok what about when your puppy barks at you?
for some reason if i go to one side of our yard, she starts barking at me and nipping ,so far we're doing clapping and screaming, water with vinager,grabbing from the mouth (which is ouchi for me :lol, grabbing from the back of the neck but it seems like nothing is working for me:doubt:, i mean it's like she goes from playing to being mean .
any tips? i'm looking for a puppy class for her so i can get more training but i'm trying to do as much research as i can aswell.

Gabby,

With Tyson (Boston Terrier puppy) bit, I simply said very calmly "no bitie". I didn't say his name because I only want his name used when something positive was happening. Then I ignored him for the next 4 or 5 minutes. If there happened to be customers in the store at the time, I told them they had to ignore him too. He got the picture REAL QUICK. Bite....get ignored.

He is the most spoiled puppy in St. Louis. A LFS has regular customers who come back time and time again. Many people would walk in the door and yell, "Tyson!!!" and he would come running. The joke was he was our best salesman because people literally would stop in on their way home from work and end up buying something. My main difficulty was not training Tyson, my main difficulty was training each customer. They would say, "Oh it's alright or it didn't hurt". I would have to explain to them that I don't care if it didn't hurt or it's not alright. He will put his mouth on a person's hands now, but he will NOT bite down. To give you an idea of how spoiled he was, not only did all of the employees and customers play with him everyday, the store is located in a strip mall that has a hairdressers, a pizza place, an automotive parts store, and a grocery store. He got visits everyday from about 30 people from other stores in the strip mall.

 

[spongebob lover]

ahhh that's so so cute .
yeah i have the same problem with people , they see her and just wanna touch her and pet her, i'm ok with it sometimes because she just licks them:lol: but there's times like if i start talking to the person, then she'll start trying to nip.
at home she does this weird thing of going belly up and trying to nip me which i try my best to close her mouth or run for the spray bottle :lol: .
i'm also trying to train her to do the leash...ohh boy she loves to chew on it :lol:, i cannot even walk her a block because she goes lays down on the neighbour's yard and not even treats can get her to go :shock:
My hubby tells me all the time that may be i should stop spoiling her by buying her toys, every treat i see, letting her sleep on the couch, telling my kids that she's their new sister :lol:, and giving her hot dogs and ham when ever she's giving me the cute looks :lol:.

 

[mss]

another thing that can help with nipping is just grabbing the pup at the base of the neck with your fingers, not saying anything, and apply very gentle pressure with your thumb and first 2 fingers. It is like a "mamma" dog bite and it makes my one pup drop on his back right away. I saw it on the dog whisperer.

I have 2 yorkie pups that are brother and sister and are probably the second most spoiled pups in St. Louis. (I was one of those bad customers that would say...its alright, it did not hurt)

Another thing the vet drilled into me, due to me having 2 terriers, is making sure the pup knows you are the Alpha dog. This is esp true if you have kids. My female pup the first time I brought her to the vet bit the vet IN THE FACE right on his nose. He looked at me, and I was horrified. He threw her on her back, held her down and put his face down right in her face and stared at her until she looked away. He then APOLOGIZED to me for doing that, and all I could say was I am so sorry. He told me that is one way to show who is dominent, by placing them on the back and looking them in the eye until THEY look away. Also you dont want them to sleep on your pillow or climb up on your shoulders (which I am horrible at...all 3 dogs sleep on my head).
Cant help you with potty training...2 of my dogs are great. The other one (my male pup) is dumb as a box of rocks and refuses to go where he is supposed to. I say it is due to the pups eating through wires one day while I was at work...but I think he was just born that way (though I love him still, even though he is cross eyed!)

 

[tawmt]

Very good advice on the crate training. Definitely the way to go IMO. It works with the dog's instincts which is the easiest method for both human and dog. We were golden retriever breeders for about 7 years (taking a break ATM) and part of our puppy socialization program was to lay the groundwork for housebreaking by working with their natural instinct not to soil their own 'den' area, and we sent crate training instructions home with every puppy. Pups that aren't used to it might not like the crate at first, but they'll get used to it.

Other tips we gave puppy buyers - pups generally don't gain full control over their bowel and bladder function until about 4 months (not absolutely accurate in all dogs but a good rule of thumb) so up to that time it's important to take them out frequently to give them a chance to go. The older they get, the better they are about letting you know when they have to go outside.

When they're out of their crates inside the house, don't give them the run of the whole house. Larger areas can be overwhelming - too much to do and see, too many distractions - so section them off to small areas where you can keep a close eye on them. One of our puppy buyers told me instead of child gates like we use, he'd installed small hooks about ankle level in each room of the house where he could tie the pup's leash so he could keep the pup near him in whatever room he was in and keep a close eye out for signs that the pup had to go to the bathroom. We never tried it but he said it worked very well for him.

Training the dog with a word command to go to the bathroom can make it easier on you too. Choose a command you want to use, like go potty, etc., and say it to them when you take them outside and they start going. As they get older they'll associate that command with going to the bathroom and it makes it much easier when you take them out to go and don't want to wait while they sniff forever.

Cleaning up any accidents with vinegar and water (1:3 ratio, I think?) is a help too. Dogs have much more sensitive noses than we do and there are smells left behind even after we clean up the visible mess.

Wow, I'm sorry this post is so long. Ask me a dog question and I don't know when to shut up...

 

[tawmt]

Leash and behavioral training are just so much fun. :lol:

What kind of pup do you have? Different breeds have different temperaments and some need to be approached differently. Being familiar with your breed's personality traits, exercise requirements, etc. is the best place to start. The puppy basic training class you mentioned is a wonderful idea. You'll get some good hands-on help in a program like that.

MSS's had good advice about making sure your dog knows who's the alpha. We mean well when we try to treat our dogs like humans, (I know better and I still catch myself doing it) unfortunately it can confuse them. We let them on the couch because we see it as more comfortable - a dog sees it as dominance, being at a greater height than the rest of the 'pack' and giving them a leadership position. We let them enter a room first because we're being nice - they see it as us giving them deference because we're submissive. The same with getting treats without having to do anything to earn them. In some dogs, us sending mixed signals to them makes a big difference. We don't have to be mean, just consistent and confident.

Dogs, I understand. Now cats... that's a whole other story. I don't think I'll ever figure my cat out. But I'm pretty sure she's got me pegged.