Housebreaking is NOT that hard!

[stacwase]

I have such a difficult time understanding why people go out and buy dogs, don't properly housetrain them, and then "have to get rid of them" because they're not housetrained!

I've got my mom's two chihuahuas here. I'd been listening to my whole family go on and on and on about how she brings them everywhere with her and they soil everybody's houses, and she won't clean up after them, etc. Now Mom's very ill and unable to care for herself or the dogs. If she had housebroken them to begin with (like I taught her how to do!) then nobody would have had a problem with them. She's a young woman, by the way - and was in good enough shape to train them.

So anyways. I thought these dogs were going to be really hard cases. You know - dogs who would drop a load with lightning speed if you took your eyes off of them for half a second. Otherwise why wouldn't they be trained by now? They're not like that at all!!! They don't potty in their crate, or on the bed. We're working on allowing them to explore the rest of the house a little more.

So - come on!!! How hard can it possibly be? And why would you get a dog if you weren't willing to take these steps:

1)BUY A CRATE! Just big enough for the dogs to stand up and turn around in.

2) Buy a doggone leash & collar! (would you believe these dogs didn't have either?)

3) Keep the dogs in the crate whenever you can't watch them. Watching them means having your eyes directly on them every second, at least at first.

4) Keep the dogs on a leash whenever you do have time to watch them.

5) Take them outside at least every 4 hours in the daytime, until they've gotten used to "holding it" for a while.

6) Praise them to high heaven when they pottie outdoors

7) Catch them in the act of getting ready to pottie indoors and yell "NO!" and run them outdoors really quick.

Gradually let them explore more and more of the house. Catch them thinking about going pottie in different places and don't let them do it. Let them know what you want them to do - they want to please you.

Please don't get a dog if you're not willing to take proper care of them!!!!

[isis]

Exactly! I bet half the dogs at shelters were taken there for bad behaviors that could have been taken care of.