Alongwee Posted May 19, 1999 Report Share Posted May 19, 1999 my border collie(6mo) is doing wonderful in all of her other training, but just isn't getting it when it comes to house breaking. We are using cage training, and she does well as long as she is in the cage but if I bring her in and just let her run the house or play with the kids forget it she goes were ever she wants. Does anybody have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraS Posted May 19, 1999 Report Share Posted May 19, 1999 Hello! A couple of things that helped when we housetrained our BC (in addition to praise praise praise when he got it right): 1) using a "command" when bringing him outside & when he relieved himself 2) keeping him within one room (with a tile floor!) until he learned better control 3) feeding & watering at set intervals & taking outside to perform about 20 minutes afterward (with care to ensure enough water intake). If she has accidents when playing with your kids, she's probably getting excited & losing control -- keep on eye on the activity level & mandate 5-10 play breaks to take her outside (egg timers/microwave timers help a lot). My friend had success in using a "umbilical cord" for her German Shephard pup -- basically a long lead/cord that she tied around her waist. It allowed enough room for play/exploration, but also allowed (and reminded her) close supervision. Finally, keep an eye out for those warning signals. Gaston (our BC) did the Low Head Shuffle (close, careful sniffing of potential resting grounds, preferably beneath tables on carpeted floors) & also had an affinity for the dining room, which resulted in a temporary banning until he was safe. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool Posted May 20, 1999 Report Share Posted May 20, 1999 We adopted our BC from a local shelter when he was only 6 months old. He had never had the freedom to "run" outside of a cage. To begin housebreaking him we laid a large section of newspapers down on the floor (tiled) and immediately set him on it. BCs are extremely smart and will usually respond quickly when praise is involved. We created "outside" times every morning, afternoon and evening. He was always carefully watched in order to make sure that he did something. If he was good during this "outside" time, we immediately praised him and gave him a small training biscuit. It only took approx. 3 weeks for him to realize the schedule and treats. Scrappy is now just over a year old and still goes out on the same schedule. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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