Need advice on housebreaking! Please!

[Madisonsmom]

I know there are alot of posts on here and I have read through many of them. I will try the bell however we have a 19 mo. old son who will probably ring it more than our boxer Madison. Madison is 12 weeks now. We got her at 8 so we have only been trying for 4 weeks but argh, she just doesn't get it. She doesn't mind going into her crate. She will sit on command, except when really excited. But when it comes to chewing and going potty and poo outside, forget it. We have been crate training and take her out to do her business right after being in the crate. She will do one or both, but then she comes in and 5 minutes later will do one or the other inside. My husband let her out every 30 minutes last evening and 2 minutes after coming in she pooped in the house. I know she will outgrow the chewing but the carpet cleaning is getting out of control! I have never had to train a puppy before so any help would be appreciated. The last dog I had was adopted with an older pup who showed her the way.

Thanks!

 

[mancin]

Most likely when you are taking her out of the crate, she's excited that she gets to see you. So yes, she will go potty outside after holding it, but she may not be emptying her bladder all the way. She wants to play w/ her mommy. When I get home from work and let Tyson outside, he'll go potty, and after I play with him for about 10 minutes I'll take him out again and almost every time he goes a second time.
You just really have to watch her. When you take her outside, stay outside for awhile. Sometimes Tyson will go pee and want to go right inside, but if I wait a few more minutes, he'll start trotting around the yard and will go again.
Make sure you are ignoring the accidents and not scolding her for it. If you catch her in the act, pick her up and take her outside, but otherwise just clean it up and ignore it. I'm not saying you are scolding her, but I'm not sure what you are doing when she does have an accident.
When you take her outside and you KNOW she has to go, tell her "Go potty" and praise like crazy and give her a treat when she goes. Eventually she'll catch on and she will be able to go "on command".
Take her out before/after going in the crate, take her out after she eats, take her out after she plays, take her out if she starts sniffing, take her out as soon as she loses interest in whatever she's doing (ie. she's playing with you and all of a sudden turns and starts walking away).
The bell training will work as well. I've been doing that w/ Tyson and he's catching on. He doesn't touch the bell every time on his own (slowly but surely!), but it's at least making him go to the door and wait.
Hope this helps! Tyson is 12 weeks right now and just about housebroken. Feel free to PM me.

 

[Jan]

It inportant that you take your puppy out on a leash. You need to praise as soon as he goes and give him a treat. Puppies will often go twice, so you will need to stay out with her for a little while to make sure that she is done.

Boxer puppies can be challenging. Hang in there, they will eventually get it.

As far as the chewing goes, when they are chewing on inappropriate stuff, you need to redirect them to their chew toys. Remember when training dogs, you need to ignore the bad behavior and prasie like crazy when they are being good.

Good luck with your puppy!

 

[tyson&ali]

Ali is still learning!

Well we got the pee thing down but the #2 business has been a problem!! Ali holds it all night most of the time and wakes us on occasion, however the poop is another issue! we praise like madd when she does go outside which is rare and we wait as long as possible! We try to keep a schedule and when we catch her doing it in the house she goes outside with out Tyson which she hates! Persistance seems to be the name of the game no matter which route you choose! As far as chewing goes we have not had any major problems however we keep so many of their favorite chew toys around that they do not even notice anything else! Ali loves soup bones which can be messy so we give them fresh ones out side until they dry out and then when they are carpet friendly we bring them in the house! (They are CHEAP and good for their teeth and coats too) Tyson loves rawhide anything and so does Ali and while they look disgusting and some people think that they are bad for the dogs we have no problems and they choose that over my expensive shoes and furniture! Figure out what your furry kid loves and keep an ENDLESS SUPPLY of that on hand! My furry kids seem to like cheap over expensive which is GREAT!