4 month old boxer help needed :)

[dchaves]

Hello All I have a 4 month old female boxer (Lola) she is our sweetheart! but she is not learning where the right areas are to go potty, I know its probably my fault but I would just like appreciate some pointers. For the most part she knows not to go potty up stairs when I bring her down I try to get her to go potty on a training pad but she doesn't I have told her many times that this is where she needs to go but she does not seem to listen

Also she has the tendency to try biting my toes when walking I know she is playing just dont know what the most effective way to tell her that what she is doing is wrong. Also when walking with leash she always tends to bite the leash.

Sorry I am newbie at boxer ownership!

 

[MTboxer]

I never used a training pad.

When mine was a pup we watched her pretty close, and if she went in the house, did the traditional put her nose by it, told her no, gave her a swat, took her to the back door and told her outside, then took her out.

And if she hadn't been out for awhile, would take here to the back door and tell her outside. Then when sniffing would tell her to go potty, and when done would praise her and tell her good potty.

Yes, kind of sounds funny telling a dog "good potty;" but Bailey will pretty much pee when we tell her to go potty.

 

[Sansal]

I never used a training pad.

When mine was a pup we watched her pretty close, and if she went in the house, did the traditional put her nose by it, told her no, gave her a swat, took her to the back door and told her outside, then took her out.

And if she hadn't been out for awhile, would take here to the back door and tell her outside. Then when sniffing would tell her to go potty, and when done would praise her and tell her good potty.

PLEASE never put your puppys nose in or near a puddle/poop. IT DOES NOT WORK and it is CRUEL. Same goes for swatting. A puppy will not understand why it is being punished and will get scared of you and lose trust. Never punish your dog for an accident. Simply clean up and increase your monitoring.

The second part of the advice is actually what you should do (among other things). Don't use a training pad. It will only prolong the whole process. Monitor your puppy AT ALL TIMES and take her out in regular intervals (every hour or so) + after every play session, after she has eaten, after she wakes up from a nap and whenever else you think she might have to go. Take her outside on a leash to a spot that you would like her to go and when she does her business you can throw her a "potty party" and give her a yummy treat. If she doesn't go, go back inside and try again in 10 minutes.

Do you crate train? A crate can be a good training tool, however only if you don't leave her longer in there than she can hold it.

 

[Jwelch]

Please listen to Sansal

Never put the nose of your puppy anywhere near the area where they have gone potty. Monitor and once you see your puppy sniffing or turning in circles quickly pick it up and take it outside. Do not try to walk her/him out on a leash as they probably will just stop and go on the way outside. Once you get them to go out side have a party give lots of praise and some good treats. Also if your puppy goes poop in the house, pick it up take it outside (without your puppy seeing you do this) put it where you want your puppy to go and then take your puppy out on the leash and let him/her find it on their own once they find it treat her/him with good smelly treats and give them lots of praise. This will help as your puppy will realize that when they go inside nothing happens no praise, no yelling (Remember negative actions are still actions and puppies cannot tell the difference), but when they go outside I get praised and treats.

Good Luck!

 

[dchaves]

Thank you for the feedback guys!

Also do you recommend puppy training? Any one used Petsmart?

 

[Sansal]

Absolutely, any kind of training is great. Before you sign up for training I would definitely check out the facility and talk to the trainer, see how much experience they have and what methods they use (you want positive reinforcement only). With petsmart it really depends, you might be able to have a great experience or not. Trainers at box stores are not always required to have tons of experience. Personally I would rather look for a different facility. You could also ask to observe a class before you sign up.

 

[MTboxer]

Obsiously opinions vary and I had a feeling I'd get some comments. Based on experience, it does work and it's not cruel, and a little positive re-enforcement helps; they will not be scared of you and lose trust unless you take it to far.

 

[Sansal]

Obsiously opinions vary and I had a feeling I'd get some comments. Based on experience, it does work and it's not cruel, and a little positive re-enforcement helps; they will not be scared of you and lose trust unless you take it to far.

I'm glad to hear that you still managed to potty train your dog and your relationship with your dog did not get damaged. Personally I think it is something that should never be done (and doesn't work). It will teach the dog to associated the smell of poop/pee with something scary and many dogs will learn to hide from you to do their business somewhere in secret (but still in the house). MTboxer, I would encourage you to read through the forums and learn more about positive reward based training.

 

[CuervoMom]

Thank you for the feedback guys!

Also do you recommend puppy training? Any one used Petsmart?

I started my 11 week old puppy in puppy kindergarten at Petsmart today. I was happy with the trainer - all positive reinforcement methods and good examples. This class is probably as much about socialization as much real training, at least for Axel because he's so young. Not that he's not learning things, just that the class is a little overwhelming for him today.

In any case, a friend of mine has done there classes here (Boise, Idaho) several times with her dogs and really loves them. But, I'm sure the experience varies from place to place.

 

[MTboxer]

I'm glad to hear that you still managed to potty train your dog and your relationship with your dog did not get damaged. Personally I think it is something that should never be done (and doesn't work). It will teach the dog to associated the smell of poop/pee with something scary and many dogs will learn to hide from you to do their business somewhere in secret (but still in the house). MTboxer, I would encourage you to read through the forums and learn more about positive reward based training.

The great thing about society, sansal, is everyone is entitled to their opion. If this has been your experience, then you were disciplining your dog too much.

Good luck on the house training dchaves...remember too it takes time.

Funny (I'm sure not to you) that she's biting your toes. Bailey (who just turned 7) used to, very rare, would all of a sudden bite my heal; and not very nice. Usually when I was shoveling snow, she would be fine then all of a sudden bite.

And, when she first goes for a walk, she'll bite the leash and shake her head. Only for the first few minutes, yet there are no teeth marks in the leash.