Puppy Tips Blog

My puppy is a shih-tzu/mini american eskimo and she's 4 months old and still not house-trained. It's super cold outside so i don't know if that's why she doesn't want to go out..but we're getting tired of stepping in pee. How can we train her to go outside without having to keep her locked in a crate all the time. We got her for the kids and they really enjoy playing with her.

This works for puppies AND older dogs:

by iluvsubl… Member since:
January 23, 2007
Total points:
653 (Level 2) Go to a craft store and buy some jingle bells. Tie them to a string, then tie them to the door that you use to take the dog out. Whenever you let the pup out, ring the bells before you open the door. make sure the pup sees you do it. After a little time (after the pup gets used to you ringing the bells, and begins to think the bells must be rung to open the door), start encouraging the pup to ring the bells himself. You may need to pick to pup up yourself and bat the bells with his paws. Keep doing this. Keep encouraging. Eventually, the pup will learn to ring the bells to go outside. Keep a leash by the door and keep your ears open. When the dog begins ringing the bells, it can be hard to hear. As soon as you hear them, run to the door, and slip on the leash, and open the door RIGHT AWAY so the dog associated him ringing the bells and going outside. Best training tool I ever learned… and it impresses guests, too.

I got a female Standard Poodle puppy a few months ago, and so far she knows how to sit, stay, and lie down.(She's six months old now) I've been having about 3 training sessions with her a day,5 minutes per session. What do you recommend about training a puppy? Should I extend the time periods of the training sessions? How many times a day should I train her?
Thanks for answering in advance,
bcolliegurl

Your dog is in training anytime her eyes are open. And anytime you are with her you should be correcting unwanted behaviors and using the tools you have already given her whenever a situation calls for it.. (sit, stay, and so on)

It sounds like both of you are doing great. Standard poodles are some of the most intelligent dogs out there. I am glad to hear you are working with her and helping to make sure she reaches her full potential.

As far as the training sessions go, I would slowly begin to increase the time to no more than 15 minutes. Let her be the judge of when its time to quit. It is better to stop early on a positive note than push a dog tired or distracted dog to long and end your session frustrated. The same goes for you. Your dog knows when you are tired or unhappy, so if it is you who is distracted, end with something easy and live to fight another day.

I would also recommend that you begin to (if you haven't already)train at different times of the day and in different locations. This way you will insure that it is you and the commands you issue that trigger her response no matter where or when you are giving them.

Keep up the good work.

He is a cock-a-poo and very friendly . The only problem is that people that come over to visit us are annoyed at his constant jumping on them. I need suggestions from people that had this same problem and have been able to train their puppy to leave people alone.

I trained my dog by having my guests help me out. They need to totally ignore your dog, turn away, possibly put their knee up to keep the dog away. Also, another way to stop the jumping is to have the guest grab your dog's paws and hold them. Most dogs HATE this and will whimper and struggle and finally when they get free they will usually not attempt to jump again. Dogs only repeat behaviors if they get something good out of it (i.e jumping gets attention from guests) Don't forget to treat your dog everytime he doesn't jump and he will soon associate not jumping with treats, and it will seem like a better thing to do.
Good luck!

The puppy should be loyal, easy-to-train, needs weekly grooming, dailing walking, and likes swimming. Also should be able to stick to a schedule.

a golden retriever or a Labrador

My new puppy is teething and he is biting everything and everyone literally! So I was hoping to get some advice on some successful ways to train him to do otherwise.

Here's a great article on how to teach bite inhibition:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

That's for the people. As for the THINGS he's chewing, make sure to have lots of toys and puppy chews available for him. If you catch him chewing something else, quickly take it away and give him one of his bones/chew toys. Give him lots of praise when he chews on HIS things. Nylabones for puppies would be perfect for him.

My family just got a new puppy. She is a German Sheppard/Lab mix. She is 10 weeks old and we have had her about 2 weeks. I know she is still young, but she is still having accidents in the house. How long does it take to potty train a puppy and does anyone have any tips they can share?

It can take about 2 months, but you need to be diligent. Remember that if you do the crate training during that time right your accidents will be few and can even be none.

Get a crate in which your puppy can lie down, but not run around. There are crates that can be made larger over time.

At night the puppy should sleep in the crate. She may cry in the beginning but over time this crate will actual become her little own home.

In the morning, the first thing you do is take her outside,and start saying " go make" or some other term and when she pees praise her ( with words, you don't have to give a treat).

Then you can play with her, hold her, let her run around a bit and eat. Depending how long you do this, you may have to take her out again before you put her back in the crate. The key is that she doesn't around the house unattanded for extended amount of time.

All you have to do is repeat this. Take out of crate, take out , then play.

We are potty training our puppy and it seems we are getting nowhere. We have to pad train her because we have no back yard. When we take her to the pad she will go for us. Or if we lock her in the kitchen she will go on the pad, but when she isn't lock up she won't go to the pad by herself. We have had her for 3weeks. Will she finally get it? At night she sleeps in the crate but I don't want to lock her in the crate all day, so I baby gate the kitchen and she stays in there when we are gone.

She will get it just keep the pads in the same spot… get her in the routine of going to the same spot everytime… it will take a month or so just remember puppies can't hold it long at all…

I have a 3month old puppy but he never poop on the pad. I have placed a pad on floor but he just pees on there and poop around the pad. I don't know if anyone has any techniques or methods to train him?

Thanks

One difficulty is that it's hard for the dog to position itself and know exactly where the poop will fall. The fact that he's going near the pad is a good sign, as he knows that its the proper area to relieve himself. Two suggestions: set two pads next to each other to give him a larger area, and increase the likelihood of the poop being in the right place. Or you could use a large litter box (they now make them for dogs) and place the pad inside. This should help the puppy stay on the pad.

I just got a new puppy and I want to train him to do his business outside and to put his hand on my hand when I ask him to, does anybody know how I should train him?

First of all, have a LOT of patience; remember that a puppy is a BABY. He/she does not know where you want him to do his business unless you show him.

Take him outside patiently, and praise him when he DOES pee on the grass or do his job outside. Puppies leak often, just like new babies. Take him outside OFTEN. Do NOT yell at him, scare him, hit or abuse him in ANY manner.

If he makes a mess in the house, show him the MESS, and say "pee OUTSIDE" and take him outside immediately.

ALWAYS clean up and DEODORIZE the area he messes in the house, puppies are creatures of habit and WILL mess that same spot again repeatedly if it smells like urine or feces. Use some strong smelling pine cleaner or something that removes ALL odour.
Again, have PATIENCE. A three-month old puppy should be pretty much trained and have very few accidents if you are handling him/her properly. He/she still may have an occasional accident from excitement if visitors arrive, if he is abused, or if he is frightened. BE KIND.

I have a puppy right NOW that is 3 months old and already trained very well— only ONE accident in the last week.

My live-in bpyfriend and I are going to get a puppy w/in the next few months, and neither of us has ever had one. Is it hard to housebreak and crate train them?

It's not hard, if you love dogs. Depending on how quickly the dog picks things up, it can be a very rewarding bonding experience for both you and the dog.

Strategies and tips will come and go. Just like parenting, it can be an edgy and trendy science. Some basic concepts to bear in mind, though:

1. MAKE SURE that you are in charge. Play tug-of-war, but always win. Turn angry if they start to act up just a bit, and then be happy again when they begin to act appropriately. Dogs are very sensitive and responsive to human emtions.

2. DON'T feel guilty or be afraid to punish. Don't hit the dogs, but don't feel bad about buying a pinch collar, raising a knee if they jump on you (larger dogs), or pushing their face into a little living room floor "accident." They won't be afraid of you, they will alter their behavior to please you. REWARD as much as you punish if not more, so that they know when they are doing something right, as much as wrong.

3. MAKE SURE they are paying attention to you. Make your training sessions like a game, but make sure that they are looking at you and listening to you when you are showing them something, or giving them a command. When they respond to the command, then you respond accordingly, with praise or a stern warning "No."

It ain't easy, but if I can do it, anybody can. I have a pair of huge German Shepards. Meanest guard dogs you would ever want to meet, but if I or anyone in my family is with them, they are Teddy Bears. Good Luck! You're in charge!!!