Doggy School?

[My Peanuts]

Sylvia is almost 8 months old and she is still having a lot of trouble potty training. We have been potty training her since the end of June. We are very patient with her, but she just won't learn. All our dogs in the past potty trained quickly, so we are not used to this. We use the postive approach, she gets yelled at for going in the house and praised for going outside. She has the pee down, but the poop is giving her some trouble. I think she knows where she is supposed to do it, but she won't ask to go outside. Honestly, I think she might be a little slow or have a learning disability. My dad already said if she never learns she's not going anywhere (I have the best parents!) Anyway, my questions are... How did you find your doggy schools? Do I go with her? (Cause I want to) Also, what is the cost roughly? Or is doggy school not what she needs?
Thanks for any help. :)

[Dawn]

Tyr started in puppy kindergarten in Petsmart, then we proceeded to a basic obedience through word of mouth-check at your doggie parks-the best people go to them and they can often suggest a good trainer, also-your vet or the local petshops. always ask to "sit in" on a class before hand to see if the trainer is one you can relate to.
I'm not sure if you need to go to a class-maybe a private trainer. But always be there when your dog is in a training class-Most professionals agree-dog training is to train the owner to train their dog, not just to train the dog. But potty training is something that maybe suggestions would be best. Maybe to have a trainer come and "overlook" your methods and give advice. Or asking a vet for advice might help a lot.
Sometimes it's something silly you aren't doing right, or sometimes the pup just isn't ready yet, some take longer. And then-not to scare you but sometimes it turns out to be a medical problem (bladder problems, etc.)
There are also lots of great books out there.

[Pam]

You are having the opposite problem from what I experienced with Bella. She got the "poopies" down in no time, but the peeing was another story. First of all, I must admit to being a pug lover and admirer for years. :) :) I almost selected a pug before getting my Bella, although years of owning poodles caused me to hesitate to switch at this point in my life. I still think there might be a puggily in my future at some point though. I just love them! That said, in my scouring the internet for info about pugs, I did learn that they are slow to housebreak. I know you are wishing that this would all be over soon, and quite possibly it will, but keep in mind she will "get it" soon and just have patience. My daughter adopted a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog in July. She too was told by the breeder and info on the internet that they are slow to housebreak. At this point I think she can finally say Dale is about 99.9% housebroken. Of course it helps if someone is home all day to keep taking Sylvia out. Fortunately my daughter is a stay-at-home mom or Dale might still not be "getting it." Just be patient and give that little sweetie lots of hugs and kisses from me. :)

PS.... The poop is easier to clean up! LOL! :D

PSS....Hugs to your folks too! They are the best!

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by My Peanuts
Sylvia is almost 8 months old and she is still having a lot of trouble potty training. We have been potty training her since the end of June. We are very patient with her, but she just won't learn. All our dogs in the past potty trained quickly, so we are not used to this. We use the postive approach, she gets yelled at for going in the house and praised for going outside. She has the pee down, but the poop is giving her some trouble. I think she knows where she is supposed to do it, but she won't ask to go outside. Honestly, I think she might be a little slow or have a learning disability. My dad already said if she never learns she's not going anywhere (I have the best parents!) Anyway, my questions are... How did you find your doggy schools? Do I go with her? (Cause I want to) Also, what is the cost roughly? Or is doggy school not what she needs?
Thanks for any help. :)

My grandparents have a pug and he wasn't exceptionally hard to train. They used crate training though :-)

What you might want to check into is teaching her to ask to go outside. You can put a string of bells on the door and get her to nudge it each time she goes out, or you can just get her excited enough to bark or scratch the door. I did this with my male sheltie. He would never ask to go outside, he would just circle in front of the door, but of course if we weren't in the room to see it we had no idea he wanted out. So whenever I let him outside I'd stand by the door and excitedly ask him if he wanted to go outside until he got so excited he let out a bark. I'd then say good boy and throw the door open. Now he is pretty good at asking.
One thing about your approach, do you yell at her if you catch her in the act, or if you come upon it later? It is better to do it when you catch her in the act. But some dogs might be sensitive to yelling and will just go and hide to do their business. A better approach may be to just utter :uh-uh" in a low disapproving voice and then take her outside to finish with lots of treats and praise.
Also remember the number one rule of house-training:
Carry a rolled up newspaper with you everywhere. When you come upon a mess swiftly hit yourself 10 times over the head and repeat "I should have been watching my puppy, I should have been watching my puppy" ;)
Seriously though if she is not trustworthy then do not let her out of your sight. Each time she carries out the bad behavior enforces in her mind that it's okay as long as you aren't there.
Here is a link to many on housetraining issues:
http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/lib-SpecTrain.htm#house

Finally to touch on your question of finding a doggy school, the number one important thing to do is go and observe a few classes before signing up. Make sure that instructors methods are something you feel comfortable with. Talk to others in the class to find out their feelings. And make sure you have fun!!

Good luck!

[clara4457]

Originally posted by Shelteez2
Also remember the number one rule of house-training:
Carry a rolled up newspaper with you everywhere. When you come upon a mess swiftly hit yourself 10 times over the head and repeat "I should have been watching my puppy, I should have been watching my puppy" ;)

I was getting ready to freak until I read the last line - then I was LMAO - great line.

I agree with Shelteez - be a little more low key with the correction - make going outside and pooping the best thing in the world - use jackpot treats if you have to. Remember correction only works if you do it when you catch them doing something wrong. If you are correcting her after the fact, she has no idea what you are correcting her for. Patience is the key - this too shall pass.

[My Peanuts]

Thanks for all the advice! Sylvia doesn't really respond to yelling very much. My family is Italian and I think she is used to it being loud in the house ;) At the beginning, it seemed like even catching her in the act and yelling was ineffective. Then I bought a plastic bat from Walgreen’s and when she would poop in the house I'd hit it on the floor so it would make a loud noise. It didn't scare her either and we stopping trying to scare her because I don't want to scar her. My brother and I used to laugh because I called the bat the "punisher." We would joke that if anyone saw me chasing Syl around the house with a bat they would take her away. Needless to say the "punisher" was also ineffective and we stopped using it. I think she is just a hard headed Pug. As for using harsh methods, we have become more low key with telling her what she is doing is wrong. I know she will get it eventually, and she is getting better, but it is taking along time.