Our new puppy

Ron-P

We brought him home on the 12th, he was born 09/10/2008. He's a Snoxie, part Dachshund, part Mini Schnauzer. He'll grow to about 10-12lbs, nice and small. His name is Truffles.









Any tips on house breaking would be great. Currently we have him in the living room in a 4'x4' play pen and he sleeps in a small crate at night. We are trying to house break him but it's tough, he likes to go in his pen and not outside. We have some special drops that are supposed to aid in training but there not working too well. I realize he is very young (9 weeks). I took the door off the crate but I think from here on out I'll lock him in it at night so if he goes, it'll be right where he sleeps, hopefully this will start to help.

Thanks for any suggestions.

ben62670

Dogs are comfortable being caged at night. Don't use you hand to correct him. Use a newspaper rolled up. You don't want him shy of your hand. A soft smack is plenty. Rubbing his nose in it, and saying bad dog works well. Cute dog.
Enjoy
Ben

tonyb

Reward him when he goes outside,scold him when he doesn't.Dogs understand repetition,so you must be diligent with a schedule for him.Keep track of when you feed him and how long it takes for it to get through his system.You will most likely feed him in late afternoon so by morning,he's ready to do his thing when you let him out.Be patient,your own kids weren't potty trained in a day either.Cute pooch,good luck.

nikolas812

I don't know if you seen the thread I started about month ago about my new puppy....



But he turned 3 months on the 15th of this month.. It took almost exactly a month to break him. The guy I got him from is a professional dog trainer and this is what he told me too do.


Get him a crate just big enough to turn around in. No bigger. Leave him in it at night and whenever you can't watch him. With it only being big enough for him to turn around in, he won't go in it! Or shouldn't anyway. They don't want to lay in there own mess. Every time he does his business outside praise him and give him a treat immediately after he does it. If he does it in the house scald him but don't hit him and immediately take him outside. Wait for to do his business and praise him and give him a treat. By keeping him in the crate its going to teach him to hold it and cut down on messes in the house. While he's out and about in the house, if you notice him about to do something. Try too catch him before he does it. And take him outside and let him do his thing. Then praise and treat. After a couple weeks I got to the point where I didn't give him a treat outside anymore. But rather when we came in I gave him one at the back door. After month. He now goes to the back door and whines to go out. I open the door and let him out. When he comes back to the door to come in. I let him in and give a treat and some praise. I still do this even though he house broke. And will continue to do this until about six months old....


The crate is a godsend and he will soon learn to love it.... My dog just goes in it now on his own. It his place and he knows it.

Also don't ever let him out while he's whining. This will make him think he will get let out if he whines. Wait for him to quit whining, then let him out.


It's going to be tough, and there will be accidents. Just be patient and consistent and things will come around. When it does. Its great. Makes you feel proud of what you've accomplished with the dog. My dog even seems to be happier at this point also. Maybe because he doesn't get in trouble near as much. I don't know.


Good luck. And if have anymore questions feel free to ask.




Nick

wizzy

I'm sure you're on it already, but search Google for "potty training puppy" and read and suck up as many good ideas as you can.

wizzy

nikolas812 wrote: »

Also don't ever let him out while he's whining. This will make him think he will get let out if he whines. Wait for him to quit whining, then let him out.

This reminds me of another one like this. People who are trying to get their dog to not bark by yelling at them. Totally the wrong thing to do ...

ben62670

nikolas812 wrote: »

I don't know if you seen the thread I started about month ago about my new puppy....



But he turned 3 months on the 15th of this month.. It took almost exactly a month to break him. The guy I got him from is a professional dog trainer and this is what he told me too do.


Get him a crate just big enough to turn around in. No bigger. Leave him in it at night and whenever you can't watch him. With it only being big enough for him to turn around in, he won't go in it! Or shouldn't anyway. They don't want to lay in there own mess. Every time he does his business outside praise him and give him a treat immediately after he does it. If he does it in the house scald him but don't hit him and immediately take him outside. Wait for to do his business and praise him and give him a treat. By keeping him in the crate its going to teach him to hold it and cut down on messes in the house. While he's out and about in the house, if you notice him about to do something. Try too catch him before he does it. And take him outside and let him do his thing. Then praise and treat. After a couple weeks I got to the point where I didn't give him a treat outside anymore. But rather when we came in I gave him one at the back door. After month. He now goes to the back door and whines to go out. I open the door and let him out. When he comes back to the door to come in. I let him in and give a treat and some praise. I still do this even though he house broke. And will continue to do this until about six months old....


The crate is a godsend and he will soon learn to love it.... My dog just goes in it now on his own. It his place and he knows it.

Also don't ever let him out while he's whining. This will make him think he will get let out if he whines. Wait for him to quit whining, then let him out.


It's going to be tough, and there will be accidents. Just be patient and consistent and things will come around. When it does. Its great. Makes you feel proud of what you've accomplished with the dog. My dog even seems to be happier at this point also. Maybe because he doesn't get in trouble near as much. I don't know.


Good luck. And if have anymore questions feel free to ask.




Nick

Top notch advice. I had a German Short-haired Pointer. Those suckers were very head strong, but I too used the crate, and took her straight outside when I let her out:)

Fireman32

nikolas812 wrote: »

I don't know if you seen the thread I started about month ago about my new puppy....



But he turned 3 months on the 15th of this month.. It took almost exactly a month to break him. The guy I got him from is a professional dog trainer and this is what he told me too do.


Get him a crate just big enough to turn around in. No bigger. Leave him in it at night and whenever you can't watch him. With it only being big enough for him to turn around in, he won't go in it! Or shouldn't anyway. They don't want to lay in there own mess. Every time he does his business outside praise him and give him a treat immediately after he does it. If he does it in the house scald him but don't hit him and immediately take him outside. Wait for to do his business and praise him and give him a treat. By keeping him in the crate its going to teach him to hold it and cut down on messes in the house. While he's out and about in the house, if you notice him about to do something. Try too catch him before he does it. And take him outside and let him do his thing. Then praise and treat. After a couple weeks I got to the point where I didn't give him a treat outside anymore. But rather when we came in I gave him one at the back door. After month. He now goes to the back door and whines to go out. I open the door and let him out. When he comes back to the door to come in. I let him in and give a treat and some praise. I still do this even though he house broke. And will continue to do this until about six months old....


The crate is a godsend and he will soon learn to love it.... My dog just goes in it now on his own. It his place and he knows it.

Also don't ever let him out while he's whining. This will make him think he will get let out if he whines. Wait for him to quit whining, then let him out.


It's going to be tough, and there will be accidents. Just be patient and consistent and things will come around. When it does. Its great. Makes you feel proud of what you've accomplished with the dog. My dog even seems to be happier at this point also. Maybe because he doesn't get in trouble near as much. I don't know.


Good luck. And if have anymore questions feel free to ask.




Nick

All very good tips. I hosebroke my dog the same way. My dog is crate trained because of it. When I leave for work I open the door to the crate and he runs in. It took 2 weeks for me but every dog is different. Cute pup by the way congarats.

Danny Tse

Ron,

I have nothing to add other than "what an adorable puppy!!". Best of luck on the training. My family lucked out with Bogi, the Old English Sheepdog....he was housetrained by the time he came to us @ 7 months.

BIZILL

wut nikolas said, but instead of "SCALD" him:eek:, scold him.:p

remember, smaller dogs can't hold it in anywhere near as long as big dogs. he'll have to go more frequently.

Ron-P

nikolas812 wrote: »

I don't know if you seen the thread I started about month ago about my new puppy....

Get him a crate just big enough to turn around in. No bigger. Leave him in it at night and whenever you can't watch him. With it only being big enough for him to turn around in, he won't go in it! Or shouldn't anyway.

Nick

What if he goes in his crate in the middle of the night, do I get up and clean it or let him whine and stay in his mess until the morning?

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions so far.

dpljr

The crate worked for me in housebreaking my dog too. She was a little older (5 months) when I got her, but had lived in a kennel. She didn't want to go where she slept, and a little scolding when she went elsewhere was all it took. Cute pup, by the way. Good luck with him.

nikolas812

Ron-P wrote: »

What if he goes in his crate in the middle of the night, do I get up and clean it or let him whine and stay in his mess until the morning?

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions so far.

I would clean it up. I wouldn't feel right about letting him lay in it. My dog has never went in his crate. He would hurt himself before he went in the crate. Most dogs are like this from what I understand.

If he goes in the crate. One of two things happened. The crate is too big. Or you left him in there too long.


The dog should be fine over night. Just let him out before you put him in the crate for the night. His body should slow down once he goes a sleep and he won't need to go out.

I also wouldn't leave him in the crate anymore than 4 hours during the day. Maybe even less depending on how old he is. I know my dog is about to burst at 4 to 5 hours, and he is 3 months old and he is also a big dog.




Nick

cfrizz

Adorable pup Ron, congrats!

nikolas812

Try to keep a schedule the best you can. This will help things dramatically and help speed up the breaking process.

I put my dog in the crate at 9 pm every night and he stays there until 6 am with no problem.

I then let him out and let him eat and drink. I then put him back in the crate at 8am and let him back out at 12pm.

I let him eat and drink and then put him back in at 1pm

At 5pm I let him out and he stays out until 9pm. and then we repeat the cycle.


This has worked great so far.... The More consistant you are, the quicker things should go during breaking and training.



Your schedule may vary. But try to keep it consitant...



Nick

BIZILL

by the way, my little chihuahua pisses and poo's in kitty-litter...

maybe worth a shot to you? anything you'd consider doing?

BaggedLancer

You trained your dog in a litter box? That's a great idea, didn't think it was possible.

Ron-P

That's not a bad idea, the kitty-litter training. But, if I can, I'd rather he go outside so I'll continue trying to train him that way. I do have a tortoise that likes to eat it so it's like a recycle program right in my backyard, no joke. Of course, the first time I caught Dusty eating it I had to pull him away, probably not the best thing for him to eat.

We had a great first night in the crate. I locked him in about 9:30 and he slept the night through until we got up at 5 to take him out. He did not make a mess in the crate at all and was quite all night.

Joe08867

Crating does work quite well. And when the little guy is out and about let him out of the house to do his business often. It helps train him as to where he should be going.

Cute dog by the way. The name is nice too. I have two mini Dachshunds that weigh about what he will full grown (Ziggy Stardust And Indiana Jones).

nikolas812

Ron-P wrote: »

That's not a bad idea, the kitty-litter training. But, if I can, I'd rather he go outside so I'll continue trying to train him that way. I do have a tortoise that likes to eat it so it's like a recycle program right in my backyard, no joke. Of course, the first time I caught Dusty eating it I had to pull him away, probably not the best thing for him to eat.

We had a great first night in the crate. I locked him in about 9:30 and he slept the night through until we got up at 5 to take him out. He did not make a mess in the crate at all and was quite all night.

Cool beans.


Sounds like things are going good so far.


My dog was the same way. The first time I put him in the crate. He started to whine just a little. I spoke to him in a comforting voice " Chase, no". He quit whining and has been fine ever since.


Good luck, be patient and have fun with one another.



Nick

shawn474

I have a friend who is a dog trainer. She suggested to crate tarin (as others have suggested). we did it and it worked awesome. The only problem is getting new crates because they outgrow the. If you want to try buying a crate it can growm into, one suggestion is to put a box in a bigger crate so it has limited space. If the crate is too big, the dog will have accidents.

The other thing is to never smack the dog (either with your hand or any other object). I have never smacked my dog and can honestly say she heals when I call her and never has an accident in the house. A stern voice is enough most times, but if you catch them in the act, have a can full of pennies. Shake it when they are peeing or pooping. It scares them and stops the behavior. Take her right outside and reward her when she goes outside. That works for chewing, getting in mischeif, etc. Sounds corny, but it works.

Hope you enjoy the little guy. He sure is cute.

Shawn

shadowofnight

Cool looking little dude It's been a lot of years since I had to worry about housebreaking a puppy....the last 15 or so years all of my dogs have been rescued by myself off of the street or at a couple of shelters and were already housebroken.

One ( My Lab/hounddog mix....the others are Rotweiller and an african ridgeback ) was adopted out twice and returned back to the shelter by both people for destroying property outside....come to find out he was trying to get back in the house is all....I adopted him and he has been the most perfect dog anybody could ask for in the house....housebroken and has never chewed one item.

Good luck and a happy life for your new little dude

fatchowmein

I 100% agree with Nick. Crate training and a precise schedule of food, water, exercise, potty breaks, and sleep time for at least 6 months. Yep, that meant me driving home during lunch every day for 6 months for my lab.

Morning
Potty. Feeding/watering. Potty.

Lunch
Potty. Feeding/watering. Potty.

Late afternoon
Potty. Long walk.

Dinner
Potty. Feeding/watering. Potty.

8PM
Water. Potty. Long walk.

10:30PM
Potty

11PM
Bedtime.

Now that he's 8, he still goes to bed at 11PM. Sighs at me if I'm still up. If I'm up really late, he'll come out of the bedroom to give me an evil look. Great dog. Worth the effort. Begin puppy training with the end in mind. Puppies are cute and fun but a lot of work to turn them into a great companion when they're older.

Good luck. Enjoy.