Puppy Training Q&As

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

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 quite 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 da...

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! ...

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 ...

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...

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 in...

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 ...

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? Si...

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 ...

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...

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 (n...

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

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,...

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?

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 (...

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 fron...

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 t...

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, bu...

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

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?