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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on March 26, 2008 at 7:41pm

Sounds like Bailey is still learning his place in the pack, try hand feeding him, ask him to do things so that he can "earn" his food. That will teach him that you are the pack leader, you control his food, and when you say it's yours, he doesn't have a say. you can apply the same principal with toys as well, you give and take, he simply doesn't have a say, when he's behaving, you reward his with the toy.

As far as peeing in the house goes, never let him out of your sight until he's 9 to 1 yrs old, that's when his bladder will be fully develop and able to hold it. Even if you can't see him for 30 seconds, don't risk it and put him in the crate. In the mean time, you can re-clean the soiled area and make sure that there are no more stains and scent left. nuke it with hydrogen peroxide, soak the area well, don't let your pup come in contact with it, it'll make him vomit.

a good walk will tired your corgi, and a tired corgi makes a good behaving corgi. Supervise him during his walk, make sure he does his business, young pups can "forget" to pee while they're out. Establish a good schedule, make sure he does his business, then go play.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on March 26, 2008 at 7:56pm

Thank you so much. i will try these techniques. Jennifer

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on March 26, 2008 at 8:38pm

This would be a great time to teach him the "Drop it!" command. Gather his toys into a box and grab some yummy treats. You've probably noticed different premium levels with his toys (some he's not too excited about are low-premium and toys he really loves are high-premium). Start with a low-premium toy. Offer it to him and tell him "Take it!" When he takes it, give a verbal reward "Good Take It!" Waive a treat lure in front of his nose and say "Drop it!" He'll likely drop a low-premium toy in exchange for a yummy treat. When he drops it give him the treat and "Good Drop It!". Make a real fuss like he just did the best thing in the world. Repeat that 3 to 5 times, then move up to the next higher lever premium toy. After a few days working a couple short sessions each day, he should be dropping even his favorite toys for the treat and verbal praise. Start moving a short distance away from him to take the toy, then drop it and come to you for the treat. You're now working on having him drop the toy from a increasing distance so that when he grabs your child's toy and you're across the room, he drops it on your command and comes over to you for reward.

As with any training, once the dog fully understands the command, you can begin cutting back on treats. Treat every other time, then every three times, etc. Always use verbal praise for good behavior...no limit!

On the peeing, either make sure he pees outside before coming in as Sam suggested and watch him every second, or you might try putting him in his kennel for 5 minutes when you come in to calm him from the exciting walk he just had, then take him back out to see if he'll pee. Also reward him with a puppy party of verbal praise for "Good Potty Outside!" every time he goes outside until he is consistent.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on March 26, 2008 at 10:36pm

I am a big advocate for leash training a pup indoors. I would put him on lead and tie him to you so you can closely supervise everything he does. You will know immediately if he attempts to eliminate in the home and will also be able to redirect him if he attempts to take a toy. Yelling at him and putting him in his crate probably makes absolutely no sense to him. He just knows you are mad.
This is a good time to also find a training class in your area. Sounds like he could stand to learn some manners and you would do well to learn to teach him. Some very important commands he needs to learn are sit, down, come, stay and leave it. Learning a drop it or give command would also serve you well. All pups need to learn that everything belongs to you first. You should be able to take something from him at any time. He is communicating with you as he would another pup that would try to take something.
I would also look in to the Nothing In Life is Free program. There is much available about this if you do a google search.
If he is not neutered it is time to do it. Growing hormones often can be at play with a back slide in housetraining. I would go back to square one in housetraining. He needs to go out on a schedule. He needs to be in the area that he normally eliminates with little interaction from you until he goes. Praise, praise when he does. Keep him well supervised when returning him to the house.

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Permalink Reply by Heather on March 28, 2008 at 4:39am

Is he lifting his leg and marking? Or is it just squatting and peeing? Or just running around playing and pee comes out? He's still a puppy, so probably just doesn't have good control. My Charlie sometimes would come in after peeing outside, and a few minutes later in the midst of playing, there would suddenly be a trail of pee on the carpet, and at the end of the trail, a sad little corgi. It was like he didn't even realize it was coming out.

Yelling at him for biting might only make him more excited. You have to stay calm. Claim the toys by moving in with your whole body, maybe use your feet to keep the toy between you and him. You can also not let him have access to the kids toys until he learns the rules. The growling and biting is his way of guarding what he thinks is his. I agree with Sam that he needs to learn that you are the one who controls the giving of toys. My dogs never have toys lying around for them. All the toys are mine, and I give them out on my terms, and I also take them away when I feel like it. If the kids toys are just lying around, and his toys are just lying around, how is he to know the difference in what is his and what's not?

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