this puppy has every bad habit. he digs in the yard, eats/scratches at the walls, wets/poops in the kennel or house. we feed him twice a day. the longest he is left in the kennel is about 4 hours during the day and when we go to bed at night. i can't afford hudreds of dollars to get him trained. any advice on where to begin addressing these issues?
does anyone know of any affordable traing in the area?
just wanted to give a little more info: puppy was born 7/10, we have had him since 10/10. he is 1/2 shih tzu & 1/2 yorkie.
petsmart has a really great program for about 100.00 we have the BEST dog and i totally give them 100% credit. It almost came down to "me or the dog" is leaving! :0)
seriously, they are really great.
RJ:
you didn't say what kind of dog it is.
There are certain breeds that LOVE to dig.
He is a PUPPY. This is expected. He should be able to hold his pee for one hour per month he is old.
Go to PetSmart and get a (please don't take this the wrong way) and the the Puppies for Dummies book and pick up one on house training as well as one for your puppy's specific breed.
When they are eating and scratching? they NEED attention. This isn't an older dog who is set in his ways. this is a puppy and he CRAVES attention. You have yourself a toddler. PERIOD.
Chewing? Happens with ALL puppies...just like babying when they are teething..
Unusual for a dog to pee IN HIS BED - the kennel you have him may not be big enough for him.
Start with one command at a time and make sure you give POSITIVE reinforcement(s) when he does what you want and said.
All dogs are pack animals. They HAVE TO HAVE AN ALPHA. You can put the dog on his side each day, several times a day, and hold him there - until he stops moving - this is an ALPHA trait - you are making yourself the Alpha.
DO NOT feed him before you. Pack animal mentality - he who eats first is in charge. he MUST wait until AFTER you eat.
Set limits and boundaries just like you would with a toddler. Depending upon the breed - he may need to run and run and run...border collies MUST be able to run. Pyrennes Mountain Dogs, Bermese Mountain Dogs, St. Bernards are ALL DIGGERS...they dig a den for themselves. Terriers (pit bull and others) are runners and LOVE running and playing....
Every breed is different. Did you not research the breed prior to adopting him? I'm NOT trying to be rude or mean. We lost our dog in Dec 08...it took us to August 10 to find another dog...i swore NO PUPPIES...what did I get? A puppy. A pitbull Boxer mix. his mama was a boxer - what do they like to do? JUMP. URGH!!! it took us about 3 months to potty train him and I'm home all the time. And in many cases, that's a long time for potty training. He was VERY stubborn!! :) But he's a great dog!!!
Go to your local PetSmart - they may be able to help you with the breed. Find local rescue foundations.. you might be able to get a good deal on training...who knows! Never hurts to ask. the worst that can happen is it's too expensive or they say no
Most dog training is really about training the owner :-) The pet store chains all have relatively inexpensive training but I would recommend finding someone independent. Ask your vet. A good trainer markets to vets and they will know who is well thought of in your area. You can probably do a 6 week course for $100 and it will be well worth it for the knowledge you learn - because it's really about training you.Training with you gives a dog a job. They need it to feel good about themselves, to feel like a valuable member of the pack and to prevent them from channeling natural puppy energy into destructive habits, like wall chewing. You need to be working with him at home DAILY on simple stuff like sit, stay, come, and leave it even if you sign up for a class as the class probably only meets once a week. You should also walk the dog daily - he needs this exercise and it's a good way to bond with the dog and for the dog to see you as the leader. Dogs are more secure if they know who the leader is. As far as housebreaking, the kennel may be too BIG. Dogs won't go in their crate where they sleep - but if you give them so much room that they can eliminate and still sleep on the other side, they will. Most crates are sold with a divider to use when the dog is a puppy to make his space smaller - this will prevent him from soiling the crate. Take the dog out first thing in the morning and then every hour. (Seriously, every hour to start with). Don't play with him when you are going out for a pottey! Tell the dog Go pottey! Go pottey! and if he does praise him big time! What a good dog!Give him a tiny treat and bring him back in. If he doesn't go, just take him back in and try again the next hour. As he starts to get the hang of it and as you start to learn his schedule, you can increase the interval between pottey breaks. If he eats, go out to pottey, if he wakes up, go out to pottey, if he finishes a big play session, go out to pottey, if he was in the crate and you let him out of the crate, go out to pottey. Yorkies are really hard to train (tiny bladders plus terrier attitude) but housebreaking properly is going to save you a lot of headaches down the road so put the effort into it and you'll be glad you did. I've had a lot of dogs through the years and my current dog, who is under two years old, is a licensed therapy dog so I've taken a lot of training classes. Well, well worth it.
When they dont get their necessary attention they become destructive.
i completely second cheryl o. the chewing get teething toys or rawhide bones the bones are better. second the peeing and pooping dogs always hunt before they potty meaning they start sniffing the carpet. watch for the hunt to put it outside. if it pottysrub its nose in it and put it outside. anytime you feed the puppy immediately put it ouside till it poops if you have a fenced yard about 30 minutes. the digging kinda depends on the breed labs love to do it. and you cant break them the only way to keep them from digging out of a pen is put down bricks around the fence or chicken wire.
the eating the wall might be boredom but I disagree. i think its a lack of something in the diet. your probably a generic dog food. try using pedigree or another name brand dog food. the vitamins will make it quit chewing. th lack of vitamins is why they chew. butalso consider it is teething that is why the raw hide bones. like cheryl said you just invested in a toddler. :) you have to treat them like a toddler. that is how I always handled my puppies. your potty training all over again.and teething in puppies is just like teething in babies. distraction is wonders.
Puppies have to be trained just as human toddlers have to be trained. I suggest that you get a book on puppy training. I've found training a puppy more difficult than training a child. You have to be consistent which mean until he's trained you have to spend lots of time either with him or watching him for signs so that you can train him.
I recommend talking with your vet about a basic class for training puppy's. It will probably cost less than $100 and will give you a good start in understanding your puppy's needs.
We crate trained out puppy, we took her out every 30 minutes for a long time,she was allowed out of the crate for some playing, eating and drinking and training....the less she had accidents, the longer she was allowed out of the crate...when I had her out...I had her tethered, so I could keep an eye on her.She needs to go out, 20 minutes after playing, eating and drinking for sure...it is a lot of work, but the more consitent you are, the faster they get trained.
Petsmart has a training program -- 1 hour a week for 8 weeks for $109. My daughter and her puppy are starting class this evening! Our pup is about a month younger than yours but she is crate trained although not completely house trained (she pooped in the house this morning but that's the first time in over two weeks). It really is a process . . . you just have to be consistent in your training methods and make sure everyone in the house is using the same techniques and commands. Our pup's foster mother (who is a trainer) said that treats and positive reinforcement are key to successful training. Of course I'm a mom and I know that scolding is sometimes needed, but overall the treats and consistency are slowly working.
The Animal Planet tv station has a show on called It's Me or the Dog. Here's the link for it:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/its-me-or-dog/
You should check out the video links to see if you can pick up some useful information on how to train your dog or how to troubleshoot his behaviors.
I do think that it would be helpful for you to sign up for some kind of dog obidience class at your local PetSmart or Petco. I learned a lot from the class that I attended with my puppy (it's not only dogs that need to be trained but owners as well!) and it only cost me something like $95 for a 6-week class. Was definitely worth every penny.
Hope this helps.
Our dog would dig on the days when we were busy and "forgot" to play with him. As long as we would throw the ball with him or run with him, he wouldn't dig, so I would advise that you play with him a lot. Since he is a puppy, you'll probably have to have several play sessions day to wear him out.
excersize, discipline, then love, in that order. crate needs to be just big enough for them to lay down, any bigger & they will potty in it. My jack russel was going potty every 2 hours @ 7 weeks old. I couldn't take getting up that often during the night, so I got a super large crate and she is now outside in this super crate where she potties on one side & hangs out on the other & I have a heat lamp in there too.She is much happier. During the day she has free access to our 1/2 acre back yard and I take her for a walk almost daily for about 20-30 minutes. The walk is where I "work" her. She doesn't get to stop & sniff & play or explore, she gets to walk or run along side me and she gets to watch me and take cues from me as to when I turn, how fast I go, etc... and this is very important in teaching her that I am the Alpha. I feed her, but she is required to sit before I give her the meal. If I catch her doing something that is not ok, I shush her each & every time I see her doing it and if she does it again right after, then i tap her with my hand or foot. NOT hit, tap just to get her attention, but not hurt her. So far this is working and i only give her love and attention if she is behaving properly so that she realtes to behaving good with love. hope this helps, I got all my info from watching Cesar Millan show on the national geographic channel, you know, the Dog Whisperer. Love that show.
