Difficulty Housetraining New Puppy!?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a 10 week old cockapoo who is being very difficult to house train. I take him out after he eats and when he wakes up, and also every hour or so. I take him out for ten minutes and all he does is sit and eat grass and sticks. Then I take him inside and he has an accident within 10 minutes while I’m putting things away. Any tips?
Also, he keeps biting my little sister so hard he makes her cry. We pull him away and scold him and give him a toy but it isn’t helping. Any suggestions?
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Don’t give him the option to entertain himself when you take him out. He should be taken out on a leash so he can’t wander, and remove sticks or rocks from the area. Just stand there with him, as boring as you can be, while he’s stuck on the leash without any form of entertainment. The first few times, you may need to wait longer than ten minutes. (That won’t last, though!) Just *wait* until he finally goes. Then, throw a party! Tons of tiny, delicious treats, praise, petting, and *now* he gets to be let offleash to play for a few minutes. After a few times, he should make the connection! He doesn’t get *any* fun until he does his business, then he gets a great reward.
Is he being crate trained?http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pe…
If he doesn’t relieve himself when you take him out, you have to put him in his crate when you go back indoors. This is NOT to punish him (he should be crate trained, which means he shouldn’t mind being in the crate). This is to prevent this very situation. Crate him, and try again fifteen minutes later when he’d usually pee in the house.
He’s biting because he’s a puppy, and that’s what they do. Think of how puppies interact. Fido and Rover are playing and wrestling, which includes playful biting. Then, Fido bites Rover too roughly. Rover yelps and then refuses to continue the game because he’s “wounded.” Fido learns not to bite because when he does, the fun ends when his playmate refuses to keep playing.
When he bites anyone in the house, they must all react the same. If your sister is too young to respond appropriately, DO NOT give the puppy the chance to bite her, period. Small children and puppies must always be supervised closely. Anyway, pretend to be a puppy and communicate in the way he will understand. The second his teeth touch skin, make a sharp noise like a yelp or cry and *instantly* stand up (if you aren’t already), cross your arms and *leave.* Completely and totally ignore the puppy for several minutes. (If he’s really hardheaded, you may need to ignore him for a little while.) Then, return and acknowledge him calmly but affectionately, like normal. Just don’t resume playing anytime soon.
if you stay with him for 10 minutes, start by throwing the sticks so he can chase them, or balls, or frisbees. The running can stimulate a bowel movement or you can walk him up or down the block. My dog will do like yours, but take her for a walk and she will always poop before we have even gone a block. As for the biting, have your sister bite him back (not very hard but almost). This works for kids and for puppies.
Try mounting a bell (a Christmas jingle bell works great) at your dog’s level near the door. Ring the bell anytime you go out the door. Get everyone living in the house to do the same. It’s weird at first, but after awhile, the dog will ring it independently. Immediately open the door for the dog and praise him for using the bell. It worked for my Sheltie.Anytime he wanted to go outside and I wasn’t around, he would ring it. I could hear it in the back of the house.
In the meantime, to make cleanup easier, keep your dog off the carpet by confining him to the kitchen or other smooth floors. Dogs use carpet like grass.
When you take him out, keep telling him to go to the bathroom or to go potty. If he stops sniffing around or lays down, make him get up and start again. When he goes to the bathroom, immediately praise him and when he finishes give him a treat. If he urinates or defecates in the house, show him his error and immediately take him outside. This is how I taught my dog and in about 2 weeks she was housebroken, after about 6 months she goes to the bathroom on command. As for the biting, as soon as the dog bites, say NO! in a firm voice, grab his muzzle and force his gums into his upper teeth. It will not hurt him although he may whine a little. It will teach him what biting feels like and he will stop.
Try starting off using wee wee pads indoors, then when you take him outside always be consistent and take him to the same exact spot everytime. He will be able to smell where he went. As for the teething, puppies tend to teeth for up to a year..theres no stopping that. He’s probably into biting your little sister because she move a lot Try using a teething treat, like a pig ear. It tastes good and will give him the incentive to continue teething on that and not your little sister.
Regarding the biting:
Try having a spray bottle near by, set on the stream setting (not the mist setting). When he starts to bite spray him with it (at a distance and not in the face). They don’t usually like to get wet and they learn very quickly what not to do. It has worked really well with my chihuahua pup, I only had to do it once or twice.
i would tel u to give him time after he eats not right away n try showing him tat everytime he bites her something will get taken away from him or try being direct not to sweet teach him that he is not the boss
The outside is too interesting.
He comes in and gets relaxed–potty time.
Take him out to potty, take him to a specific spot, and say go potty or whatever you prefer.
If he won’t go, put him in his crate when you go back in the house. Wait ten minutes then take him out again.
If he doesn’t go, back in the crate, wait ten minutes and start again.
When he finally pees outside—treats, praise, and happy happy time.
Eventually, he’ll get it. Right now, he’s having so much fun outside that he is not thinking about peeing.
For the biting, first I hope she is treating him gently even if he is being a stinker and doesn’t deserve it.
Pulling him away will only make him think your playing.
Is he biting during play? If so, if he nips, say ‘NO’ in a firm voice and immediately stand and leave the room. Do not play with him. Return to the room after a few minutes, resume playing, if he nips again, end the play and leave again. Eventually, he’ll see no play time when he bites.
Some puppies respond to a ‘Yelp’. If the person gives a pain puppy-like yelp when bitten. Some dogs recognize that this other ‘dog’ is hurt by the bite. Some puppies don’t realize that biting hurts.
If that doesn’t work, when he bites–take ahole of his muzzle, look him in they eye and say ‘No’ in a firm growl like voice.
If he’s just attacking her, you have a bigger problem especially if it is just her. If the pup is not biting others, I’d look to see how she is intereacting with the dog. Perhaps, the dog senses her fear or she’s playing too rough.
If none of these work, then it’s time to get a trainer. Until then, get a dog training video at the library. Sometimes seeing it is easier than reading about training.
Good luck.