So, we got our puppy when she was just under 5 weeks old. She is now 9 weeks old. She never had any problems from her early separation. And she picked up very quickly on training; she is very smart and attentive.
She was starting to get the idea of going outside to potty. My husband and I both work all day, every day. But, luckily I only work a couple of blocks away from home, so I could come home on lunch to let her out. And she was doing pretty well. I know it’s a long time to hold it for a puppy, but since we had her on a feeding schedule, she was doing well. Eat, go out and potty a few minutes later and be good until I got home and/ or she ate again.
We went on vacation for a week when she was about 7 weeks old. She was left with my parents and their dog and she learned a lot from watching their dog, Cindy. She picked up on Cindy's cues of needing out, so then she would bark, pace, go to the door and stand against it, come to your feet and beg, etc. And after a couple of days back home, back on her regular schedule of feedings and going out, we thought she was almost completely trained. Of course, we still had to stay on our toes with her because when she did tell us she needed out, there wasn’t much time to spare. But now, after being home from our vacation for about 2 weeks now, she’s taken a turn for the worse.
She is penned in our kitchen. It’s an average size kitchen and she has her crate (her full grown size) in there too, to go in anytime she wants. We tried using puppy pads in the floor on the other side of the kitchen, near the door, but all she did was play with them, plus she never made any messes anyways, on the pad or not.
My husband leaves before I do and gets home after me but we’ve tried to keep a pretty puppy-friendly schedule going for her, which is as follows:
Up at 4am, she goes out, eats breakfast at 4:30ish, out a few minutes later, and then out 3-4 more times before I leave for work at 7:30. I come home for lunch at 12:00, she goes out, eats lunch (half of her normal meal portion), out a few minutes later, and out 2-3 more times before I go back to work at 1. I come straight home at 4:00, let her out, feed her dinner around 4:30- 5, let her out a few minutes later, and then she goes out after she wakes up from naps, plays, or just every 30 minutes or so until we go to bed around 11pm. I usually get up once in the middle of the night with her, and then start the day over at 4am. Like I said she was doing fine with this new schedule until about 3 days ago. Now, every day I come home at lunch to several messes, same with after work, and in between bedtime and when we wake up.
And, were still working on teaching her not to bite, playful or not, because she’s actually really strong already, plus we really don’t want her to bite when she’s full grown. She’s never being mean, but playful nipping. We have tried smacking her in the mouth, on the snout, scolding her (she does know what “no” means), and pinning her until she quits fighting like a mother dog does (we do all of these gently to not hurt her, but stern enough to where she should get the point. we don’t hurt her!). But, none of this seems to work. Sometimes shell quit for the time being, sometimes it’ll make her even madder and she’ll start barking and snapping even more, but either way, the lesson don’t stay long before she does it again.
And, she doesn’t listen as well as she used to. Maybe where we did get her so young, she was/ and still is very attached to us and would stay right with us at all times, even when outside. Now, she still does for the most part, but when we let her wander in the yard for a bit and play, she now no longer comes right back when we holler her name (which she also fully knows) or clap (which used to work miracles with her), or if she’s close and we go to pick her up and bring her in (there’s a retaining wall from the side of the yard to the driveway where the door is that she cant jump on or off yet), she darts and leaps away, like a catch-me-if-you-can game, and she don’t quit.
So, my questions are: what do we do?! Why has taken these steps in training back? What the best way to remind her of what we expect from her with housebreaking? How can we get our point across with the biting? And how can we get her to start listening well again?
Also, what is a clicker and clicker training? I have heard a lot about it, but am pretty clueless.. Maybe this could help us?
Thank you so much in advance to anyone with some help for us!
She was starting to get the idea of going outside to potty. My husband and I both work all day, every day. But, luckily I only work a couple of blocks away from home, so I could come home on lunch to let her out. And she was doing pretty well. I know it’s a long time to hold it for a puppy, but since we had her on a feeding schedule, she was doing well. Eat, go out and potty a few minutes later and be good until I got home and/ or she ate again.
We went on vacation for a week when she was about 7 weeks old. She was left with my parents and their dog and she learned a lot from watching their dog, Cindy. She picked up on Cindy's cues of needing out, so then she would bark, pace, go to the door and stand against it, come to your feet and beg, etc. And after a couple of days back home, back on her regular schedule of feedings and going out, we thought she was almost completely trained. Of course, we still had to stay on our toes with her because when she did tell us she needed out, there wasn’t much time to spare. But now, after being home from our vacation for about 2 weeks now, she’s taken a turn for the worse.
She is penned in our kitchen. It’s an average size kitchen and she has her crate (her full grown size) in there too, to go in anytime she wants. We tried using puppy pads in the floor on the other side of the kitchen, near the door, but all she did was play with them, plus she never made any messes anyways, on the pad or not.
My husband leaves before I do and gets home after me but we’ve tried to keep a pretty puppy-friendly schedule going for her, which is as follows:
Up at 4am, she goes out, eats breakfast at 4:30ish, out a few minutes later, and then out 3-4 more times before I leave for work at 7:30. I come home for lunch at 12:00, she goes out, eats lunch (half of her normal meal portion), out a few minutes later, and out 2-3 more times before I go back to work at 1. I come straight home at 4:00, let her out, feed her dinner around 4:30- 5, let her out a few minutes later, and then she goes out after she wakes up from naps, plays, or just every 30 minutes or so until we go to bed around 11pm. I usually get up once in the middle of the night with her, and then start the day over at 4am. Like I said she was doing fine with this new schedule until about 3 days ago. Now, every day I come home at lunch to several messes, same with after work, and in between bedtime and when we wake up.
And, were still working on teaching her not to bite, playful or not, because she’s actually really strong already, plus we really don’t want her to bite when she’s full grown. She’s never being mean, but playful nipping. We have tried smacking her in the mouth, on the snout, scolding her (she does know what “no” means), and pinning her until she quits fighting like a mother dog does (we do all of these gently to not hurt her, but stern enough to where she should get the point. we don’t hurt her!). But, none of this seems to work. Sometimes shell quit for the time being, sometimes it’ll make her even madder and she’ll start barking and snapping even more, but either way, the lesson don’t stay long before she does it again.
And, she doesn’t listen as well as she used to. Maybe where we did get her so young, she was/ and still is very attached to us and would stay right with us at all times, even when outside. Now, she still does for the most part, but when we let her wander in the yard for a bit and play, she now no longer comes right back when we holler her name (which she also fully knows) or clap (which used to work miracles with her), or if she’s close and we go to pick her up and bring her in (there’s a retaining wall from the side of the yard to the driveway where the door is that she cant jump on or off yet), she darts and leaps away, like a catch-me-if-you-can game, and she don’t quit.
So, my questions are: what do we do?! Why has taken these steps in training back? What the best way to remind her of what we expect from her with housebreaking? How can we get our point across with the biting? And how can we get her to start listening well again?
Also, what is a clicker and clicker training? I have heard a lot about it, but am pretty clueless.. Maybe this could help us?
Thank you so much in advance to anyone with some help for us!
hi,I m not sure what the problems could be with the toilet training,maybe you ll have to go back a few steps and praise the hell out of her when she does her business outside and totally ignore when she does it indoors,never ever tell her off for doing it . . . she will not understand what you are telling her off for
or maybe she has an infection?
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My bet is, you'll see a difference in her running away from you, and instead, she'll be much more interested in seeing what you have to offer her. If you chase her - the game is on!! I would definitely play chase games with her - on your terms, outside, as part of play time. It's obvious she likes them - but not when you call her, ever. Do make sure, when you call her and she comes to you (even if you have to call her several times), that you reward her when she comes. She's learning - and you have to make it worth her time. She'll catch on.
