I have 2 miniature pinschers.. one 3mth old..one 4mth old. potty training is getting to be a little dragged on b/c I work half the day.. any ideas on the best wayto do it..expecially when they have an accident..how should I go about correcting them?.. I do want to litter train them also
Answers:
Just for some background, I am a former AKC kennel owner (until I got a divorce :P), professional obedience, tracking, and area/personal protection trainer. I have also been a show handler with multiple AKC obedience titles to my dogs' credit. I am a founding member, former Chairman of the National Association of Professional Canine Trainers and Handlers (NAPCaTH) and certified Canine Behaviorist. I have also trained Search and Rescue dogs which have worked around the world. I'm not just spouting something I heard from Uncle Jake, saw posted in a forum on the internet, or saw on "The Dog Whisperer". (shudder)
A puppy can be successfully housebroken starting at the age of 6 weeks, but it is a serious responsibility and requires constant attention. The time it takes to housebreak a puppy in my home is 2-5 days. If it's taking longer than that then YOU are doing something wrong.
I'm going to use the term "poo" to cover both urine and feces.
Here is the recipe for successful housebreaking:
#1 Get on a schedule. – Bring him outside often (about every 2-4 hours) for the first week or so. Stay outside until he does his business. If you can't dedicate yourself to going outside with your puppy for 15 minutes every 4 hours for a few days then please take the puppy to a shelter and get a cat. Also, he should make a potty run every time he wakes up from a nap and about 5-15 minutes after he eats. NEVER withhold water from any animal without specific directions to do so from a veterinarian. Dehydration can happen _very_ quickly in a puppy and it’s known in most states as “animal abuse”, “cruelty to animals”, or “criminal neglect” (usually a FELONY) if an animal suffers because its owner is too lazy to get off their butt and take them outside.
#2 Praise early, praise often. - Make a BIG pleasant deal about what a wonderful thing it is that he has done his business outside **as soon** as he has done so. If you wait until a puppy wanders up to you to praise him, then he thinks you are praising him for coming to you and has forgotten all about the big stinky load he dropped a few minutes before. Your praise to correction ratio should be about 20:1. That means that you should be telling him that he is good for doing all kinds of little things about 20 times more often than you are scolding him for doing something wrong. This will teach him very quickly the boundaries of what acceptable behavior is and what is not.
#3 DO NOT RUB THE DOG'S NOSE IN POO! A dog has no way of getting the poo off of his nose except by licking it off. If he does this then before you know it, you have a poo eating dog on your hands b/c he has developed a taste for it! Instead, remember that a dog's nose is at least 150 times more powerful than your own (depending upon the breed) and use that to your advantage. Make the dog down-stay (lay down and stay there) in position for 1 minute per month of age very near but not in the poo. If your dog is 3 months old, then he stays with his nose next to the poo for 3 minutes while you clean it up. He will very soon associate pooing in the house with having to lay still for (what seems like to a puppy) a VERY long time and will instead wait for his next regularly scheduled potty break.
#4 Be consistent. The pup needs to know that if he poos in the house that there are consequences and, more importantly, that if he does it outside that there will be praise.
#5 NEVER call a dog to you for punishment. When you find the dog has dropped a load, go get him, pull him carefully but firmly to the site of the poo, and then scold him. If you call a dog to you for punishment then you are, in the dog's mind, punishing him for coming to you when you call him b/c that's the last thing he did before you lit into him with your loud, scolding mommy (or daddy) voice. If the dog's nose is filled with the aroma of his own poo, then it's pretty clear to him what you are bent out of shape about. If I had a dollar for every time someone has called me up and can't figure out why their dog doesn't come when he's called but yet they call the dog before they punish him, I'd be a VERY rich man. :D
The most important thing to remember with canine behavior:
Dogs LOVE praise. They LIVE for praise. If your pup knows that he will be praised for good behavior then he will do absolutely ANYTHING that will earn him "good luvins".
Good luck and please feel free to email me if you have any further questions.
Torin
From a dog who knows:
http://www.dog-training-sites.com/articl.
Visit my Doggy Blog also for more advice:
http://dog-training-sites.blogspot.com/.
Meatloaf
crate train them
if they had an accident, then it's already too late to scold. acctually u should scold yourself if THEY have an accident, as u didn't take them out in time. dogs try their best to learn where to do it and their instincts tell them also, but it's us humans who "don't get there in time".
if the accident already occured, just suck it up and clean up the mess. do not scold the pup.
if before, watch for signs like turning aroiund inb circles if he needs to go.
since u work half the day, is there any way u can come home on your break time to let her out? i used to do that, but then again i used to live close to work.
otherwise, put her in a crate when you're at work and maybe have a neighbor take her out for u? or just come home when u come and take her out, and then praise her when she goes.
btw, usually small breeds (and i think mini pinchers are considered small breed), take more time to potty train than large dog breeds). BUT THEY LIVE LONGER SO HA! lolol
i have a yorkshire terrier and it took us about a year and a half. now he goes outsie and inside (on a wee wee pad).
I highly recommends to you. Buy and use puppy training pad. Your choice to put it somewhere. I put mine near door that leads outside. It will help LOT! If your dog is waiting to go outside to potty or want to do it on pad. It is FINE for both. Make sure that you take dog outside often like two or three hours each in day.
Puppies @ that age are expected to have to potty every couple hours.
Best way. when you get home. take them out immediately and say "go potty". or whatever you want to call it and give them a treat immediate outside after they potty. Take them out every hour when you are home. and it won't be long before they "get it" and do their best to wait.
Muscles are not developed @ the same time on all puppies, so some can get train earlier than others. It does absolutely NO GOOD to punish after the fact. IF you walk in the door and punish them for an accident that happened 2 minutes before. they do not understand why. They can not hold their bladders @ that age and it is your job to make sure they have the means to get outside. Do you have a neighbor that can drop by when you are gone and let them out? Puppies have no more control over their bladders than you did @ that age. Luckily, puppies learn much sooner than humans!
Ihave used crate training as a housebreaking tool.When you go to bed at night let your dogs sleep in a crate,first thing you do each mornig is to take them directly outside to take care of business.Dont use the crate as punishment! dogs are den animals and like a place they can feel safe.When a mistake is made vocally let thm know they have done something bad and take them outside.Don't spank,hit, or otherwise correct them,they then become afraid of you and of going to the bathroom near you.Praise your dogs when they do right.Most dogs live to please the master,I know your minpins are very active so make the crate the place of rest and a happy place for them to be.And remember a good scolding will go a long way to make your dog obey and want to please you.Good Luck!!
buy some pads made for just such a problem. Put them where they squirt the most and move slowly toward the door. Catching them in the act and picking them up and putting them out. Watch for them sniffing around in a circle is a classic way to see there going to go. females have less control than males but then again males might want to lift there leg and mark a territory
You'll have to spend a couple of days with the dog 24 hours a day. Watch where he goes and just before he's able to lift his leg, take him out. After he goes outside, positive reinforcement.
i spread newspapers all over the kitchen tile floor.
then you gotta watch like a hawk and catch them in the act.
let them be OK on the papers, not on carpet (like living room).
next step is gradually make the newspaper coverage smaller,
but they learn it's OK on the paper, but not on the floor itself.
next step is move the papers right next to the door. (i hope you have a back door by the kitchen, or else improvise accordingly)
when you get down to 2 square feet of newspaper you also have some newspaper outside.
by this time you hopefully caught them in the act many times with rewards and punishes (like scolding)
soon they figure out there's more room to go outside and no room left to go inside,,,
maybe not the Best way.
but it works!
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