Questions & Answers on Housebreaking

Leerburg Questions & Answers
on Housebreaking

boy and dog

I try and answer every question I receive on dog training. I may often come across as a little on the blunt side, (some may call it brash). That is because I consider myself an advocate for dogs and not dog handlers. I am an advocate for common sense dog training and not the latest fad that appears on the horizon. Good dog training is not rocket science. It's common sense.

Common Sense Solutions to House Training Problems

eBook
165 Pages

Your Puppy
8 Weeks to 8 Months

Question:

Hello, I know I write an awful lot but this has been the biggest problem I have ever dealt with. I have had other dogs (old and passed away now) and I have never run into this problem... My GSD pup (13 weeks old) has been peeing and pooping in his crate ALL THE TIME. He is in the crate when I leave my house, and I saw in one of your articles to crate train a dog you should place the dog in the crate a lot until he gets used to it. WELL, my pup will not stop peeing or pooping in his crate. No, the crate is not big enough for him to poop or pee on one side and lay down on the cleaner other side. He pees, and lays in it! I take him out all the time, almost every 15 minutes to half hour just so I can make sure he will start going outside. When he goes outside I give him all the praises in the world, he runs inside, and pees in my kitchen right away!!! Other times I will put the pup in the back yard and watch him for 15 minutes straight. He pees and refuses to poop. So I wait and wait and wait. The MINUTE he gets inside he runs right to the kitchen or crate and poops and pees more. What on earth can be causing this? I do like you say in your Q A articles and not rub their face in it, I shake their scruff like you said the mothers do, he yelps and he will then go pee outside, then he comes right back inside and does it again. At night, I get up frequently to let the pup out of his crate to the back yard to go pee, he goes out and pees. But then the minute I put him back in the crate he pees a ton more again! So he never finishes peeing it seems like... But he sits at my back door and screams when he wants inside and he will NOT go pee outside once he wants to come in. The he pees in my house the minute we get inside... He poops all the time in his crate then lays in it, but I leave him outside up to an hour or two after eating, and he WILL NOT go poop, but then poops in his crate right away. Is there something else I should try or am I wrong at what I do?

Thanks,
Kelli

Answer:

This sounds like a pretty serious problem. Many puppies that develop this problem do so because the breeder did not keep their puppies in a clean environment. Dogs are creatures of habit, these puppies learn to live like pigs, they don't know any better. When this happens it takes a lot of work to change.

The fact is that it does not matter if your dog developed like this because of the litter or because you allowed it to happen. Either way, this is a human (the breeder or you) induced problem and not a dog problem.

The solution begins with understanding the issue. Dogs relieve themselves after they eat, sleep or have exercise. These are the three factors to think about. The one that does not seem to be in your equation is exercise. Letting the dog outside and watching from the window is not the way to exercise a puppy. You need to start to walk your dog. If walked far enough the dog will poop outside. When it poops you need to praise the heck out of the dog. Wait until its done or you will become a distraction when you praise and the dog will stop. You need to make walks a part of how you handle this dog. If you can sit and watch through the window for 15 minutes you can get a leash and walk the dog for 15 to 20 minutes. The fact is that walking also allows you to bond and train your dog.

You also need to deal with the food of the dog. Control the water by picking it up around 6 PM and make sure that it gets two walks before bed time.

You misunderstood what I said about making a dog live in the crate. I said that in reference to getting the dog used to being in the crate. Puppies scream when they are initially put in a crate. The solution is to make the pup stay in the crate for extended periods of time. This continues until the dog realizes that screaming is not going to get him out of the crate. But the owner also needs to be getting the pup out of the crate to go outside at regular intervals, but then back into the crate.

In my opinion one of the best ways to help a pup with housebreaking is to put it on an all-natural diet. This means the dog gets an all meat and veggie diet and no kibble. Kibble takes 16 hours to pass through a dog and an all meat diet passes through in 5 hours. So in addition to being way healthier for the dog it also aids in house breaking. I have articles on my web site on feeding. You can also learn more about it in the little book we sell titled Natural Nutrition in Dogs and Cats.

I would recommend that you consider purchasing my training video titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. This tape has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money. I give it to all of my puppy customers and NEVER get questions about house training, puppy behavioral problems or training. You can get additional information about what the tape covers on my web site.

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Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats

Question:

How do you make a dog scratch a door when it has to poop?

Answer:

Train him to bark for a toy or food, he will do it on command. Then make him bark every time he goes outside, just before you open the door.

Read what I say about Basic Dog Obedience.

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Basic Dog Obedience

Question:

We have a GS/Lab mix puppy who is 4 months old. We got him at the local animal shelter a month ago. We are having big problems with him at night. We have used a crate from day one when we leave during the day and for bedtime. I am home all day, so he doesn't need to be in the crate during daytime hours.

We started out having the crate in our bedroom because there just wasn't room for it anywhere else (we didn't want to use the garage). He was fine in the crate, except he was wanting to go outside every 2-3 hours -- even when we stopped the water intake at 6:30 and made sure he relieved himself several times before bed! So, last week we moved his crate to the basement. Well, he now barks most of the night and still pees in his crate! The blankets are soaked in the morning!

I have stopped giving him food and water after 7:00 pm and I make sure he pees 2-3 times before retiring for the night. He panics when I put him in the crate! We don't force him in there, but he just hates it!

What do I do? I am at a total loss. At 4+ months, I would think that he would be able to handle the crate at night and keep from peeing in it!

Thank you,
Laurie

Answer:

The dog probably has weak nerves, this is why he stresses out so bad. The barking causes him to pee. Rather than lay quiet he is getting all this exercise (barking) that is why he pees.

I would leave him in the crate day and night until he learns to accept it. He can come out to go outside, go for walks and eat, but other than that he is in the crate. It may take awhile but he will get used to the crate. Feed him in the crate too.

Once the dog learns that his life is in the crate, he will accept it. Your "will" must be stronger than his or he wins. I would also recommend a couple of videos:

Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months

Basic Dog Obedience

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Question:

We purchased an Australian Shepherd who is now 10 weeks old. She likes her crate, but in the morning when I get up to take her out, she stands up and then immediately starts to pee, I carry her out and she pees all the way through the kitchen.

She also seems to think that every time we go for a walk which is at least twice a day, that she has to poop in the street. Sometimes she will go when she first gets up, as soon as she eats, and then in the street on her walk. She does get about 7 hours in her crate at night.

Thanks if you can help me, I would appreciate it,
Bill

Answer:

I would restrict the water at 6:30 at night. Walk her several times before bed time. When dogs get to be 12 to 14 weeks old these problems usually go away.

I would be inclined not to pick the dog up, this may cause it to become too excited which causes it to pee.

Rather, teach it that when you open the door to the crate he must run with you to the door to go outside. You can do this with hot dogs - put the pup in the crate - let it smell the piece of hot dog through the door of the crate. Open the crate and tease it all the way to the outside door - open the door - toss the hot dog out on the step - let the dog go outside to get it. If you do this 20 or 30 times it will learn that the minute it comes out of the crate it needs to get outside for the treat.

As far as pooping on the street - who cares? Better there than on your rug.

View our videos: Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience.

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Question:

Our young dog has a submission urination problem when I come home from work. What can I do?

Answer:

Submissive urination is not really a house training problem, although people new to dogs may feel that it is. In fact it is often a RANK ISSUE between the dog and the owner. I put it in this section because more people will look here for the answers to their problem.

What the dog is doing is peeing to show you that he considers you a higher pack member. When you correct the dog for peeing it will only pee more - kind of like saying "Hey - I peed on the ground to show you that I thought you were tougher than me - what else do you want me to do?"

Owners often cause submissive urination in their pups by starting corporal training too young. Correcting a puppy for anything other than not coming is a mistake. When dog owners start to train a puppy with corrections they establish themselves as a very powerful pack member - someone to be respected and someone to be very submissive to.

Submissive urination will usually go away when the dog is about two years old.

In the mean time here are some things to try:

1- When you come home do not bend over and pet the dog. This triggers the dogs submissive behavior. Ignore the dog, even if it is jumping on your leg. Just turn away.

2- Whatever you do - DON'T BEND OVER THE DOG. This is a serious pack behavior and will trigger the dog to pee.

3- Don't talk to the dog. Talking nice to a dog often makes it pee. Rather what I recommend is to keep dog treats by the door. Treats that the dog really loves. When you come in, take 3 to 5 treats and toss them away from you on the floor. This gives the dog something else to think about and something else to do rather than pee on your shoe. It also makes the dog look forward to you in ways other than being submissive.

4- If the dog does pee on the floor - do not scream or scold or correct it. this only makes things worse. It just elevates you to a higher level of dominance.

5- When people come over either put the dog in a crate or let them meet your dog outside. Personally I do not allow people to pet my puppies. Why should I?

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Crates

Question:

We have just brought home a nine week old Rottweiler puppy--a female. I have read most of your web site and made a printout of the articles on housebreaking and teaching "No." This is my fourth dog and I have always used a professional trainer in the past for obedience training. Your opinions and advice on dog training remind me very much of a trainer in Michigan (who ended up becoming a good friend). That's why I come so often to your site for info.

At that to ask one simple question. In the article on housebreaking you do not mention getting up in the night with the dog. The first two nights we did get up in the night to take her out and she spent the night dry and clean. Last night I was awake at midnight, heard her whining and took her to the yard to relieve herself. This morning I heard her again about 5:30, but by the time I got to her she had already wet in the crate. She has no accidents in the house--only in the crate, and only twice. Should we be getting up during the night on a schedule to let her outside or should we assume that she will soon be able to "hold it" all night and just deal with the mess? I do thoroughly clean, and the spray with an odor neutralizer. Thanks in advance for your help, I'm amazed how quickly you answer given how busy you must be. I have not found a great trainer here in Jackson Mississippi so having this web site is wonderful.

Sincerely,
Sandy

Answer:

If you can get up for a couple of weeks do so. It can be difficult for puppies that are 8 to 12 weeks of age. Usually after that they can hold it all night. It helps to pick the water up at 6:30 and have a couple of walks before bed time. Keep the crate area small and continue to clean it.

Even though you have had other dogs I would still recommend that you get my tape Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. It’s not much money and it has 2 hours of solid information.

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Question:

I am interested in knowing what you think about submissive wetting. I am a trainer myself and am possibly getting a German Shepherd female that I know has been very poorly bred. She is a clients of mine that will not keep her due to this problem (I have tried to talk her out of it, but her husband is adamant). Is it possible she will outgrow it despite her not so great lineage? She is only five months old. Thank you so much for your time and your very valuable web site, it has proven to be a great help to me and my business! Thanks again!

Joanna

Answer:

The dog will grow out of this.

If I look at a dog like this I want to know what kind of prey drive the dog has. If it has a lot of prey then go ahead and get the dog - if it has no prey - let them find another home. It makes no difference what the genetics are if the dog does not have drive its not worth fooling with.

But this peeing can be being caused by a husband who has kicked the dogs ass or from an overly excited puppy. Bottom line is: it goes away.

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Question:

I have had this 4 month old puppy for 3 weeks. When we first rescued her, we showed her where to go (urinate and defecate) in the yard. At first she did so well. I always praised her. We did not always go right back in the house afterward. Sometimes we would play or exercise. Now she is going anywhere she pleases. After a walk just now, I took her to the designated area and she did not go. I walked across the lawn to the garbage can with dog in tow and she stopped and went along the way. I immediately corrected her but I can't understand why this is happening now when she had done so well before. How can I get her to go where she is supposed to go? At first, she would go right away, now she plays around. It is like I have untaught something.

Thanks,
Kathy

Answer:

You are 100% wrong in what you have done by correcting this dog for going at a different place in the back yard.

Just be happy the dog is going outside and not in your bedroom. You are going to screw up your dogs head by trying to force the pup to do what you are trying to do.

You can always take the dog to one spot and praise when the dog does her business there. You can pick up her dog poop and put it in the place where you want the dog to go.

The only time a dog should be corrected for going in the wrong place (when its this young) is when it goes in the house. As it matures you can verbally scold the dog for going in the wrong place but never physically correct it.

I suggest that you get a couple of training tapes to learn about dog training. I would point you to:

Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months

Basic Dog Obedience

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Theory of Corrections in Dog Training

eBook

Question:

We have a ten-month old Yorkshire Terrier. She has been going through the night for several months without needing to go outside. We feed her early, around 5:00, and take her out several times after dinner and immediately before we got to bed. After reading several articles, I have read that dogs probably should be crate trained. We have had her seven months. We did not crate train her. It seemed cruel at the time and she howled for hours on end.

Our problem is that during the last several weeks, she has begun getting up in the middle of the night and urinating and defecating on the kitchen floor. We have not had this problem until now. She has been going through the night without having any accidents for 5 months or so. How can we correct this behavior in a dog that is not crate trained. She has been fully housebroken for three months until this started.

Answer:

I hate to say it, but some dog owners create their own problems as a result of their own lack of education on how to train their dog.

Dogs (puppies) will often scream when they first go into a crate. What I tell people is to leave the dog or pup in the crate and let it scream. Sometimes leaving a TV or radio on helps or one of the many things mentioned in the article I wrote on housetraining. We don't allow pups to have access to our home (on leash) until it has earned the right by accepting the crate.

When people take a dog out of the crate because they are tired of hearing them cry they are in essence training that dog to cry to be let out. In other words they have created their own problem.

The way to approach dogs that cry in the crate is to leave them in the crate all the time they are in the house. Your interaction with that dog needs to be OUTSIDE of the house. When the dog comes back into the house it goes back in the crate. It also gets fed in the crate. During this process we take the dog out as much as possible. With small pups this can be as often as once every hour. But the minute it comes in the house we toss a few all-natural treats in the crate and stuff the pup back inside.

We do not fuss over or talk to the dog while in the crate - we IGNORE IT.

For those people who refuse to use a crate there is only one other method to use and that's to leash the pup and 100% of the time you have the leash attached to you. The pup is NEVER off leash. Not for 1 minute.

When people don't want to do these things then they need to live with the problems they have created. I am a firm believer that some people should not own dogs. Those people need to recognize this fact and re-home their dog with someone who is prepared to do what's necessary.

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Question:

Hello! My name is Ray. I am in the U.S. Navy stationed in Spain. First let me say thank you for your web site and training articles, info, etc. that you provide. I am a constant visitor to your site as I have used your site for help in training my 2 yr old male Rott. This is the best site for dog training!!!

My question has to deal with training a 2 1/2 yr female Rott that I have just adopted from a family friend. Now my male Rott is completely obedience trained. But my female Rott has never had any type of formal training. She is not even house broken as she lived on a big farm and was not allowed inside the house. She has a wonderful temperament but she is very submissive in nature. My question is do I need to train her as if she is an 8 week old puppy or should I approach it a different way since she is older. Thank you for your time and assistance.

Raymond

Answer:

You need to read what I have said about Basic Dog Obedience. This is how you train an older dog.

The advantage of starting with an older dog is you can apply corrections quicker than you can with a puppy - this does not mean you don't take them through the learning phase - it just means that with pups you can not correct - after it - you just do repetitions and NO REWARD - where as with an adult you can add a correction. Even soft dogs learn to respond well to corrections - they are just not corrected as hard - they are actually very easy to train because they don't like being corrected.

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5 Foot Leather Drag Leash

Question:

Wow! You have certainly made me think about a few things. Several items have my concern. My daughters and I just adopted a beautiful male German Shepherd from the shelter. He is approximately 2 years old, and a sweetheart. We have had him for one week. He has not shown any aggressive behavior at all, as a matter of fact my daughters call him a "wus." We found him last Monday, a very sad sight in the shelter, laying in the pen, and no response. The guy at the shelter said that he walked like an old man, and gave way to the smaller animals. It seemed to us that he had given up on life. We took him outside, (after a great deal of coaxing to get him out of the pen), he stretched, and seemed to perk up. After we took him back inside, they told us that it was his last day, that he would be put to sleep. That made our decision, we decided to take him. The shelter workers then told us that in order to adopt him, we would need a fenced yard or a kennel, and they would not hold him past the 20th. That was on a Monday evening about 4:30, I had to work a double shift the next day, then the 20th. The girls and I found a Home Depot on the way home, found a kennel that we would need to put together and did so. We brought "Buddy" home on Wed. the 20th. I picked him up, and had a great deal of trouble getting him to come out of his pen. He finally came out, but then went into another pen that was open. I coaxed him out with beef jerky, put the collar on him, then tried the car. He did not want to get in, and not knowing the dog, I was not going to force him, then a blue dog-catcher van drove by, and he hopped right in. On the drive home, it seemed like he was smiling. Once home, he got out of the car, started sniffing the air, and looking around. We got to the front door, and he just sat there. Looking around, sniffing, and sitting. Finally, I guess he had sniffed enough, out of the blue he came in. We do have a cat named "Zoey" who has kittens about 6 weeks old, so I was concerned for their safety. "Buddy" was terrified of them, and Zoey. He is just now getting over being scared to death of them, but still backs away when they are too close. Also, when Zoey is between him and us, he will not walk past her, he barks for us to come get him and take him past her. He does not bark at all except for that, or when the girls leave for school in the morning. He apparently does not like to see people leave him. He was a stray when the shelter received him, does this have anything to do with his behavior? He also is pooping in the family room, even after being outside. He is otherwise extremely well behaved, and seems to be in some ways testing what is okay and what is not. He really seems to be a sweetheart, and my main concerns are: is this a dog to be trusted around other people? and can we get him housebroken?

He sits, comes when called, and does not beg at the table, so I am assuming that he has had some training. Also, how can we tell if he will be aggressive?? He is just now really warming up to us, and wags his tail a lot He has not even tried to hurt the kittens, but rather in my opinion watches them out of curiosity and concern. My daughters are 14 and 15 and know not to tease or be mean to him. He also does not mind if you take food away from him, and will actually back up and wait if the kittens are in the way. We do not want a mean dog, and some of your articles worried me. This dog is really sweet so far, and I would like to know if I have anything to be worried about.

Thank you, Cecelia

P. S. When we walk him, he does not walk like an old man, he actually trots, and loves it!!! I also know that all of this is new to him, and strange, but he really is wagging his tail a lot!

Answer:

It sounds like you have a very, very nice dog. He lucked out.

You need to get a dog crate and crate train this dog. He should be in the dog crate when you are not home or when you are not watching him. His pooping on the floor is YOUR FAULT AND NOT HIS. These things are ALWAYS the handlers fault for either not walking the dog enough or not putting the dog in a dog crate. Read the article on my web site about how to house train a puppy. It’s the same for an adult dog. USE A DOG CRATE - feed him in the crate. That’s where he should always be fed.

You need to obedience train this dog. This helps establish rank in the family pack. Have your daughters help in the obedience training.

From what you are telling me this dog has good nerves and will not be a sharp dog.

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Question:

The techniques we have used to train our 5 month old shepherd have come directly from this web site. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate an article with a similar subject that addresses our particular issue with our dog.

Our dog is definitely an alpha dog however my husband has managed to gain the title of leader in our pack. Our dog seems to like my husband, but I'm definitely his favorite because I spend all day with him. With this in mind, the problem we have is: When my husband feeds our dog, the dog urinates while eating his food. (He never urinates when I feed him.) When my husband comes home from work and calmly greets the dog, the dog urinates then also. How can we discourage and correct this behavior?

Answer:

Your husband has been too hard on this dog. It only takes one or two good ass kickings or excessive corrections to cause a problem with a puppy. There IS NO 5 month old puppy who is an ALPHA puppy. This can not happen until a dog is 18 to 24 months old (with rare exception in a very, very few bloodlines it will show at a year).

For one thing it's impossible (at this age) to even assume that a puppy can be an alpha dog - for a second thing it indicates a "mind set" on your part concerning this dog.

Some dogs will get pissy like this at 10 months of age. This only lasts for a short period of time and is related to development and maturity issues. But to be happening at 5 months indicates handler problems. I suggest that your husband starts to play with this dog and take him for long walks where the focus is not obedience training but bonding.

You need to take a look at Basic Dog Obedience. It discusses (in detail) how to measure corrections according to your dogs temperament.

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Question:

I just picked up my GSD pup 8 days ago. He is a magnificent dog, very intelligent. After just two day he was asking for the door to relieve himself and was asking when he was hungry. A friend of ours let us use your video, “Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.” It is great. But none the less we have a big problem with the pup. He does not tolerate the crate. He keeps crying and barking all the time. I mean all the time; he does not get tired of it? We follow your training to the "T." It does not seems to make a difference?

I phoned my breeder and told him about that problem. He was kind enough to tell us if we can't break him down for the crate, that he will exchange the dog anytime we want. He said that some dogs don't get accustomed to the crate. We already start to love our little monster. Don't get me wrong I love him and I will try everything to keep him. It is not the first time I trained a pup. I had in the past two Golden Retrievers. They passed away. What else can I do?

Thanks for your Advice,
Bobby

Answer:

Every pup will get used to the crate, the more they scream the more they stay in the crate. It's a simple concept. It may take 3 days, it may take 2 weeks. The issue is with you and not the dog. But to have a family companion that will not destroy your home he must be crate trained. Allowing him to get out when he screams will only train him to scream more - let him scream for hours if he likes. Put the crate in the garage or the basement or outside. It makes no difference where the crate is.

Feed him in the crate too. Leave the door open and put the food bowl in there so he has to go in to eat but can come back out after he eats.

I can assure you that I have a great deal more experience than your breeder, having bred GSD's for 25 years and 230 litters. No dog in my 25 years has ever not been able to be crate trained, but I have had a lot of owners that cannot learn to dog train. There is a big difference there.

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Feeding a Raw Diet

eBook

Question:

I have a 12 week old female beagle, who wants to go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times a night. I don't feed her after 6 pm., yet she is still able to go lots. Is there anything that I can do? Feeding Pedigree Puppy food 3x per day.

Anna

Answer:

House training is based on consistency, common sense and a lot of work. To begin with I do not feed my 12 week old pups 3 times a day. I determine the amount of food they get per day and divide it in half. The dog is fed in the morning and late afternoon. Over feeding results in more accidents. When I house train I pick the water up at 6:30 PM.

You also need to remember that pups relieve themselves after they EAT, SLEEP and have EXERCISE. They normally pee more than one time when they go outside so do not be in a rush when you take them out (no matter how tired you are) Take them to the exact same spot every time you go out. This reduces their desire to run around and play or look at new and interesting things. When you see them go ALWAYS PRAISE BY SAYING "GOOD OUTSIDE" (or whatever words you want to use). The important thing is to sound like you mean it and make a big deal about them doing their business. I will praise my adult dogs with "Good Outside" their entire life. This reinforces the meaning of "DO YOU WANT TO GO OUTSIDE?." That way you can scold them when you see them pee in the house by saying "PHOOIE (or NO) OUTSIDE." They will eventually get the word association. With older dogs I will use PHOOIE OUTSIDE to teach them the exact part of the yard they are allowed to use. If I see a male pee on shrubs I really jump on them with PHOOIE OUTSIDE - then take them over to where I want them to go with a "HERE OUTSIDE" (I use "HERE" to call them).

You should be using a crate to house break your dog. If its a large crate, you will need to put boxes inside it to make the dogs sleeping quarters as small as possible. They instinctively do not pee or poop where they sleep.

I think you should consider getting my video Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I also think you should review the article on my web site titled House Breaking Puppies.

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Question:

I have a 12 week old female shepherd (German of course) and she is probably the smartest dog I have every worked with. There are just three things right now that I don't know how to correct, 1. She pees on the floor when ever someone comes to visit or if she gets very excited. 2. She just started this very disgusting act of peeing on our children when they lie down on the floor 3. She bites at our faces when we play with her.

She is pretty much house broken, with the exception of when she is excited and the thing with the children.

Thank you for your time and expertise,
Pastor James

Answer:

This peeing is always a pain. Thankfully most dogs simply grow out of it. Some take a lot longer than others. It can take months. This problem usually has little to do with letting the dog out to relieve itself. It can happen right after coming in from going outside.

One thing to try and do to help the process along is to socialize the pup as much as possible, Right now it pees when it is exposed to something new and it gets excited. So why not take it outside to places that are new and exciting and allow it to get as many experiences as possible. Then less and less things in life will be new and exciting, which means less peeing.

If you know that new people are coming over, I would put the dog in the crate until you get this under control (this is assuming that you have crate trained your dog and have a dog crate (which everyone should). See my training article at the bottom of the list of questions on this page on how to house break a dog.

The dog peeing on the kids is just an extension of the excrement. The dog is not trying to mark the children or anything like that, it is just excited when its on the floor playing with the kids. You would be better advised to not have the kids on the floor with the dog until you get the peeing under control.

This biting is just a way of playing. At this age the pup is not doing it out of aggression or dominance. More than likely it is just playing like it did with litter mates. To stop it just tell the dog "PHOOIE or NO" and shake it by the back of its neck (that s the way mother dogs scold their pups). It does not take very long for a puppy to come to recognize the word "PHOOIE" and stop doing what its doing. Unfortunately trying to verbally reprimand the pup for peeing when it’s excited does not seem to work.

I would highly recommend that you and your family watch the tape I have titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. These are the types of things covered in this training video. I give it to everyone that buys a puppy from my kennel and I seldom get questions from my customers.

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Question:

My name is Tera and I recently purchased a miniature dachshund. It is 5 months old and is doing well with its house training. The only problem I have is that in the mornings, when guests come over, or when I come home from work, the dog gets excited and will let out some urine. Will this eventually go away or does my dog have some sort of problem?

Answer:

This is almost always an annoying factor of age. Almost all pups that do this will grow out of it. I guess the obvious first solution is to get it outside first thing in the morning so there is nothing to pee (but I know what you mean - they always save a little squirt for the floor).

Giving the dog more attention in the form of socializing often helps. Take it for walks in areas where their are a lot of people and strange things going on. If it sees enough strange thing, you end up raising the level of tolerance that the dog has to new situations and it ends up not being so excited by things that used to excite it and cause those nasty squirts. What’s really bad is when you step in them with no shoes on and get your socks wet.

Other than that, just have patience; it will go away.

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Health Care

Question:

I have a young pup who has a bad habit of eating his own poop. What can I do?

Answer:

This is a gross habit that some dogs seem to enjoy. I always make sure these dogs never lick my face.

There may be a couple of reasons for this. I would probably recommend talking with your vet but you could consider these things:

Give the dog a good daily vitamin.

Make sure he is getting enough good quality food. Grocery store food is not adequate.

The vets sell products to sprinkle on dog food that is supposed to make the poop unattractive to the dogs (as if its not enough already).

Also, according to the seeing eye dog people if your puppy or dog starts to eat its own poop that usually means that it's not getting enough physical activity. Increase the amount of exercise. Try taking him out for more play and walks.

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The Honest Kitchen Dog Food

Question:

One of us is on our way out the door. It's either my 4-month-old Shepherd or me. If left up to my wife she would keep the dog, so I thought I'd try contacting you once more for your help. I have followed your instructions on your video explicitly, and this puppy pees & shits inside more than out.

Size of the kennel: a mosquitoes' hatband can't fit in there with the dog. Food up at 4:30, water up at 5:00. Outside at 11:00 and again at 6:00 AM. He's fine as long as we wake him up, but if he gets up 2 minutes before us, he pees in the kennel. If he wakes up 5 minutes before us, he shits in the kennel. He knows the word "outside" because when prompted he will always do something, even if just a couple of drops. His two meals a day are fed in the kitchen and if we're not standing there to take him out, he pees. If we are there to take him out, he pees, comes back inside and 1/2 hour later, pees again. This dog was whelped and raised inside the breeder's house and has never seen an outside kennel, yet he has no problem sitting and laying in His urine. I guess you got the picture. I've raised several other dogs, and never had a housebreaking problem this bad. Thanks in advance for your help.

Rick

Answer:

My gut feeling is that this breeder probably caused this. If the dog lived its whole life inside with the breeder - it probably had occasion to lay in its mess. If puppies learn this at a very young age it is hard to correct. When you stop and think about it, to them lying in dog poop is normal. They have done it since birth.

Our pups come out of the whelping box at about 2 1/2 weeks. The room they are in has paper on the floor on one side and rugs on the other with food and water in the middle. They go outside at 5 weeks. When they are inside they are paper trained (they actually train themselves). It's not uncommon for our customers to say that our pups only had 2 or 3 accidents in the house and that was it.

Maybe you need to make this dog an outside dog until its older. Get a chain link pen and put it up.

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Question:

We have an 11-month male Papilla. He has been doing a great job of going to the bathroom outside until recently. We will take him outside and he will urinate outside, but we bring him back in, and he sometimes goes inside also. We have been giving him more love and attention, and he will still sometimes go right in front of us. He knows that when we wake up in the morning we will put on our shoes to take him out. One morning we went to put on our shoes, and there he went. What can we do to prevent this?

Thank You,

Andrew and Melissa

Answer:

Crate train this dog. Small dogs are no different than large dogs. Get a dog crate, read the article I have on my web site and house train the dog the correct way (with a dog crate). When a dog goes in front of you - you have the GOLDEN opportunity to scream and holler at this dog like a crazy person. Make this an experience that this dog does not quickly forget. What you do not do is give the dog more affection - this has NOTHING to do with house training.

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Question:

Hi Ed, my 3 year old dog has been eating his own feces lately pretty much right after he goes after I let him out when I get home from work. I believe he has just started this behavior. He always does it after I get back in the house. I've tried to watch him from the inside and caught him doing it a couple of times. I yell "no" and get out immediately to correct him with his prong collar. However, tonight he just did it again and the circumstances are the same (doesn't even try it in front of me, but does it when no one is out in the yard with him). He gets plenty of food (5 cups and he weighs about 85-90), and I take him out almost daily to exercise, train, and play. In addition, he doesn't display this behavior when we are at the park just only at home. I also pick up his poop every other day or so and have used pepper and a repellent product from pet co to cover up his poop with. When I do that he leaves it alone. But then again I think he only try's to eat it right after he eliminates. I don't know why that is, do you? I would appreciate your advice.

Thank you,
Tom

Answer:

I don't know if anyone truly knows why dogs do this. people may have opinions but they are probably all guesses - mine is in that category too.

I feel that there is a dietary issue here. So I approach it from a health standpoint. I start by making sure the dog is wormed - twice in a two week period.

I then put the dog on a good once a day vitamin and switch the dog's food to one of the top quality brands - Science Diet or Eucanuba. The fact is that if I only had one dog I would make the dog food like I have explained in the article on my web site. Put the dog on a natural diet and feed it the way I explain. I believe that if he gets veggies and meat and human grade ingredient dog food this practice will stop. An 85 pound dog should get 5 cups of food a day so he should not be doing this as a result of being hungry.

What you have to worry about is the dog getting Giardia. If that happens he will get the runs and be sick. He then needs 5 to 10 days metronidizol (or three days of Panacur). People get Giardia by drinking water from a stream that cows and deer have crapped in.

If all of this does not work, then the solution is to spend more time with your dog. If it is doing this because he is bored and is getting a screw loose then you should put him on a daily training program. The time spent training a dog is time well spent. Proper training means a lot of praise and this goes a long way with the relationship of a dog.

If you would like to learn something about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.

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Question:

Please help!! I purchased an 8 week old Yorkshire Terrier and kept him for 3 weeks without crate training. After too many "accidents," I've decided to use the crate (I had tried it several times during the 3 weeks, but could not stand the constant whining and barking), I hope I'm not too late. I'm dedicated to seeing this through this time, he's 11 weeks now. I have some very specific questions. Last night, I took his water up around 6 pm and took him out to pee at 8 pm and 9 pm to crap (he craps about an hour after he pees). Well, he barked and whined the entire night. My question is, since he barks all night, when I go to let him out in the middle of the night to pee, is that teaching him that his barking works? Should I not go to him at all while he's barking? Every time that I did get up to open the crate (which was about 4 times), he had already peed or crapped in the crate, is there a specific time limit for puppies this young? Also, when that happens, should I just clean the crate and put him back in or should I let him run around a bit, even though he's already relieved himself? Since he craps so much longer after he pees, should I wait and let him run around for an hour or should I put him back in the crate, then come back an hour later to crap? Also, I put my arm out to pet him yesterday, and he started "humping" my arm. Obviously, he's a male dog. Is this normal? How can I curb this behavior?

I really appreciate your help in these manners. Hopefully, day 2 with the crate training will go smoother!

Sincerely,
Charifa

Answer:

It is never too late to house train a dog or pup. This dog needs to live in the crate until it’s used to being in it. It needs to be in it all the time except when it eats, sleeps, plays with you or goes outside. At ALL OTHER times it is in the crate to scream and get used to the crate.

The pooping in the crate at night may be stress related. In other words, the dog is not used to the crate so it is stressed from being in the crate.

Humping goes away – Only try and fix one problem at a time.

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Question:

My pup will sometimes not make it outside to pee when I let it out of the crate. It gets excited and either pees on the floor or on the way to the door. What can I do?

Answer:

This is not that uncommon. Pick the puppy up when you let it out of the crate. Carry it to the door and put it down outside. Very few dogs will pee when you carry them. You can do this for a long time before you have to let him walk to the yard. Sometimes a puppy can be 12 to 14 weeks old and still not have a large enough bladder to hold their urine overnight - so they really have to go when you let them outside.

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Question:

We have a 9-week-old Lab, and use the crate in the garage at night. For a solid week, our dog pooped 2 or 3 times during the night and was a terrible mess by morning. He goes in his crate at 10 and is out at 5. I am concerned that he will lose the natural instinct to keep his sleeping space clean if he sleeps in it each night. We decided to make a space for him to come out and poop on paper, by blocking off a small area just outside of his crate. It has been working. Are we wrong on this, or is the crate alone the right way to go?

Also, our dog must be alone for 4 hours due to work schedules. Can we leave him just outside of the house on a stake, or should he be in a crate during this time?

I've been reading all I can, but can't seem to find a definite answer to these questions. We'd appreciate your advice.

Answer:

1- Re-read my article on housebreaking - and the Q&A on this issue.

2- The dog needs to spend more normal time in the crate during the day – not just at night. It must learn that it doesn't always go in the crate for 10 hours - if it's in for an hour and then 3 hours and then an hour and then 4 hours and then all night. It will learn to hold it.

3- You are creating some of the problem by not feeding properly and not giving appropriate exercise after it eats.

4- Get the dog on an All Natural Diet - this passes through a dog in 5 hours - kibble needs 16 hours. Get the little book I sell on this. This is how I feed my dogs.

5- I would set up papers if this is what it took. But more exercise and control of the food has to be done.

6- I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money.

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Question:

What is the best technique to have my 5 year-old (Female) G. Shepherd? relieve herself in one area of the yard, only? Are there safe products available to attract her to a certain area ... should I construct a 'sand pit' for her to use?

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jerry

Answer:

There is nothing to attract a dog. I would use pea gravel in a dog run and then put the dogs poop (that is picked up from other areas of the yard) in that area. Always take the dog to that spot and praise the dog with "GOOD OUTSIDE" when it does relieve itself.

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Question:

Hello, I really hope you can provide me with some guidance in housebreaking my puppy. I have an 8 week old Yorkshire Terrier mix and am confused as to what I may doing wrong in attempting to housebreak him. No matter how often or long I take him outside to eliminate he will not do it, but will wait until we get back in the house to go. Even when he's showing obvious signs inside the house that he's about to go, and I direct him outside he still does not go until he returns in the house (no matter how long we're out there).

I take him out first thing in the morning, then again after he eats, again when I come from work, again after he eats, several times during the evening and again before we go to bed. Sometimes I may just let him roam in the yard and other times I will actually walk him. Nonetheless, no matter how long we stay outside (I've attempted as long as 2 hours on several occasions) he will not go outside. The most I've seen him do is pee outside on a couple of occasions, but that's it. But as soon as I bring him back inside he goes potty. It's as if he thinks inside the house is the place to potty, instead of outside.

I've tried everything, but nothing seems to stop him going in the house. I crate him at night, but I don't feel comfortable leaving him in the crate all day after having been in the crate all night, so I put him in the bathroom with newspaper during the day while I am at work, which is the only time he will go on the newspaper, even though I leave the newspaper down in the bathroom at all times.

I've even gone as far as to pick up the poop from inside the house and put it outside to try to mark the yard with the scent in hopes it will encourage him to that spot, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am truly at my wits end. Please Help!!!

Answer:

You have created this problem with the dog. Here is what needs to be done:

1- Rather than just leaving the pup outside you need to take the pup for walks. Exercise will make the dog poop and pee. Just letting it run around in the yard does not get the job done.

2- When you do not have time to walk the dog put some paper down on the grass. Gradually reduce the size of the paper.

3- Put all of the dog’s poop in one spot outside. When you pick it up from the house - put it in the same spot outside.

4- CRATE THIS DOG. Make it live in the crate. This bathroom thing is the WRONG thing to do. Leave the crate in front of the TV or with a radio but there is nothing wrong with crating the dog during the day as long as it had a good walk in the morning.

5- I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money.

6- If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.

Read the Q&A section on my web site about house training your dog. You may get some other ideas.

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Question:

I read all the info on your site, but didn't see anything in regards to my particular problem.

I have a 16 week old Australian Shepherd, Lab mix who is completely house trained and crate trained. She now rings a bell on the door when she needs to go out. However, she needs to pee very frequently - about every 2 hours or so (but can hold it all night). So, when I have to leave her in the crate for over 2 hours, at a certain point she cries and cries. I believe because she simply cannot hold it any longer, and is forced to pee in the crate. Under two hours she is fine - no noise, no peeing. The vet has checked her for urinary infections, etc. and all is well. I have tried the crate with no bedding, but after 2 hours she will still pee, and in this scenario gets stressed out because she doesn't like to sit in it. Occasionally, I have meetings and need to be gone longer than 2 hours. What am I to do? Will she grow out of this and be able to hold it for longer periods? Should I leave the bedding in or out? Help!

Answer:

Control the dog’s water on the days that you are going to be gone. Take the dog for longer walks. Exercise stimulates the dog to go and will help eliminate more on the walks. Put a grate material in the dog crate to keep the dog out of the pee when it goes. Bleach the crate after every episode of peeing in it.

The dog will grow out of this if you do not allow her to train you to let her out every 2 hours.

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Question:

Dear Ed,

First of all your tapes and products are outstanding and I recommend them to anyone who has a dog.

My pup is now 9 months old. I crate trained him from the very beginning when I brought him home. Everything that you said in the tape "Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 months" is true. He seems to be doing fine without supervision and does not tear into the couch cushions, shoes, etc. He seems to be very well behaved after being in the crate for 8 months.

Question: When is a good time to let him "roam free" and have the run of the house? (Run of the house being the kitchen and family room only!)

Regards,
Tim

Answer:

Enter this hallowed ground very slowly – start with very very short periods of time and give him something to do when you leave – a KONG with crème cheese in it works really good to keep him entertained. Gradually extend the time period as you see that he has no problem.

Good Luck.

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Question:

A friend of mine told me he is having problems with his 8 month old pug mix (male) he said he corrected him to hard after he had an accident in his house and now it seems every time he is corrected (and he claims even when he isn’t corrected) but his name is called, he rolls on his back and begins to urinate. How do I help him break this? I value your opinion. Thank you for your time. Is there any book on the market you recommend that will help me understand dog behavior better?

Sincerely,
Rick

Answer:

No book, but my Basic Dog Obedience video is excellent. Getting your ass kicked for something when you are not sure why you got corrected screws a dog up. People who say "HE KNEW HE MADE A MISTAKE as soon as he saw me" are wrong 99% of the time. What dogs are very good at is reading body language. They know when their owners are pissed and it only takes a split second.

What really happened here is the owner probably screwed up by not taking the dog out enough and not using a dog crate enough while the dog was in the house. Actually this is pretty obvious. Had the OWNER done things correctly this would not have happened - it's always easier to blame the dog for our screw ups. If a dog is not 110% house trained it should be in the crate when not being played with. Just because the dog is a toy breed does not change this.

I have articles on my web site about how to house train a dog. Look in the list of training articles on my web site.

The dog is a soft dog - recovery from a hard correction is going to take time, training and praise. The dog needs to learn that when he gets called he is not going to get kicked around. Right now he does not know that. So call the dog and give it a treat - after about 100 times it should start to regain confidence. Normal training with tons of praise also helps the dog forget.

The bottom line is that your friend found out the level of correction that puts this dog into serious avoidance. He should NEVER USE THAT level again.

Now we see how smart this guy is. Because it's going to take brains to correct this problem.

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Question:

I have a puppy ( 4 months old ) that was raised with a family rather than a kennel so they would be socialized. Unfortunately whatever happened there has created a life time submission pissing.and not liking of children We do behavioral training no hitting positive reinforcement and encouragement training, so with all my skills I'm at a dead end here. and very frustrate as a trainer, this happens at no apparent time mostly when she thinks she's in trouble. We just go on and act as though nothing has happened when she pee's. Thanks, please respond when you can.

-Janice

Answer:

This is not really that uncommon. One of my best friends has a 4 month old imported Malinois that does this. These dogs outgrow this. Two things need to happen:

1) The dog needs to live in a crate all the time. The only time its out of the crate is when you take it straight outside. Even if you have to open the crate and carry it outside. When they come inside they go right back in the crate. This does not change until the dog stops this peeing. (You test it outside)

2) The pup needs to get obedience trained. Training ADDS CONFIDENCE. The training needs to be motivational – use food and a lot of praise. I even think there may be a place for clickers here – I am not a clicker fan.

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Question:

Hi Ed,

We purchased your puppy & obedience tapes before we even got our dog. We have followed them very closely with very good results. Our dog is crate trained and loves his crate. About 4 months ago we have been leaving him out of the crate, and he has been perfect ....until today. He tore up some boxes and papers in the basement (that he knows he is not allowed to touch). I came home to a mess and corrected him harshly. Problem is I don't know if that was the right reaction and if it will prevent him from doing it again. Even though we did not catch him in the act, will he understand why he got his correction? Should I revert him back to the crate, and if so how long?

Thanks,
Dante

Answer:

This was not the right thing to do. Your dog had no idea why he was being corrected. People think "HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS BEING CORRECTED FOR - YOU COULD
SEE IT ON HIS FACE." Well they are wrong. The dog had a look of concern because he knew you were pissed and this caused the concern.

This was a handler mistake on your part. The dog is not ready to be left alone yet. Not a big deal - I don't let dogs alone until they are over 18 months old and then only for short periods until they earn it.

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Ed Frawley's Philosophy on Dog Training

eBook

Question:

Ed,

I have a 14 month old dog that I've housebroken and trained using your videos. She's been crate trained since day one and was very easy to house break and we've only lost one heating pad cord due to her chewing mainly because whenever we leave the house we place her in her cage.

Recently I've been considering allowing her to stay in an area in the basement where she can do no harm. I'd love her to eventually be able to roam the house or at least the whole basement but initially a small area in the basement would be nice. I have a couple of concerns that I'd appreciate your opinion on. Is she too young for this? Also, she seems to love the cage as she runs to it when it's time for us to go and I often find her laying in it while we are home. I'm wondering if there may be repercussions to the environment change. I was thinking about letting her stay in the new area for short periods of time to let her get used to the idea but I wanted to get your opinion first.

Thanks,
Bob

Answer:

She is a little young. Leave her crate in this area with the door open. Begin by leaving her loose while you go to the store – it is a mistake to start off leaving her loose all day. When you do leave – put a bone in there to chew or a Kong with crème cheese or peanut butter in it. This occupies her mind.

Gradually extend the time frame that she is loose. I would also leave a radio on in the area. Classical music – dogs like that better than hard rock. It calms them.

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Question:

Hello. Your site has been helpful in getting us to train our 5-month old lab retriever using a crate, and it's prevented any more yellow urine stains on our off-white carpet (we've found that the product "Nature's Miracle" works wonderfully at getting both the stain and the smell out of the carpet). Annie seems to be taking to the crate fairly well. I just have a few questions regarding her behavior. We realized we needed a crate when after a week of taking her out every hour or so, she'd still not urinate (she'd poop outside) even if she had to, and then, after 10 minutes inside, she'd urinate on the rug. She wasn't making the connection outside=urinate. I'm hoping the crate helps her to do that.

My questions:

(1) She doesn't eat voraciously, nor does she finish her meal(s) in one short time period. Sometimes, she won't even touch her meal until the afternoon or evening. So it's really hard to set her on any kind of schedule for regularity, because she eats later, when she wants to, rather than in the morning, when we put the food down for her. I hate to put down a whole bowl of food for her, and then take it up and throw it away only to refuse to let her eat for the rest of the day -- that seems wrong. Any
suggestions?

(2) How do you know when she finally IS housebroken? She's spending so much time in the crate, how does one tell that she's gotten it?

Thanks!
Miriam

Answer:

These are simple questions.

1- If a dog is hungry it will eat. Dogs do not starve themselves. You need to put the food down for 10 minutes and pick it up. Then later that day you put it down for 10 minutes and pick it up. Trust me the dog will learn to eat when the food goes down.

2- I do not consider a dog house trained until it is about 2 years old. There is NO REASON TO ALLOW a young dog to be loose in the house when you are not there until the dog is that old. If anyone leaves a young dog in the house alone and then has accidents - this is a people problem and not a dog problem.

If you wish to learn something about obedience training I recommend my Basic
Dog Obedience video.

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Question:

I have a 13 month old yorkie, shih tzu mix. She refuses to go to the bathroom outside. I take her out with my other older dog, who is perfectly house trained, and barks at the sliding glass door when she needs to go out. She NEVER has any accidents in the house, and really never did, she is a golden retriever, black lab mix and is about 10. When I take Chloe, my little dog outside she sees Sammy, my bigger dog go to the bathroom and be praised, but she won't go. It doesn't matter how long we stay out or whether or not my other dog is out with us or not. When I bring her in, I will usually find a little present from her, somewhere in the house. She has a crate that she goes in sometimes on her own, and I've also been showing her the accident she had in the house and putting her in the crate and then I clean it up. Telling her she is bad and to go poop and pee pees outside!!! Then after a while I take her out of the crate, and take her directly outside, she still doesn't go. If she does go outside, It almost seems like coincidence, she just happened to have to go while she was out there. I also found out that she peed on my couch today. Things are getting worse, please tell me what I am doing wrong, and what I should be doing. I am also a house wife and a mother and I am home with the dogs, that is not the problem. Please get back to me as soon as possible or direct me to someone I can send this email to for help.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Trish

Answer:

Sorry to say but this is a handler problem and not a dog problem. You have approached this issue without knowing what you should be doing. I would recommend that you read the articles and Q&A on house training from my web site (Look in the list of training articles on my web site http://leerburg.com/articles.htm)

Here is what you have to do:

1- This dog needs to live in a dog crate 100% of the time it is in the house. The only exception is when you personally spend hands (AND EYES) on time with her. When you get busy - she goes back in the crate - ALL THE TIME.

2- You need to start to walk her when she goes outside. Walk her on a leash. Exercise triggers a dog to go to the bathroom. When she goes - PRAISE !! She should get 2 or 3 good walks a day - several blocks.

3- Dogs do not ever go on the furniture - this dog pissing on your couch is a little reinforcement to remind you of this.

So the bottom line is that these problems have developed as a result of things that you have done wrong. They are correctable but it's a question of whether you care to do it.

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Question:

A friend of mine gave me your web site and I must say it is incredible. You have so much information. I probably have just blown off an hour at work just looking at the sight. Don't tell my manager.

I have a problem. My boyfriend and I are moving in together and he has two teacup poodles. I love them very much. Their names are Minnie and Teddy. I am afraid that I will end up moving right back out after I move in because the dogs are not yet house trained, and they are 3 years old! Is there anything we can do. He did have a doggie door on his last house and they sometimes used it, but most of the time did not. Should we kennel them at night? I have been taking them outside and giving them a doggy treat whenever they pee or poop. Please advise of what I can do to make sure the "go" outside and not in the house. I want to keep this relationship a good one.

Answer:

This is a simple problem. Get two puppy dog crates and crate train these dogs. I have an extensive Q&A section and article on my web site about house training. Look in the list of training articles on my web site http://leerburg.com/articles.htm.

If I were you I would get him to agree to this before you move in - or get used to the idea of your home smelling like pee.

This is a very doable thing - the problem is that pet owners seem to think that small dogs are not really dogs and should not be treated like normal dogs and cannot be trained like normal dogs etc etc etc etc.

Bottom line if these were my dogs they would NEVER BE OUT OF A DOG CRATE unless I had my eyes on them or unless they were in a fenced yard. They would live in the crates and never be left alone without being in the crate. It will take some time but they will get house trained this way.

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Question:

How do I potty train my puppy we don't want to crate train her instead we gave her the laundry room at night she is getting better but not very fast when we first got her she made a "poop" and quiet a few puddles in her room at night now is just a "poop" every other night or so and its a puddle but just one we have a full grown lab who pick the room training up in approximately 2 days. we have had her for 2 months and still not trained :-( she is a very smart puppy she learned sit,shake in 2 day! but she just cant pick up the potty training thing. we give her praise when she goes outside and let her know we are upset with her for going inside. Please help!!!!!!!!!

Answer:

Sorry – It is your mistake to not crate train the dog – that’s a decision to do bad dog training and I cannot help you fix problems that you intentionally create. I suggest you get better educated in the care of your puppy. You are starting off on the wrong foot.

I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money.

If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.

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Question:

I have read many articles on how to crate train a puppy properly. However, one thing always escapes me. How do you know when it is time to stop? How do you know when to trust him? Should he be put in his crate for bed even when he is an adult?

Thank you,
Robert

Answer:

Good question

Almost all new dog owners try and take the dog out of the crate too soon. There is no reason to allow a dog to have the run of the house until it is an adult. I would never do it. The only time the dog should be out of the crate is when you have your eyes on him. When that is not possible – he should be back in the crate.

Those that jump the gun and have accidents deserve what they get.

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Question:

We have an 11month old Bichon who is still not housebroken. It has been a couple of months since she peed in the house and so we thought that part of the problem was fixed....then today she was racing through the house (chasing squirrels from window to window) and she jumped up on the bed and peed. We correct her and take her outside and I know she knows where to go...and "most" of the time she will head in the direction of the door when she needs to go out, but just when we think she's got it together she does something like this!

I did crate training when we got her at nine weeks and kept her confined but it's like she has the attitude "If you're around fine...but if I have to go I'm not going to bother to come and get you!" I have successfully crate trained two other dogs in the past but this one is not coming around...Help!

Answer:

This is not rocket science. In this case it is a matter of who has the stronger mind set - in this case it is the dog. The problem you are having is not a dog problem it is a HUMAN problem called lack of training.

Use the crate for months if you have to. The dog's new home should be a dog crate and not the house. The only time it is out of the crate is when you Are doing something with her. When you are done she goes back into the crate.

Of course this means that you have to spend time with your dog every day. Take her for a walk a couple of times a day AND TRAIN THE DOG. Dogs learn RIGHT from WRONG. This is accomplished through obedience training.

Get a prong collar and my video BASIC DOG OBEDIENCE and train your dog. When its not being trained it goes back into the crate. If it take 6 months or twelve month - so be it.

In addition - what in the heck is the dog doing on the bed. No wonder it looks at you without respect. Read my article on DEALING WITH A DOMINANT DOG - allowing a dog in the bed is the biggest mistake owners can make. The bed then becomes THE DOGS BED and not the owners bed. The dog looks at it like it is allowing you to sleep in its bed.

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Dealing with the Dominant Dog

eBook

Question:

Hello.
I have a 7 month old Maltese puppy that I am having great difficulty training to go to the bathroom outside. He is perfectly trained on puppy pads and never has accidents however making the transition to the outdoors has been rather unsuccessful. I have even tried taking
the pads outside to make this transition easier for him to associate with but it doe not seem to be working. I have read that you suggest taking dogs on walks until they go but this puppy for some reason has a very strong bladder. Regardless of the time we spend walking him or taking him outside, he simply won't go. (I am referring to hours upon hours here!) He will hold it until we return to the house and either go on the pad or if we have removed the pad for training purposes, he will eliminate on the floor where the pad typically can be found.

I also realize that crate training is a critical component to potty training however this puppy seems to have issues with confined spaces. Even if he is with my husband and I and we close the door lets say when we are in the bathroom brushing our teeth, he will go
absolutely crazy. We have tried crating him and have used all of the suggestions for crate training such as giving him his treats and food in the crate but have had no success. The crying doesn't concern me however, the chewing at the metal bars of the crate in addition to the shaking and excessive salivation do. I eventually thought that a baby gate would help him not feel so confined yet I would still be able to contain him to a small area however the problem with this idea is that he simply jumps over the gate.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can house train this puppy?
Thank you for your time.

Lori

Answer:

You now know why I NEVER RECOMMEND these pads. They are a very bad idea.

You are not using a dog crate. This dog should live in a dog crate. It
should not be out of it unless it is on its way outside. All interaction
with the dog should be outside. I would even consider feeding him outside.
Take a pad and cut a 12 inch square piece. That's his outside pad - then
make it smaller and smaller.

This is an example of how much easier it is to do good dog training the first time rather than have to go back and fix problems.

I would recommend the video I produced titled "Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months". I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has a lot of solid information and does not cost a lot of money.

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Question:

I have a 15 week old female Dalmatian. We thought she was peeing on our furniture and in her kennel. The truth is that she wets the bed. She is totally asleep when it happens. She doesn't even wake up. She does drink enormous amounts of water.

Carrie

Answer:

This is not normal. You need to have a Vet check her for a bladder
infection.

Pick the water up at 5:30 at night. Take her for a good walk after 7:30 PM.

I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.
I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site.

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Question:

I have taken your advice several times with great results and have your puppy training video as well. This letter is on behalf of a friend who has had a lab-type 2 year old that she got from the humane society about a year ago. This is a great dog with a cheerful personality but apparently she often urinates on the living room rug. Last night my friend called to say that after a long walk in the park, the dog walked in the door and hit the rug once again. My friend is about to get rid of the dog. I suggested that I check with you. Sadly, the dog is not crate trained and "freaks out" when in a crate. Is the urination a dominance thing? Is it too late to crate train the dog? We would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks much,
Katrina

Answer:

Two issues.

1- I cannot help someone who will not accept sound advice. No dog cannot be crate trained. Put the crate in the garage or outside. Make the dog live in the crate 24/7 until it stops screaming. It may take several days but it will learn that it does not work to scream. No dog I own would ever live outside a dog crate if it peed on the floor like this. If these friends will not do this then let them give the dog away and they should not own a dog.

2- The rug needs to be cleaned so it does not smell like urine. If it smells like urine the dog is likely to think that it is OK to pee there.

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Question:

We have a 15 1/2 week old American Eskimo who we are trying to house train. The problem is, she won't hold her bladder when we are around. We know she is able to, because we've left her for several hours and she holds it and she also holds it at night. But when we are in the room and she is in her crate, she will often pee in the crate after less than an hour of being in there, despite the fact that we walked her right before. Also, when we let her out to play, she will need to go out several times in a half hour. Yesterday, she held it over 5 hours while we were out, then we walked her, played with her, walked her again and put her in the crate. WE went in the next room and the next thing you know, she had peed in her crate less than 10 minutes later. So it definitely is behavioral (she was checked out and nothing was wrong with her), but what can we do??? HELP, she is driving us crazy!!!

Answer:

It is not behavioral, it is being a puppy.

If you know she goes after an hour - why don't you let her out every hour so she learns that if she holds it she will be let outside.

Puppies usually cannot hold their pee overnight until they are 12 to 16 weeks old. So if this dog is doing it now - you have a very nice pup.

I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has almost 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money.

Taking a dog from a litter at 5 weeks is terrible. This dog obviously did not come from any kind of a reputable breeder.

My advice is to either find another home for the dog or spend some time learning about dogs and training them. I have an extensive article and Q&A section on house training puppies and dogs on my web site. It is obvious you have not read it. Look in the list of training articles on my web site for more information.

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Question:

We have a 13 week old maltipoo (maltese/poodle) who is doing pretty well with housebreaking. We got into the habit of taking him outside every few hours and giving the command "go potty" which he has now learned. The problem is, he doesn't understand that he should go to the door when he needs to go. Instead, he'll hold it until we take him out. I would really like to get to the point where he can tell us he has to go, instead of us taking him out all the time. How can we teach him to go and sit at the door?

Answer:

When you figure out how to train a 13 week old dog to tell you they want to go outside – send me an email and tell me how.

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Question:

I have a couple of questions regarding behavior I did not see in your questions section. I have a 10 year old, 10 lb., miniature female schnauzer whom I have had since she was 5 weeks old and whom I bottle fed. I also have a 3 year old, 50 lb., standard male schnauzer whom I have had since he was 6 months old. We have recently relocated to a new home in the redwoods of northern California from the desert. They seem to have adjusted to the move, the standard has even ceased his separation anxiety problem of peeing in the kitchen when left. The problem is that the female has started pooping and peeing in one room of the house, the study. I can take her out for hours, I can give them free access to the yard, and she still will wait and poop in that room. Also she has always had an aversion to the sounds made by a fireplace. Our fireplace is a major source of heat in our home and I would like to get her to quit running and hiding when it is lit. She also used to love going outdoors and now she will stand at the top of the stairs on the porch and stare at us when we go into the yard, then she will run back into the house. What is wrong?

Answer:

When this happens the owner needs to look at it for what it is – a dog that is no longer house trained. The only solution is to make it an outside dog for the rest of its life or to house train it from the beginning. That means use a dog crate and the dog IS NEVER LEFT OUT OF THE CRATE UNLESS YOU HAVE YOUR EYES ON IT. If the dog takes a dump on the floor then it’s a handler problem and not a dog problem because it should have been in the crate and you screwed up by not watching.

Read the Training Articles and Q&A's on my web site on house training.

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Question:

Hello,

I need help desperately! I have a Chihuahua male that is about 2 1/2 yrs old. He is peeing on my furniture all the time and I don't know how to break him. We have scolded him then put him outside but to no avail. Please help!

I have 3 other female that are all spayed they are peeing all over the house too. I have a cocker and basset mix she is 14 yr old and having problems holding it so I think her sent of her mishaps are there for the others. But the male is the one ruining my furniture. PLEASE HELP! I love my dogs but they are pushing my family towards the idea of keeping them outside all the time. They are not use to that and I sure wont put my male or the old woman outside! Help!

Thanks,
Debb

Answer:

You have a dog pack. Unless you start using dog crates you are not going to stop this. I have an excellent article on how to house train dogs. It makes no difference if the dog is 2 ½ years old or 8 weeks old. Piss is still piss and if you want to stop this dog you have to go back to basics. You can find the information in my list of training articles at http://leerburg.com/articles.htm.

You also need to read the article on dominant dogs.

Bottom line is you should find new homes for some of these dogs. To allow this many dogs to run loose in a home is not normal.

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Question:

I have an adorable 7-year old Yorkie named Sassy. I got her from a disreputable breeder when she was 6-years old - she was about to be put down. I saw the makeshift kennel where she was kept - it is obvious she spent the first six years of her life there. He never even bothered to name her. She has adapted well to her new surroundings BUT, she is not house-trained yet. She has been thoroughly checked out by a vet.

I am using a crate to train her - which she has pottied/pooped in. We are on her third crate. She does know the commands to potty and poop - though often I have to force her to poop - by saying it over and over and over again. She'll go for weeks without any problems - then in one heartbreaking - I thought she had it - not on my light carpet - moment, she will potty or poop. I am using your training suggestion for getting her to bark when she has to go out. She knows the bark command and does it to perfection when she wants a treat or out of her crate. But, she is still not barking to let me know she has to go out. Any other suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Angela & Sassy

ANSWER:

When a dog is pooping or peeing in the house it should live in the dog crate 24/7. The only time it is out of the crate is to go outside. The only time it should be loose in the house is when you have your eyes on it. Then if it pees or poops you scream at it and the shock of the scream will stop it from doing what it's doing. Then you scoop it up and run outside - as you go you are scolding the dog NO! NO! NO! OUTSIDE! - put it down and stay with it as you repeat the OUTSIDE command in an encouraging tone.

When you are in the house - if you have to take your eyes off the dog for 10 seconds - you should put it in the crate. You may have to keep this schedule for months or possibly forever. Remember this dog has been abused for 6 years. How can you expect to change it in 3 or 4 months?

What you are doing is the right thing by repeating the command when you are waiting for the dog to go. Your voice tone should be insistent and encouraging without sounding mad.

Then you need to obedience train this dog. Get my Basic Dog Obedience video.

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Question:

I have a gorgeous 16 month old tri-color beagle. Her name is Annie. She has the typical sweet beagle disposition, doesn’t tear things up and is great with kids. We love her to death. The vet says she’s the prettiest beagle they’ve ever seen.

We have only one problem. We have two doggie doors in our house which lead to a small fenced yard. She goes out through the garage that leads to a small channel where she goes out the other doggie door to the yard. In other words, she goes through two doors to get outside. She has had a habit of urinating just inside the second door and we can’t seem to break her of it. She knows she’s wrong when she does it as she seeks the refuge of her crate and trembles.

She is comfortable in the crate, is not defiant or jealous of any kids. We had her checked by the vet. She is not diabetic but does drink a LOT. He prescribed desmopressin or DDAVP to assist her in controlling the bladder. This is the same drug used for kids with bladder problems. It is about $90 per month which well outside the price of reason for a dog. A child is different but a dog… not!

I’m not totally convinced that it isn’t behavioral. We have someone that will take her and make her an outside dog living in the country. My family is very torn up about this and none of us want to lose the dog.

Any ideas on how we could get to the root of this and maybe even keep her?

Robert

Answer:

A couple of points.

1- Get another vet – this guy falls in the category of an unscrupulous Vet. What a pile of crap – selling you drugs for this. He has his eye on your wallet and not your dog

2- This is a training problem not a dog problem. Its not a bladder problem it’s a training problem.

3- Nail the dog doors closed and start your house training all over again because what you have done so far has failed. Keep the dog in a dog crate and only allow it out of the crate to go outside (with you)!! I know its hard to go out with the dog and it takes extra time but this is how it's done.

4- The only time the dog is out of the crate in the house is after it has been outside and when you have your eyes on it. When you cannot watch it, the dog is in the crate. Read the Q&A section on my web site. You can find the information in my list of training articles.

5- Bottom line is dogs with problems ALL need obedience training. It teaches them right from wrong. If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.

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Question:

After watching your puppy video, we are working to crate train our GSD who is now 15 weeks old. I work at home, and I keep the dog in the crate in my office as I work. I take him out a couple times a day to relieve, eat, and for a short walk. When my wife gets home, about 4pm, she takes him upstairs. She does not crate him (even when he gets pesty), because she feels that the dog is more attached to me and she feels that if she crates him, he will like her less. Do you believe this is true? And how long should a dog this age be in his crate every day?

Thank you,
Dante

Answer:

Your wife is 100% WRONG.

If she wants the dog to bond with her she should spend some time training him in obedience. This establishes a bond.

Young house dogs should be in the crate a lot. Unless you are interacting with them they should be in the crate. If you do not do this you only create problems. Owners call these dog problems - I call them owner problems.

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Question:

Hi there. My family and I are considering a mini-dog and he will be neutered before we get him. Our concern is that he will put his scent all around the house and it will become smelly. Does the scenting happen less often after neutering or if we are still concerned about this situation should we be just considering a female dog only? Please help before we consider our dog choice.

Thank you,
Vickie

Answer:

Neutering has little to do with a dog peeing in the house. Dogs should not be neutered until they are at least 6 months old. Neutering will help an adult dog stop scenting his home but the fact is, you should have your dog housetrained long before the time a dog is thinking about scenting articles with his urine.

Read the article and Q&A I wrote on housetraining your dog. You can find this on the article page on my web site at http://leerburg.com/articles.htm.

I would recommend you purchase the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 25 years I have bred over 300 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog, The VHS version has 2 hours of excellent information, the DVD version has 2 ½ hours of training information along with 15 puppy training articles that I have written.

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Question:

Ed,

I have been enjoying your articles on puppy training! Your sense of humor has helped me find mine about our new puppy. We have a 12 week old Goldendoodle, cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. We have had her about 10 days. After the first few days of whining she is doing great in her crate at night, and during the day when we are gone or for some quiet time when we are here. The problem is that she is pooping in her crate every night. I tried making it smaller by putting boxes at the back and so she pooped and then laid in it! Any suggestions? She is on science diet puppy food. She eats most of her food out of my hand as her potty treat after going outside. I know this probably isn't the best plan, but she would not eat when she first came and would not take a treat for going outside. She would, however, take some food from me as her reward. Would a more solid eating schedule help with the overnight pooping? What do you suggest for an outside reward? Is praise enough? Feel free to be "blunt" I could use some good solid advice right now!

God Bless,
Vicki

Answer:

Yes it is a mistake to feed from your hand when the dog poops. To be successful in house training you have to establish a pattern (or schedule) with your dog.

I would feed an all-natural diet. It goes through the dog in 5 hours vs. 15 hours for commercial kibble. Read my site about what this is. I am sorry but I cannot train you through emails.

Read the Q&A section on housetraining too.

I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. It has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money (only $30.00)

If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. I think if you read the testimonials on that tape you will see that my customers feel the same way.

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Question:

Dear Ed,

I am the owner of a 6 month old rottweiler puppy. From the day I got him at eight weeks I followed the book on housetraining. I went out with him every time, praised him when he went outside, only scolded him when I caught him in the act of going in the house etc. My dog still won't stop going to the bathroom in the house. I am at home most of the day, but occasionally I leave for an hour or two, when I return there is pee and poo all over my living room and kitchen. I didn't buy my dog a crate because when I got him I thought I would be home so much that I wouldn't need one. Now I'm worried it's too late to crate him. I am afraid to leave him for more than an hour or two because of his lack of control. Also, when I am at home, unless I am in the same room with him he will go in the house. He has learned that if he leaves the room to go to the bathroom, he usually finishes before I can catch him in the act, and won't be punished. I thought these problems would go away as he got older, but they haven't. Please help me. If I can't correct this problem I will have to give up my dog. Any advice you have would be helpful. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Lauren

Answer:

I hate to tell you this but this is a handler problem. When you say that you "followed the book on house training" I would ask what book that is because I never heard of any professional trainer recommending allowing a 6 month old dog to be unattended and loose in the house.

You should be using a dog crate. I recommend that you read the article I wrote on housetraining and ALL OF THE Q&A sections. You can find this on the article page on my web site at http://leerburg.com/articles.htm.

I NEVER allow a young dog to be loose in the house when I am not home until it's 20 years old. I never allow a 6 month old dog to be loose in the house unless I personally have my eyes on him 100% of the time.

I would recommend you purchase the video I produced titled "Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months". I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 2 years I have bred over 300 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog. The VHS version has 2 hours of excellent information, the DVD version has 2 ½ hours of training information along with 15 puppy training articles that I have written.

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Question:

I have two dogs; a 2-year old golden and black lab. Both were crate trained since pups, but they've had the run of the house for about 6 months now and I haven't had any problems with anything until now. My black lab seems to get too excited when I come home and he pees before I can let him outside. I'm only gone at the most for 5 hours in a day, and I'm not sure what to do. Should I not leave water for them while I'm gone? The black lab has a tendency to over drink, but I don't want to leave them without water. Should I put him back in his crate?

Answer:

Put the dog in the crate 30 minutes before you leave and leave him in it for 30 minutes after you get home. NEVER pet the dog when it comes out of the crate - take it straight outside.

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Question:

I have a question regarding my 5 year old Jack Russell Terrier and my 4 year old Miniature Pinscher, within the last 6 weeks both of my dogs have been urinating in my house in every room. We have a 1 1/2 year old son and when we brought him home from the hospital they were fine. I am now pregnant with my second child and just out of the blue they are both peeing on furniture, carpet, anything they can lift their leg on. They are let outside frequently because I work from home. We have blocked them out of certain rooms because of this but they still have access to the living room and kitchen. Why would they start urinating after 4 and 5 years of not going in the house?

Please help.

Macey

Answer:

What you are experiencing is not an uncommon problem. For some reason one of these dogs started to pee in the house. When the other dog saw this it started to also mark the house. The result is you end up with dogs that are no longer house trained.

Now you have to get two dog crates and keep these dogs crated all the time - the only time they are out of crates is when you have your eyes on the dogs.

This has nothing to do with being pregnant. It has a lot to do with dogs that are not properly obedience trained. Obedience training teaches dogs right from wrong. It also establishes rank in the pack. When a dog is well trained this seldom happens.

I would also recommend my Basic Dog Obedience training video. I did my first obedience video is 1982. That tape had a new version released in 1988. Then that version was replaced in Sept 2004 with the current 4 hour DVD we now sell.

If you go to the URL for this DVD you will be able to read the outline of what's covered. This DVD not only deals with teaching people how to train the basic commands that every pet owner needs, it also tells people how to structure their homes and the ways they handle their dogs. Little changes in how you handle a dog result in big changes in how the dog relates to you. The average pet owner does not realize how pack drive and rank within the pack control a domestic dog. The DVD goes into detail on how to deal with pack drive. Becoming a pack leader is not done by bullying a dog but rather by becoming the dogs friend and then establishing the rules in how you relate to the dog. When this is done incorrectly owners end up with dominance and aggression problems.

I have been doing training tapes for almost 24 years - I feel this is the best tape I have done.

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Question:

A question has arisen about crate training. We do have a cat, and intended to use the info in your article on introducing dogs to cats. Right now we always keep them in separate rooms if they are in the house. However, since our dog is a rescue, he's never had experience with crates at all. You have a lot of info about crate training for puppies, but we're unsure how to proceed. Our dog is already housebroken at 20 months. We were considering beginning to offer his regular food in the crate and to acquaint him with it before we go through the cat/dog intro. We don't want to have him associate the crate only with the cat situation, if that's at all possible. How should we proceed?

Thanks,
Leslie

Answer:

There is no difference between housetraining an adult dog than a pup. They may not like it but - tough. They are dogs and a crate is not abusive. Put the dog in the crate and if he cries don’t take him out until he is finished crying. If you want steps - put food in the crate and feed him there (like you are doing now).

Then toss a small piece of food in and make him stay for a few minutes with the door closed and if he is quiet mark it and then let him out. Extend the stay and never let him out if he is crying.

During the extension of time toss a toy with an opening that you can put crème cheese in or a knuckle bone and see if he keeps busy. They keep him in their for an extended period of time while you are home.

This is not rocket science - just think about the simple steps you can take.

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Question:

Hi Mr Frawley.

I am finding your web site very helpful. I have had GSD all my life and back in June lost our best friend of 11 years. I now have (my first, and much wanted) a new 100% German bloodline female. She is 4.5 months old. I have a urination problem with her as well as many I read on your board. I am convinced at this point that this is a German bloodline thing. I have had all American breeds until now and have never had this problem. My question is: how do you know a puppy will grow out of this and when? Also, do breeders have any responsibility if the dog would have bad nerves or breeding? How is that handled? I bought my female from Haus Juris German Shepherds in Virginia. She knew I was having a problem with this dog and was helping me until about a month and a half ago. She will not return my calls or answer my e-mails. Don't you think that is odd? Is there a good way to place a puppy like this in a new home if this does not work out. I am very sad about this, I always liked the way the German dogs looked and had plans to show and train this dog. Please help!

Colleen

Answer:

To say that German Bloodline dogs are harder to house train than American Bloodline dogs is just about the funniest, the weirdest, the lamest, the most foolish thing I have ever heard, and I thought I had heard it all in the last 30 years of breeding

No one ever said that raising a puppy was easy. For a breeder to agree to take a dog back because you cannot house train it would be more to expect than I would agree to. There are times that raising a puppy is a bitch. However, with proper care they can all be trained. The question is, can you do the training? I can't answer this.

Sometimes breeders sell dogs to people who either refuse to learn how to live with their dog or cannot grasp the needs of the dog. I cannot tell you which category you fall into.

With this said you, have not read the article AND THE Q&A on house training or you would not have written me. You will find your answers there. You can find this on my Article page.

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Question:

I recently moved in with my boyfriend. I knew beforehand that his dog, a 5 year old German Shepherd / Doberman was not very well trained. After my boyfriend's divorce he allowed his dog to sleep in bed with him. Since I moved in last November, Buddy knows not to do that but will sneak up there when I go in the shower or my boyfriend will allow him to when I leave the room. Not only that, but this dog is allowed to sleep on the couch. Everything smells like dog! He also has 2 Doxin's that come over for "visitations" along with his kids ( give me a break ). These two little hot dogs are allowed to sleep in the bed. When I objected my boyfriend said that there is nothing I can do about it. That was the way they were trained and have always slept in their bed. So that's my first problem: Dogs taking over my bed.

My real problem is that all these dogs go potty in the house. But let's just concentrate on Buddy, the one I have to live with every day. He's 5!!! Big Dog = Big Poop! I know before I moved in these accidents would happen but it just seems like it's getting worse. Every morning I wake up to a fresh pile of poop in the living room along with 1 to 2 pee stains on the carpet ( this happens while we're sleeping, never during the day ). He's ruined one of my comfy rocking chairs from lifting his leg and relieving itself on it. And now he's starting on the other rocking chair and my entertainment center. ( I'm starting to take it personal ). We let him out at night. I even watch him now to make sure he goes before letting him in. I'm at my wits end. I can't walk barefoot in my own home because there has been accidents on every inch of the carpet. I suggested keeping him confined in the laundry room at night and when we go to work during the day but my boyfriend said Buddy would go nuts. My predecessor was a housewife so the dogs always had the freedom to roam the house.

Oh, one more thing. Is it normal for a dog to lick it's privates when they are scared and / or excited? When either Buddy sees his leash or a towel to wipe his feet he lays down and starts peeing all over and licking himself. It's disgusting.

I don't think these dogs got the proper training when they were pups. They were never put in a crate or confined to a certain area. I need help.

Diane

Answer:

You need to read the article and Q&A on house training on my web site.

You need 3 dog crates and a new boyfriend. This is crazy that you allow these dogs to do this.

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Question:

We bought a Mini Dauschand puppy when she was 8 weeks. I also have a standard who is 11 and is not doing so well with her health. We got her about 5 weeks ago. Her living arrangements were very clean and they were well looked after. I did try to crate train her,but I gave up. I wish I would have read your site in the beginning!! Anyways, I messed up! She did pee in her crate and whinned constantly, so of course I took the easy way out and put her in bed with my other dog. My older dog we got at 6 months and have never had a problem with her toilet training. The puppy settled at night, but she keeps peeing a pooing in the bed that they sleep in. I have put paper down and sometimes that's hit or miss! I have let her run around the house, with doors closed where I don't want her to go, because my other dog does.My older dog is very quiet and is well behaved, so I thought it would be a good idea for the puppy to see her behaviors and learn from her. I know that sounds stupid now. Anyways, my question is, is it too late to go back now? Should I start putting her back in the crate? My other dog was trained in the crate when we first got her at 6 months, but we took her out at about a year. I feel mean letting my older dog sleep in her bed and have \the puppy in the crate! Should I put the crate by the older dogs bed? They have been sleeping together for the past 4 1/2 weeks. I need to get control of this before it controls me! Also, is it alright to hold the puppy while we are watching TV or like right now, I have her on my lap.? She can't be in the crate all the time. If you could get back to me I'd be very greatful! I don't want my poor dog screwed up because of my stupid mistakes!

Thanks!
Jill

Answer:

Its never too late to fix mistakes. It just takes longer. A dog must repeat an exercise 30 times to learn and 90 times to fix a mistake. People lose patience and say that old dogs cannot be trained to learn new tricks.

You have to do what I say in the q&a - this dog must live 24/7 in the crate - the only time its out is when it is on its way outside and when it comes inside. All interaction with the dog must be done outside for awhile. You also have to get up in the middle of the night to take the dog outside to pee. We are doing this now with a pup at our house - it sucks but it has to be done.

I would recommend you purchase the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months

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Question:

My continued research carried me to your great web site.

Female senior citizen and first time dog owner purchased a female Imperial Shih-Tzu (the shadow), 6 weeks old - now 5 months old. She is very precious, smart, funny, lots of personality, etc. For many reasons I wanted to train her to 'go' inside in a potty box.

I am using an in-home trainer. He used the leash training first and is now going into off leash training and she is doing great in those regards. My big problem is the potty situation and he thinks it is because of the potty box. For almost 4 months it's the same
pattern: Angel's last meal is around 3:00-4:00 pm, she potty's at 10:00-10:30 pm, sleeps in a small locked crate in the laundry room [poops in the crate], has to be shampooed and the crate washed every morning. She is so tiny, how could she even have anything left in her stomach. No one is giving her 'people food' and nothing to eat after her last meal. She eats Muenster Puppy dry dog food.

The trainer says she is confused because of the potty box and just thinks she is supposed to go in the house (says I will have to give it up). He instructed me to leave her in the dirty crate for several hours instead of rewarding her with a nice warm shampoo. This was hard for me to do so he took her home with him for 10 days to see if he could get her straightened out and currently has her 'going'
outside, but she still goes in the crate even at his house. She went
5 nights with no mess and then just when he was going to bring her home she did it on night #6 (he has had her 20 days).

Your answer to a question on your web site. shed a new light on the
subject: maybe her breeder left the Mother and puppies in a dirty environment for that first 6 weeks and she thinks that is the way to live.

Can the problem be corrected? Isn't it taking a long time? Please advise on these issues and also your opinion of using the potty box.

Thank so much for your time,
Jerri

ANSWER:

The trainer is correct - these potty boxes only train dogs to go in the house. They are a bad idea.

Read the article and Q&A on my web site on house training.

I don't agree with leaving the dog in a dirty crate - rather I recommend taking the dog out every couple of hours and making the dog learn that it only has to wait a little while and it will go out. Then gradually increase the time and if there is a mistake - clean things up and put the dog right back in the crate.

In fact the dog should live 24-7 in the crate when it's in the house. The only time it is out of the crate is when it goes outside. All interaction is done outside not in the house. When in the house its in the crate or on a leash tied to you !!!

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Question on Housebreaking:

Dear Mr. Frawley!

I hope you can help me with a problem I am having - your advise on your web site. to new puppy owners has been excellent and seemed to help others very much.

We have an adorable 3-1/2 month old cairn terrier puppy that we got at age 9 weeks old from a wonderful breeder who really took amazing care of her dogs. Our puppy has been doing very well but seems to have a problem with peeing in the kitchen where he is confined during his play time. I am home with him all day and take him outside quite often, crate him in his crate in the kitchen when I have to do chores outside the kitchen or go out during the day. Finnley is very good in the crate and no accidents or crying while in the crate, sleeps all night without a problem. The problem is that I take him outside for regular pee breaks and yet he will still pee in the kitchen, sometimes just after I bring him in from outside where he has made his pee there. I do leave a water dish down on the floor as we live in Alabama and it's very hot here in the summer, after a walk outside and some playtime in the back yard the dog is usually hot and thirsty so I allow him to have a drink. A short time later he will be playing in the kitchen with our older lab dog and just stand and pee... even though I have taken him outside a short time before. If I take him outside right after catching him pee... he will pee again outside. Needless to say I am very confused over this, especially since he is getting the idea that if he goes to the back door he is letting me know he wants to go outside.

He seems very bright and other than this I have no problems with him, just can't understand why he is peeing so much and seems to think it's great to pee both inside and out! Should I only put down the water dish for a short time during his meals and take it up in-between then??

Any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated! Oh, and Finnley also seems to know that he should "go" outside as I give him a tiny piece of puppy cookie after each outside break and he even sits now to wait for the treat! He's not stupid... just seems to be a pee machine! Help!

Thanks so much,
Joan

Answer:

The problem is how you are living with the dog.

1- We don’t allow pups free time in the house unless we just bring him in and then only for a few minutes while we actually are with the dog. The more exercise when we bring them back inside the more they will pee – so if we play with them it's done outside. The majority of time spent with our pups (for months) is done outside – when in the house the dog is in the crate.

2- We don’t allow our pups to play with our other dogs – in my opinion it’s a HUGE mistake – pups need to bond with the family not the family dog. Pups need to think the center of their universe is the family not the family dog (who can easily be more fun or dangerous)

3- You need my DVD's YOUR PUPPY 8 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS and BASIC DOG OBEDIENCE

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Question on Housebreaking:

We have a six months old cockapoo that we got when he was 10 weeks old.
we crate trained him from the beginning. He cried for a couple of nights but then took to it just fine. When I take him out of the crate, I take him outside and he will pee on command. I take him inside and give him free time in a confined room such as a kitchen or family room or on a leash. He will then go in the house again even if it has only been 10 min since he was outside. 90% of the time he had an accident in the house I would stop him in the middle of doing it and I would say "OUTSIDE" and take him outside. At some point I suspected that he is marking because like I said he will often go again in the house just minutes after going outside. I made him one of those diapers and put it on him. He still peed. After several accidents at home, I decided I'm not going to have this dog pee in my house again so I stopped giving him any free time inside the house. After a few weeks of this confinement (about 2 weeks ago), I decided I would test him. Again, he had just gone outside a mere fifteen min before and I did not give him any water or anything, yet he peed again in the house. I'm wondering if this dog is marking the house because he will do the same thing outside. He will pee and then walk a little bit and then pee again. He sometimes pees three times in a period of 5 minutes. Someone told me that marking is usually only a few drops. I can't see how much peeing he is doing outside but in my house every time he had an accident, it is a small puddle. My concern is this dog is marking. If he is not marking, how long is it still going to take to get the house breaking into his head? He is already six months and neutered. I mean when will I be able to give him free time in my house and be able to have my kids play with him? And most importantly is how will I know this time has come. Most of my friends said their dog learned to never pee in the house within just a few weeks. I've been training this dog for over 4 months now. I feel bad for the dog because he is a hyper one and being in the crate for a long time makes him even more hyper when he is out and then the kids can't play with him because he is all over the place. Please Help.

Best Regards,
Heba

Answer:

This is not an uncommon problem.

You need to just go back to what you were doing that worked - that is the dog lives in the dog crate and ALL interaction is done outside. When it comes inside it goes directly into the crate. We have 5 crates in our furnace room in the basement Only two of our dogs are allowed loose in the house (and only one of those is ever left unattended in the house).

One of our young dogs is loose in the house with us but she is always on a puppy leash. If we get up and go from one room to another we take the dog with us. She is never ever allowed to be unattended.

Exercise (taking the dog for walks) is always the best way to get a dog to pee and poop. It works for people and it s works for dogs.

I also recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there.

I would recommend you purchase the dvd I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months.

I have owned and trained German Shepherds for 40 years. In the past 30 years I have bred over 340 litters of working bloodline German Shepherds. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup.

Read the description of the tape on my web site. Dog training is not rocket science its simple common sense ideas on how to handle and train a dog, The DVD has 2 ½ hours of training information along with 15 puppy training articles that I have written.

You should also consider my 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience - The fact is you have way more to learn than your dog. I always recommend the handlers start studying this DVD right away even though you won't train a lot of the work until the pup is 4 to 6 months old.

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Question:

I have an 11 week old Chihuahua that just lost his sister to Parvo. I purchased the pups together from a breeder so they would have each other when I am not around. Unfortunately one of the puppies passed away from Parvo. Of course I am concerned about the other puppy and getting Parvo. I am keeping a close watch on him and getting his vaccinations in a few days. My training issue is this: Both pups were great about not using the crate for peeing and pooping when they were together. Now that I only have one pup, he is peeing and pooping in his crate. Can this behavior be stress related?

Thanks in advance... it's been an emotional week.

Melody

Answer:

Before I address the training issue, I would caution you about getting a puppy vaccinated after it’s already been exposed to parvo. Being exposed to a disease and not becoming ill, is in effect a vaccination. Giving a vaccine to a puppy whose immune system is dealing with a recent parvo exposure may be deadly. If your pup never becomes sick, he will likely be immune to parvo as he has received “nature’s vaccine” which is the best way to build immunity. Read our vaccinosis article http://leerburg.com/vaccinosis.htm

Your pup may be suffering from a bit of separation anxiety, so I would offer him firm leadership and structure.

Ed recently finished a project we been working on for years titled COMMON SENSE SOULTION TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS. This is a 165 page eBook that that is based on how we house train pups in our home. It is also based on 10 years of emails on house training problems from people like yourself.

In my opinion this eBook is the best collection of information on how to housetrain a dog that’s ever been put together.

I have reviewed your email and this eBook along with my DVD titled YOUR PUPPY 8 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS will guide you through the issues you will face in solving your problems.

Cindy

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