Comment

Comment by Parker on May 16, 2008 at 2:01pm

I did the "take It" and "leave it" commands with Grover too and he caught on really quickly when we worked with the treats. So that is definitely something to try.

Comment by Rayanne on May 16, 2008 at 1:46pm

I also have been crate-training and it is starting to pay off. In the beginning I was afraid to scold when they went in the house, but eventually I did. I think accidents have decreased now. I can usually blame myself if they have an accident now, for not taking them out often enough (every 20-30 minutes). You could use a timer so that it rings every 30 minutes. When they start holding it in between alarms and associate that sound with potty, you can start to increase the time in between. My mother swears by this method.

When they chew, I let out a sharp "Hey!" When they look up at me like, "What the--?" then I take the object away. If you are Johnny-on-the-spot, you could have a treat ready for when they look up at you, or at least praise them. You might want to give a Leave It or Let It Go command when you take the object away. You can train this by holding a treat in front of him, and when he goes to take it, close your hand and give the command. After a few tries, he'll sit there and wait for it. When he does, offer the treat and give release command "Okay" or "Take it". I'm not an expert, but that's what we learned in training class. I was just working with my puppies on this last night and after about 10 minutes was able to lay a treat on the floor and they both laid there and waited for me to give it to them.

Comment by Kitty's Corner on May 16, 2008 at 1:26pm

I have a 6ft.x6ft. short pen in my laundry/pantry room and within it I keep Kittys napping crate.And that area ,especially,in the early monthes kept her focused on the toys and chews that I put in there. She never pottied in that pen,ever.And I always went out with her when she needed to go and used the words"go potty" and then cheered,clapped and said"you did it!' when she went.Sounds silly,but,worked great.Have faith,he will get it.

Comment by Parker on May 16, 2008 at 12:37pm

Hey Sheila, Are you crate training him? I really think that has made potty training so much easier for us. We just crate him when we can't be watching him, at night, and during the day when we leave for work. Also, I go out with him and while he's pottying, I say "good boy, Go Potty!" No he has started associating doing his business with "go potty", which makes it easier for him to know what it is we are outside for. Crate training helps with the chewing too, they just don't have opportunity to chew anything you don't want them to. That and LOTS of chew toys!! :) Good luck! I know it's frustrating! JD is so adorable though! I love his eyes!