Puppy training....

[mowin]

Oh boy.  Got a tuff one.  

Just got a 10 month old yellow lab.  We were told she was " mostly" house trained. NOT...

I believe she was in a kennel for most of her life.  I can walk her outside for hrs, and within minutes of her feet hitting the floor inside, she goes to the bathroom.  Buddies son lives in Boston, and his dog will not go to the bathroom in a lawn. As soon as his feet hit pavement, he goes. Thinking she's going through something similar, but didn't have a great first 10 months.  

She is the sweetest thing. Sucks she got a raw deal. Wife and I are up for the challenge. But suggestions are welcome.  

[mowin]

Oh, and this is not my first rescue, just the first I've come across this situation. 

[Uncle Nicky]

I am no expert, but I would start the dog from square 1, the same as you would with a puppy. And yeah, it will suck doing this while it is cold out, but....

Keep the dog crated most of the day. Then block out some time, and take the dog outside, and don't return inside until the dog does it's business. When it does, praise the hell out of it, give it a treat. Then let the dog back in the house out of the crate, but at the VERY first sign that it is going to pee or sh*t, rush it outside and stay out there with her until she does; again, make a big deal in a positive way when the dog pees or sh*ts outside. As long as the dog won't soil the crate, this ought to work. It may take a week or two, but if it's carried out consistently, the dog will pick up what's expected.

Good luck!

[mowin]

The couple of times she did go outside, I certainly did praise the heck out of her. 

At 10 months old, she's past the "picking up" stage, lol.  

I've been taking her out every 20 minutes.   

Nights have been challenging.  Don't think she's had much interaction with people, and she wants to be next to me all the time.  Definitely doesn't like the crate.  Last night was 2 solid hrs of barking before she quit. 

[mowin]

Thinking of putting some cheap vinyl flooring on a sheet of plywood and putting it outside.  Might be the warm floor too, so it may not work, but worth a try. 

[sodfather]

This is an easy one . You start by making a huge deal when she goes outside . Words like good dog good girl and act super excited also treats . 
when she goes in the house you should overreact with anger saying bad bad no no maybe stick her face close to the piss and yell no no then immediately send her outside 

sometimes tough love is the best love 

[Moho81]

I'm with Uncle Nicky on this one. Crate train from square one like she's a puppy. It will no doubt be harder as shes 10 months old and already has the bad habits to break. She will bark and cry at night for a few nights but should get use to it. For our last puppy we had to wear ear plugs at night to sleep the first couple of nights. I felt awful about it but it's what had to be done for us all. 

Good on you for rescuing an unwanted puppy. In the end she is going to be one of the best dogs you've ever had. 

[Nytracker]

Never had to housbreak a older dog .   I guess I would treat it like a pup .  Everytime I get up  it goes out . Same with wife .  Take it back to same spot every time . Pick a spot . And leave a nugget so it reinforces the idea  of the spot.... I'm not saying leave a mess but just a bit so it realizes  that's the spot. With a pup if it wakes up it goes out . If it drinks it goes out if it eats  it goes out . If it wakes at night  it goes out . Then back to the crate  no fuss no muss let it bark . Dont respond more than once a night if it barks  in the middle of the night . A bark collar may be needed  if it was kennel raised. Could try a silent whistle  as a negative response. 

 Stay the course be consistent.   It will take time . 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Nytracker

[mowin]

She deserves our best attempt to make her a great addition to our family.  

I've already taken her messes outside so she can smell herself outside.  

Tons a praise when she does good. Negative response when not so good.  

She laying next to my chair sleeping at the moment.  As soon as as she gets up, I'll take her out.  

[grampy]

Dogs really WANT to please us! As soon as they 'figure out' WHAT pleases us. And what doesn't, the more happy we, and them will be! Positive reinforcement, and constant repetition, is the key to getting them to understand, what it is that "makes you happy". 

Good luck with the pup. She's smarter than you think!! She just hasn't had the opportunity to learn, before you saved her. But she'll pick it up. Because obviously she loves you as much as you love her. 

[Paula]

I am very bad at training pups, Good luck. She is cute laying there 

[helmut in the bush]

5 hours ago, mowin said:

The couple of times she did go outside, I certainly did praise the heck out of her. 

At 10 months old, she's past the "picking up" stage, lol.  

I've been taking her out every 20 minutes.   

Nights have been challenging.  Don't think she's had much interaction with people, and she wants to be next to me all the time.  Definitely doesn't like the crate.  Last night was 2 solid hrs of barking before she quit. 

If you can, put her cage in the bedroom with you, she probably wants company. Nice pup

Edited December 30, 2019 by helmut in the bush

[mowin]

37 minutes ago, helmut in the bush said:

If you can, put her cage in the bedroom with you, she probably wants company. Nice pup

I was thinking about trying that. I was thinking since I believe she was in a kennel or a room, and never been in a crate, that the crate might be giving her anxiety.  So I picked up one of those 3' high portable dog fences, and put it up in the LR. If that doesn't work, we did get some earplugs.  

She did better today. Only one tinkle inside so far. Everything else has been outside. 

 

[mowin]

Well, the portable dog fence didn't work. She was out of that in seconds. Stuck her nose in the bottom and lifted it up. Lol.   Can't fasten it in anyway without putting holes in the new flooring, and that's not going to happen.  

So in the crate she went. Only barked for about 45 minutes this time.  Ear plugs were deployed.  

[Nytracker]

 Just takes time . 10 months of bad habits  to undo.  Get a kong stuff it with biscuits .. tell her its bed time  make a big fuss   in she goes with the kong . She will learn the crate is her space and a good thing .

My girl Ellie goes in her crate on her own about 9 am and naps . She comes out checks things out and goes back.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Nytracker

[squirrelwhisperer]

13 minutes ago, mowin said:

Only barked for about 45 minutes this time.  Ear plugs were deployed.  

I have used a crate on all my dogs. They learn to like it and eventually it becomes their little safe zone. Kinda like a teenager and their bedroom lol. The barking will stop, just be patient. One trick for the housebreaking, albeit too late, the cage should only be big enough for the dog to fit. If it's too big, they can do their business and lay down in another part of the cage away from it. The idea being, they don't wanna lay it so they hold it. After that, when they start to bark, it's because they wanna go out to do their thing. Good luck. 

[crappyice]

Well, the portable dog fence didn't work. She was out of that in seconds. Stuck her nose in the bottom and lifted it up. Lol.   Can't fasten it in anyway without putting holes in the new flooring, and that's not going to happen.  
So in the crate she went. Only barked for about 45 minutes this time.  Ear plugs were deployed.  

That’s great progress- I think what you are doing is called the Furber method when doing it with children. Each night it gets better until eventually they know you ain’t coming back until morning. Tonight should be only about 20-30 minutes of barking. Just don’t give in now!!!


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[Chef]

I have two German shorthairs. We crate trained the first and it was great, he loves his crate to this day. The 2nd one we got soft and let him in the bed after his 2nd night in the house. He is a dick and think he runs the world ( secretly my favorite) but a dick. It will get better, the thing to remember with dogs is it’s all about positive reinforcement. Also only reprimand if you actually catch the dog in the act of doing something wrong. If the dog craps on the floor and you don’t notice till much later you will just confuse the dog if you Reprimand it


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[squirrelwhisperer]

@Chef your dog is a dick 

[NYBowhunter]

Consistency and positive reinforcement is the key along with tuff love (show a strong displeasure in your voice when they misbehave  or have accidents). I crate trained both my pups, the key is creating a schedule and sticking to it. Once they come out of crate take outside to do business and after each meal. I like to keep them out of the crate after a meal and after they have done their business outside. They  only get water during their meals  (I don’t leave water out all day) or more if they are more active and I take water away 3 hours prior to placing to bed. My 6 month old bullly is just now getting the hang of things and if he does have an accident (pee), he already knows he did wrong and will walk away with his head down. And always, always use the crate as a positive tool, never put a pup in the crate because he/she did wrong: also always place the pup in the crate if you know your gonna be distracted or busy with something else. Also doesn’t hurt to stick their muzzle down into the pee and poop and very sternly say NO a few times. Best of luck. She sure is pretty.

[mowin]

1 hour ago, crappyice said:

That’s great progress- Just don’t give in now!!!


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Hell no, she's family.  We knew she had issues, but she deserves a better life then she started with. 

 

 

[crappyice]

Hell no, she's family.  We knew she had issues, but she deserves a better life then she started with. 
 
 

Of course!! I meant dont give in and check on her when she’s whining/barking. I took over my kids sleep routine since my wife couldn’t let them cry it out the first nights. I sent her out with her friends for those nights after so she wouldn’t have to hear her cry and try to come in.


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[Otto]

Mowin, One thing I learned with our rescue is to be sure you can lay your hands on her anywhere at anytime.  They like to be petted so take the time now to touch her all over, look into her mouth, put your hand in her mouth, underside, legs, paws, etc.  Give her a bone or chew and be sure you can take it away from her. You should be able to do that anytime with her.  

On our golden, we cannot touch his mouth at all and if he has something in it, we cannot remove it.  We got him when he was past a year old - perfectly housebroken and a sweet dog, just don't touch his mouth.  If you touch him wrong or wipe him down too hard, he will snap at you.  Our Brittany, we got at 6 months,  and he was always as gentle as a mouse, could take away a raw hunk of meat in his mouth and he would let you.  

[Salmon_Run]

Start her out in a small crate and she will assimilate that as her den, a canine will not want to soil where they den. Immediately after releasing her from her crate take her outside and reinforce the good behavior.

Common mistake with puppies is a crate that is too large and they will identify a part of the crate as a place to soil and that defeats the process....

Also, make sure worms, urinary tract infections, and medial causes have all been ruled out by a good quality vet check....

Edited December 31, 2019 by Salmon_Run
added text

[mowin]

27 minutes ago, Otto said:

Mowin, One thing I learned with our rescue is to be sure you can lay your hands on her anywhere at anytime.  They like to be petted so take the time now to touch her all over, look into her mouth, put your hand in her mouth, underside, legs, paws, etc.  Give her a bone or chew and be sure you can take it away from her. You should be able to do that anytime with her.  

On our golden, we cannot touch his mouth at all and if he has something in it, we cannot remove it.  We got him when he was past a year old - perfectly housebroken and a sweet dog, just don't touch his mouth.  If you touch him wrong or wipe him down too hard, he will snap at you.  Our Brittany, we got at 6 months,  and he was always as gentle as a mouse, could take away a raw hunk of meat in his mouth and he would let you.  

She is as gentle as can be. I can touch her wherever whenever.  I can take her food from her without issue.  Super affectionate. 

She follows me everywhere. Won't let me leave the room without her.