help with house training the new dog

[scudman]

Hey everyone,

The wife just got a ****su/bichon mix puppy. Its almost 9 weeks old. We got it a week ago
And so far training has been ok I haven't trained a dog since I got abby who is our other dog and that was 7 years ago. At night the new pup goes in her crate, she stays in the room so we can hear her and she crys when she has to go out and has not had a mistake at night since we got her. Now during the day she does have the odd one. Like tonight I took her out (like I do at least every half hour) and she had a pee and sat at the door waiting to come in. I brought her in and about 5 minuites later I busted her laying a nice smelly coiler in the middle of the kitchen floor. About an hour before that she peed in the livingroom. Those 2 mistakes were in the evening, during the day the wife said she was awesome and even goes to the door when she needs out. So to stop these mistakes she has what should I do? Limit her roaming area? I take her out at least every half hour and give her lots of time and take her out he second I see her sniffing for a spot to go..

Any help is appreciated

Thanks in advance!

[mommadiesel]

Just keep the puppy on a leash when your in the house, when your in the kitchen hook her on the cupboards, in the living room on whatever. Keep the puppy close then you can be sure to interrupt any mistakes.
I recently got a ****zu x and the bugger would **** wherever he pleased, I keep him on a leash whenever in the house and he is accident free. Everybody's happy.

[doetracks]

I would imagine you're using puppy pads?

I just went through this with my border and I'm nowhere NEAR an expert. Your pup is only 9 weeks old (!!!) and I think you have to expect some accidents for awhile, yet.

When I was training Bailey, I went outside WITH her and told her to go potty anytime I saw her doing so - relating the word with the action. For the first couple months, I was outside with her every time. Borders being what they are, she caught on really fast - never pooped in the house but she *did* have about 4 OTHER accidents. She has a typical whine at the door if she really has to go, you have to learn the signs.

I think mommadiesel is right about not allowing the pup free rein just yet. Besides the obvious potty training, YOU (and family) being in control of that little darling will likely translate into it being a better behaved, more AWARE of social structure dog than the typical people that let fluffy do whatever it whats because it's small and gosh, it's one of the family.

[Whiskey Wish]

I think the most critical difference here is comparing a Shi Tzu with a Border Collie. That's like comparing Mike Tyson with Alberta Einstein. Shi Tzu's are cute as a button but dumb as a plank imho. Border Collies are smarter than 90% of the people that occupy our prison system.
I have raised a hockey sock full of different breeds of dogs over my lifetime and I have never had so much difficulty house training a dog as I have had trying to help house train my daughters new Shi Tzu. All I can say is stay consistent, stay calm, stay patient and gradually the little feces' factory will decide to go outside. Our dogs come and go as they please through a back porch dog door and I watched the Poop Factory walk outside with our dogs, jump all over them as they did their business then happliy pick some up in her mouth and carry it back inside the house. I took it away, cleaned her up then turned around to see her squat and dump in the middle of our kitchen floor.
I dunno for sure but I think there might be a "BRAIN THANG" going on here.
Regards,
Dave.

Our pup is almost 9 mos now and we used the following method. We downloaded time charts so that you get to know the schedule of the animal. Feed the dog at regular times and don't allow grazing all day. Food goes down at a regular time....20 minutes and away it goes.

Pee pads work but my daughter used these and the dog had a heck of a time going outside without the pads

My little schnauzer is pretty good now, good luck

[Pixel Shooter]

My wife has a bichon ****zu, she was adamant she was going to litter train, I laughed Well i was the one left laughing. 2 weeks later 100% and that was 4 years ago and has never had an accident. Treat rewards after going potty in the litter box, start with pee pads , then pee pads with potty rocks over it, then just potty rocks. I have to say it was a pleasant surprise, they are not stupid, they luv food so it wasn't that difficult, just had to be patient and consistent. Everytime after a nap or 15 minutes after eating, in the potty. I wouldnt take her every half hour as she can hold it much longer.

Benefits is small dog freezing outside to go to the washroom, no more. raining, not coming in with mud on their paws, and quick simple cleanup, no looking for poop out in the yard. She is young , great time to start. Encouraging your pup, lots of praise goes along ways, getting mad and vocal will only go backwards, be consistent.

good luck

[Almer Fudd]

I think Whisky Wish is correct about the mental capacity of some breeds.
My wife caved in and we got another Border Collie at Christmas this year.
We had 1 error in the house and another 2 at the office in 6 months.

We didn't let the dog have the run of the house or the office. He sleeps in a transport kennel and was supervised constantly for the first few months.
Everytime he came out of the kennel we took him outside and he was told to pee and couldn't come back in until he did. After about 3 weeks he would pretend to pee if he didn't need to just to come back inside. It's important to go outside with the dog so you can praise him when he does go in the proper place.
Bowel movements seem to be pretty predictable so spend enough time outside with your dog during those 2-3 times a day when they drop the log.
Most dogs have a pretty predictable pattern so you need to identify those signs.
Even with a smart, eager to please breed it a big time commitment at first.

Good Luck

[Sporty]

House training takes time and more so with certain breeds. I agree with others here, don't let the dog have free reign of the house. If it has an accident in the house make sure to deodorize the spot so they aren't prone to go there again since many dogs rely on smell to do the deed. Vanilla extract is a great deodorizer for pet smells.

When you take it out, take it on the leash so it isn't able to head to the door right away, this way you have control over where in the yard you'd like it to go, you kill 2 birds with one stone. Limit the water in the evenings and general rule of thumb is that they'll need to go anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes after drinking or eating so don't allow it to free eat, feed it at certain times then you'll have more control over when it needs to go out. You've only been at it for a week, I'm sure even the most genius breeds have to be worked with for longer than a week to get it right.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by doetracks

When I was training Bailey, I went outside WITH her and told her to go potty anytime I saw her doing so - relating the word with the action. .

That is what I was told and what I did with my dog. Catch them doing what you want and associate one word with it. Then that word basically becomes the order to do it.

[Sporty]

^^^^ My dog as well has been trained with the "hurry up". Helps immensely when we travel and have to stay in hotel rooms and want him to get his business done and over with.

[doetracks]

OMG no, there is NO comparison between a BC and a little dog like that. None. Nada. NO contest.