Great advice, CJ, and from everyone!

And shining through what everyone says:

Anne: "I would treat him as if her were an 8 wk old pup & take him out every 1/2 hour if you have to & that's what it takes."

Barbara: "Treats, happy, excitement when he voids outside. Smack yourself upside the head (NO frustration toward the pup) if something happens inside."

CJ: "Reinforce the positive, totally ignore the negative. .... develop a routine. "

Elaine: "... consistent, patient, and telling yourself you'll both get through this."


And Jenny and all have said some great stuff. I'd review every post in full. These folks have been there.



Number one, always number one with starting over on house-training, is not to let the accidents happen. It's work, it's vigilance, it's an alarm clock, it's serious dedication. But every time he is rewarded for outside potty is a rung on the ladder.

Dogs who were paper-trained (or forced to potty in the kennel) are the hardest, IME. I cannot say enough against paper-training; it's training exactly what we do not want!

For me, "I would treat him as if her were an 8 wk old pup & take him out every 1/2 hour if you have to & that's what it takes" is my mantra, along with "party down for those good potty trips," which you will trigger with your consistent vigilance and which will become his new second nature.

But you can do it. You CAN do it.

Anne~ Thank you excellent thought on the natures miracle, I just opt for the best natural source but also the least expensive too, sometimes lol.

CJ~ Thank you so much for your insight on the matter. Your thoughtfulness has been greatly appreciated for sure.
I never thought that he may be marking his crate at this age for security reasons. That is a good thought of interest. Its very interesting that he has NOT peed in his crate or in the house since, I have put up the inquiry for advice...but then again maybe he has felt me relax and also a bit different technique. He also will go in freely on his own, and lays down with the door open. He is doing very well last couple of days, but I also know that they can also have an off day and that is not to worry about, but keep doing the same consistent training.

I do have to say how SMART he is!! And I capitalize that because he did something yesterday that made me scratch my head out of bewilderment. here goes the story, I had been on the computer, my son (4) on the couch watching his movie. And they are close in the big great room. Now I have a large round dog bed and a low but large wicker basket that has a good bakers dozen of toys for Yoshi. Now this is on the other side of the room behind the loveseat in a large open area. I used to have it in front of the patio slider door on the opposite side of the room...Now I had gotten off the computer and laid on the couch my son never getting off the couch. ( While I was on the computer I noticed Yoshi laying on the laminate floor next to his bed and toy basket.) I laid down on the couch with my son and about 10 min later I felt a pushing on the couch. I was wondering if Yoshi was biting at the couch or pawing under it or something so I turned around to see, and to MY AMAZEMENT he was dragging/pulling his big bed with his TOY BASKET on top of it with all his toys!!!!!!!! He had dragged it all the way across the room to where it used to be, stood up on his bed and started pulling his favorite toys out on his bed and then laid down on the floor and fell asleep as if he was dead dog tired!!!!! Is that an intelligent dog or what??? I took some pics of him doing it, I had to take them or my hubby would not have believed me...lol But I have NOT figured out how to upload photos on here....uggh! Any hints?

LOL!

You can upload them to a free Photobucket account and link us to them.

I have Picasa 3 an online photo account. will that work??
Plus I cannot figure out how to put a photo on my signature Like I see others do... I have read how to do it in FAQ, but it won't , yikes! I must be dumb when I thought I was pretty good with stuff like this..lol

Since I don't know that one, I can't help. I'm not great at this stuff, but I have mastered Photobucket. LOL Took me a while, too.

Someone will see this who has Picasa 3 ....

 Quote: Heather Ordonez

I never thought that he may be marking his crate at this age for security reasons.

LOL, a totally new concept in my mind too. Had to let the hamsters run at full speed for that one.

But after giving some thought to the strange behavior you were describing and thinking about the little guy’s circumstances it just kind of made enough sense to post. Regardless, whatever it was, I’m so glad to hear things are on the upswing for you guys.

The independently playing with “HIS” toys sounds so cute and is very typical of these guys. I’d be really surprised to hear that you had a shoe go missing or a table leg gets chewed. They just seem to be born mindful of stuff that’s not theirs. But when they know they can have it, they really know that too. And not in a resource guarding way, more of a “go to” thing or the proverbial security blankie type stuff. Hence the reason the “my crate” thing came to mind.

And yes, they are incredibly smart, in an ingenious kind of way. I hadn’t owned a shepherd in a while until Vince came along. He just blew me away with how quickly he’d do stuff and how “willing” he was to work for me. With the northern breeds, it more of a negotiation. If the stars are lined up just right, you’re good to go and can get a lot accomplished. If not, wishing on all the stars out there ain’t gonna make it happen. Thank goodness those days are few but often enough that it gives the breed a rep.

If corrections are introduced when they really want nothing to do with what you’re asking, for whatever reason, this starts to pick away at the relationship. If you continue, it goes downhill very quickly. They’re really a breed that, at times, requires an incredible amount of patience.

They get pack structure stuff really quickly though (as you’re seeing) quicker than most breeds and have no problem understanding the hierarchy. They watch. You don’t need to drill the “boss” stuff into their heads. They’re happy just being included in “their” family and will go out of their way to please a fair leader.

Respect goes a long way with these guys. It's what I think makes them so regal. Treat them like the lines of royalty that were bred deep in their past and you’ll have the best-behaved little prince you can imagine.

Again, so happy things are going well and can’t wait to see the pictures!! I hope someone who knows Picasa comes along really soon.