I've almost completed the DVD "The Power of Training Dogs with Markers". We're super excited about training our new pup. I also purchased "The Power of Training Dogs with Food" which I haven't watched yet but will start it tonight.

I will admit that I skipped ahead a bit and looked at trained Cooper to do a few simple tasks I learned on some free Canis Clicker training but with using "yes" as the marker. He can mark the end of a stick with his nose, place his paw on an empty CD case on the floor, will place his nose in my hand when presented and is beginning to offer sit when nothing else is present to allow him to "Show Off".

Cooper is a WSL (West Siberian Laika) and will be 10 weeks old. We are keeping him in the house but would like a little guidance in the area of potty training. Should we be marking and rewarding when he goes? He is so tuned to pooping right after he eats that we started feeding him outside. I mean that dog eats, then poops.

But he doesn't have a lot of bladder control. He will pee most every time we go outside and then when we come back in and sometimes 10 minutes later. Other times he'll go 30 minutes or more.

We do keep him in a crate. The schedule runs: Bedtime for Cooper is 9pm. I will get up about 1:00 am or so and let him go but not eat. Then between 5am and 6am, we'll take him out of his crate and offer food. He eats a bit, goes his business (both), eats a bit more and then comes back inside. One of the kids stay with him for an hour or so. He's always on a leash in the house, because he is just a baby.

During this time, if he whimpers or even looks like he's going to go we head out. Sometimes he pees other times he does not until we get back inside. We give at least 10 minutes . After 1 to 1 1/2 hours, someone will take him out and he may or may not go potty. Then back in the crate for minimum one hour and maximum 2 hours, then everything repeats until bedtime. Of course some playtime and walks are more involved than others. He also usually takes a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day, sometimes longer.

I think we're doing okay but school's only out for a couple more weeks and we need brother Cooper potty trained (or at least 95%) by the time the kids go back to school. I know this was long and rambling but any ideas?

Thanks,

Paul

Hi, Paul, and welcome!

" .... we need brother Cooper potty trained (or at least 95%) by the time the kids go back to school. "

What does this mean to you? At 12 weeks, you know he is still going to have to go out to pee frequently during the day, right?

Tell us more what you hope to have accomplished in the next two weeks.

And you might want to post (or link us to) a picture of your new guy in the Bio section.

some observations from me . . .

first , watch the videos from start to finish at least once before you start to focus on particular sections . there is information in every bit that you may realize ( later ) that you could have used before proceeding .

second , you haven't had the dog for very long but you need to start paying attention to how much food and water the dog is taking in , and when , so that you can start to anticipate how much time has elapsed before the dog " needs " to go out . to start attending to the dog every time he whimpers could turn into a bad habit that may be hard to break .

third : yes , you can mark and reward for taking care of " business " .



i'm gonna google west siberian laika . . . never even heard of it .

ok , just read the wiki on it . . . cool dog . . . raising as a pet , or you going after the valuable , yet elusive black / silver marten ?

@ian bunbury - tree dog. That's what excited me about the breed initially. Supposedly you just keep them in the woods and they'll tree volunteer. We'll see. They are used to hunt most anything, from small fur bearers to wild boar to moose.

@Connie Sutherland - I just hope to figure out a way to extend his time between urinating. He's doing really well with the other but we've been able to time it to his eating. I've never house trained a dog or pup so I don't really know how long it take.

I would be taking a 10 wk old pup outside every 20-30 mins.
No water after 6PM.

"kids back to school".
Forget that for now! NO pup that young is going to be solid or reliable.

 Quote: Bob Scott

I would be taking a 10 wk old pup outside every 20-30 mins.

That's about what it's been. How long before it gets better?

 Quote: Paul Oswalt

 Quote: Bob Scott

I would be taking a 10 wk old pup outside every 20-30 mins.

That's about what it's been. How long before it gets better?

Months, gradually.

I hope you didn't miss the important stuff above .... about whimpering and also about watching the full DVDs. It's tempting to jump ahead, I know .... but not productive.


" I just hope to figure out a way to extend his time between urinating. "

This is a baby. He not only cannot hold urine, but it's not even good for his urinary system. Whoever takes care of him is not going to see big changes between ten and twelve weeks.

The puppy experts will answer, but I'm thinking that you may be up to every hour in two or three weeks. But the whimpering thing at ten weeks is not a good thing ..... you don't want him having to go and being inside, because every time he's forced to go inside, your potty work is set back. He needs to be outside after play, after a drink, after any eating, sleeping, etc. He needs to associate potty 100% with "outdoors."

And when he does go, yes, reward, party!

If you allow a mistake to happen (but don't!) it's too late to do anything about it. Never correct, shout, etc. (Just roll up a newspaper, as we say, and whack yourself on the head. )

How long is 100% connected to how consistent you are with the training. I want a pup to be telling me it wants out by 12-14 weeks. That's just me. I've had more then a couple of pups.

I'll stretch out the time but I sure wont trust a pup till it's 7-8 months old. They're still going out on a regular basis but it will be up to a couple of hours by that time. Of course that's usually about the time they become outside dogs for me.

What Connie said about mistakes. If that happens you set the dog back a ton. Be consistent!

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