Coca Collie Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 So, I've had my puppy for a week and a half, and she is 12 weeks old today. She's very intelligent and has no trouble learning new things (she picks up most new behaviours within the space of five minutes). But when it comes to housetraining, she seems to be doing no progress at all. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon, but I've never had a puppy before so I don't really know. When I see her squatting down to pee, I say "No" and take her outside straight away. Once she does her business outside I prasie her to the skies and sometimes even give her a treat, but it doesn't seem to be working. At all. In fact, she seems to be having a lot more accidents lately. Again, maybe this is normal and I may be expecting too much too soon. But I don't know. Then there's recall training. She follows me around in the house and usually comes straight over when I call her, and I know she knows her name because she looks at me every time I say it. But in the garden, she NEVER comes when I call her. She used to look at me and just stare as I called her over, but now she doesn't even look at me. The only way to get her to look at me is to say her name in a wierd voice/accent that she has never heard before. But I'm Running out of ideas how to say her name, and she still doesn't come anyway. I always try to sound as happy and excited as possible when I call her, I run and jump and even try to bribe her with a toy; but it just doesn't work. When she does come (and she always comes in the house), I always prasie her, no matter how long she takes. But this is just getting frustrating. Tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 I've never raised a puppy, what follows is what I've read on these and other dog boards. Put her on a schedule ~ first thing in the morning, every couple hours after that. Take a paper towel or rag that you cleaned up her pee with and leave it outside. The smell of her urine outside and you praising her will be helpful in getting her to connect the whole 'peeing outside is good' idea. When you praise, see how she reacts. Some dogs like the 'let's throw a party' approach and other dogs prefer quiet and soothing rather than hurrahs! When you can't be watching her like a hawk indoors, she goes in her crate or xpen. Recall - don't give her a choice. Let her drag a light weight long line outside. Call her and give a light tug, keeping that light pressure until she takes steps towards you. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Hope this is helpful and that others will weigh in. Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coca Collie Posted October 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 2 hours ago, urge to herd said: Take a paper towel or rag that you cleaned up her pee with and leave it outside. The smell of her urine outside and you praising her will be helpful in getting her to connect the whole 'peeing outside is good' idea. When you praise, see how she reacts. Some dogs like the 'let's throw a party' approach and other dogs prefer quiet and soothing rather than hurrahs! I never thought of that. I'll try it. When I prasie her, she gets all excited and starts wagging her tail like crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 So you have had a new puppy for a week and think the training isn't working? A week is nothing. Get used to the idea that training a puppy takes time and patience. Don't think it is not working. Just keep doing it. Ruth's advice on training above is good. And make sure that you never, ever call her to you in order to do anything she doesn't like. Including coming inside if she is enjoying playing outside. Go get her if you have to crate her or end the play or do anything else she doesn't want. Make sure that coming to you is always, always rewarded with a Good Thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawgirl Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 Agree totally with the advice above. Also try calling her, treating/praising her, and then letting her go back to the fun stuff she was doing, so that she does not associate coming to you with the fun always ending. Also, if she eats, take her outside to toilet. If she drinks, take her outside to toilet. High likelihood of an accident if you don't. As puppies, they have limited bladders and eating and drinking seem to trigger them. This will improve each month as she grows, but safest thing is regular (and I mean frequent) trips outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flora & Molly Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 We have always used the rule to go outside with the puppy after every activity. So after eating, drinking, playing, sleeping. Re recall - it is better to praise for a job well done than to bribe a pup to come. I have learned this the hard way. Pup wouldn't come unless I stuck my hand in my pocket to get a treat and sometimes she think what she was doing was more important and would choose when to come. I found it very frustrating. It works a lot faster if the pup gets rewarded once she has come to you. Dragging a line as described above would work. Patience is key. Some things she will pick up really quickly and other things may take some time. She'll get there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coca Collie Posted October 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 Thank you everyone for the tips. I never knew how long house training actually took. Today she actually scratched at the door when she wanted to go out - so I guess we're making progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 5 hours ago, Coca Collie said: Thank you everyone for the tips. I never knew how long house training actually took. Today she actually scratched at the door when she wanted to go out - so I guess we're making progress! That is definitely progress! Just remember that no matter what you are training, it will simply take whatever time it takes for that dog. Don't compare times with other puppy-owners, don't let yourself get discouraged, and don't think you are on the wrong track just because it takes longer than you thought it would. Every dog is different. Persistence and patience are key. Some things will go fast, others won't. But whatever time it takes is worth it in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coca Collie Posted October 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 Today she didn't have any accidents. And she even came when I called her. So, yep, there's progress. But today on her walk I realised she was TERRIFIED of other dogs. Yesterday she was fine and there was even a dog on the bus that we went on - they sniffed each other and it was all good. But today, as soon as she saw another dog she would panic and start running the opposite direction. I'm so confused. She was fine yesterday. Or maybe I'm just stressing out about too much and she was just having a bad day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 Look up fear periods. Maybe it's applicable, maybe not. But something to be aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coca Collie Posted October 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 Well, today I took her on a walk and she was fine with the other dog we met (another BC). I don't really know to think about this all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted October 18, 2019 Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 Lots to say on this topic, but no time. I hope to come back later to post. But one thing to remember -- don't expect consistency with a puppy. So she likes a dog one day and not the next? No problem. At this age, don't push her to have to engage with other dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coca Collie Posted October 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 I'm not pushing her to engage with other dogs, but other dogs sometimes pass us on walks. I figured that there is no consistency with a puppy... I was a bit worried yesterday, but today she was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtosh Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 Have you tried hanging a bell from the door she leaves to go outside? My Aussie picked up ringing the bell to go outside pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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