Ruth asks…

How to house/pad training older dog?

I got a Papillon two days ago. The breeder said she was 8 months old, but when i took her to the vet for a physical/tests yesterday, the vet estimated her to be much older, at least 2 years. He estimated this by looking at her teeth. All of her adult teeth are in, and extremely covered in plaque. She’s getting them cleaned up when i get her spayed next month.

Anyways, she is not house broken at all. I crate her at night, and i take her out when i hear her start to get up. But last night she wet herself in the crate. I do not think she has any idea where she is supposed to do her business. She will randomly squat and pee. I have put down pads, and i reward her when she uses them, but i have basically had to cover the whole floor in pads so she wont pee elsewhere. I figure for the most part, it would be smart to get her pad trained first.

So the bottom line is: What is the best way to reinforce her using the pads (and to make a distinction between the pads and the carpet)? And how do i keep her from wetting herself in the crate at night?

admin answers:

This is how I trained my dog. I put pads down all over, and I also put toys around them. Then, when she was done, I would put her outside in case she had to go again. I let her outside every night and also when she is done eating, to give her some time to digest, and so she won’t pee herself. I would do that for a couple of weeks until she started sitting in front of the door and waiting for someone to open it. For the pads, I would leave about 2 out in case she goes when your not around. It is a good thing to reward them, so they know that they did what they are supposed to. When she pees on the carpet, you tell her “NO” so she knows that she didn’t do a good thing. Also put pads in her cage at night.

Hope This Helps!

Laura asks…

Should I borrow my parents Older house trained dog to help with my puppies?

Ok here goes… I have three… count them 1…2…3 puppies currently residing at my home. There are two husky puppies that are 10 wks old and a papillon that is six months old. I’ve had dogs all my life, it’s just been a while since I had to deal with puppies. I’m working on house breaking them right now… all of them. My parents have an eight year old dachshund mix who has been (obviously) housebroken for years. Should I ask them if I can borrow Grettel (dachshund) for a couple days so they can see how it’s done?

I’m in training to be a dog trainer… so they’re well behaved, all three sit, stay, come, and lay down on command… they’re just having trouble with the going potty in the house.

I know I need to buy crates…

I know that is a lot of puppies… trust me… I used to run a rescue center with my family in California… this is nothing for me… I just need some advise.
I know that they are babies right now… and I have no problems waiting for them to learn… lots of patients is my middle name. I just wonder if seeing an older dog do it will help?

admin answers:

Holy moly! Well, bless your heart taking these dogs in and training them so well.

I’d love to have some wise answer for you but the truth is, I don’t know if it would work. BUT. I’d love to find out! I say get Grettel over and see how it pans out. Also might be good for the pups to have an older dog to dominate them and keep them lower in the pecking order! How wonderful would it be if Grettel did all the work for you?? You could hire her out to others and make a fortune! ;)

Good luck with your pups. Sounds like fun times ahead!

Nancy asks…

How to house break an older dog that was rescued from a puppy mill.?

I am at my wits end. I have a Italian Greyhound that was kept in a cage for here whole life pregnant. I am having difficulty house training her. Does anybody have any suggestions?
obviously her life not here life
She has no clue that she should not pea in the house, or her crate and does not know how to communicate that she needs to go out.
A crate is comfortable for her to defacate, it is just like her cage.

admin answers:

I would have to give her back. I am really a very caring person who falls in love with every dog I see but if this can’t be done, you can’t ruin your life.If any one can help a person & a dog it is this man http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/ I don’t know if he has a list of questions on there he has answered or if you can write to him or if will help you for an extemely high fee or put you on his show but I do have faith in him knowing the answer. Of see if there are any dog groups you can find on line that are just for owner’s of this breed. They might be able to help or a site for resue dog owners. My friend had to once find a home for one her rescue dogs after having this dog for a long time. I think the dog needed more of an out in the country. Out country house place to live. So know that if this dog is not the right match for you she/he might find a better match & you can find a better match.

George asks…

Help with House Training my older dog?

I have a 6 year old male Boxer that I have had since he was 7 months old. He has lived at my mom’s house for the past 18 months (while I was going thru a divorce). There are 3 people living at my mom’s that all had different schedules so he was let out every few hours day and night. Now he lives with me again since last friday and is crated during the day (while I’m at work). We have tried crating him at night but we’re having problems.

First few nights no big deal he went in his crate easily with his “go to bed” command and a couple dog treats, but the last 2 nights he’s gone to bed easily but a few short hours later he’s been whining terribly!! He is let out for the last time at 10pm and then put to bed, the last 2 nights at 1:30am he has whined so much that we let him out and let him outside. Tuesday night he came back in and we let him lay on the floor in the bedroom, he was fine. Last night after he came back in, we again let him stay in the bedroom but woke up at 4am to him whining again and him having pooped on the floor by the door. SO what do we do?

If we leave him in the crate he cries and keeps us awake, but we can’t have him pooping or peeing in the house. Should we have let him out and then put him back in his crate again or is there another method we should try?!

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

admin answers:

He is definitely old enough to hold himself all night. Do not feed him after 6 pm. When you crate him, let him scream…all night.
He will give that up after a night or two. Everytime you allow him out of the crate, no matter what the purpose, you are teaching him that screaming gets him what he wants, and he will continue to scream louder and longer! Break that habit now.
If you are worried about him having an accident in the crate, then layer it with a small amount of newspaper. This way he won’t be soaking wet if he uses his crate, but will be uncomfortable enough that he will hold himself while he is in it. If you use blankets, then he can urinate in it, but still feel comfortable enough to stay in the crate, and therefore won’t have much incentive to hold himself.
You will have a couple of nights of not getting much sleep, and possibly a morning or two of having accidents to clean up inside of his crate, but if you do this, he’ll learn real quick and life will be much easier!
Make sure that when you get him out of the crate in the morning, that he is quiet, and not crying when you go to get him.

Jenny asks…

older dog house training at night?

If anyone has any advice i would apreciate it, i have a 18mth maltese cross, and other than this problem is perfect and well behaved. But at night he has accidents most nights with number one’s and two’s. Never during the day, we have always put him out at night for at least 15mins, we would walk him but from a pup he has never fowled outside his own garden, so there seems no point, but at a last resort we did but to no joy. He can go for up to two weeks dry but then it starts again and we are left racking our brain thinking what we did different. So please, any tried and tested methods would be fanastic. Thanks Lorraine

admin answers:

Read up on how to do it, and crate train your Maltese. It will help you and them. If you crate train it. The dog will consider the crate its “bed” and as a rule, a dog won’t soil it’s “bed” If you train it right, it can be trained to wait all night to go outside, and can be left several hours during the day if you need to. It doesn’t hurt the dog, just gives it good bladder and bowel control. That should be the first step in anyone’s regimen of house-breaking a dog. Linda_Do is absolutely correct.!

18 months old is not too old to train it)

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