PART 2 OF: I’m having trouble training my new puppy. My major problem is potty training her…….?
IFirst, Thank you all so much for your answers! Some of you posed questions in your responses and I’d like to address them. I adopted her from a shelter. She was a stray wandering with her two brothers. She’s a year old (about). She had no tags, and they did not give her a name. So far, I have not crate trained her. Since she was spayed only a week ago, I kept her in my bathroom the first day.. The second day I closed all the doors in the house and let her stay inside, free to wander (mostly tile, thank goodness). She’s pretty much been free to roam since then. I will not keep her outdoors, ever. I live in AZ. Since I got her to go outside, I did “scold” her for going inside by putting my finger on her nose and telling her “we potty outside.” and when she turned to putty, I felt awful and haven’t scolded her since. I take her out myself. I had to walk her on a leash at first, but now she follows me. I HAVE to walk WITH her or she’ll just sit by the door.
Potty training a dog can take a lot of effort, and is almost a full time job. Your job is a little easier since she is not a puppy she won’t need to go to the bathroom AS often.
The problem is, a dog won’t remember why you are scolding her unless you catch her in the act of doing it. They may LOOK like they know what you are talking about, because dog’s are good at reading our expressions and know when to look “scolded”… but that doesn’t mean she understands.
The trick is to catch her in the act, clap your hands or shout to startle her which should make her stop and then take her outside imediately, when she goes potty outside, PRAISEPRAISEPRAISE her. Jump up and down and act like a nut if that will make her happy, if she likes little treats, that is good also.
Also, taking her out on a regular schedule to get her to go potty outside, without having an accident inside first is good. You should take her out, give her five minutes to go to the bathroom, encourage her with whatever word you want to use for potty (I tell my dog to “go pee”). If she doesn’t go in about 5 minutes, bring her back in and try again in an hour. The idea here is that she understands that you are taking her out to go to the bathroom, not just to roam and play. That can come later.
This obviously isn’t going to work while you aren’t home, but with enough time, it is effective. Due to a family emergency (emergency brain surgery following a caraccident) my dog was once left inside for 28 hours before someone could get to her. I felt terrible when we found out that she hadn’t peed in the house at all! Poor puppy held her bladder for more than a day!
I love the book “Canine Good Citizen” and recommend it to all dog owners!
Secret To Dog Training – Solved You Dog’s Behavior Problems