I got Ferris two days ago, and it's been wonderful! I've been having a few problems with housebreaking though. He has a spot in the house that he always goes to do his business. Whenever I sense that he has to go, I take him outside, wait for him to go, but he doesn't. I take him back inside and he immediately goes to pee in that spot again. What should I do?
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Hello hello! :) Housebreaking is a fun time. Take a loot at posts in our FAQ on this very popular subject!
http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/new-puppy-soon-learning-from?co...
Basically your problem boils down to: too much freedom, too soon. Don't worry if you need to keep him confined or attached to you on a leash for weeks, maybe even months! It's worth it in the end as an educated dog is a happy dog. Also, invest in Nature's Miracle to clean the "spot" - only enzymatic cleaners can truly scrub out the scent that makes a spot tantalizing for a puppy over, and over again. Take Ferris out frequently, every hour on the hour if you have to, and monitor his water intake!
I did keep my puppy in a contained, fenced in area in my living room until he was more reliable also. It really helped and gave me piece of mind when I left the house that my dog was not destroying it while I was gone!
Thanks for your input! I blocked off the area where he does his business and it's been working pretty well. I make sure he stays in his play area. I used Nature's Miracle to get rid of the stains and odor before, but he would still go there. I guess I wasn't using enough? Ferris has been going outside for the most part, and I think he knows where to go now.
Make sure that that paper towel your using to soak up the pee can't soak up anymore. After that spray Nature's Miracle in the pee spot and about 2inches out from that spot (you can eye ball the measurement)...let it sit for 5min then take a dry wash cloth to that area and just scrub....if all else fails use Hydrogen Peroxide if he is still peeing in the same spot.
In addition to reading the link sent by Ludi above, here are a few other tips that worked for both of mine:
- Develop a command, ours is "Go potty"
- Praise, Praise, Praise for going on command and letting you know before he goes.
- Use 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water on the spot he goes on
- Be consistent and patient
Both of my corgis were quickly potty-trained. There were most definitely days when I spent 15 minutes or more outside waiting for potty to happen. I do not play, speak or give affection when I take them out. I just say the command and repeat if they seem distracted. After potty one corgi gets treats (very treat motivated) and the other gets a short play session with the ball (toy motivated). Find what works for you and stick with it.
Yes, absolutely agree! Praise and rewards really accelerate the process. And about your other point of waiting: my brother-in-law has a Beagle roughly Ace's age (15~ months) and she STILL pees and poos on their balcony because they cannot be arsed sticking to a routine of taking her out often enough, and waiting until she "goes". They tried it for all of 5 minutes when she was a puppy, then decided they'd just let her go on the balcony.
When summer comes, it REEKS. A little bit of patience now, even if it can take up to an hour to wait out your dog, means a lot less hassle down the line. :)
I use "Go potty" too, and make sure to praise him a lot. The only problem with what I'm doing is when he goes out, he urinates first, and I praise him, but I can't be sure if he has to defecate or not. I try to stand in one place and wait for him to go but he usually just sits on the ground and looks at me, which I presume means he doesn't have to go and we go back inside.
I make Pepper walk a little and go to a place where she pooped before. I have learned with my puppy, she poops A LOT. Probably 5 times a day. First thing in the am. ....after eating, and then about every other potty outing in between. In other words, if her last potty was only a pee, I walk her and wait for a poop the next time out. Good luck!
What are you feeding your dog? Sometimes the food that you feed them effects how often they have to go. And how often do you feed Pepper, and are you measuring out the daily allowance?
If he doesn't go outside put him back in his crate for 15mins then take him back out...when you go out tell him "go potty"... when he does potty reward him with a treat immediately...eventually he will connect the command word "go potty" with the action..(you'll be able to summon poop/pee on command within a few weeks). That spot you mentioned probably has pee on it still....buy some peroxide or nature's miracle...though Peroxide has worked better for me...like the faq says "dogs sense of smell is 40x greater than ours." He most likely smells the pee still there and just figures that is where he needs to relieve himself. I hope this helps.
Everybody on this website gives great advice. I'm also in the process of potty training my 11 week old and there are a few tools that I've found that have helped me. This is in addition to the basics of taking them out on a schedule, using Nature's Miracle and keeping them confined.
First off I invested in a Bissell Spotbot http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-Spotbot-Handsfree-Technology-33N8A/dp...
and a black light. Sometimes it's just so hard to tell when they've gone because of the short legs so the black light really helps with that, and it gave me peace of mind.
Also since I don't want to encourage barking I got a Potty Training Doorbell http://www.amazon.com/PoochieBells-Potty-Training-Doorbell-Chocolat.... Before we go out we ring the bell and he's now associating ringing the bell to going outside. I had the same problem of taking him out to potty and playing with him for 5 minutes and then he would pee again on my rug. Now he will stop and go to the door if he needs to go again.
Another tip that I wished I had known is that when the weather is too hot my corgi doesn't want to go outside any more then I do. Some of my worst potty training days were on hot days. I would take him out and he would just sit in a shaded area of the lawn and refuse to go. Unfortunately those are the days I have to stand out there the longest.
One last tip. I had the hardest time crating him because I would project my emotions of claustrophobia onto him. Although I know he loves his crate I bought a pen to confine him because it made me feel better. He can see me at all times and I don't feel like I'm punishing him. I have way more separation anxiety then he does, so it was a good lesson for me to be able to give time to play on his own. Sometimes it's the human that needs more training then the dog.
Ditto to everything above written by all the wonderful folks here. I too used an ex-pen to limit freedom (I still use it sometimes even though Lucy is 14 months) and it helped a lot. As did learning her "schedule."
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