Question about puppy training?

8 Comments

1. nickkelly4dogs says:

   March 18, 2011 at 8:27 am

   Puppies are generally fed twice a day. He should be taken out to eliminate at least 8 times a day. This way he gets the message to pee outside only. 3 or 4 times a day won’t cut it for puppies. They may not be able to hold it in for more then 2 hours. The crate training is good. If you are not playing with him or feeding him, then I would use that time to keep him in the crate and then take him out to eliminate and maybe do some things with him and put him back in. They should not be in the crate no longer then 45 minutes.
   References :
2. Christopher S says:

   March 18, 2011 at 9:13 am

   How old is the puppy?
   References :
3. moof says:

   March 18, 2011 at 9:23 am

   "I want him to be free inside the house"
   - That should be the goal, yes, but don’t feel bad about his lack of freedom right now. You wouldn’t let a little toddler roam freely, would you? No, you would watch him closely, and you’d have him down in a crib or play-pen or whatever if you couldn’t keep your eyes glued to him. Like a little kid, your puppy needs to earn freedom as he develops self control and maturity. Until then, don’t feel bad about crating him for his own sake when you can’t watch him.

   "any recommendations as to how i train this little boy?"
   - Ah, train in what way? Since the rest of this question is about housebreaking, I’ll assume that’s what you mean. If so, here’s what I recommend:
   http://dogstardaily.com/training/errorless-housetraining
   (You should browse the rest of the articles on that site, too!)

   "how many times should i feed him in a day?"
   - Three times is good. Like babies, puppies need frequent small meals, so don’t feed him one big meal a day or anything.

   "and is it okay to let him out the crate when he’s in the house?"
   - Of course it is! I mean, if you know he’s empty because you just brought him out and he relieved himself, then you can be pretty sure he won’t have an accident, so as long as you can watch him (either shut him into the room you’re in, or tether him on a long leash), then it’s fine!
   References :
4. ??????? ~Tough Puppy~ says:

   March 18, 2011 at 9:49 am

   During the day you should not be crating unless you cannot watch his every move. Like if you leave to run errands.

   You take him outside to the same spot every hour or 2 & give him the "go potty" command, when he goes you give lots of praise.

   You should also take him out after napping, eating, & playing. You can use baby gates or pet gates to keep him confined to whatever room you are in that way you can better keep an eye on him to know when he needs to go out & to correct him with a firm NO! if he does have an accident, also after an accident he should still be taken out to the potty spot & told to go. He should not have free roam of the house or be left unsupervised until he is fully potty trained/housebroke.

   You have to be consistent, that is the key & he will catch on & be trained much quicker.
   Start him on a daily schedule/routine & stick to it.

   I’m not sure how many times you should feed him, how old is he? If he is under 12 weeks I would feed him at least 3 times a day.
   References :
5. Independent says:

   March 18, 2011 at 9:56 am

   Well well.. I know a way to make this guy to pee outside but you have to be patient…

   The best way to train him is to get him outside every 3 hours… (Actually you have to do it every 2 hours but it’s still fine)

   By this way, you teach him that’s he has to pee outside and at the last walk he will realize it’s his last chance to pee

   Of course when he grow up (when it’s adult) you will minimize the amount of the every day walks to 2 and an extra hour for walking but now AT LEAST 4-5 times / day.

   But you MUST teach him now (until he became 5 months old) because now it can absorb any kind of training like a sponge.
   References :
   Some useful books :/
6. Liz says:

   March 18, 2011 at 10:15 am

   We rescued a young lab about a year ago. We bought a crate and put him in for nights and when we had to leave him alone. We took him outside as soon as he came out of the crate, but then we left him out in the house as long as we could watch him. We took him out as soon as he showed any signs of needing to toilet. He was mostly trained in about a week, but we did spend a lot of time with him. He was very comfortable his cage, and would go and lie down in there to sleep. Except when we needed to keep him in, we never locked the door, so it was more like a home than a punishment. Labs are wonderful dogs, but very rambunctious and need lots of exercise.
   References :
   Personal experience.
7. Gabby says:

   March 18, 2011 at 10:47 am

   With the bathroom situation train your dog to pee on pads put a pad in every room like on the corner.
   And you should feed ur dog once in the morning and once in the evening. And dont leave the food out leave the food out for 20 minutes pick up the bowl and dont give the food until the next feeding time.
   And if you do want to crate train the dog dont leave him in the crate all day because then he will not want to be in the crate he will not like the crate anymore.
   References :
   http://animal.discovery.com/tv/its-me-or-dog/
8. Anne Caley says:

   March 18, 2011 at 11:08 am

   Feed your puppy at least 3 times a day as for now. Crate training is a very effective tool because it gives the dog a smaller space to claim as their own, tapping into that instinctual desire to not make a mess where they sleep. And try to keep him in the crate whenever you are away from home, and when you leave, let him out for a potty break just before putting him in his crate. Give him one potty break every 3 to 4 hours during the day while he’s real young, but by 4 months he should be good for up to 8 hours.
   References :
   http://www.shihtzudogtraining.com/handling-potty-problems/