Kingdom of Pets

Posted by Patt
Mar 17, 2008

Hi,

I have a four month old JRT that I have been trying to housetrain for almost 6 weeks now. We use the crate training method, take him out upon waking, after meals, before and after play and before bed. I am home so only have him in the crate for a couple hours at a time then spend at least 30 minutes of play with him before he goes back, longer play times in the evenings.
My problem is this Finn only at rare times lets me know he has to go, he does this by a quiet whine or going to the door for a moment. Most of the time I think I just get to him and get him out before he has to do his...thing
In the evening he tends to just squat and pee if I look away for even a moment, I use the oder clean up products when he does, and it still continues.
HOW do I get him to let me know when he has to go..is training supposed to take this long? He always goes outside when I take him to his spot, but this is starting to wear on me and I feel like I must be doing something wrong. ANY help and or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Patt

Posted by cke
Mar 24, 2008

My puppy also does not seem to have the typical call signs. I've trained numerous dogs over the years, and this one is the first one to challenge my sanity and patience like this. Not only does he not give me call signs, resulting in the necessity of a rigid schedule and crate training (which is going surprisingly well) but this dog will invariably NOT eliminate in any predictable way outside either. When I first brought him home I had the entire week off for spring break, and I literally waited upwards of two hours for him to eliminate outside after I caught him (right away, less than a few drops had ended up on the carpet) and took him outside (and this is not a one time thing, this is an every day process.) The only fairly predictable elimination need is after an extended nap. Not after food, water, play, an hour in his crate...all the typical times a dog would need to eliminate. Forcing him to remain in a certain spot (on a lead) is also not working for me or him at all, and standing still waiting for him to decide for upwards of 30 minutes at a time is wearing thin on my patience and it gets really cold (for me, the dogs could care less about the cold wind) at which point I give up, take the lead off, and go inside and watch from the door. At 8-9 weeks, I really don't think a puppy is ready for a leash and I certainly don't think it helps to keep them in certain spot for that long. The crying and whining while I try out this leash/certain spot method is my only evidence for it in this case, but it seems very counter productive so far.

Any NEW tricks I should be trying might be helpful, so let me, and everyone else, know what they are. I say "NEW" because after reading a lot of the posts, the replies from the moderators are all the same old information. Rereading and persistence is not working for me or for the puppy, so some fresh ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kelly

Posted by puppylove
Mar 29, 2008

Well....I don't know if I have any "new" ideas to give you, but I sure understand your frustration! I got incredibly lucky with my little girl. I got Keira when she was 11 weeks old, and Dachshunds are suppose to be very hard to house train, and no one believes me when I tell them this, but Keira was fully house trained in only 14 days!

Here is what I did with Keira...... every time when I had let her out of the crate or after she ate or drank I said "let's go potty" in a very happy voice. I took her outside on a leash to the area I wanted her to relieve herself, and let her sniff the area. When she did her potty I immediately said "good girl, good potty" in a very happy voice, gave her a small biscuit treat, and a petting or a rub on the head. I did this each and every time she went potty. After 7 days of this and many, many outside potty trips in the -20 to -30 degree weather (sometimes seemed like every hour or less), I started letting her outside from my patio door on her own leashed to a runner. I stayed right by the door, and watched to make sure she went potty. When I let her back in the house, I continued with the happy praise "good girl, good potty" gave her a small biscuit treat, and petting. I started phasing out the intense praise and treats after about 2 weeks.

She sleeps in her crate at night and is put in it when I am not home. I still say "let's go potty" when she is let out of her crate, and from time to time I will give her a treat when she comes back in the house just to keep her on the right track.

Just remember, puppies have to be watched each and every moment. If you can't watch them they need to be crated or gated in an area that won't be ruined by accidents or so they don't chew on things they shouldn't. If you see your puppy walking around and sniffing the floor, that is your clue it has to go potty and you need to get it outside quickly!

Now when she has to go potty she will go to the patio door and whimper. If I am not in the area, she will hunt me down (per say) and whimper and run in the direction of the door. I say "let's go potty" and make her sit before I put on the tie out runner. I open the patio door and tell her to wait, were she must sit until I tell her "OK".

I hope this helps????
Shelly

JRT doesnt let me know when....